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27-447: The name Ŋlɔ (nlo) ( of Aŋlɔ or Anlo ) is said to derive from the Ewe term ŋlɔ or 'nlo' which means rolling up or folding into oneself. It could also be interpreted as shrunken or shriveled skin. Torgbui Atsu Wenya, the founder of Anlo state was reputed to have uttered the words “me nlo “ in Ewe in his reluctance to migrate further when prompted by his kinsmen to do so. Wenya had separated from

54-497: A council of priests to be sentenced to pay a large fine. Afa is the astral god of divination, also the younger brother of Yewe. Members do not get new names and keep their birth names. Performances are at the forefront of devotional activities for Afa. Members and non-members celebrate Afa together; however, the non-member must wear white clothing and can not dance next to a member unless at a funeral. If these rituals are not followed properly, non-members are fined. As elderly respect

81-469: A ruling has been made in a lower court. The Awoamefia is assisted by two councils in the appeals decisions and general matters. One is composed of the elders of each clan; the other consists of the three military chiefs. Historically the council of elders is more influential based on the Anlo belief that the power of the king is vested in the people. “Du menɔa fia me o. Fiae nɔa du me” (The people do not live with

108-483: A safe-haven to all but the most aggressive slave traders. The current political system stems from the necessity of military organization to deal with the conflicts in the 17th and 18th centuries. Upon arrival in the French Togoland , the Ewe people split into smaller subtribes or chiefdoms. Each was autonomous but acknowledged that they are all a single people. The Anlo is one of these tribes. The Anlo adopted

135-467: A single weekend, sometimes several weeks after death to allow for distant relatives to travel and allow for accommodation of employment or work. Anlo-Ewe funerals are the most likely to involve colorful performances of dance and drumming groups. Lively and spectacular performances if the deceased was an honorable and involved member of the community. Sometimes distant family members may commission performances months after death if they could not be present at

162-811: Is Israel ( Jacob ). In the first lines of the New Testament , the descent of Jesus Christ from King David is counted through the male lineage. Patrilineal or agnatic succession gives priority to or restricts inheritance of a throne or fief to male heirs descended from the original title holder through males only. Traditionally, agnatic succession is applied in determining the names and membership of European dynasties . The prevalent forms of dynastic succession in Europe, Asia and parts of Africa were male-preference primogeniture , agnatic primogeniture , or agnatic seniority until after World War II . The agnatic succession model, also known as Salic law , meant

189-445: Is in high regard in the Ewe society, funerals traditionally are extravagant events incorporating a multitude of events over a month's span: Funeral donations are a main focus of ceremonies due to the high cost of an Anlo funeral. Costs include the coffin, burial clothes, public dances, food, alcohol, and provision of accommodations for distant guests. In a more modernized and mobile society funeral ceremonies now usually take place over

216-556: Is located 100 km north of Lome . It is part of the Plateaux Region of which Atakpame is the chief town. More than a ritual feast, "Agbogbo-Za" is the biggest traditional celebration of the Ewe people. It marks the commemoration of the exodus of Ewe people in the 17th century. Etymology Ewe: Noin tsi- Noin remains/stays Or Noin yi tsie- Noin has gone to the land of the dead 3 Felix Kuadugah- Etymology of Nortsie Patrilineal Patrilineality , also known as

243-637: Is the head of the household or afe and can act without interference except from his father. There is a large respect for elders and as long as a father is around the son is expected to comply with any of his demands. Traditionally, the Anlo-Ewe have one Supreme God Mawuga Kitikata or just Mawu . Mawu is synonymous with the Christian Almighty God and is believed to be all powerful and everywhere at once. There are no shrines or devotional ceremonies because of this omnipresent belief and instead

270-481: Is the last stage of Ewe migrations around the 15th century. To protect his people from enemies and slave raiders, the chief built an imposing mud wall called " Agbogbo " 14,5 km whose remains are still visible in places. In the seventeenth century, following an internal crisis as a result of oppressive rule by Togbe Agorkoli I (Agor Akorli), the Ewe revolted and fled south , east and west to neighboring Ghana (now Volta Region ) and Benin. Those who remained founded

297-462: The Ghana Ewes. He ordered all elders to be killed. The King Agorkoli treated the people very badly. The city of Notsie was circumscribed by a large sacred wall which became a barrier to the Ewe devising escape. Upon consultation of the hidden elder, Tegli, the Ewe came up with an extravagant plan of escape. The people planned for the escape very well. For days the women of the group would moisten

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324-599: The Volta Region of Ghana, many of which are associated with the slave trade that affected the Ewe populations. The Avenor Ewe settled to the north of the Anlo and are now to be found in Akatsi South District and Akatsi North District . A northern migration was the result of frequent slave raids and spread the Ewe people throughout southern Togo , southern Benin to south-western Nigeria . The shallow waters and many islands of Bight of Benin provided

351-401: The male line , the spear side or agnatic kinship , is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, rights, names, or titles by persons related through male kin. This is sometimes distinguished from cognate kinship, through the mother's lineage, also called

378-451: The King. It is the King who lives with the people). If the King ruled out of favor of the people they had the right to replace him. The Anlo-Ewe are a patrilineal people. Members each belong to a clan in which they believe to have descended along the male line. In most of the larger settlements, all clans are represented, sometimes by more than one lineage. Lineages are defined as a branch of

