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The Krobo people are an ethnic group in Ghana. They are grouped as part of Ga-Adangbe ethnolinguistic group and they are also the largest group of the seven Dangme ethnic groups of Southeastern Ghana. The Krobo are a farming people who occupy Accra Plains, Akuapem Mountains and the Afram Basin. [1]
The Krobos (pronounced krorbors) are a few select people from the Eastern Region of Ghana. They are divided into the Manya and the Yilo. The exact date on which the Krobos divided themselves into Yilo and Manya remains a mystery. In earlier years Manya Krobo was referred by the Government of Ghana as Eastern Krobo, while the Yilo Krobo was referred as the Western Krobo. From that date to the present day, the Krobo have been administered as two separate states, named today as Manya and Yilo Krobo.
The two Krobo traditional areas were originally known as "Nɔwe" that is Mănyă, meaning "ones home", and Nyέwe (Yilɔ). The name Manya came from the word "Maonya", literally meaning "keep your mouth shut". This goes with the saying "nɔ bi nya me tee" – literally meaning "one does not need to talk about everything one sees". Yilo, on the other hand, comes from the expression "wa yilɔ", meaning "we don't eat that". Some oral traditions have it that, when the Yilo returned from Krobo Denkyera, they lost most of their indigenous Krobo customs; as a result of that, they were taken through series of acculturation rites to be accepted by society. This process involved orientation for meals that the Krobos tabooed. The Yilo continued to verify the acceptability of various foods they learnt to eat while they were with the Akan. The resident Krobo started calling them the derogatory term "Wa yilɔ", meaning "we told you we don't eat this".
The Krobos are the most numerous of the Ga-Adangme-speaking peoples. They are located in the mountains just inland from the coast and are the fourth largest ethnic group in the country. During the 19th century they were one of the small states of the Gold Coast in the formative stages of political and cultural development. After the middle of the 19th century they became economically and politically one of the most important groups in the country because of their dominant role in commercial production of export crops as well as beading.
The Dangme people travelled as one group, and it was not until their arrival in Ghana that they split into the seven Dangme groups that are known of today. The place of their split was renamed "Lɔlɔvɔ", an Ewe term meaning "Love is finished (ended)". The place is still in existence and is now known as the Tagologo Plains.
The seven Dangme groups are: Krobo, Ada, Prampram, Shai, Ningo, Osu-Doku, and Kpone. The Osudoku people climbed the Osudoku mountain, the Ada people went to the east coast, the Shai, Prampram and Kpone people travelled inland. The Ningo people also travelled southwards to the coast. After the split, the Krobo people pressed on towards the west until they saw a 1,108-feet-high mountain with a gorge (valley) dividing it into two unequal sections. The people believed this would be a good place to settle, as the climb to the top of the mountain would be difficult, meaning it would be a safe place for habitation and to repulse attacks from invading tribes and enemies. Two leading hunters – Aklo Muase (Aklo Natebi) and Madja – were sent by priests to ascertain the suitability of the mountain for settlement.
The report that came back confirmed that this was indeed a good place for habitation and the mountain later became known as "Klo yo" (Krobo Mountain). In fact the name "Krobo" is of Akan origin and is derived from the term "Kro-obo-so-Foɔ", meaning "Town of rock/mountain dwellers".
The Mountain became the cultural and ritual centre for the Krobo people. It was a town of stone houses, many stories with several rooms – some accounts state there were some houses with 20–30 rooms. In fact, missionaries who visited the mountain stated that the architecture was like nothing they had seen in Africa before. The Krobo developed their own watering system on the mountain to support their growing population. When the population grew beyond the mountain, the people started spending more time in the surrounding areas. In fact, through the Krobo Huza system of land acquisition the Krobo people managed to acquire large amounts of land in the surrounding areas in what Field referred to as the "Bloodless conquest". Krobo Mountain continued to be the centre for religious and cultural affairs until their eviction.
