THE GONJA PEOPLE OF GHANA
The story of the Gonjas will make sense to one if one reads the entire story of the Guans in the book KNOW GHANA BETTER
From the Mande areas
in Eastern Senegal which is quite close to Mali, the broken-off clan from the
Shuoyi tribe decided to migrate. They migrated down to Ghana under the
leadership of their warlord Ndewura Sumaila Jakpa. Kagbanye is the traditional
name for this group of people and Kagbanye simply means “brave men”. The
Kagbanye speak Ngbanye and it has been influenced by the Mande ethnic languages
of ancient Senegal. Nevertheless, Mande languages do not make up the core
vocabulary of Ngbanye. The core vocabulary of Ngbanye is purely Guan whereas
few Mandingo, Senufo and Mande loan words have been borrowed into the language
to improve the vocabulary structure of Ngbanye.
It is also interesting to note that Senufo and Mande vocabulary have
also found their way into the other Northern Guan languages via Ngbanye. For
instance, all Northern Guan languages with the exception of Gitsode use the
following greetings: Ansuma, Antre, Anula. Also they all have a similar way of
saying thank you “Ansa” which is said as “Asankushung” in Gonja, Nsɛgɛsu in Nawuri
and Ansanakowa in Krachi.This then clears the fact that all Guans may have in
one way or the other had contact with the Mandes and not only the Gonjas.
The Kagbanye came to
Ghana through many territories and got to the present day Savannah Region and settled
down. As they moved, they got to a place where they deemed okay to settle so
they said in Guan as “ebɔɔlɛ” which means “it is okay.” Ebɔɔlɛ is still in the
speech of the Ga-Akan Guans and few of the Northern Guans notably Krachi but
the Gonjas and the other Northern-Guans have lost the word “ebɔɔlɛ” and have
replaced it with other loanwords from different languages. So then presently in
the Ngbanye language, “Ebɔɔlɛ” has been replaced with “akɔke.” Ebɔɔlɛ is the present day Bole.
They were one of the
early settlers in Ghana. They encountered some aboriginals of the land of which
were mainly descendants of the Sissaala group of languages. They included the
Safalba, Vagla, Mo and Templima. The Kagbanye engaged themselves in several
fight with these people and they managed to take control over them. Their
leader Sumaila Ndewura Jakpa led them to wage war against some of the local
groups they encountered and whenever they win the war, he made sure a relative
of his ruled the community he had conquered and examples would be the Safalba
and Tampolensi. It is believed that Ndewura Jakpa was told his future by a
soothsayer that he would be a great leader and rule over a vast kingdom. Thus,
this could have inspired his migration to the south with his subjects forcing
the other Guans (Efutu, Larteh etc.) to also migrate down south after he and
his subjects had left their previous home around Mali.
The local Akans and
other Guans who were left behind arrived after some years from Mali. They
settled beneath the Kagbanye plains. The Kagbanye had contact with the Mande
right from Senegal so they adopted much of Islamic culture and with time they
were islamised. At Gonja land, the Safalba, Tampolensi (Templima), Mo and Vagla
moved from the northern parts of the Ivory Coast and the Upper Volta to settle and
the Kagbanye also came to settle with them. There were initial tensions but
then with time they learnt to live together as one.
They established
their first capital at a place called Yagbon. Years after, Sumaila Ndewura
Jakpa and his men kept expanding their territory from Yagbon. He and his men got
to a place called Aburumase. At Aburumase, he got very ill and he
could no longer lead his people so they stopped there and they had to return
him so that his sickness could be treated but then Ndewura Jakpa could not make
it.
Ndewura was to be buried at
Bole but then they got to a place which they called “Gbipe” because the corpse
got foul and all they could do was to bury the corpse of Ndewura since they
could no longer carry it to Yagbon. In Ngbanye “Gbi” means “heavy” and “Pe”
means “home” or “village” thus, Gbipe could be easily understood as “home of
heaviness” and this has with time being corrupted to Buipe.
