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Ga-Adangbe people

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The Ga-Dangbe, Ga-Dangme, Ga-Adangme or Ga-Adangbe are an ethnic group in Ghana, Togo and Benin. The Ga or Gan and Dangbe or Dangme people are grouped as part of the Ga–Dangme ethnolinguistic group.[1][2] The Ga-Dangmes are one ethnic group that lives primarily in the Greater Accra region of Ghana.

Ga-Dangbes
Gã-Daŋbɛs
Total population
c. 2 million[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
Greater Accra and Eastern Regions of Ghana; Togo; United Kingdom; Germany; Brazil; United States of America and Canada
Languages
Religion

Ethnic Ga family names (surnames) include Nikoi, Amon, Kotey, Kotei, Adei, Adjei, Kutorkor, Okantey, Oblitey, Lartey, Nortey, Aryee, Obodai, Oboshi, Torgbor, Torshii and Lante. The following are names derived from the ethnic Dangme and common among the Ningos Tettey, Tetteh, Teye, Narh, Narteh, Nartey, Kwei, Kweinor, Kwetey, Dugbatey, Martey, Addotey, Addo, Siaw, Saki, Amanor, Djangba, Kabu, Kabutey, Koranteng, Nortse, Horminor. These are aligned to the ethnic Ga as well: Lomo, Lomotey, Tetteh, Ankrah, Tetteyfio, Laryea, Ayitey, Okai, Bortey, Quaye, Quaynor, Ashong, Kotei, Sowah, Odoi, Ablor, Adjetey, Dodoo, Darku and Quartey. (Dawhenya royal family name: Darpoh)

Under their leader King Ayi Kushi (Cush) (1483–1519) they were led from the east in several states before reaching their destination in Accra. Oral traditions state the Ga came from the region of Lake Chad and reached their destination in the 16th century.[3] It is also believed that by the 17th century they traveled down the River Niger and crossed the Volta to reach present day Ghana.[4] This leader is the Moses of the Ga-Dangme people, with his seven puritan laws he gave them and that has formed the basis and philosophy of the state. [5]

The Ga people were organized into six independent towns (Accra (Ga Mashie), Osu, La, Teshie, Nungua, and Tema). Each town had a stool, which served as the central object of Ga ritual and war magic. Accra became the most prominent Ga-Dangme towns and is now the heartbeat and capital of Ghana.[6] The Ga people were originally farmers, but today fishing and trading in imported goods are the principal occupations. Trading is generally in the hands of women, and a husband has no control over his wife's money. Succession to most offices held by women and inheritance of women's property are by matrilineal descent. Inheritance of other property and succession to male-held public offices are by patrilineal descent. Men of the lineage live together in a men's compound, while women, even after marriage, live with their mothers and children in a women's compound. Each Ga town has a number of different cults and many gods, and there are a number of annual town festivals.[6]

The Dangme people occupy the coastal area of Ghana from Kpone to Ada, on the Volta River and South Atlantic Ocean along the Gulf of Guinea and inland along the Volta River. The Dangme People include the Ada, Kpone, Krobo, Ningo, Osudoku, Prampram, and Shai, all speaking Dangbe of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages.[7] The Dangme People have the largest population among the two related Ga-Dangme People. About 70% of the Greater Accra Regional Land is owned by the Dangmes located in Dangme East and Dangme West Districts of Ghana. Also, in the Eastern Region and Volta Region of Ghana, about 15% of lands belong to the Dangme People. These are mainly in the Manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo Districts of the Eastern Region. In the Agotime Area of Volta Region and the Dangme Area in the Southern part of Togo.

Dangme occupations are fishing, trading and farming which is based on the Huza system. This was an early and innovative form of capitalism where an elaborate system of property ownership was established and subsequently shared. In this system a huge tract of land is acquired by a group of people but represented by a prominent member of the group, the group were usually members of an extended family; the land is subdivided among them according to the amount each has paid, and each individual thereafter has complete control of his own section. Negotiations with the seller are carried out by an elected Huzatse (“father of the Huza”), who later acts as the Huza leader and representative. Millet was formerly the staple food, but more common crops now include cassava, yams, corn (maize), plantain, cocoa, and palm oil. Lineage members generally return to the traditional lineage home from the Huza farms several times a year to participate in the festivals of their lineage gods. There are also many annual festivals.[7]

The Ga-Dangme are organized into clans based on patrilineal descent; the clans are subdivided into localized patrilineages, the basic units of the Ga-Dangme historical, political, cultural tribal group.[7]

Language

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Linguistically, the Ga-Dangbe speak the Kwa languages Ga and Dangme and are a patrilineal people. Dangme is exclusively closer to the original Ga–Dangme languages than the Ga language.[5]

Arts and culture

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The Ga people celebrate the Homowo festival, which literally means "hooting at hunger". This festival originated several centuries ago. It is celebrated in remembrance of a great famine that hit the Ga people. It is mainly a food festival which celebrates the passing of that terrible period in the history of the Ga people. It takes place in August every year and is celebrated by all the Ga clans.

