Africa, probably more so than the other continents, is made up of countries with borders that were created without thought to the people who were living there. Ethnic groups cross these arbitrary lines on maps and some call multiple countries their homeland. These groups have different languages, customs and traditional ways of life. In Ghana, there are a few larger ethnic groups, that are often then further subdivided resulting in an estimated number of upwards of 70 languages.
Akan
The Akan people are probably the most well known ethnic group of Ghana and are the largest with more than 20 million people spread throughout Ghana and into Ivory Coast. The most well known sub-group of the Akans are the Asante (also Ashanti), who created a great empire and provided serious resistance to British colonizers. It’s believed that the Akans migrated to their current location (generally mid- to southern Ghana, particularly west of Accra) from the north in the 12th century. Their land was rich in gold and fertile ground for producing cash crops, allowing them to amass wealth and power in the region.
Ewe
With around 5 million people spread throughout Togo, Ghana and Benin, the Ewe people are the third largest ethnic group in Ghana. It’s believed that they originated around the border of Benin and Nigeria and were well-established in their current area by the 13th century.Unlike the Akans, they have historically refused to support a concentration of power. Ewes in Ghana are mostly in the Volta region, south and east of the the Volta River, with many also in Accra. The traditional Ewe religion, voodoo, may be familiar to some and was brought to North America through the transatlantic slave trade. Ewe’s are also the originators of Ghana’s famous kente cloth.
Ga-Adangbe
Concentrated in the Greater Accra Region with some reaching into Togo, the Ga number around 2 million people. It seems as if they migrated from present-day Nigeria to the Accra plains and by the mid 16th century had a well-established trading system. It’s possible that the Ga people have some historical link to Jews, with some research showing that they may have migrated south from Mesopotamia to present-day Uganda then west through Cameroon, Nigeria and onto their present location. Some people point to the similarity of the rituals of their annual festival Homowo to Passover rituals as further evidence. These rituals include eating unleavened bread and painting red clay around door frames; the festival celebrates making it through a famine and literally means “hoot at hunger.”
Mole-Dagbani
This is the second largest ethnic group in Ghana and is comprised of many different sub-groups, such as the Dagomba, Mamprusi and Mossi. It is also one of the oldest kingdoms of people in the country. They live mostly in northern Ghana and also cross into Burkina Faso and Togo. The traditions and culture of this group are heavily tied to drumming and oral traditions, and is also intertwined with Islam. Oral traditions say that they migrated to the area from northeast of Lake Chad. These oral histories tell the story of Tohazie, the “Red Warrior,” who migrated with a band of warriors across present-day northern Nigeria. It was his descendents that went on to found the kingdoms of the Mole-Dagbani people.
Guan
It’s believed that the Guan people were the first settlers of Ghana, having migrated from the north before the 11th century. The Guan people are scattered throughout the region and many of them assimilated into the other major ethnic groups as they arrived. Winneba, where I live, is populated by the Effutu people, a sub-group of the Guan. Our famous annual festival, Aboakyer, is in honor of one of the Guan gods, Penkye-Otu.