COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE GUAN PEOPLE AND THEIR LANGUAGES

THE GUANS

(This article is directly soucred from my book: Know Ghana Better)

The Guans believe themselves to be a subgroup of the Akan tribe (not all of the Guans though). They migrated from Egypt and through several linguistic zones got to Mali. Their territory extended from parts of present day Mali to present day Senegal. They formed clans and the clans were Ndenye, Shuoyi and Le. The clans were formed for purposes of defence and for other linguistic and cultural functions.

After some years, a group of Guans who were at present-day Senegal and members of the Shuoyi clan called the Ngbanye set off to Ghana. Perhaps there was a pre-meditated decision by the Ngbanye and the other Guans to find a more suitable settlement. It is also believed that the leader of the Ngbanye sought the assistance of a soothsayer who foretold him that he will be great in a foreign land. This perhaps prompted him to migrate with his people. All the other Guan groups later followed after the Ngbanye had left. 

The Ngbanye had probably gotten to Ghana and the other Guan groups stopped at an area around present day Burkina Faso. The Guans in the Burkina Faso region were definitely in contact with the Gur and Akan ancestors. Perhaps in Ancient Mali, they had intense contact with the Akans leading to shared vocabulary among the Akans and the Guans. Also, it is very evident that the Guans might have had some form of contact with the Gur ancestors back in ancient Burkina Faso before they finally got to Ghana. So among some Guan languages, they say “fu” which is the way it is said in some of the Gur languages. Fu means “you.” This is likely because the Gur ancestors had their ancestral home at Burkina Faso before most of them also migrated to establish their respective kingdoms mostly in Ghana and in Togo.

It is also good to note that there are several Gur vocabularies that are found in the Guan language and you can read more on this under the topic: Kusaal vs. Guan in the book Know Ghana Better by Huniah Tetteh.

In Ghana, the Ngbanye who later came to be known as the Gonjas first settled at Gonja land whereas the other Guans moved with the Akans to settle at the Bono areas around present day Bono Manso through to modern Ashanti land. It is said that as the Kagbanye journeyed to their present home, they said in ancient Guan as “Ebɔɔlɛ” meaning “it is okay”. Thus, Ebɔɔlɛ came to stay as Bole.

The writer is well aware of certain disputes and written accounts that state that Sumaila Ndewura Jakpa, who led the first Guans to Ghana is not a Guan perhaps because Gonjas practice Islam and Ndewura is also known as Sumaila. But the fact of the matter is, there are the Foodo and the Chakosis who also practise Islam. They do not practise Guan customs at the moment yet, they are still considered Bia languages and/or Guan languages respectively. Other schools of thought argue that Gonjas adopted the Guan language but then if they indeed adopted the Guan language, their way of counting (numbers) should reflect their original language as witnessed in the GTM languages and in Romanian as well. Romanian is a Latin language spoken in Eastern Europe. Although it has been influenced by Slavic languages spoken in Eatern Europe, its mode of counting reflects its mother language, Latin.

 GTM languages or Ghana-Togo Mountain languages are groups of languages spoken in the Oti Region and in the Volta Region. Furthermore, the Gonja language is greatly influenced by the Gur languages likewise the other Northern Guan languages so then, Foodo, Gitsode, Nawuri, Ntsumburun could also be argued as not being Guan since they are the closest languages to Gonja.

/* My advice to all Northern Guans is why fight when you are all united by a language and a common history? Do not let religion or chieftaincy tear you apart. Think of the unborn generation and the heritage they are to inherit. Guans are lacking behind in terms of recognition in Ghana so why don’t you push towards that in untiy rather than fight over lands? */

The Guans settled at an area around present day Ntsumburun land extending to Techiman and even to areas in the Ivory Coast. Well, do not forget that they kept multiplying through child birth and certainly, certain individuals will move in to settle with them and learn their language. Their Ngbanye brothers were to the north of their settlement. At their southern settlement, they partitioned the lands into three. The partition was done in clans. Some of the members of the Ndenye clan went further west to present day Ivory Coast that is the Kong areas with the Le-group being in the middle and the Shuoyi clan to areas around Techiman to present day Ntsumburun areas. The Guans lived with the Akans in peace typically the Bonos and the Fantes.