The Dangbe people from Ada celebrate the Asafotu festival, which is also called 'Asafotufiam', an annual warrior's festival celebrated by Ada people from the last Thursday of July to the first weekend of August. It commemorates the victories of the warriors in battle and is a memorial for those who fell on the battlefield. To re-enact these historic events, the warriors dress in traditional battle dress and stage a mock battle. This is also a time for male rites of passage, when young men are introduced to warfare. The festival also coincides with the harvest cycle, when these special customs and ceremonies are performed. These include purification ceremonies. The celebration reaches its climax with a durbar of chiefs, a colourful procession of the Chiefs in palanquins with their retinue. They are accompanied by traditional military groups called 'Asafo Companies' amidst drumming, singing and dancing through the streets and on the durbar grounds. At the durbar, greetings are exchanged between the chiefs, libations are poured and declarations of allegiance are made.

The Dangbe people from Odumase - Krobo also Celebrate the [Ngmayem] festival, An Annual Harvest festival to Celebrate the bounty harvest of their farmers is celebrated by the Krobo people throughout the last week (Seven days) of October with a visit to their famous Ancestral home, the Krobo Mountains [Kloyom] on the last Friday of October with a climax on the Saturday with a grand Durbar of Chiefs and People of the Krobo Traditional Area. the [Konor] who is the Paramount Chief sits in state as the overlord together with his sub-chiefs, Government officials, other traditional Authorities and Invited guests.

Music and sports

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The Ga-Dangbe music includes drumming and dancing. One of their traditional music and dance styles (albeit a fairly modern one) is kpanlogo, a modernized traditional dance and music form developed around 1960. Yacub Addy, Obo Addy, and Mustapha Tettey Addy are Ga drummers who have achieved international fame. Music of the Ga-Dangbe people also include [Klama], [Kpatsa] and the Dipo dance all of the Krobo people.

In addition to music, the Ga-Dangbe people are known for their long history and successes in the sport of boxing. The fishing community of Bukom on the outskirts of Accra, is considered as the mecca of boxing in Ghana and has produced several notable boxers. It is the home of many famous boxing "clubs" and gymnasiums. Notable fighters include former WBC champion, David Kotei aka DK Poison, Alfred Kotey, Joshua "The Hitter" Clottey, and former WBA Welterweight champion boxer Ike "Bazooka" Quartey, and former multi-weight class champion Azumah "Zoom Zoom" Nelson aka Prof.[8]

Rites of passage

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For the Shai and Krobo people, the Dipo is the formal rite of passage. Originally designed as a formal marriage training for mature women in their twenties,[9] Dipo has evolved into a pre-marital sexual purification[10] rite that involves teenage girls conducting traditional religious rituals and putting on dance performances for the public. Initiates are partially nude throughout much of the ritual. In addition, they are each adorned with custom-made glass beads, colorful loincloths, and various forms of woven headgear. According to researcher and author Priscilla Akua Boakye, "[Dipo] was a form of vocational training for young women in which they were taught generally how to assume their roles as responsible women." Despite the ritual being designated for older teenaged girls, it is not uncommon for young pre-adolescent and even toddler aged girls to take part.[9]

Funerals and "fantasy" coffins

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The Ga people are known for their funeral celebrations and processions. The Ga believe that when someone dies, they move to another life. Therefore, special coffins are often crafted by highly skilled carpenters since this tradition spread in the 1950s. The pioneers of these artistic coffins were master craftsmen, such as Ataa Oko (1919–2012) from La, and Seth Kane Kwei (1925–1992) from Teshie.

