THE BONO & MO (DEGA) PEOPLE OF GHANA

 The Bono are Akans who occupy the Bono Region and the Bono-East Region of Ghana. They speak the Bono-Twi dialect. Bono-Twi is an Akan dialect which uses the Fante or Guan accent in speaking perhaps due to historical reasons. The name Bono is traced to a place at Nkoranza also in the Bono-East Region where they are believed to have sought shelter according to oral sources. The ancestors of Bonoman are said to have lived beneath a cave for some time for which the name Bono later came to refer to the whole of the Bono tribe. A hole is said as bono in the Bono dialect so then, Bonofo would mean “people who were living underground.”

They lived with the Ahantas and other Guans. One day, the Asantes attacked them, according to Sarkodie Sylvester of Nkoranza, but the Bono people would not give in easily. The Ahantas and other Guans migrated south to find a peaceful place to be at. Subsequently, Asantes made peace with the Bono people and made settlements among them. Bono is currently spoken in its purity at Wenchi and at Techiman.

Nkoranza is one of the oldest Bono communities and it is striving to preserve its Bono-Twi dialect. According to history, there were three old men that came to establish Nkoranza thus, in the Bono dialect: “Nkora” meaning “old men” and “nsa” meaning “three” is what has been said as Nkoranza over time.

Sunyani which is the capital of the Bono people is said to be a place which people used to butcher elephants hence the name of the place was “Sono dwa hi” which is the way it is said in the Bono dialect. Sunudwahi was then corrupted to Sunyani.

The Bono and the Ahafo people are found within the Ahafo Regions, Bono-East Regions and the Bono Region. The Bono-Ahafo territory is not only home to the Bonos and Ahafos but the Mo, Ligbi (Banda), Nafaana, Badu, Ntsumburun, Gonjas and Asantes.

 

THE STORY OF KINTAMPO (MO PEOPLE)

Bono-Manso was then the traditional capital of the Bono lands but later after the Asantes took control over the Bono territory, the capital was moved to Techiman until recently that Sunyani was made the administrative capital.

It then happened that some Bono people migrated upward and got to a place densed with trees known in the Bono dialect as Nkuntai. So the densed forest which is said as Nkuntaipo in the Bono dialect was later corrupted to Kintampo after new settlers moved in to settle with the Bono. They lived together in peace and in harmony till date.

The new immigrants that migrated to Bono-Nkutaipo were a group of dialectic Sissaala speakers from the Bole-Bamboi area who began trading with the Bono people and the trade led to establishment of relationships between them. These immigrants learnt to communicate fluently in the Bono dialect. They are known as Dega and they speak the Deg language. Dega simply means “multiplication” or “spreading fast” in the sense of giving birth.

The Dega territory spans from Kintampo, through to the Northern Region surrounded by the Gonjas and Nafaana even to New Longoro across the Black Volta, which is a lake that separates the Bono-East Region from the Northern Region.

The Dega territory or the Dega lands known by its natives as Dega Hare stretches to parts of the Ivory Coast in communities like Dwoboi, Wireke, Zagala where they are also called Lamolatina. It is said that as the Dega were multiplying, they attributed that to themselves and named their tribe Dega.

The Dega came to be known as Mo people among the Bono because it is said that they assisted the Nkoranza together with the other Bono people to fight the Asantes and they earned the hearts of the people after they helped them to win. They were congratulated as “Mmo!” meaning “congratulations” by the Bono which came to stay as their name.

Well, there is another part to the story, according to oral history of the Dega people, as to how they got the name Mo. The Dega people refer to the Black Volta which separates the Bono-Ahafo Regions from the Northern Region as Mo. And they also fish from the river and sell their catch at either the Wenchi or Techiman market. They claim the fishes are from “Mo” which is how they call the Black Volta triggering a new name for them and subsequently came to replace the name Dega.

The Mo or Dega are not only in Kintampo but have multiplied and spread to other villages in the Bono region and that include Wenchi, Sampa even across the Black Volta, where there are Mo settlements; and even in their ancestral home Bamboi (Gbaŋboi). The Mo people call God Krowi.

(More of the Mo could be read from “The Sissaala group of languages.” Refer to contents).

 

BONO TWI

The Bono people speak the Bono Twi dialect. Generally, Twi is the language of the Akans whereas but the Fantes call their variation of the Akan language as Fante. The Fantes are also Akans. Bono Twi is particularly interesting as it has borrowings from the Ndenye (Akan-related Guan languages) especially Ahanta.

Ahanta could have possibly infiltrated Bono when they were living together within the Bono-Manso areas. Bono-Manso is also much closer to the Gonja territories and the Gonjas are Guans not forgetting the close proximity to Ntsumburun land.

Bono Twi uses the Ahanta or Guan accent in speaking and thus, it appears quite varied from all other Twi dialects. The Ahanta borrowings vary from one Bono community to the other with Techiman and Nkoranza being the most conservative.

A few notable Ahanta borrowings include:

1.     Bɛ - they

2.     Bɛ lɛ - they said

3.     Mɛ ni adeɛ - which thing (mɛ is purely Guan meaning “what”. The Ahantas have borrowed a Fante word to replace mɛ in their language but then most Guan tribes still uses “mɛ” with others modifying “mɛ” to “bɛ” or “be.”

COMMON COURTESY IN BONO-TWI

KASA	MUAYꜪ		WORD	RESPONSE
Wo ho te sε?	Me ho yε!		How are you?	I am fine!
Apɔ mu te sɛ?	ɛyɛ/bɔkɔɔ!		How is it?	God’s grace!
Maakye! De ne nye ne!	Yaa!		Good morning!	Good morning!
Maaha! De ne awia!	Yaa!		Good afternoon!	Good afternoon!
Maadwo! De ne nyunu!	Yaa!		Good evening!	Good evening!
Medaase!	Aseda ne hɔ!		Thanks a lot!	Do not mention!
Me srε wo!			I beg you!
Me kyea wo!		Me gye wo so!	Greetings to you!	I respond/ok!
W’ayɛ adeɛ!/Mmo!			Well done!
Akwaaba!		Yaa enua/agya/ɛna!	Welcome !	Thank you!

 

COMMON COURTESY IN MO (DEG)

WOA	NSꜪꜪ	WORD	RESPONSE
Alɛhi bɔra dɔ?	Nbɔra kgegiri/Awer?	How are you?	I am fine
Ibɔra kgegiri a?	ɔɔ!	Are you fine?	Yes, I am fine!
Tsɔ/Itsɔro!	Tsɔ wa! Itsɔ wa!	Good morning!	Good morning!
Wii! Or Iwiiro!	Wii tela a!!	Good afternoon!	Good afternoon!
Jɔŋbɔga!	Moa tela a!	Good evening!	Good evening!
Ndaasi!/Jam	Jam too ni!	Thank you!	Do not mention!
Sunŋamɛ sunŋi!		I beg you!
Njaamo!		Welcome!