Dagomba people

The Dagombas or Dagbamba are an ethnic group of Ghana,[2] and Togo.[3] They number more than 3.1 million people. The term Dagbamba is originally extended to refer to other related peoples who were unified by Naa Gbewaa including the Mamprusi and Nanumba. The Dagomba country is called Dagbon[4][5] and they speak Dagbanli language[6][7]. Dagbanli is the most spoken language of northern Ghana and second most widely spoken local language of Ghana. Dagbanli belongs to the Mabia (Mole-Dagbani) subgroup of the Gur languages, a large group of related languages in West Africa. The Dagomba practises both patrilineal and matrilineal systems of inheritance.[8]

The Dagomba are known for their hospitality, tolerance and accommodation of diverse cultures and belief systems. Their religion is the Dagbon Traditional Religion, but Islam has been around for nearly a millennium. In the late 1600s, King Zanjina, became the first ruler to practise Islam.[9] The reign of Zanjina ushered in an era of greater prosperity. Many learning centres were established and scholarship became an important part of tradition. In 1700, the university town of Moliyili was established,[10][11] but was later abandoned during European colonization. The Dagomba resisted European Colonization even after Germany burnt down and occupied its capital, Yendi,[12][13] located in Eastern Dagbon (Naya).

The Dagomba are one of few African people who reserve royal titles for women. Dagomba women rule, ascend to royal positions with male subjects, and own regal lands.[14][15][16][17] The impact of its women is prominent as it has given birth to Ghana's first female minister,[18][19] and Africa's first female cabinet minister.[20][21] Historically, its noble daughter, Yennenga, is regarded as the "mother" of the Mossi kingdoms,[22][23][24] a people who constitute nearly half of the nation of Burkina Faso. The Gundo Naa is the head of all female chiefs, and the Zosimli Naa enhances collaboration between cities of Dagbon and sister cities.[25][26]

The Dagombas established several schools prior to European arrivals in Africa. A later but more known institution is the university town of Moliyili, established in 1700.[10][11] Moliyili had a hierarchical scholastic system similar to what is found in modern universities. The Dagomba have a writing system,[27] the Dagbani script, which uses a modified Arabic alphabet but Dagbani syntax.[11] The archival manuscripts have been lost, but many transferred to Denmark. After joining Gold Coast as a protectorate (not colony), the Dagombas adopted the Greek and latin alphabets.[28][29]

Women are held in high regard, and children fear the displeasure and wrath of the mother. Brothers protect the dignity of sisters at all cost. The Dagombas are one of the few peoples in Africa to have female chiefs who possess regal lands and rule over male subjects.[30][31] Closest family bonds are termed "Mabihili". Both males and females in such a close family bond refer to each other as Mabia (mother's child), signifying the importance of the mother. Motherland is termed Mayili and fatherland is termed Bayili. There is no English equivalent of Mabihili.

In Dagomba society, there are several gods (singular: wuni, plural: wuna).[32] The chief (Naa) of all these gods is Naawuni.[33][34] Each city has a shrine (buɣli). For example, the shrine of the People of Tolon is Jaagbo,[35][36] and that of Nyankpala is Wonoyili. There are many soothsayers (baɣa) whom people consult for prophesies and solutions to their problems.[37] The inheritance of many soothsaying is through a maternal brother.

Many Christian evangelical groups have launched failed campaigns to convert the Dagomba.[38][39] However, the Dagomba continue practising its traditional religion and Islam. The arrival of Islam to the Dagomba brought prosperity,[40][41] whiles, Christianity was brought by Europeans, who burnt their cities and displaced its people.[42][43] Today, the Dagomba have provided free lands to many Christian missionaries to undertake their activities. While Islamic schools do not mandate students to worship or visit mosques, christian schools makes worship compulsory for all students, even for members of the Dagbon Traditional Religion and Islam.

The Dagombas celebrate the oldest festivals in Ghana, including the Fire Festival, which existed prior to the formation of the Kingdom of Dagbon. Other festivals include the Damba Festival, Guinea Fowl (Kpini Chuɣu) Festival and Yam Festival (Nyuli Dibu), Konyuri Chuɣu (Eid Al-Fitr), Chimsi Chuɣu (Eid AL-Adha).[37] Other minor localized festivals that are celebrated includde the Market Festival (Daa Chuɣu) by the people of Tolon.

The Dagomba founded the Kingdom of Dagbon.[44] They are historically related to the Mossi people of Burkina Faso. The Mossi Kingdoms were founded by Yennenga, a daughter of Naa Gbewaa. The Mohi/Mossi have their homeland in central Burkina Faso. Aside the Mossi, the Dagombas are the founders of the Bouna state[45] of the Ivory Coast, and the Dagaaba states of Upper West Region of Ghana. The homeland of the Dagomba, Dagbon, covers about 20,000 km² in area.

Naa Gbewaa is the founder of the Dagbon Kingdom. Earlier Dagombas prior to Naa Gbewaa lived in decentralized states. Gbewaa, and his descendants, centralized the kingdom. The decentralized states were headed by the Tindaamba. Today, the Tindaamba still preserve the ancient Dagbon traditions that have been passed through the ages, leading traditional religious acts and solving problems of their constituents. The Tindaamba are not appointed by the Yaa Naa, they are chosen by an oracle. Inheritance is both patrilineal and matrilineal. Royalty in Dagbon is complex as it has evolved through the centuries. Dagomba are one of the ethnic groups with a sophisticated oral tradition woven around drums and other musical instruments. Thus, Dagbon history has been passed down meticulously via oral tradition, with drummers as professional griots known as Lunsi.[46] According to oral tradition, the political history of Dagbon has its origin in the life story of a legend called Tohazie (translated as "red hunter").[47]

Dagombas practise both Islam and the Dagbon Traditional Religion. Islam was brought to the region by Soninke (known as Wangara by Ghanaians) traders between the 12th and 15th centuries. Since the time of Naa Zanjina, Islam has been the state religion and Islam seems to be growing rapidly ever since.[48] The reformist activities of Afa Ajura in the middle of the twentieth century caused entire communities to embrace the Islamic religion en masse. Inheritance in the Dagomba people is largely patrilineal, however, inheritance of certain Tindaamba is matrilineal. There are also female rulers with male subordinates, such as the Gundo Naa and the Kpatu Naa. The Gundo Naa has vast land and head all female royals of Dagbon. Important festivals include the Damba, Bugum (fire festival) and the Islamic Eid festivals. The largest settlement of the Dagomba is Tamale, Ghana's third populous and the Northern Region's capital.

The Mossi and Dagomba states are among the great West African medieval empires. Beginning in the 12th century, they eventually ruled the lands of the entire northern Volta basin, which today includes all of northern Ghana and Burkina Faso. During their second northern expansion, the Mossi invasion reached eastern Maasina and Lake Débo c. 1400, Benka in c. 1433 and Walata in 1477-83 (these empires were in present-day Mali). According to Illiasu (1971) in his work The Origins of the Mossi-Dagomba states, the second period of the Mossi-Dagomba success came to an end with the restoration of Imperial Songhai power towards the close of the 15th century. Although the Mossi-Dagomba states have the same grandfather (Naa Gbewa), the Dagomba are traditionally regarded as "senior" to the Mossi states of Ouagadougou, Yatenga and Fada N'Gourma.