As time went on, the Akan and Guan ancestors (progenitors) who first established the Guan-Akan kingdoms passed on and new generations sprang up. Guans existed as effeminate to the Akans whereas the Akans were seen as male Guans. Thus, these language groups borrowed words from each other bringing them closer to one another. Still with time, the Akan and Guan ancestral chiefs passed on and that was where the problems started. Unfortunately, the unity that binded Guans and Akans would be short-lived leaving deep imprints in the sands of time because of the events that were about to unfold. 

After the demise of the founding fathers of the Guan and Akan states, certain elders or kings supposedly from the modern Ashanti tribe wanted the Twi language to be powerful and widespread and to build a stronger Ashanti Empire. These conquests lead to resistance from other Akans and Guans leading to the great war of the Ashantis. Other Akan and Guan groups fled from Techiman through to Kong region and they headed to the south. This was what brought about the name “asa nte” meaning “because of war.”

The Ndenyes who were at Kong were troubled by the Mande who also wanted to take over new kingdoms thus, they travelled to the South of the Western Region extending to the Ivory Coast. The Members of the Le clan got to present day Denkyira-Anyin lands where they were confronted by the Denkyiras and Asebu which forced them to move to settle at their present areas in Buem and in Likpe.

Those of the Shuoyi clan came to Senya then they moved to settle at Ayawaso-Accra and they later journeyed to Nyanoase and then to Okuapeman. From Okuapeman, there was virtually unrest believed to be from the Akyem and Akwamu people hence most of the Guans organised themselves into families and migrated from Okuapeman. Not all of them left but then the majority migrated from Okuapeman which is why at Okuapeman (Larteh and Okere), the Guan territories are very few and relatively small as compared to other Guan communities.

Most of the Larteh and Okere families went northwards through Agogo to Kwahu through Bonomanso to a place close to their previous home. They were the Ntsumburun, Nawuri, Kete-Krachi, Foodo, Alijo, Anyanga and Atsode all of the Shuoyi clan. The others who could not journey northwards went eastward and they got to present day Anum-Boso-Assikuma lands whereas the others furthered to Nkonya-Ahenkro. Later the members of the Le clan at present day Denkyira and Anyin lands would also move to settle at the Oti Region and they were the Buems (Lefana) and Likpe (Okpele).

The Foodo or Semere people continued further from the present day Oti Region to Benin. The Foodo land is presently just after the Kotokoli lands hence they have a whole lot of Kotokoli (Gur) borrowings in their language. They even call themselves Kotokoli-Semere.

The Guans form a major aspect of the Ghanaian population. The Gonjas were the first Guans to settle in Ghana as we said earlier. And interestingly, the Gonja language bears striking similarities with Ligbi and some Senufo languages (Mande languages) likewise Chakosi. The Guans are found in different parts of Ghana. This was not because Guans were weak people but rather because they culturally abhor bloodshed. They chose not to engage in wars to avoid the spillage of blood hence they were always on the move whenever they sensed trouble. This is very evident among the Atsode people of Nkwanta as the origin for the name Atsode is Akyiwɛde which means “tabooing bloodshed.”

Even those in Ghana are scattered all over the country. Some are in the Central Region, others in the Oti region, Western, Eastern, Bono-East region, Savannah Region and the Northern Region. The rest of the Guans are in the Ivory Coast, Togo and in Benin. Due to the distribution of the Guans to various parts of the Country and to other countries, their languages were broken down to dialects. They were not stable and had to develop a means of communication with whatever tribe they find themselves living with. Most of the Guans had their dialects mixed up with their new neighbouring tribes in the course of their migrations so as to facilitate their communications with each other. Others also re-learnt new languages and have foregone their native languages.

