Tem, or Kotokoli (Cotocoli), is a

Gur language 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 ...

spoken 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 ...

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 ...

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

and

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 ...

. It is used by neighboring peoples. In Ghana the Kotokoli people come from the northern part of the

Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi- ...

, primarily Koue along the border with Togo. Besides their traditional home in Koue, the Tem/Kotokoli people are scattered all over Ghanaian communities. They mainly live in Zongo settlements in Nima-Mamobi, Madina, Dodowa, Asaman, Jamasi, Aboaso, Mamponteng, Ahwiaa, Offinso Asamankama, Kokoti, Fanteakwa, Kinyako, Fianko, Ahmasu, Kejebi, Hohoe, Nkwanta, Kpassa, Karachi, Dambai and a host of others. The Chieftain is called the Wuro and is the overlord of the Koue lands, the Kotokoli people, at home and in diaspora. He name is Wuro Dauda Cheddere Brenae I. Some notable Kotokoli tribesmen include the National Youth Chief of Kotokoli, Wuro Alhaj Ismael Bameiyin, Wuro Alhaj Salifu Haruna of Madina, Sheikh Salis Shaban, Sheikh Muhammad Qassim Kpakpaturu of Jamasi, Mallam Abdul Muhaimin of Kumasi, the assembly member of Tunsuom Electoral area at Jamasi, Basharu Zakaria Kooli, the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso East, Naser Toure Mahama, the former Black Stars goalkeeper Fatau Dauda, the former DCE of Fanteakwa district Abass Fuseini Sbaabe, Alhaj Great Anyass, and the list continues. Kotokolis are

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 ...

s, with a large base in Ahlul-Sunna wal Jamaa, Tijaniyya and Shia as well. Most

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s around Zongo communities have Tem Imams, Muazin/Ledeni, or tutors/Mallams, making them a notable tribe in the affairs of Islam.

Writing system

High tone is indicated by an acute accent: á é ɛ́ í ɩ́ ó ɔ́ ú ʊ́, no accent indicates low tone. Long vowels are indicated by doubling the letter: aa ee ɛɛ ii ɩɩ oo ɔɔ uu ʊʊ, both are accented if the tone is high: (áá etc.), only the first is accented if the tone is descending (áa), only the second is accented if the tone is ascending (aá).

References

Languages of Benin Languages of Togo Languages of Ghana Gurunsi languages {{gur-lang-stub