Because
Sumaila Ndewura Jakpa could not make it to Bole, it is culturally accepted
among the Gonjas that whenever a Yagbonwura is installed, he cannot see the
Bolewura face-to-face. Interestingly,
Bole was the first home of the Gonjas so the Bolewura is the one who installs
the Yagbonwura but, should a king be elected and enskinned by the Bolewura,
from that day onwards, he is not supposed to see the Bolewura face-to-face till
death.
After some years,
Mande merchants and Hausa merchants from Sokoto, presently in Nigeria started
trading in cola-nuts and other goods with the people of Northern Ghana. They
engaged in most of their trades with the Kagbanye mainly at the great Salaga
market. The bond between them became strong and they learnt each other’s
language. The Hausas of Sokoto called the Kagbanye “Kada goro jaa” which is to
say “the land of red cola”. “Kada goro jaa” was shortened overtime to Goroja
which gradually replaced their traditional name as it was popularly known.
After some few years, Goroja was corrupted to Gonja which has been widely used
till date.
Modern Gonja land is
located in the Savannah Region of Ghana. They are part of the Northern Guans
for the reason previously learnt. They are closely related to the Ntsumburun,
Krachi, Nawuri and Atsode.
Ndewura which is the
title of the then Gonja warlord was changed to Yagbonwura. This was because the
Gonja people established their first capital here in Ghana at Yagbon. Well,
after the death of Ndewura Jakpa, the prince to be crowned as Ndewura was to
have a very big household as a sign of his wealth. Thus, Yagbon translates as
“big household” and the title for the chief is Yagbonwura. It was in 1944 that
the Gonja capital was moved to Damongo.
Damongo is a
corruption of “di ma wo” meaning “slept out in the cold.” The story goes that after
the first leader of the Gonjas took control of present day Damongo, he and his
followers passed the night in the opened harsh weather condition of the
Savannah Region and it was no doubt extremely cold. The next day, the founder
and his followers left to claim another territory and as they moved, they got
thirsty. They had made the women among them to be in charge of the water. The
wife of Ndewura left his husband’s calabash for drinking and she later remember
she left that behind and when she was asked, she said she left it at the place
where they slept out in the cold and this is said as “nkpa ni anyi di ma wo na”
and the phrase “di ma wo” was the genesis of a great city of the Savannah
Region. "Di ma awo" has been corrupted overtime to Damongo as we now
know it and it is the capital of the Savannah Region.
The Gonja language is
also related to Akuapem (Kyripon and Larteh) although you can find words of
Mande origin as well as Hausa, Dagbanli, Arabic and other northern languages. Gonja
still relates the other Guan languages like Efutu, Nkonya etc. The vast Gonja
land hosts other tribes like the Kamara of Larabanga, Tampolensi (Templima) of
Daboya, Safalba and Vagla of Bamboi, Haŋa, Mo etc. It is at Daboya that salt is
mined to serve the people of Northern Ghana.
The Kagbanye or
Gonjas call their version of the Guan language Ngbanye. Ngbanye has dialects
and like every Guan language relates Akan languages as well. Ngbanye is a bit
different from the other Guan languages due to Gur loan words into their
language.
Safalba oral history
has it that they came from the Sissaala land through the Eastern Corner of
Ivory Coast and then Bole-Bamboi. It is continued that the Gonjas came to meet
them and Ndewura Jakpa tried to intimidate the Safalba but then they resisted
which is why they live in peace till date.
There is a story that
the Gonja land experienced immense water shortage for a very long time so when
visitors came to visit, all they could say is “Ntsu mi nta” meaning “there is
no water.” Most strangers thought of “there is no water” as a greeting and till
now, it is a way to tease the Gonjas.