So you can try and observe the Efutu language for instance. There are five main towns within the Efutu community and the dialects of each town vary from one another. For instance, in Simpa-Winneba, their dialect appears to be a blend of Kyripon, Ga and Fante not forgetting the Senya dialect which is more like a blend of Ga and Fante. Also Awutu-Bireku is the community which tries to preserve the original Efutu. They call it Bireku and the dialect looks more like Gonja, Nkonya and Larteh.

In the case of Gonja, the people are called Kagbanye and the language is Ngbanye. Ngbanye has more of Hausa, Dagbanli, Templima and Arabic influence whereas Nawuri is greatly influenced by Nanumli, Kokomba and to some extent Arabic. Gonja and Nawuri are very similar to Krachi and Ntsumburun. Then again there is Gikyode, Alijo and Anyanga which are also related. Chakosi is also related to Gonja but not as close to the Guan languages spoken in the Western Regions.

It is also good to note that Gonja has a whole lot of dialects with some Gonja dialects resembling the regular Guan more than the others. The dialects may include Kplaŋ, and Dompo. So for example, some Gonja dialects would refer to a human being as nyingbesa (Nkonya: Nyinkpasa); some also say nyingbedi; others also say ɛsa (Efutu: Ɔsa). The Gonja dialect Dompo is a dead language now.

As well, in the Kyripon language, every town and the way they speak. I for one speak the Adukrom dialect yet I am able to understand the other dialects due to the similarities.  

The members of the Ndenye clan got to the Western Region after they fled from the Ivory Coast during the then Mande-Akwamu oppression. One of them got to the Oti Region and settled after Nkonya and they are the Chakosi. From Nkonya, the Chakosi moved gradually up north to settle at an area after the Atsode Guans and Alijo-Anyanga-Semere Guans which is now in Ghana and in Togo. The Ndenye language has been greatly influenced by Akan in the course time and although their languages preserve about 50% Guan vocabularies, the Grammar and accent of their languages is more Akan not forgetting about 30% of the vocabulary is also Akan. Though they are all in the Western Regions their languages vary from each other with the resemblance to Guan varying from one community to the other. Anyin is more related to Guan than the other Ndenye languages. Ahanta follows then Nzema. Then again, Chakosi has been isolated and it has been spoken in Gur areas for years so it has adopted the Gur-Mampruli accent.

Chakosi also called Anufo is a good proof of the Ndenye languages being Guan since it can adapt to both Akan (Vowel-toned) accent and the Direct-plane accent. All Guan languages can adapt to different accents but the Akan languages generally cannot adapt to different accents. Moreover, Guan languages have the kp, gb, ngm sound whereas the Akans lack those sounds. 

The Guan dialects and languages although similar are very complex and vary from every Guan community. They do not have a common language among them so either Twi, Ga or Fante normally serve as their common language. For instance, the Guans in the Western Region that is the Nzemas, Ahantas, Pepenza, Anyin-Brosa all speak Fante/Twi as a common language. The Akuapems speak the Mente-mente or Twi as a common language.

Those in the Oti region Likpe, Nkonya, Lelemi-Buem, Krachi and Atsode speak Twi or Ewe as a common language. But for the Guans at the north: Gonja, Ntsumburun, Anufo (Chakosi) and Nawuri; English, Twi, Dagbanli or any convenient language bridges the linguistic gap. 

In all, the Guans are a very complex group and I decided to group them into classes or divisions which helps me identify them and I think would help you also a lot. I based the classification on the orientation of their dialects and beliefs. So for instance, if a Guan language is Fante oriented but the speakers believe they are affiliated to the Ga people, then they are Ga-Akan Related Guans. So then we can learn something about them.

 

THE GA-AKAN RELATED GUANS: This group believe to be related to both the Ga and the Akan people. They belonged to the Shuoyi group. Their respective Guan dialects are based or spoken with the Akan accent with extensive borrowings from both the Ga and Akan languages. This affiliation traces back to the migration era as they made settlements in Accra before they parted ways to their present locations.

