The Emergence Of Fante Clan Names And Chieftaincy Titles In Ahanta -A Development That Left Ahanta With Identity Crisis

In pre-colonial Africa, tribal or ethnic superiority is determined by strength and might. At the time, our forefathers waged wars with bows and arrows, clubs, stones and sticks. Superiority is determined strictly by might and strength through conquests. It was survival for the fittest, and only the strong and mighty ruled.

When the Europeans arrived, the only thing that changed was the weapon but the style remained the same. Instead of bows and arrows, stones, clubs and sticks, the Europeans brought guns and those tribes that laid hands on guns maintained tribal dominance. For some, the guns also brought liberation like the Ashantis who acquired guns to free themselve from the Denkyiras in 1701.

From 1500s, the Europeans kept Eagle eyes on the happenings on the coast and documented some key happenings, particulary tribal conflicts. The tribal conflicts had a serious impacts on trade and economic activities that ultimately affect the Europeans and their economic interests. Some of the conflicts were stoked and sponsored by the Europeans themselves for their selfish gains, and in all those years till now, no tribe or ethic group in present day Ghana proved superiority over Ahanta through wars and conquests. I mean none.

The Denkyiras came but were stopped in their tracks at the Pra river. They backtracked even at the time when Denkyira was considered an Akan superpower. The Ashanti negotiated entry when they were being pursued by the Akyems and reached the Pra river. There would be a stand-off between Ashanti forces, and Ahanta forces for three days. For all the years that Ashanti conquered lands and expanded it its territories, Ashanti never fired one gunshot at Ahanta.

As for our Fante sibblings, they were in the army of John Canoe, the legendary Ahanta chieftain who was terrorising the Dutch and English in the 1700s. He fought his way even to Elmina and made attempts to seize the Elmina Castle. He had earlier seized Fort Friedericksburg at Princess Town, and also launched attacks on Fort Metal Cross in Dixcove in his efforts to drive the Dutch and English away from Ahanta.

You may also want to read about Ahanta in the Komenda wars. It was for no reasons why the Europeans described Ahanta as martial, potent and popolous. It is because Ahanta was too confrontational with the neighbouring tribes along the coast. For Ahanta, war was the only means to defend and survive especially in a world where dominance is determined soley by might and strength.

I have always asked them what makes your tribe superior to Ahanta? I expect them to tell me about wars that they waged with Ahanta and conquered Ahanta but all that they say is that Fante is predominantly spoken in Sekondi-Takoradi. I would burst out to laugh. All the reasons you have for Fante to prove superiority over Ahanta is that Fante languge is widely spoken in Sekondi-Takoradi? Anyway!

There is no denial of Fante contributions to the growth and development of Sekondi-Takoradi. We can never under estimate their contributions to trade, commerce, art, education, construction and all facet of life in Sekondi-Takoradi.

Whereas the Fante influence in Sekondi-Takoradi is huge, Sekondi-Takoradi remained Ahanta in all aspects. The language may have have shifted but the identity sticks.

Today I am adressing the importation of Fante clan names and chieftaincy titles into Ahanta. Our Fante sibblings always ask, why do your clans have Fante names and some of your chiefs have Fante titles? Let me address them in this simple write-up by giving a background and a history to importation of clan names and some chieftaincy titles into Ahanta.

Ahantas for long had native names for their clans and these names still exist. Those of us who speak Ahanta still call those clans by their native names. Clan systems have been the bedrock of political and chieftaincy systems in Ahanta. At least Jean Barbot and Wilem Bosman wrote about Ahanta politcal systems through clan mobilisation. They even highlighted the roles of men and women in the Ahanta clan and political system.

Ahantas have had eight clans from time immemorial and these clans are Mbavile, Akilapa, Asengama, Akisiyie, Nweafo/Ntwowafo, Ebilatowo, Alongoba, and Bilafolo. These clans also had their totem or symbols. I am from the Mbavile clan, and my clan has a totem or symbol of a Parrot with a palm fruit in its mouth. Akilapas are represented with a Parrot with no palm fruit in its mouth. The Asengamas are represebted by a Crow, the Akisiyies by a Rat, the Nweafos/Ntwowafos by a Dog while Ebilatowos by a corn cob, a catfish or sometimes a hunter with an animal standing at his back. Alongobas are represented by a Buffalo and Bilafolos by a Leopard.

