The Anufo or Chakosi are an
Akan people
The Akan () people are a kwa languages, Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan speak languages within the Central Tano languages, Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano la ...
who live in the
Dapaong and
(Sansanné-)Mango areas of Togo, as well as in Ghana.
They trace their origin to a place called Anou or Ano on the
Komoé River in the
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
.
Thus, they refer to themselves ''Anoufou'' "people of Anu".
The exonym ''Chakosi'' has also been spelled 'Chokossi', 'Chakossi', 'Kyokosi', 'Kyokoshi', 'Tschokossi', and 'Tyokossi'.
They migrated to their present location in the late 18th century.
The Anufo had their own kingdom based in
Sansanné-Mango, prior to
German colonization of Togo.
As of 2003 they had a combined population of 137,600. They speak the
Anufo language, one of the
Akan languages.
Anufo have names like Amoin, Akisie (Agishie), Kouasi, Adjoah, Amlan (Amanna) Ouwe, Yao, Koffi, Afoueh, N'gisah after days of the week: Mueneh (Sunday), Cishe (Monday), Djore (Tuesday), Mana (Wednesday), Ohue (Thursday), Ya (Friday) and Fue (Saturday) Kwa.
History
Early 18th century
It appears that migrations in the early 18th century brought together
Mande horsemen and their malams from the North and Akan peoples from the East.
Together with the indigenous Ndenyi people, they were amalgamated into one people with a mixed language and culture.
Mid 18th century
In the mid 18th century, a small band of mercenaries left Ano to the
Upper West region,
Upper East region
The Upper East Region is located in the northern part of Ghana and it is the third smallest of the 16 administrative regions in Ghana. It occupies a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers, or 2.7% of the total land area of Ghana. The reg ...
,
Northern region, and
North East region The band consisted of Mande horsemen, Akan musket-toting foot soldiers, and some
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
scholar amulet-makers.
[Kirby 1986, p. 34] These groups provided the basis for a society divided into three classes or estates: Nobles, commoners and Muslims.
Eventually, the small army established a camp on the shores of the
Oti River where the town of
Mango in
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...
stands today. Since they were warriors and not farmers, they made their living by conducting raids into the farming communities around them. This provided them with wives and slaves as well as foodstuffs and livestock. Eventually the people settled in the surrounding farming communities, and assimilation took place.
References
Sources
* Kirby, J.P. (1986) God, Shrines and Problem-Solving among the Anufo of Northern Ghana. Collectanea Instituti Anthropos, No. 34, Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag, for Anthropos Institute, St. Augustin.
{{Authority control
Akan