Evidence could be seen in Osu-Gua, the Odwira festival celebrated by the people of Ga-Mashie, the people of Senya-Bireku being excellent Ga speakers even in modern times and how the Efutu array themselves in traditional clothing similar to the Ga people. At Winneba, the Penkyi-Otu shrine uses Otu which is a name depicting the second-male born child among the Nungua-Sanshi clan. As earlier stated, they behave like the Ga people culture wise. 

Among the Akuapem-Okere and Akuapem Larteh people, they have names like Odei which is the same as Odai by the Nungua-Sanshi clan; as well Larbi of the Akuapems is depicted as Alabi by the Nungua-Sanshi clan and other Ga communities. The Akuapems and Anum-Boso people have numerous loan words from the Klo dialect of the Ga-Dangme language.

Their dialects closely relate* each other although there may be variations due to their present settlements. Their numerical forms and pronoun forms are quite similar and seem to have descended from a proto-dialect*. They include the Efutu, Larteh, Nkonya, Kyripon, Anum-Boso Gua languages. They could be referred to as Southern Guans as well.

Commentary: Nkonya currently have borrowed words from Ewe and other neighbouring languages which make them quite different from their family of languages. Kachi which is spoken by the Kete-Krachi is originally Efutu but then it has been in contact with Nawuri, Gonja, Gikyode and Ntsumburun which are all Guan languages spoken to the North of Ghana so it would be included among the Northern Guan languages.

The table below shows their numerical and pronominal forms. “Sub” stands for subject whereas “obj” could be an object or emphatic pronoun

 

Efutu		Larteh		Kyripon		Nkonya		English
Sub	Obj	Sub	Obj	Sub	Obj	Sub	Obj	Sub	Obj
Mi	Emi	Mi	Mi	Mi	Mi	N	Mi	I	Me
Ɔ	Ewu	U	Wu	U	Wu	Fu	Fu	You	You
Mu	Mu	A	Mu	A	Mu	Ɔ	Mu	He/she	Him/her
Ani	Ani	Ɛni	Ɛni	Ɛni	Ɛni	Ani	Ani	We	Us
Ani	Ani	Ɛni	Ɛni	Ɛni	Ɛni	Mile	Mile	You	You
Amu	Amu	Amu	Amu	Wɔmu	Wɔmu	Amu	Amu	They	Them

 

Efutu	Awutu	Larteh	Gua	Kyripon	Nkonya	Ga	Twi
Ekome	Ekome	Ekɔ	Ako	Ako	Ekolɛ	Ekome	Biako
Enyɔ	Enyɔ	Nyɔ	Nyɔ	Nyɔ	Anyɔ	Enyɔ	Ebienu
Esa	Esa	Sa	Sa	Sa	Asa	Etɛ	Ebiesa
Ena	Ena	Nε	Nε	Nε	Ana	Ejwɛ	Anan
Enu	Enu	Nu	Ni	Ni	Anu	Enumɔ	Enum
Esiɛ	Esha	Siε	Siε	Siε	Asiɛ	Ekpaa	Nsia
Eson	Ehyinɛo	Sono	Sonɔ	Sono	Asiɛnɔ	Kpawo	Nson
Etswe	Etswe	Tswii	Tswii	Tswii	Ekue	Kpaanyɔ	Awɔtwe
Epan	Epano	Kponɔ	Kpuno	Kpono	Ekueba	Nɛɛhu	Ekron
Idu	Edu	Duu	Duu	Idu	Idu	Nyɔŋma	Edu

 

AKAN RELATED GUANS: This group believe to be related to the Akans although most of them know deep within that they are not Akans. Their languages are not “so closely” related to the Akan languages but to the Guan languages rather. Early linguists in Ghana classified them as Akans, hence this is the commonly accepted notion nationwide but then they are far from being Akans. They belong to the Ndenye Guan group also called the Western Guans. They have strong linguistic affiliations with the Fantes. Presently most of these languages are almost extinct and they include Penpenza which is slowly being taken over by the Wassa-Twi language. Then also is Ahanta which is almost extinct due to the mass Ahanta population believing themselves to be Akans and thus, have abandoned their original Ahanta language. Anyin is likewise on the verge of death in Ghana.