From the 17th century, the Krobo Mountain became a place of several attacks from invading tribes and enemies. However the Krobo people were always able to fight off the enemy and it was only through the introduction of Rockets and Rifle fire by the British that the Krobo were able to be defeated. [2]
Krobo Mountain was the spiritual and physical home of the Krobo people. It was the first settlement of the Krobo people after the split from the other Dangme Groups in Lɔlɔvɔ. The mountain was chosen because it was the ideal protection from the constant warfare at the time. In fact the Krobos won many wars by simply rolling boulders down the mountain – which would prevent the enemy from coming up and kill many of them in the process. As the population increased, many Krobos would work on farms in the areas surrounding the mountain. The Mountain, however, continued to be the centre of culture, where all important rituals took place. Girls undergoing the Dipo rite of passage would traditionally spend one–three years on the mountain going through the Dipo customs. [3] It was taboo for the Djemli (priests) to leave the mountain overnight. Moreover, as their ancestors were buried in family homes on the mountain, the mountain became the ancestral home not just spiritually but literally.
However, this proved a problem for the colonial Government as the people were very hard to monitor and therefore control from their mountain settlements. Many reports came back that the seclusion of the mountain allowed certain warrior cults to be practised and laws to be broken (e.g. only burying your dead in the cemetery) without repercussions. As a result, the mountain was viewed by the colonial government as a Fetish mountain and when Governor Griffiths had the opportunity to remove the Krobo from the mountain he did that with the Native Customs Ordinance of 1892. The Governor gave the people up to three days to vacate the mountain. Many Krobo people were living in the surrounding areas at the foot of the mountain, working on their farms, and, as was to be expected, for those at the foot of the mountain and further afield (some even a few days away), it was very hard to travel to the mountain, collect belongings and bring them down within the three-day limit. So people could only carry what they could and the rest was left on the mountain and later destroyed. The colonial government sent soldiers to destroy everything, from the houses and shrines to pots and even old trees. It was a sad moment for the Krobo people, and that is why to this day both the Manya and Yilo Krobos organise a pilgrimage to the Mountain every year to commemorate this day. This pilgrimage usually occurs during the Ngmayem and Kloyosikplem festivals.
The Dangme language, also Dangme or Adaŋgbi, is a Kwa language spoken in south-eastern Ghana by the Dangme People (Dangmeli). The Dangmeli are part of the larger Ga-Dangme ethnic group. Klogbi is a variant, spoken by the Kloli. Kropp Dakubu (1987) is the most thorough grammar of the language.
The Eastern Region is located in the Eastern part of Ghana and is one of the sixteen administrative regions of Ghana. Eastern region is bordered to the east by the Lake Volta, to the north by Bono East Region and Ashanti region, to the west by Ashanti region, to the south by Central region and Greater Accra Region. Akans are the dominant inhabitants and natives of Eastern region and Akan, Ewe, Krobo, Hausa and English are the main spoken languages. The capital town of Eastern Region is Koforidua.The Eastern region is the location of the Akosombo dam and the economy of the Eastern region is dominated by its high-capacity electricity generation. Eastern region covers an area of 19,323 square kilometres, which is about 8.1% of Ghana's total landform.
The Greater Accra Region has the smallest area of Ghana's 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres. This is 1.4 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the most populated region, with a population of 5,455,692 in 2021, accounting for 17.7 per cent of Ghana's total population.
The Ga-Dangbe, Ga-Dangme, Ga-Adangme or GaDangme are an ethnic group in Ghana, Togo and Benin. The Ga and Dangbe people are grouped respectively as part of the Ga–Dangme ethnolinguistic group. The Ga-Dangmes are one ethnic group that lives primarily in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Ethnic Ga family names (surnames) include Nikoi, Amon, Kotey, Kotei, Adei, Adjei, Kutorkor, Oblitey, Lartey, Nortey, Aryee, Obodai, Oboshi, Torgbor, Torshii and Lante. The following are names derived from the ethnic Dangme and common among the Ningos Nartey, Tetteh, Kwei, Kweinor, Kwetey, Narteh, Narh, Dugbatey, Teye, Martey, Addo, Siaw, Saki, Amanor, Djangba. 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.
Dangme West District is a former district that was located in Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Originally created as an ordinary district assembly in 1988, which was created from the former Dangme District Council. However on 28 June 2012, it was split off into two new districts: Shai-Osudoku District and Ningo-Prampram District. The district assembly was located in the eastern part of Greater Accra Region and had Dodowa as its capital town.
