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The peoples of Africa are often described in terms of their ethnic background or their languages.  There are several thousand ethnic groups in Africa, ranging in physical stature from the short Pygmies to the tall Maasai, each with its own cultural traditions.  Here are only a few of them.

Akan   Akuapem   Akye   Anyi   Aowin   Asante   Babanki   Baga   Bali   Bamana   Bamileke  Bamum   Bangubangu   Bangwa   Baule   Beembe   Bembe   Berber   Bidyogo   Bobo   Bushoong   Bwa   Chokwe   Dan   Diamande   Dogon   Eket   Fang   Fante   Fon   Frafra   Fulani   Hausa   Hemba   Holoholo   Ibibio   Idoma   Igbira   Igbo   Ijo   Kabre   Karagwe   Kassena   Katana   Kom   Kongo   Kota   Kuba   Kusu   Kwahu   Kwere   Laka   Lega   Lobi   Luba   Luchazi   Luluwa   Lunda   Luvale   Lwalwa  Maasai  Makonde   Mambila   Mangbetu   Manja   Mbole   Mende   Mitsogo   Mossi   Mumuye  Ngbaka   Nkanu   Nok   Nuna   Oron  Owo   Pende   Pokot   Punu   San   Senufo   Shambaa   Shona   Songo   Songye   Suku   Swahili   Tabwa   Tuareg   Urhobo  We  Wimiama   Wodaabe   Wolof   Woyo   Wum   Yaka   Yombe   Yoruba   Zaramo   Zulu

 

 

Please note:  Some of the peoples and associations presented here are so closely related that more than one topic heading may apply.  For example, The Akan people are given a page of their own, yet the Asante ( Ashanti ) are also an Akan people, as are the Akuapem.  So, a full search for the 'Akan' may involve looking at pages dedicated to sub-groups as well.  Some sub-group pages may contain only a link or two, but they are still part of a much larger picture.

You will find a similar relationship among some of other peoples listed here.  This is a case where a little advanced knowledge of the subject may be an advantage when using these pages. 


Akan __ "Akan is the name of a language spoken in many dialects by related groups of people living in the south-central forest zone and coastal areas of Ghana and in southeastern Ivory Coast. The Asante and Fante are probably the best known Akan groups of Ghana, and the Ivory Coast Akan groups include the Baule and Agni peoples." Some history and culture. - From ethnographica.com - http://www.ethnographica.com/pages/Akan8.php?project_id=8 

Akan Architecture Symbols __ "Akan architecture is not only elaborate in terms of function and building technology. It also presents, as a reflection of the people and their spirit of independence, a variety of forms and design principles that encode expressive messages which continue to astonish foreign observers." - illustrated - From G. F. Kojo Arthur and Robert Rowe - http://www.marshall.edu/akanart/akanadansie.html 

Akan Cultural Symbols Project Title Page __ About the Akan of Ghana and the Ivory Coast and their use of symbols. Sections cover architecture, metal casting, textiles and wood carving. - illustrated - http://www.marshall.edu/akanart/

 

Akan Ethnic Group __ "The Akan people occupy practically the whole of Ghana south and west of the Black Volta. Historical accounts suggest that Akan groups migrated from the north to occupy the forest and coastal areas of the south as early as the thirteenth century. Some of the Akan ended up in the eastern section of Côte d'Ivoire, where they created the Baule community." A good look at history, culture and more. - illustrated - from Atidekate Community Development Organization - http://www.atidekate.com/Ashanti/Akan.html 
 
Akan Golden Weights __ "The Akan Gold Weights can be seen as classic representations of the depth and dimensions of African material culture. The weights are symbols of conventionalized reflections, each weight signifying specific meanings." A brief look. - illustrated - From library.cornell.edu - http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/Writing_Systems/akan.html

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Akan Language Bibliography Page __ A bibliography - From Michigan State University - http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/Handbook/Akan-bib.htm 

Akan language in Ghana __ Map with the geographic distribution of Ghanaian languages. - illustrated - From University of Zurich - http://www.unizh.ch/spw/afrling/akandic/LMAPGH.HTM 

 

Akan Lineage Organization __ "The Akan are best known for their colorful kingdoms, which are located throughout the forest zones of southern Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. The tropical environment has supplied them with valuable resources for both commercial cocoa farming, a recent economic innovation, and gold mining, which in former times supported regal opulence and pageantry. The Ashanti empire, the largest and most powerful of the precolonial polities, owes its prominence to is location within the region's richest goldfields. The traditional kingdom remains an important national cultural and political force and is inseparably tied to the structures and functions of the matrilineal descent system which forms the foundation for the Akan social order." - From University of Manitoba - http://www.umanitoba.ca/anthropology/tutor/case_studies/akan/lineage.html
 
Akan People __ "Among the Akan-speaking peoples of southern Ghana and adjacent Côte d'Ivoire ritual pottery and figurative terracottas are used in connection with funeral practices that date at least to the 1600s. Much of what we know about ancient Akan customs comes to us in the form of oral histories which have survived for several hundred years." For now, this site has a brief overview of Akan history only. - From University of Iowa - http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Akan.html

 

Akan social Organization __ "The Akan have developed elaborate stratification systems based upon the maintenance of hereditary status tied to their political order that represents a form that anthropologists call a ranked society. The principle positions consist chiefly of titles arranged in a graded hierarchy from the king who rules over the entire state, to divisional chiefs heading subordinate regions, to town chiefs at the bottom of the administrative ladder. - From University of Manitoba - http://www.umanitoba.ca/anthropology/tutor/case_studies/akan/index.html

The Culture of Ghana - Akan History and Asanti People __ "Akan, a "pure" heritage, is one of the most ancient cultures in Africa. These African people live predominately in the countries of Ghana and Ivory Coast with many descendants now living in Europe and the USA." A good look. - illustrated - from globalvolunteers.org - http://www.globalvolunteers.org/1main/ghana/ghanaculture.htm

Ghanaian Akan Names __ "Akan is a language mostly spoken in southern Ghana. In Akan one of the names a person is given depends on his or her day of the week of birth, and the person's gender. Consequently there are only fourteen of these Akan names." Learn what your name would be. - from MIM - http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/carroll/17/akan_names.htm 
 

 

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