This group of people have been forced to see themselves as Akans even though their language orientation, speech and pattern, is purely Guan.  And this is causing more harm than good to these pure Guan communities. So for the Akan-related Guans, upon extensive research and careful analysis, this group of people came under this category for reasons which are clearly elaborated below: Ahanta, Pepenza, Anyin-Brosa, Sefwi, Baoulés/Bawule, Nzema, Chakosi (Anufo).

If they were Akans, they should exhibit the clan systems of the Akans because they live with the Wassas and the Fantes yet, the Akan-related Guans are not ordered in the Akan clan system. The Nzemas crown females are kings which is never part of Akan culture. All Akans do not have the hard “kp, gb ngm” diagraphs, except the Guans yet, we see that the Nzemas, Anyins and Ahantas most especially have these hard diagraphs.

Nzema		Sefwi		Anyin			Pepenza		Chakosi
Sub.	Obj.	Sub.	Obj.	Sub.	Obj.	Sub.		Obj.	Sub.	Obj.
Me	Medame	Me	Me	M	Me	Me		Me	Ŋ	Mini
Ɛ	Ɛdawɔ	Ɛ	Wo	Ɛ	Wo	Ɛ		Wo	A	Wɔlɔ
E	Ɔdaye	Ɔ	Ye	Ɔ	Ye	Ɔ		Yɛ	I	Yi
Yε	Yεdayɛn	Yε	Yεn	Yε	Yε	Yε		Yε	Yε	Ya
Bε	Bεdabε	Mu	Ɔmɔ	Ɔmu	Ɔmɔ	Bε		Bɛ	An(i)	An(i)
Bε	Bεdabε	Bε	Bɛ	Bε	Bɛ	Bε		Bɛ	Bɛ	Bu

 

Nzema	Sefwi	Anyin	Ahanta	Pepenza	Chakosi	Bawule
Eko	Ko	Eko	Ɛko	Kopɛ	Ko	Ko
Nyɔɛ (Nwiɔ)	Nyɔ	Nyɔa	Anyɔ	Nyuɛ	Nyɔ	Nyɔ
Nsa	Nsa	Nsa	Asa	Nsa	Nza	Nsa
Nna	Nna	Ɛna	Ala	Ɛna	Nna	Nna
Nnu	Nnu	Ɛnu	Ɛru	Ɛnu	Nnu	Nu
Nsiɛ	Nsia	Nsia	Ɛsha	Nsia	Nʒɛ	Nsiɛ
Nzɔ	Nson	Nsó	Ɛsoa	Nso	Nzu	Nso
Mɔtwɛ	Mɔtswɛ	Mɔtswɛ	Awɔtswɛ	Mɔtswɛ	Mɔtswɛ	Mɔtswɛ
Ngɔnla	Ngron	Nguanla	Ahuala	Nguana	Nguna	Nguã
Bulu	Du	Bulu	Bulu	Bulu	Bulu	Bulu

 

These languages have their numerical system exactly as it is said in the Guan languages. Anyin or Ahanta could be the mother language of this group of languages; Anyin is very conservative although it is in the Western Region typically in Elubo likewise Ahanta. Anyin has a whole lot of Guan features likewise Chakosi. Chakosi is a dialect of Anyin and it is rather isolated from its sister languages as it is spoken in East Mamprusi (North-East Region) and it appears due to its isolation has conserved most of its grammar and maintained the purity of the Nzema group of languages (Akan-related Guans). So Chakosi has a lot of vocabulary similar to Gonja, Larteh and Efutu which are all Guan languages. 

Further analysis of the numerical system shows close resemblance among Chakosi, Pepenza and Ahanta. Pepenza is spoken at Tarkwa-Wassa area. The Wassas speak both the Akan and the Pepenza language.

For the pronouns Chakosi “you (pl.)” is said as “An” which is a contraction of the Guan “Ani” like it is seen in Efutu. “Ani” means either “we” or “you (pl.)” depend on the tone one makes so as to convey meaning. “Ani” becomes “Binyi” in Ngbanye and “ɛni” in Kyripon, Larteh and Gua. It is said as “Yeni” in Kuafasa. 

