|
Tribe Snapshots Akan |
| Location: |
Ghana, southeastern Côte d'Ivoire |
| Population: |
4 million |
| Language: |
Akan cluster of Twi languages |
| Neighboring
Peoples: |
Dagomba, Senufo, Malinke, Guro, Ewe, Yaure |
| Types
of Art: |
n/a |
| History: |
Among the Akan-speaking peoples of southern
Ghana and adjacent Côte d'Ivoire ritual pottery
and figurative terracottas are used in connection
with funeral practices that date at least to the
1600s. Much of what we know about ancient Akan
customs comes to us in the form of oral histories
which have survived for several hundred years.
Many of the objects that have been recovered through
archaeological methods are still produced in modified
form among Akan peoples today. The rise of the
early Akan centralized states can be traced to
the 13th century, and is likely related to the
opening of trade routes established to move gold
throughout the region. It was not until the end
of the 17th century, however, that the grand Asante
Kingdom emerged in the central forest region of
Ghana, when several small states united under
the Chief of Kumasi in a move to achieve political
freedom from the Denkyira. (For descriptions of
modern related cultures, see the entries for Anyi,
Aowin, Akuapem, Baule, Asante.) |
| Economy: |
n/a |
| Political
Systems: |
n/a |
| Religion: |
n/a |
|
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