These divisions which have survived conflicts, European rule and even modern governance are Wasipe (Daboya), Kpembe, Bole, Tuluwe, Kong, Kadia and Kusawgu. The earliest recorded version of the Jakpa epic, in substantially its modern form, is to be found in an ancient Arabic chronicle.From 1567 to 1712, there was a power struggle between two groups of Mandinka, the Manwura and his clan,and the Lata Ngbanya whose leader was Lata (Lanta) Jakpa.Īs Ndewura Jakpa embarked on the conquest of the current vast Gonjaland and even beyond, he cultivated the practice of installing his sons in what has come to be known as divisions. By the end of his death the present Gonja Traditional Area was established fully as a centralized state under his sole leadership in 1675. It is believed that he fought his way across Gonja from west to east, and then, before he was killed in battle, he shared out the lands which were his by right of conquest, among his sons. The founder of Gonja was a man called Ndewura Jakpa. Gonja is spoken by about a third of the population in the Northern Region. They travelled through Segu in Southern Mali, and then approached the Bole area through La Cote d’Ivoire, the Sissala area, and Wa in modern Upper West Region.Īlthough Gonja is related to Guan languages in the south of Ghana, the Gonjas are mainly located in the Northern Region, southern Ghana, west central Ghana, the upper branches of the Volta Lake area, and from the Black Volta River to the White Volta area (both sides). According to Arabic manuscript and oral tradition, the Gonjas, who were originally Mandingo (also known as Mandinka), migrated from the country of Mande, that is, from the Mali Empire, many years before the Hejra Year 1000. The Gonjas had their history recorded by Arab Muslims and Islamic scholars who accompanied them to this part of the world. Also called ‘Ghanjawiyyu’ and ‘Ngbanye’ (the latter means ‘Brave Men’), the Gonjas derived their name from a corrupted Hausa phrase, ‘Kada Goro-Jaa’ (meaning land of Red Cola).
The Gonjas belong to the larger Guan ethnic group (also known as ‘Kwa’), with the oldest written historical records. Currently, their language is spoken by an estimated 300,000 people, almost all of whom are of the Gonja ethnic group of northern Ghana.Ghana`s President, John Dramani Mahama, is a Gonja. History has it that the Gonjas appeared in modern Ghana very early in the 16th Century.
0 kommentar(er)