405-669: The actual funeral. Nots%C3%A9 Notsé (also Notsie or Nuatja ) is a town in the Plateaux Region of Togo . It is the capital of Haho Prefecture and is situated 95 km north of the capital Lomé . The town was formed around 1600 by the Ewe people, after they were displaced westward by the expansion of the Yoruba . Founded by tribes from the Nile Valley and after a transition through Oyo ( Nigeria ), Ketou ( Benin ), Adja Tado ( Togo ) ,Dogbo and Notse. Notse

432-467: The clan in which the male and female members can trace relationships back to a common male ancestor. The lineage, in contrast to the clan, is exogamous. Each lineage has its own symbols, ancestral shrine, common property and a lineage head. The head is usually the oldest surviving member of the lineage. He has the final say in most all decisions and disputes and regulates all dealings with lineage interests including land dispersal. On top of secular activities,

459-686: The first child born to a monarch inherits the throne, regardless of the child's sex. The fact that human Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) is paternally inherited enables patrilines and agnatic kinships of men to be traced through genetic analysis. Y-chromosomal Adam (Y-MRCA) is the patrilineal most recent common ancestor from whom all Y-DNA in living men is descended. An identification of a very rare and previously unknown Y-chromosome variant in 2012 led researchers to estimate that Y-chromosomal Adam lived 338,000 years ago (237,000 to 581,000 years ago with 95% confidence ), judging from molecular clock and genetic marker studies. Before this discovery, estimates of

486-419: The lineage head is also the chief priest. He leads many of the ceremonies and serves as the link between the living and dead as all religious offerings are presented to him. The smallest unit within a lineage is a hut; this is either a wife and her unmarried children or the same with the husband as well. There is a practice of polygyny although a small percentage of men actually have more than one wife. The man

513-559: The military organisational methods of the Akwamu , including their wing system. The Anlo people were divided by geographical location to create three wings. The Lashibi, coming from the west, defended the left flank, the Adotri the center, and the Woe from the east, defended the right flank. All were under the rule of a loosely governing ‘central' authority, the king called Awoamefia. Historically,

540-482: The other groups at nearby Wheta for the seashore. It is thought they migrated to their present home from Notsie , Togo sometime in the later part of the seventeenth century. The move is said to be more of an escape than migration from a regime change in the city. Upon first arrival in Notsie, the current king, Adela Atogble, received them well, but after his death the successor, Togbe Agorkoli , ruled oppressively upon

567-423: The people practice religion through lower level divinities. These include Yewe, Afa, Eda, Nana, and Mami Wata . The first two are the most popular, each having a membership initiation process to worship. Yewe is the god of thunder and lightning. When members are initiated under Yewe, a Yewe name is given at a graduation ceremony. The person's old name now becomes taboo and if used, the speaker can be put in front of

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594-498: The power of the central authority is rarely invoked; only in times of war or in need of serious judicial counseling. The king is chosen from one of two royal clans either the Adzovia or Bate; selection does not follow the traditional monarchal rule of primogeniture. The clans rotate the designation of kings, keeping one single clan from maintaining power. The selection is made by the elders of the clan from several candidates presented by

621-467: The six original quarters (Alinou, Agbaladome (Agbanadome), Adime Ekli, Tegbe and Kpedome) which have district chiefs, notables of the chief Superior who is today Agokoli IV . Notse is also the pineapple capital. The name Notse is a distortion of the word ''NOIN'' the leader of the group OUPE, who says "we stay here" in the Ewe dialect. Nuatja is a distortion of the same name by the German colonizers. Notse

648-542: The spindle side or the distaff side. A patriline ("father line") is a person's father, and additional ancestors, as traced only through males. In the Bible , family and tribal membership appears to be transmitted through the father. For example, a person is considered to be a priest or Levite , if his father is a priest or Levite, and the members of all the Twelve Tribes are called Israelites because their father

675-523: The total exclusion of women as hereditary monarchs and restricted succession to thrones and inheritance of fiefs or land to men in parts of medieval and later Europe. This form of strict agnatic inheritance has been officially revoked in all extant European monarchies except the Principality of Liechtenstein . By the 21st century, most ongoing European monarchies had replaced their traditional agnatic succession with absolute primogeniture , meaning that

702-409: The various sections of the clan. The elected king holds a position of divinity living in seclusion, only dealing with the three senior chiefs in charge of the geographical regions. These three chiefs as well as the sub-chiefs and head-men in their respective areas have jurisdiction in investigation of crimes and to settle local disputes. The involved parties do have the right to appeal to the king after

729-616: The wall in one place during their daily clothes washing activities. When the wall was weak enough, the plan then culminated in the gathering of all the Ewe, Tegli drawing the “Sword of Liberation” summoning the gods, and piercing the wall proclaiming, “O Mawuga Kitikata, ʋuʋɔ na mi ne miadogo, azɔ adzo” (Oh great God Kitikata, open the door for us so that we walk through). When they were escaping they walked backwards and separated, so that their King, King Agorkoli, would not trace or find them. Most groups settled in villages in coastal regions of Togo, Benin, with some settling in south-eastern parts of

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