It is also good to note that all these languages are located in the Western and Western-North Regions and they all relate each other except Chakosi which broke off from Old Anyin and they migrated to the north and they developed their language in a different direction. Most of the Northern Guans say ten (10) as Kudu and this could have been developed from Bulu.

Well, linguistically, these languages are called the Bia languages and Chakosi and Anyin are the deviating language from this group pointing out their possible origin. We will then again compare some of these languages to some Guan languages and ascertain the similarities and get the facts straight.

Nzema	Chakosi	Anyin	Gonja	Nkonya	Ꜫkri	Efutu	English
Bela kɛ	Bla fɛ	Ba wa	Ba nfɛ	Ba nfe	Bɛ to	B’ ɛye	Come here
Nzi	Shi	Nzi	Kama	Ɔma	Nsi	Nsi	Back
Nzule	Nzue	Nzue	Ntsu	Ntsu	Nju	Nsu	Water
Hɔ	kɔ	Kɔ	Yɔ	Nate/Yɔ	Wɔ	Wɔ/Yɔ	Going
Nu	Nu	Nu	Nu	Nu	Nu	Nu	Drink
Sonla	Sunɔ	Sonha	Ꜫsa	Nyinkpasa	Sisɛ	Ɔsa	Human
Me kulo	Mi kulo	Mi gulo	Mi sa	Mi kile	Mi kile	Mi dɔ	I like
Sanzi	Kaaki	Maa	Bitimba	Sankyi	Binkyi	Kyina	Return
Ni	Ni	Nnikabie	Nnɛ	Nkonu	Nu	Ahi	Where
Wu suo	Awulo	Awulo	Lanta/Pe	Weyi	Ewuso	Ewuso	Home
Tɔ	Tɔ	Tɔ	Tɔ	Hɔ	Sɔ	Sɔ	Buy
Wura	Wula	Wula	Bu	Wu’a	Wurɛ	Wura	Wear
Anloa	Nɔ	Anu	Konu	Ɔnɔ	Anu	Anu	Mouth
So	So	So	So	So	So	So	On
Fɛ	Shɛ/siɛ	Fɛ	Bel	Duɛ	afa	Afa	Sweet
Ebia	Jɛ	Bia	Kabe	Obia	Ebie	Ebɛ	Chair

 

You could realise from the examples above that they are related to the Guan languages and not to Akan as supposed. It is worth noting that these people see themselves as Akans especially a dialectic group of Fantes so their belief must be respected and for that matter, I call them the Akan-related Guans. An interesting thing to also note is that Chakosi is very conservative likewise Anyin as they broke from either Anyin. Thus, let us compare some few words in Chakosi to Kachi.

Anufo  (Chakosi)                                Kachi (Kete-Krachi)                          English

Ansiɛ!                                                 Ansɛ!                                                   Thank you!

Ansiɛ ni ba!                                        Ansɛ na ba!                                         Welcome!

EWE-AKAN RELATED GUANS (OTI GUANS): These Guans mainly inhabit the Oti Region of Ghana. They belonged to the Le clan of the ancient Guans. They can also be called Oti Guans. They have been greatly influenced by the GTM group of languages and Ewe as well.

This is because Guans are good at learning new languages and foregoing theirs or even adopting and using a different language side-by side their native languages and with time mix them up to develop new dialects and subsequently develop new languages. 

They have a strong affiliation to the GTM languages thus, they have shared vocabulary with the GTM languages. The Guans within this group are the Likpe and Buems. Likpe language is called Sekpele and the land is Okpele whereas the people are Bakpele. In the case of Buem, the name for the people is Lefana and the land is Bueman whereas the language is either called Lefana or Lelemi.

