Mamprusis are an ethnic group in northern

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and

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 ...

. Estimates are that there are about 200,000 Mamprusis living in the Northern Regions of Ghana as of 2013. They speak Mampruli, one of the

Gur languages 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 Ivor ...

. In Ghana, the Mamprusis live mainly in

Nalerigu Nalerigu is the largest town in the East Mamprusi Municipal. It is home to the overlord of the kingdom of Mampurugu (NaYiri). With the addition of 6 new regions in 2018, Nalerigu was declared the capital of the North East Region of Ghana. H ...

Gambaga Gambaga is the capital of the East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly in the North East Region of Ghana. Once a residence of Mamprusi-kings it is still the capital of East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly, a municipality in the North East Region of Ghan ...

Walewale Walewale is a town and the capital of Mamprusi West Municipal in the North East Region of Ghana. The West Mamprusi Municipal is one of the 261 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana, and forms part of the 6 MMDAs in t ...

, and their surrounding towns and villages in the North East Region. Their origin is in the Upper East Region, principally,

, and they also inhabit parts of the Upper West Region.

History

The Mamprugu Kingdom is one of the oldest Kingdoms in the territory that would afterwards be named The Gold Coast, and subsequently,

. The Mamprusi claim to eldership is based on

Cognatic Primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit all or most of their parent's estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relat ...

, where succession is through the oldest male child. However, Gbewaa did not practise this, as he designated a younger son Foɣu/Kufoɣu to rule over his eldest child Kachaɣu and his eldest son Zirile. 20181119RWH9978 NaYiri North East Region

20181119RWH9978 NaYiri North East Region

The Kingdom was founded around the 13th century by the Great Naa Gbanwah/Gbewah at Pusiga, a village 14 kilometres from

Bawku Bawku is a town and is the capital of the Bawku Municipal District, district in the Upper East Region, Upper East region of north Ghana, adjacent to the Burkina Faso–Ghana border, border with Burkina Faso. It is located approximately between ...

, which is why Mamprusis revere Pusiga as their ancestral home. Naa Gbanwaah's tomb is in Pusiga. The Kingdom spans most of the North East, Northern Region of Ghana, portions of Northern

, and into

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

. As a consequence, the King of Mossi, Moronaba, of Burkina Faso, to this day, symbolically, is ''enskinned'' by the Nayiri – the king of Mamprugu. Thus, establishing this kingdom as one of the preeminent in the region. The name of the kingdom is ''Mamprugu'', the ethnicity is ''Mamprusi'', and the language is ''Mampruli''. Succession to a skin is hereditary. Only male direct descendants of Naa Gbanwaah are eligible. The story of the Mamprusi monarchy traces its origin to a great warrior named Tohazie. Tohazie, means the Red Hunter. He was called the Red Hunter by his people because he was fair in complexion. Tohazie's grandson Naa Gbanwaah settled in Pusiga and established Mamprugu. Mamprusi is the eldest of the Mõõre-Gurma (Mole—Dagbamba) ethnic group: Mamprusi, Dagomba, Nanumba, and Moshie.

Rulers

Culture

The majority of the Mamprusi people are adherents of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. The Mamprusi began converting to Islam in the 17th century due to the influence of Dyula merchants. Traditional occupations of the Mamprusi include farming and raising livestock.

References

External links

Autobiography of Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia Launched

Feature Speaker - Mahamudu Bawumia

A Life in the Political History of Ghana
Ethnic groups in Ghana Ethnic groups in Togo {{Togo-stub Mamprusi.

History

Rulers

Culture

References

Further reading

External links