Yilo Krobo Municipal District is one of the thirty-three districts in Eastern Region, Ghana. Originally created as an ordinary district assembly in 1988 when it was known as Yilo Krobo District, which it was created from the former Kaoga District Council, until it was elevated to municipal district assembly status on 6 February 2012 to become Yilo Krobo Municipal District. The municipality is located in the eastern part of Eastern Region and has Somanya as its capital town.
In several Akan nations of Ghana, the Omanhene is the title of the supreme traditional ruler ('king') in a region or a larger town. The omanhene is the central figure and institution of the nation. Officially, he has no function in the current Ghanaian political setup, but, has enormous influence on the people that constitute it. Today 'Hene' can be found in titles of other rulers in Ghanaian nations. For example, the chief of the Dagomba in the north of Ghana is known as the 'Dagombahene'.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is a Ghanaian government body established in 1996 as part of the Health Sector Reform of Ghana. The Health Service is under the Ministry of Health. The Health service primarily administrates the health services provided by the government and in implementing government policies on healthcare. The Director-General of the Health service is Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye.
Old Ningo is a town in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
The Dipo Rites is arguably one of the most popular yet criticized puberty rite and practice in Ghana, yet one of the most attended event in the country, receiving huge patronage from tourists. The rite is performed by the people of Odumase Krobo in the Eastern region of Ghana. The rite is performed in the month of April every year. The rite is used to usher virgin girls into puberty or womanhood, and it signifies that a participating girl is of age to be married. Parents upon hearing announcement of the rites send their qualified girls to the chief priest. However these girls would have to go through rituals and tests to prove their chastity before they qualify to partake in the festival.
Krobo Odumase is a town and capital of Lower Manya Krobo Municipal District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School was formerly located here.
Shai Osudoku District is one of the twenty-nine districts in Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Dangme West District in 1988, which was created from the former Dangme District Council, until the southern part of the district was split off to create Ningo-Prampram District on 28 June 2012; thus the remaining part has been renamed as Shai-Osudoku District. The Shai Osudoku District Assembly is located in the eastern part of Greater Accra Region and has Dodowa as its capital town, which is about 39 km from the regional capital, Accra.
Ada West District is one of the twenty-nine districts in Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Dangme East District in 1988, which was created from the former Dangme District Council, until the western part of the district was split off to create Ada West District on 28 June 2012; thus the remaining part has been renamed as Ada East District. The district assembly is located in the eastern part of Greater Accra Region and has Sege as its capital town.
Johannes Zimmermann was a missionary, clergyman, translator, philologist and ethnolinguist of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society of Switzerland, who translated the entire Bible into the Ga language of the Ga-Dangme people of southeastern Ghana and wrote a Ga dictionary and grammar book. Mostly an oral language before the mid-nineteenth century, the Ga language assumed a written form as a result of his literary work. Zimmerman's work built upon the single introductory grammatical treatise written by the Euro-African Moravian missionary and educator, Christian Jacob Protten, in the Ga and Fante languages, and published a century earlier in Copenhagen, in 1764.
Ningo Prampram District is one of the twenty-nine districts in Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Dangme West District in 1988, which was created from the former Dangme District Council, until the southern part of the district was split off to create Ningo-Prampram District on 28 June 2012; thus the remaining part has been renamed as Shai-Osudoku District. The district assembly is located in the eastern part of Greater Accra Region and has Prampram as its capital town.
Kpone-Katamanso Municipal District is one of the twenty-nine districts in Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Tema Municipal District, which was created from the former Tema District Council, until the eastern portion of the district was split off to create Kpone-Katamanso District on 28 June 2012, which was established by Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2031; thus the remaining part has been retained as Tema Metropolitan District. However on 15 March 2018, it was later elevated to municipal district assembly status to become Kpone-Katamanso Municipal District, which was established by Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2271. The municipality is located in the central part of Greater Accra Region and has Kpone as its capital town.
The Ngmayem Festival is an annual harvest festival celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Manya Krobo in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The festival was established by Nene Azu Mate Kole in 1944 to replace the already existing festival called "Yeliyem", which literary means 'eating of yam'. It is usually celebrated in the month of October in Dodowa and also the Shai in the towns of Somanya and Odumase. The festival is celebrated for one week, mostly from the last two Sundays of the month of October.
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