Siwu, spoken by the people of Akpafu-Lolobi, and Sele which is spoken by the Santrokofi, are related languages to Lefana and Sekpele although they are part of the GTM languages. Siwu and Sele are not Guan languages. It is interesting to note that Likpe and Bueman are just few minutes’ drive from Santrokofi. Also there is the Bowire language which is also called Tuwuli and it is distantly related to Sekpele and Lefana. Nkonya which belongs to the Ga-Akan Guan family is just few minutes’ walk from Akpafu-Mempeasem and the Santrokofi communities thus, these languages would naturally borrow from each other making them look very similar although they do not originally belong to the same linguistic family.

It is then again interesting to note that the Santrokofi trace their route with the Tafi and Nyagbo and not with the Guans. Likewise, the Bowire who are closely related to the people of Akposso also in the Oti Region perhaps due to centuries of contact between these two languages.

Nkonya, Krachi, Ntsumburun and Gikyode are Guan languages spoken in the Oti Region but they are not Ewe-Akan Related Guan languages. Nkonya belongs to the Ga-Akan related language group or better still the Southern Guans whereas the others fall within the Northern Guan language group.

GUAN		GHANA TOGO-MOUNTAIN
SEKPELE	LEFANA	SELE	SIWU	NUMBER
Lɔni	Unwi	Owĩi	Iwɛ	1
Inua	Inyɔ	Ɔnyɔ	Inyɔ	2
Itsa	Ɛtɛ	Otiɛ	Itɛ	3
Ena	Ine	Ɔna	Ina	4
Anɔ	Ɛlɔ	Ɔnũu	Iru	5
Akũa	Ɛku	Okuɔ	Ikuɔ	6
Akũase	Maatɛ	Okuɛsi	Ikojɛ	7
Sena	Maane	Ɔnii	Frafana	8
Lɛwuɛ	Laalɛ	Ɔlãsi	Kaiwe	9
Lefosi	Levu	Lefosi	Yiweo	10

 

THE NORTHERN GUANS: The Northern Guans speak varied languages which are all related to the Akuapem-Larteh language spoken in the Eastern Region. They are mainly concentrated in the Savannah Region, Bono-East Region and Oti Region of Ghana. They migrated from the Larteh and Okere areas with the exception of the Gonjas who trace their ancestry straight from Senegal as read from the history above. They include the Ntsumburun, Gonja, Atsode, Nawuri, Foodo (Semere), Aligyo, Anyanga, Dwan, Basa. Wiase, Bantama, Nframa, and Krachi.

The Ntsumburun people are located in the Bono-East region typically the Sene district through to Kete-Krachi and Nkwanta in the Oti Region. Once, on my visit to Yeji, I asked an Ntsumburun man where they had originated from and he told me their fore-fathers moved from Larteh-Ahenease to their present location. Ntsumburun is closely related to Gonja and Nawuri. Gikyode which is spoken by the Atsode is much closer to Nawuri and Ntsumburun but not to Krachi. Also Gikyode relates Ginyanga more. Ginyanga is the Guan language spoken by the people of Anyanga and Alijo in the Republic of Togo.

Ntsumburun then again resembles the Kete-Krachi Guan; Kete-Krachi Guan is called Kachi and others also refer to it as Ntsumburun but it is not Ntsumburun. Of course, Kachi is Guan so at first audit, one cannot differentiate between Kachi and Ntsumburun but Kachi has more of Efutu vocabulary as they primarily migrated from Awutu-Bireku to Akyem then to Larteh before getting to their present location; whereas Ntsumburun has Gur vocabulary via Gonja, Ntrubo, Kotokoli and possibly Basari.

Ntsumburun has dialects: Dwan, Bele, Bende, Burai, Yeji-Ntsumburun, Wiase, Nframa, Bantama, Basa etc. likewise Gonja which has the Kplaŋ and Dompo dialects. Nawuri also has dialects with Bladjai-Nawuri and Awuratu-Nawuri dialect being more close to Gikyode than other Nawuri dialects.

Dwan, Wiase and Basa are very interesting Guan languages. They maintain characteristics more similar to Larteh than to Ntsumburun itself. In Dwan, the number “eight (8)” is said as “atswe” just like the southern Guan languages but the others say Aburuwa just like Gonja, which could probably be of Mande origin. Dwan is spoken at Kanto, Akenten, Lemu, Drobe, Dwankrom, Lassi, Menko, Akyeremade, Bayako.