The coffins can be anything wanted by relatives of the deceased from a pencil to an elephant. Coffins are usually crafted to reflect an essence of the deceased in forms such as a character trait, an occupation, or a symbol of one's standing in the community.[11] For example, a taxicab driver is most likely to be buried in a coffin shaped as a car. Many families spend excessive amounts on coffins because they often feel that they have to pay their last respects to the deceased and being buried in a coffin of cultural, symbolic as well as expensive taste is seen as fitting. Prices of coffins can vary depending on what is being ordered. It is not unusual for a single coffin to cost $600. This is expensive for local families considering that it is not unusual to meet people with an income of only $50 a month. This means that funerals are often paid for by wealthier members of the family, if such a member exists, with smaller contributions coming from other working members of the family. This is needed as the coffin is only a portion of the total funeral cost that will be incurred.

Some foreigners are known to have been buried in Ga-styled coffins.[12]

 
Ataa Oko and his third wife in front of his boat coffin, c. 1960. p. 137, "The buried treasures of the Ga", 2008
 
Pompidou coffin by Kudjoe Affutu, 2010. Photo by Regula Tschumi

The use of these fantasy coffins is explained by the religious beliefs of the Ga people regarding their afterlife. They believe that death is not the end and that life continues in the next world in the same way it did on earth. Ancestors are also thought to be much more powerful than the living and able to influence their relatives who are still living (lucky as they are). This is why families do everything they can to ensure that a dead person is sympathetic towards them as early as possible. The social status of the deceased depends primarily on the size and the success of the burial service and of course the usage of an exclusive coffin. These coffins are only seen on the day of the burials when they are buried with the deceased. They often symbolise the dead people's professions, the purpose being to help them continue with their earthly profession in the afterlife. Certain shapes, such as a sword or chair coffin, represent royal or priestly insignia with a magical and religious function. Only people with the appropriate status are allowed to be buried in these types of coffins. Various creatures, such as lions, cockerels and crabs represent clan totems. Similarly, only the heads of the families concerned are permitted to be buried in coffins such as these. Many coffin shapes also evoke proverbs, which are interpreted in different ways by the Ga. Design coffins have been used since around the 1950s, especially in rural Ga groups with traditional beliefs, and have now become an integral part of Ga burial culture. Today, figural coffins are made in several workshops in Togo and Greater Accra. Popular coffinmakers are, for example, Cedi and Eric Adjetey Anang of Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop, Paa Joe, Daniel Mensah and Kudjoe Affutu. Most of the figural coffins are used for funerals, only a few are exported for international art exhibitions.

Notable Ga-Adangbe people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ameka, Felix K.; Kropp Dakubu, Mary Esther (2008). Aspect and Modality in Kwa Languages. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 4–. ISBN 978-90-272-0567-4.
  2. ^ "Atlas of the Human Journey". The Genographic Project. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Ga". Fact Monster. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Ga | people". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  5. ^ a b Ghana and Its people. Intercontinental Books.
  6. ^ a b Ga | people Archived 8 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Britannica.com. Retrieved on 19 December 2015.
  7. ^ a b c Adangme | people Archived 8 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Britannica.com. Retrieved on 19 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Jamestown: the heart of boxing in Ghana". YouTube. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Dipo - A Rite of Passage Among Krobos" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2012.
  10. ^ "Special Reports | Path to adulthood in the divided world". BBC News. 27 November 2006. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  11. ^ National Museum of Funeral History Archived 11 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 September 2007
  12. ^ Fair trade arts and crafts direct from African artisans Archived 14 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 September 2007

Further reading

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  • 2000. Parker, John, Making the Town. Ga State and Society in Early Colonial Accra, Portsmouth, Heinemann.
  • 2010. Tschumi, Regula. The Deathbed of a Living Man. A Coffin for the Centre Pompidou, in: Saâdane Afif (ed.), "Anthologie de l'humour noir", Paris: Editions Centre Pompidou, p. 56-61.
  • 2008. Tschumi, Regula. The Buried Treasures of the Ga: Coffin Art in Ghana. Benteli, Bern. ISBN 978-3-7165-1520-4
  • 2004. Tschumi, Regula. A Report on Paa Joe and the Proverbial Coffins of Teshie and Nungua, Ghana in: Africa e Mediterraneo, Nr. 47–48, S. 44–47.
  • 1991. External Influences on Ga Society and Culture, in: Institute of African Studies Research Review, NS Vol. 7, Nos. 1&2, pages 61–71.
  • 1940. Field, M. J., Social organization of the Ga people, The Crown Agents for the Colony, London.
  • 1969 (1937) Field 1969: M. Religion and Medicine of the Ga People, London, New York.
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