HISTORY OF THE THREE NORTHERN REGIONS OF GHANA (NAA GBEWA STORY)
FOUNDER
Na Gbewa (also known as Nedega or Kulu Gbagha) is, traditionally, the founder of the Kingdom of Dagbon, in what is now northern Ghana. His sons and his daughters are credited with founding several states.
The Kingdom of Dagbon, in the homeland of the Dagomba people, was founded in the 15th century. Accounts of the kingdom's origins, rulers and wars of conquest are preserved in drum histories. These histories narrate the story of Tohazhie, the "Red Hunter",Lake Chad, with a small band of cavalry men into Zamfara, present-day Nigeria, before moving on to Mali. Tohazhie married the daughter of the king of Mali, Pag Wabga, and fathered a son, Kpogon-umbo.[5]
After serving briefly in Mali, Kpogonumbo and his followers came into conflict with the rising Songhay Empire in western Africa, and reprisal attacks from the Songhay forced Kpogonumbo and his followers southward. Kpogonumbo then seized power and ruled over Biun in Gurma. His son, Naa Gbewaa (or Bawa), left Biun with some of his followers to settle at Pusiga in the northeastern corner of Ghana, where he ruled until he became blind. Naa Gbewaa's son, Zirili, succeeded him, but succession disputes between three of Zirili's younger brothers–Sitogu, Tohagu and Mantabo–led to the kingdom's demise. Naa Gbewaa remains in the histories of the kingdoms of Dagbon and the kingdoms of the Mamprugu and Nanumba, as their first king, founding their ruling dynasties through these sons.[5]
Naa Gbewaa's son Sitogu settled briefly at the town of Gambaga before moving south to Namburugu, near Karaga, where he founded the Dagbon state. The king became known as Ya Naa, meaning "king of strength". As Sitobu moved south, he encountered groups of indigenous peoples. such as the Konkomba, Nafeba, Basare and Chamba, who did not have centralised political structures, except for the office of the tengdana or tindana–the earth priest, literally translated as "owner of the land". The tengdana presided over ritual ceremonies, and acted as a mediator between the people and the gods of the land.[5]
Sitobu's son, Naa Nyagsi (r. 1416-1432) succeeded him and embarked on a war of expansion, killing many of the tengdana and holding sway over the indigenous people. Naa Nyagsi established his capital at Yendi (Yendi Dabari), located in the area of Diyali, near Tamale, and developed a stable political organisation by installing his sons, brothers and uncles as rulers over the conquered people. The surviving tengdamba continued to function as earth priests, while some members of the Konkomba were assigned roles in the military.
18th century and Second Kingdom (1700–1888)
In about 1700, the capital was relocated from Yendi Dabari to a new city (also known as Yendi) in the east because of incessant wars with the Gonja people. A major confrontation at Daboya dealt a lot of damage to the Dagomba people. Naa Tutugri retaliated by defeating the Gonja near Yen Dabari, but his successor, Naa Luro, though victorious over the Gonja in a later battle, could not stand the sustained warfare and relocated the capital to Yendi. The Gonja followed eastward, but in 1713, Naa Zangina finally halted the Gonja attacks when he decisively defeated them and killed their chief, Kumpatia, at Sang near Yendi.[5]Naa Zangina not only is reputed to be the first Muslim ruler of the Dagbon, but is also credited with encouraging trade. With the relocation of the capital to Yendi and the return of peace, a Muslim community emerged at the Ya Naa's palace at Yendi. The Dyula, of Mande origin, led by Sabali-Yarla, and the Hausa Muslims, led by the Kamshe Naa, bolstered Islamic influence in the kingdom. Beginning with the Sabali-Yarna, and later the Kamshe Naa, these peoples became responsible for the Ya Naa's protective prayers. At the Ya Naa's palace, Muslim titles, a sign of the integration of Muslim elders into the political structure, included the Walgu Naa, who made sure that the Ya Naa had his portion to "Drink the Qur'an"; the Nayil Liman, the imam of the Ya Naa, and the Yidan Kambala, were also credited with the imamship.[5][6]
The extension of trade with the Dyula, and later with the Hausa, linked the Dagbon state with neighbouring kingdoms, like the Fezzan, Egypt, and the Bight of Benin. By 1788, Yendi was said to be bigger than Kumasi and Salaga.[6]
It was culturally closer to, and was the result of, other Sahelian kingdoms, especially to the Mossi Kingdoms, Mali Empire, Songhai Empire, and Hausa Bakwai, with which Dagbon were major trading partners for salt, kola nuts, and slaves.
Colonisation (1888–1957)
In 1888, Dagbon became part of a neutral zone, stretching from Yeji to Yendi, that was established to forestall conflict between the Germans and the British. The area was later parcelled between the two powers, and Yendi, where the Ya Naa
resided, came under German control, separating him from his people in
the west. In 1896, the Germans clashed with the Dagomba at the Battle of
Adigbo and destroyed Yendi. It was a massacre, as the 7,000-man, poorly
equipped Dagomba army merely rushed with their bows and arrows at the
100-man well-armed German army.[7] In 1899 the British and the Germans split Dagbon between German Togoland and the Gold Coast.[7]
Following World War I, eastern Dagbon became part of the British-administered mandated territories established by the League of Nations and reunited with the west, allowing the Ya Naa to resume control of his people.[6] The British implemented indirect rule, in which Dagomba chiefs administered local government. This policy perpetuated Dagomba dominance over the Konkomba. The British largely neglected the economic development of Dagbon. To pay the head tax the British imposed, Dagomba had to migrate to the southern Gold Coast to work in mines and on cocoa plantations.[7]
The Kingdom of Dagbon enjoyed distinct constitutional position before it became part of the Kingdom of Ashanti and British Togoland.[1][8]
Recent history
Today, the Ya Naa's court remains at Yendi. The kingdom is divided into territorial chiefdoms, categorised from divisional to village chieftaincies. Certain chieftaincies, such as Karaga, Savalugu and Mion, are reserved for the sons of the former Ya Naa, and their occupancy qualifies one to test for the Namship, or head chiefdom, at Yendi. Lesser chieftaincies are reserved for grandsons. Succession to the Nam has always rotated among the three royal houses, now reduced to two–the Andani and the Abudu.[6]Over the past century, the Dagomba have faced repeated succession disputes and conflict. Following the death of Ya-Na Mahama II in 1954, a succession dispute erupted into violence. The federal government sent troops to Yendi and intervened to decide the succession. Ethnic tension has also plagued northern Ghana. Violence flared between the Dagomba and their Konkomba subjects over land use and ownership in 1914, 1917, the 1940s and the 1980s. During the 1990s ethnic tension once again racked the region. Twelve people were killed in Tamale in 1994 when police fired on a group of Dagomba who had attacked some Konkomba.[7]
In April 2002, Ya Naa Yakubu Andani II, from the Andani house, was murdered together with forty of his elders by supporters of the Abudu house.[2][9][10] After eight years, on 10 April 2010, around thirty to forty people were arrested for the murder in Yendi and parts of Accra in preparation for prosecution.[6][11] As of January 2014 a successor has not been installed, and a regent (installed in 2006) has acted as sovereign of the kingdom until a new ruler is chosen. NA A GBEWA PALACE
YA NAA YAKUBU ANDANI
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