Well, among the
Basari, few kilometres from Gonja land are the Bikaagbanjab who are descendants
of the Gonjas still known as Basaris. Basari oral history states that the
Gonjas tried waging war on them but then the Basari people managed to use
tactics to overcome their Gonja rivals. They may have taken slaves of some of
the Gonjas or a cordial agreement was reached leading to intermarriage among
the two distinct tribes. This brought about the Bikaagbanjab clan of the Basari.
The Gonjas occupy a
vast territory and some of the Communities they occupy include Damongo,
Fufulso, Kawampe, Gulumpe, Abodwesekrom, Kadelso, Buipe, Janokponto, Daboya,
Bole, Yapei, Salaga, Makango, Grushi Zongo, Busunu, Kojope, Alhassan Kura,
Potor, Mpaha, Mpohor, Aburumase etc.
The Gonjas are found
together with the Templima, Safalba, Vagla, Kamara, Hanga and Mo in the
Savannah Region of Ghana. Damongo is their regional capital and it is also the
paramouncy of the Yagbonwura. Larabanga is just about 20-30min drive from
Damongo and it is a major tourist site in the Savannah Region. It hosts the
Mole-National Park, the Larabanga Mosque and the Mystic Stone.
DABOYA:
Daboya is located
in the upper parts of the Savanna Region. It is home to both the Gonja and the
Templima (Tampulma). You can find more on the Templima people from topic “The Sissaala Group of Languages.” The
Gonjas and Templima at Daboya are bilingual Gonja and Templima speakers. The
chief of Daboya is called the Janbuluguwura. This is because Daboya was
initially known as Burugu. Burugu means “water source or a well” in Templima
and other Gur languages but then Gonja will convert the “r” to “l” as it is
witnessed in Kwa languages hence Janbuluguwura. “Wura” means “owner.”
Burugu as it was formerly known was a place that most of the Dagbons saw
as a good source of water. It was ruled by the daughter of Ndewura Jakpa who
had the title “Buruguwuche” (Burugu ɔkyi). The waters at Burugu would undergo salination to produce salt which was another factor
that attracted most of the Dagbons to the area. In a bid to seek help from her
father to drive the Dagbons away, she took some of the salt with her to confirm
her claims and to also present them as gift to her family. Thus, the saying
“Nda peye bɔ anyi-ya” which was shortened to Da-bɔ-ya hence Daboya.
The Gonja language is very much related to
its Northern Guan languages most especially Ntsumburun. It also relates Nawuri,
Gikyode and Krachi a lot. The Semere or Foodo language of Benin is also related
to Gonja likewise the Anyanga and Aligyo of Togo.
GONJAS ARE NEITHER MANDIGOES NOR MANDES?
There are write-ups, which the author of this book is well aware of,
that talk of the Gonjas being Mandigoes or Mande and that, they are not Guans.
The write-ups continued that they are Mandigoes who adopted the Guan language.
This could have originated from Arabic scholars who tried documenting the Gonja
history. So with respect to this issue, I would like to raise thought provoking
points.
1. If Gonjas are Mandigoes who defeated the
Guans and enslaved them, why would the master abandon his language and adopt that
of the slaves?
2. Why would the Gonja language be over 80% Guan
with less than 3% of its vocabulary being of Mande or Mandigo origin?
3. If Gonjas are indeed Mandes, why are there
the Senufos who are Ghanaians and of Mande origin, have no cultural or
linguistic link with the Gonjas?
4. Why do other Northern-Guan languages also
have few Mande loanwords which are also the same or cognates to those in Gonja?
5. Why would Gonjas trace their place of origin
to the same place other Guans and Akans migrated from?
6. Why do the Gonjas count as all Guan
languages? At least, remnants or deposits of Mande or the Mandigo language
should be encountered in how they count their numbers since in every language,
their true origin reflects in how they count.
Without much I say, Gonjas are Guans and not Mandigoes or Mandes as
supposed. Gonjas or Ngbanye know they are Guans and that is the most important
point to note here.
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