It is perpetually confusing to a non indigene of this province to concur with the real facts about the north than it is to apprehend various ethnic groups down the Savanna belt.

The University of Development Studies has its campuses spread between Tamale, Navrongo and Wa. Google Scholar Among the Dagomba extended family groups have been identified which bring together individuals who are related by either maternal or paternal ties or a combination of both. Ashanti or Asanti are the largest subgroup of the Akan people. In some respects Northern peoples like the Dagomba and Gonja and a few others seem to accord more or less equal importance to relationships traced to maternal and paternal relatives. Ashanti means “because of war.” Because of the gold and the presence of Lake Volta, the Ashanti people built an empire in 1670. Rainfall is modest in many parts of the area and allows for the cultivation of cereal crops and legumes. The effective colonization of this portion of Ghana came after the British had established their hegemony over the rest of the country.

While there are tens of tribal groupings in this West African country, there are those that are influential both politically and economically, hence are well known. The Ashanti Kingdom controlled much of the present Ghana using Kumasi as the central base. It is also one of the few matrilineal societies in West Africa and Africa as a whole. The Northern chief, it will be observed, sits on a pile of skins unlike his southern counterpart.

Communities in Northern Ghana have known chieftaincy prior to the era of colonization. Political Conflict in Northern Ghana, 1991–1994’. In the recent past, the relationship between the Kusasi and other ethnic groups has hit rocky waters mainly because of a tag of war over the control of Bawku and paramountcy. Oral histories of the kingdom tell that it was founded by a warrior named Tuhazie, who arrived with his cavalry men. Migrant groups, usually the conquering minority have often adopted the local languages and absorbed the social features of the indigenes among whom they found themselves.

Ghana: Music of the Northern Tribes Yamgbalga, Archigive Azupio, A.B. Paper presented at the conference ’Ethnicity in Ghana’, Edinburgh University, 25–26 May. © Buzzghana.com 2018 - All Rights Reserved Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. Ghana is a country of 28.21 million people, of many native groups, such as:. Rattray who wrote a two volume account on that title describing the social institutions of the communities in this part of modern Ghana. This is a detailed survey of the socio-demographic patterns of the peoples who inhabit the Northern half of Ghana. Agriculture and agro-based industries still remain the main stay of the peoples of this zone. The rich culture of the Tallensi people of Northern Ghana has been a honey pot for anthropologists. According to scholars, it is believed that the Gaun were the Neolithic population of the region, a fact attributed to their wide distribution.This is also one of the tribes that make up the face of Ghana. Fentiman, Alicia (1995) ‘Tribes Without Rulers or Rulers Without Tribes? Copyright © 1994 - 2020 GhanaWeb. It is also one of the few matrilineal societies in West Africa and Africa as a whole. They are descendants of a trading nation (usually called Gonja) founded in the 16th century, and they now constitute a chiefdom in the Northern region of Ghana, in the area above the confluence of the Black and White Volta rivers. Historically, they are closely related to the Mossi people of present day Burkina Faso. This troubled relationship has also led ethnic distrust and sour relations between them and their neighbours. All rights reserved. Several European powers were in contention including the Germans, the French and the British. The region's capital is Tamale. These influences were not pervasive in the respective regions, however, nor were they wholly restricted to them. The region is made up of many tribes and peoples. The modern Ga-Adangbe people live in Osu, Krobo, Shai and La among other regions.