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Ghana The Guan
The Guan are believed to have begun to migrate from the Mossi
region of modern Burkina around A.D. 1000. Moving gradually through
the Volta valley in a southerly direction, they created settlements
along the Black Volta, throughout the Afram Plains, in the Volta
Gorge, and in the Akwapim Hills before moving farther south onto
the coastal plains. Some scholars postulate that the wide
distribution of the Guan suggests that they were the Neolithic
population of the region. Later migrations by other groups such as
the Akan, Ewe, and Ga-Adangbe into Guan-settled areas would then
have led to the development of Guan-speaking enclaves along the
Volta and within the coastal plains. The Guan have been heavily
influenced by their neighbors. The Efutu, a subgroup of the Guan,
for example, continue to speak Guan dialects, but have adopted
(with modifications) the Fante version of some Akan institutions
and the use of some Fante words in their rituals. As far as the
other Guan subgroups are concered, the Anum-Boso speak a local Ewe
dialect, whereas the Larteh and Kyerepong have customs similar to
Akwapim groups.
Constituting about a quarter of the Guan, the Gonja to the
north have also been influenced by other groups. The Gonja are
ruled by members of a dynasty, probably Mande in origin. The area
is peopled by a variety of groups, some of which do not speak Guan.
The ruling dynasty, however, does speak Guan, as do substantial
numbers of commoners. Although neither the rulers nor most of the
commoners are Muslims, a group of Muslims accompanied the Mande
invaders and have since occupied a special position as scribes and
traders.
The Gonja founded one of several northern kingdoms
(see The Precolonial Period
, ch. 1). In the eighteenth century, they, like
their neighbors, were defeated by the expanding Asante Empire.
Gonja became part of the British Northern Territories after the
fall of Asante. Even though long-distance commerce led to the
development of major markets, the Gonja continued to be subsistence
farmers and migrant workers.
Data as of November 1994
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