The Nawuri people are located at the Kpandai-Kitare-Bladjai part of the Northern Region. As at the year 2018, under the Akuffo-Addo government, it was proposed that they be included together with the Ntsumburun people and other Guans in a new region called the Oti-Region. The Nawuri people were quick to agree because they felt they were not Gurs and that they must be joined to the southern tribes, which is their possible origin. 

The Atsode who are also Northern Guans are located in the upper parts of the Oti Region. Gikyode is spoken by the Atsode. They are a bit unique as they have Gidere loan words and other loan words from Togolese languages. They have not so maintained their Akan or vowel-toned accent and Gikyode language is somehow isolated from other Guan languages spoken in Ghana. Foodo is also a Northern Guan language presently spoken in the Republic of Benin just after the Atsode communities in Togo called the Alijo and the Anyanga. Gidere spoken by the Adele people is not Guan but have extensive Guan loan words making the language related to Gitsode.

Aligyo and Anyanga are pure Guans who continue the Atsode communities in Togo but then they hold the view that they are not Atsode and of course like the Foodo-Semere, they are not under Ghanaian administration. The Ginyanga language spoken by the Alijo and Anyanga have also lost its Akan accent as they are among Gur speakers and they naturally have whole lots of Gur borrowings in their language especially from the Kokomba, Loso and Basari (Ntsam) communities in Togo. Chakosi communities in Togo are also not far from Alijo and Anyanga territory thus, the relations are maintained.

The Semere, Anyanga and Aligyo have French as their official languages and they acknowledge the fact that they have their routes from Ghana although they are presently located outside the Ghanaian administration.

Among these languages, Ntsumburun and Kachi have preserved their vowel-toned accent and they sound just like Akan as most Guan languages do sound; not forgetting Kachi and Ntsumburun are closely related. A catch to this is Nawuri, Ntsumburuns and Atsodes can understand each other better when speaking their various dialects than they would understand Gonja or Kachi when it is being spoken.

So let us take a look at a look at the Ntsumburun, Kachi, Gonja (Ngbanye), Nawuri and Gikyode numerical system to ascertain the similarities.

Dwan	Ntsumburun	Kachi	Gonja	Nawuri	Gitsode
Ɔkori	Konko	Okonko	Ɛko	Ɔko	Ɔko
Anyue	Anyɔ	Anyɔ	Anyɔ	Anyɔ	Enyɔ
Asɛ	Asa	Asa	Asa	Asa	Esa
Ana	Ana	Ana	Ana	Ana	Enan
Anu	Anu	Anu	Enu	Anu	Enu
Ashe	Asie	Ꜫsie	Eshie	Asie	Esie
Asonɔ	Asunɔ	Ꜫshono	Eshunu	Asunɔ	Sonu
Atswe	Aburuwa	Eburuwa	Eburuwa	Aburuwa	Gikue
Akponɔ	Akponɔ	Akponɔ	Akponɔ	Akponɔ	Sangɔ
Kudui	Kudu	Kudu	Kudu	Gudu	Gudu

 

Thus, from the numerical comparison done above and in relation to all the numerals of the Guan languages, we can conclude that all the Guan languages are related to each other and indeed they might have come from a particular proto-language with the exception of Likpe and Buems who have deviated from their original numerical system in the course of time and maintained remnants of numerical vocabularies linking them to their ancestral language.

There are micro tribes that speak Guan languages but barely identify themselves with the well known Guan tribes. We have learnt about the Wiase, Dwan, Nframa, Basa, Bantama and we shall now include the Bende, Kpilan and Dompo. The Dompo language is almost extinct. The people of Dwan, Bende, Wiase, Nframa, Bantama, Basa are seen as Ntsumburuns but then they hold the view that they are unique and not really Ntsumburuns. The Kpilan and Dompo are also seen as a mix of Gonja and Nawuri but they also claim independency.

- Reference:

    Tetteh, H. 2021. Know Ghana Better (Premier Edition). Accra: 2021