Whereas these clans maintain their native names in Ahanta as at today, they appear on official records as Anona, Ebiradze, Asona and and others, especially those clans which have similar symbols and totems like Fante clans. Those clans that do not have similar totems and symbols to Fante clans maintain their native names like Akisiyies and Ebilatowos.

I am a Mbavile man but every letter head about my clan carries the inscription Anona Royal Family and not Mbavile Royal Family as it ought have done. You know why? Fante came to Ahanta as a scribable language, and the next written and "important" language after English. From 1872 onward, Fante language became the second official language because they are the right hand men of the English. Gradually Fante clan names like Anona would replace Mbavile, Asengama would be replaced by Asona and so on and so forth on letter heads.

Ahanta was well organised and established society throughout times. It is not the Fantes who crossed the Pra to come and give Ahanta clans names. The Ahantas have long organised their societies based on clan systems and these clans had their native names until the importation of Fantes to Sekondi-Takoradi by the English and for the fact that Fante is a written language unlike Ahanta, it gained a colonial advantage over Ahanta in every aspect of interaction and communication with non-natives.

Having addressed that, let us come to chieftaincy titles as they appear now. Chieftaincy in general was heavily impacted by heavily colonialism. Until the arrival of Europeans, chieftaincy titles were not part of our chieftaincy nomenclature in the Gold Coast. Chieftaincy titles with their accompanied Roman Numerals were European concepts that were imported into our chieftaincy system.

Chieftaincy titles with Roman Numerals became profound and pronounced in the 1700s when the European started to strike alliances with tribes for their economic and political interests. The Europeans tried to make chieftaincy in the Gold Coast to model that of the Europeans by distinguishing one rural from the other with a Roman Numeral just as they do in Europe. Before then, no chief or king in the Gold Coast had titles with Roman Numerals like I, II, III etc sufixing them. If you like check names of your hometown chiefs before 1700s.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to step a foot in Ahanta and they called Ahanta chiefs "Bomboni" or "Bambani", whichever that suited their tonation and ascent at the time. According to the Portuguese, that is how the locals called their heads of villages but the correct pronounciation is actually "Bunlomgbinli", the right word for a chief or a king in the Ahanta language. The Portuguse wrote about a certain Bomboni Agu in the Ahanta country who was always raiding other towns with his men.

In Ahanta, it was only during the English administration of Ahanta that titles like Ohene and Omanhene started emerging in Ahanta chieftaincy records. Prior to the arrival of the English such titles never existed in Ahanta chieftaincy systems. In the case of Ahanta, we can look at the Butre Treaty that was signed between the chiefs of Ahanta and the Dutch in 1556. None of the Ahanta chiefs that signed the Butre Treaty had I, II, III, IV attached to their names. Their names were simply given as Cubiesang, Aloiny, Ampatee and Maniboy. Even the title Badu Bonso never existed at the time of signing the Butre Treaty in 1556. You know why? Our chiefs were ordinarily had their names preceded by Nana, Naana and some cases Nene.

For Ahanta, the effects of colonialism on chieftaincy was profound and pronounced. According to Welman (1930) the British would further go on to create paramountcies in Ahanta and make them independent of Busua just so that they would break the front of Ahanta resistance to British rule after the Dutch left Ahanta in 1872. Some families were forever going to lose their stools to families chosen and supported by the British and then Fante chieftaincy titles would appear particulary the areas that the British created the paramountcies.

Whereas it is admitted that family roots, names and history have shaped chietaincy through years of migration, acts of warefares, exploration and expedition, the English and their baby colonialits made all the efforts to change the identity of Ahanta through chieftaincy and so they left Ahanta with unending chieftaincy litigation that is erasing cultural identity of Sekondi-Takoradi.

Very recently, I would see some Ahanta chiefs with native titles adding names like Okatakyie, Odwenfo and others to their name just so that they appear equal in status to Fante and Ashanti chiefs.

A sad development that has put Ahanta into incurable identity crisis.

Ahanta Apemenyimheneba Kwofie III