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Nangbani | |
|---|---|
  Nangbani Location in Togo | |
| Coordinates: 9°16′N0°48′E / 9.267°N 0.800°E | |
| Country |  Togo |
| Region | Kara Region |
| Prefecture | Bassar Prefecture |
| Time zone | UTC + 0 |
Nangbani is a village in the Bassar Prefecture in the Kara Region of north-western Togo. [1]
The name Nangbani means "in the field". It refers to the settlement established by the descendants of the Nataka-mani clan after they left the sacred forest of Dikr. The village, now a large settlement, was originally the fields of the Nataka, where the youngest son of the first king of the contemporary Grand Bassar settled with his descendants upon leaving Kibedipou, a neighborhood on the sacred Barba Bassar mountain.
Due to his renounced birthright, the elders of Nangbani- specifically the notables from the Tchadoumpou district- hold the symbolic role of enthroning the King of Bassar. Tchadoumpou has an established diaspora in Kabou Sara and Abiwa, [2] a district of Tchamba.
The elders of Nangbani historically welcomed other clans with N'tcham origin and descendants of the Moba-Gourma group, settling them according to traditional practices of fraternity and hospitality. They allocated land for hunting and farming, promoting coexistence and mutual understanding. Inter-clan and inter-tribal marriages are common, strengthening community ties. Maternal uncles and grandparents play a significant role in the upbringing of children, maintaining bonds of cousinhood. First names are traditionally given based on the mother's clan or, alternatively the father's clan or sometimes inspired by a proverb.
Archaeological excavations by American anthropologist Philippe de Barros, using carbon dating, indicate that the blast furnaces of Nangbani are over 2,400 years old. [3] [4] Iron metallurgy in the Bassar region is considered the second most important in Africa after Meroe. [4]
There are Bassa communities around the Adamaoua mountain range and Bassari communities around the Fouta-Djalon mountain range, which share distant origins in Meroé, precisely near Djebel Barkal.
The Nataka clan traces its ancestry to the Nubian pharaon Natakamani. The name Nataka-mani derives from the N'tcham term NafT-K-gmen, meaning "I still want/can do". Swahili, a widely spoken African language including in Sudan, preserves a similar meaning.
According to local tradition, the descendants of Tchayo, founder of Tchadoumpou (the first hamlet of Nangbani), invoke this ancestral connection during the worship of ancestors (Lintgmen, literally "says we can do"), which is understood as a deformation of NafT-K-gmen. Mythology states that Nataka-mani had four sons: the eldest, Tchabagbalombo, settled in Boulohou, the younger, Tchayo ("the little Tcha/Patriarch") settled in Tchadoumpou in Nangbani, the third, Atchol (later Itchol), settled in Akaradè and Aledjo, and Benjamin Gmatchodou settled in Kibedipou.
Historical pressures, such as invasions from surrounding regions, forced communities from Meroe and nearby areas to settle deeper within Africa to protect their lands. Subsequent waves of Western and Arab invasions, including colonization and trans-Saharan and transatlantic slavery, further shaped settlement patterns.
Traditionally, lands from Malfakassa to Bassar, including Baghan, Kagnigbara, Boulohou, Tassi, Agbamassomou, Tchatchakou et Kouida and the Tabalo region, were associated with the Tchawa/Tchida village, descendants of Tchadoumpou in Nangbani.
With the arrival of the Molas, portions of the Tabalo region were allocated to them for hunting, particularly near the Nyala River where N’Tchambiya groups such as the Nintchè tribe resided. Since 1970, some chiefs- mostly Molas or their allies- have formalized these claims, asserting ownership over the land. Traditionally, however, land belongs collectively to the village; individuals cannot legally appropriate or sell it. Within the village, the original land-owning families historically received small symbolic tributes, such as palm products or oil, a practice that continues in only a few villages today.
