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Total population | |
---|---|
417 000 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Togo | 339 000 |
Ghana | 60 000 |
Benin | 18 000 |
Languages | |
Tem, French | |
Religion | |
Islam (Sunni) |
The Tem (also known as the Temba or Kotokoliare) an ethnic group of West Africa, mainly living in Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Ghana. There is reported to be about 417,000 of the Tem, with 339,000 in Togo, 60,000 in Ghana and 18,000 in Benin. They speak the Tem language. [1]
The Tem are referred to by a number of terms: Chaucho, Cotocoli, Cotokol, Kiamba, Kotokoli, Kotokolis, Kotokol, Temba, Tems, Timn, Tim, and Timu. [2] Historically, they were also referred to as lions (gouni), named after the local area "Lion Forest" (Gounilawou).
Little is known about the history of the Tem before the colonisation period. The Tem originated as a coalition of Gurma chiefdoms who settled around Sokodé during the 17th or 18th century, founding the Tchaoudjo Kingdom. The Tem originated in Burkina Faso, settling along the White Volta before most migrated to Togo and Benin. Over several centuries, many people groups such as the Hausa, Yoruba, and Mandinka have integrated into the Tem people group.
The Tem converted to Islam during the 19th century via the influence of Chakosi merchants. [3] The majority of Tem profess Islam today, and have the highest percentage to do so in Togo [4] .
The Tem people are known for performing the famous "fire dance festival", during which performers dance with fire, and are able to bring fire in contact with their skin seemingly without being hurt. Some also appear to consume the flames. It is thought by some that resistance to fire was built up by the people group out of necessity - fires are common in such a dry climate, water is not plentiful, and their houses are often made of flammable materials.
The festival begins by preparing a bonfire to the sound of drums. Performers begin as children and practice during the festivals, which are held several times per year. At the end of the festival, the fire is put out with bare feet. [5]
The Tem language is a Gur language belonging to the Niger-Congo language family. The language is currently spoken by over 300,000. [6] French is also sometimes used.
Tem literature predominantly consists of tales passed down orally. Several compilations of these tales have been created, notably that of Silvano Galli, who, in the 2000s, compiled stories of approximately 100 authors and translated them into French and Italian. [7]
Tales are told at festive assemblies, attended by renowned storytellers such as Seybou Sebabe Giafago and Aboulaye Djibirila. Traditionally, once the story is over, the audience thanks the storyteller by saying in unison "You and the Sky", to which the storyteller responds "You and the Earth". [8] Tem literature is known across Togo, Benin, and even throughout West Africa.
Many tales feature characters of domestic or savage animals who go on various adventures reflecting human society. [6]
The Gur languages, also known as Central Gur or Mabia, belong to the Niger–Congo languages. They are spoken in the Sahelian and savanna regions of West Africa, namely: in most areas of Burkina Faso, and in south-central Mali, northeastern Ivory Coast, the northern halves of Ghana and Togo, northwestern Benin, and southwestern Niger. A few Gur languages are spoken in Nigeria. Additionally, a single Gur language, Baatonum, is spoken in Benin and in the extreme northwest of Nigeria. Three other single Gur languages, the Tusya, Vyemo and Tiefo languages, are spoken in Burkina Faso. Another unclassified Gur language, Miyobe, is spoken in Benin and Togo. In addition, Kulango, Loma and Lorhon, are spoken in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. Additionally, a few Mossi speakers are in Senegal, and speakers of the Dagaare language are also found in Cameroon. The Samu languages of Burkina Faso are Gur languages.
Sokodé is the second largest city in Togo, with a population of about 189,000. It is a commercial center for the surrounding agricultural areas, and seat of the Tchaoudjo Prefecture and Centrale Region. It is in the center of the country, 339 kilometres (211 mi) north of Lomé, between the Mo and Mono rivers. It is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious city, but is dominated by Islam. The ethnic majority are Kotokolis, who live alongside Muslims.
Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba is a cultural landscape designated in 2004 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the border between northern Togo and Benin. The area features traditional mud tower-houses which remain the preferred style of living. The traditional mud houses are known as a national symbol of Togo. Many of the mud houses have two floors and some of them have a flat roof.
Kabiye is an Eastern Gurunsi Gur language spoken primarily in northern Togo. Throughout the 20th century, there was extensive migration to the centre and south of Togo and also to Ghana and Benin. Kabiye speakers made up over 23% of the Togolese population in 1999.
Théophile Obenga is professor emeritus in the Africana Studies Center at San Francisco State University. He is a politically active proponent of Pan-Africanism. Obenga is an Egyptologist, linguist, and historian.
Kossi Efoui is a Togolese writer, playwright, and novelist.
The Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire is a literary prize presented every year by the ADELF, the Association of French Language Writers for a French original text from Sub-Saharan Africa. It was originally endowed with 2,000 french francs.
The Tammari people, also known as Batammariba, Tamberma, Somba, Otamari or Ottamari, are an Oti–Volta-speaking people of the Atakora Department of Benin where they are also known as Somba and neighboring areas of Togo, where they are officially known as Ta(m)berma. They are famous for their two-story fortified houses, known as Tata Somba, in which the ground floor houses livestock at night, internal alcoves are used for cooking, and the upper floor contains a rooftop courtyard that is used for drying grain, as well as containing sleeping quarters and granaries. These evolved by adding an enclosing roof to the clusters of huts, joined by a connecting wall that is typical of Gur-speaking areas of West Africa.
Foodo is a Guang language spoken in and around the town of Sèmèrè in the north of Benin. There are approximately 37,000 speakers. A large proportion of the population live beyond the homeland in other parts of Benin, as well as in neighboring Togo, Nigeria, and Ghana. There may be as many as 1,000 living in Ghana.
Tchumbuli is a Guang language spoken by 2,000 to 3,000 people in Benin.
Teigne was a Serer title for the monarchs of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Baol, now part of present-day Senegal. The Kingdoms of Baol and Cayor became intricately linked especially post 1549 when the Faal family came to into prominence, and it was the same family that eventually ruled both Kingdoms with the exception of few interruptions, notably Lat Joor Ngoneh Latir Jobe who was of a different patrilineage.
Roog or Rog is the Supreme God and creator of the Serer religion of the Senegambia region.
The University of Science and Technology of Togo is a private university in West Africa whose headquarters are in Lomé, the capital of Togo.
Ghislaine Nelly Huguette Sathoud is a Congolese feminist, primarily concerned with domestic violence.
Hounkpati B Christophe Capo is a Beninese linguist, and professor of linguistics at the University of Abomey-Calavi in the Republic of Benin.
Charles Bonnet is a Swiss archeologist, specialist of Ancient Nubia.
Mauritania-Turkey relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Turkey and Mauritania.
Isidore Ndaywel è Nziem, is a Congolese historian and linguist. He is the author of several essays, studies and other publications about the history of the Congo, including the overview work L'histoire générale du Congo: De l'héritage ancien à la République démocratique.
The minor presence of horses in Togo comes out of a few breedings and practices of equestrianism represented, at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, in the region of Mango and in the north of the current country. Horses were introduced at that time thanks to the Tem, who were the founders of a small kingdom that focused on the use of rifles and cavalry. The distribution of horses in the south is much more recent, as breeding was very limited due to the presence of the tsetse fly. After sporadic imports of horses by German and French colonial troops, a diplomatic gift from Niger in the 1980s allowed the creation of the first Togolese honorary cavalry regiment. The use of the horse-drawn vehicle has always been unknown in Togo.
Dominique Aguessy is a Beninese writer, poet, former sociology researcher, and trade union congress member.
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