Gonja (also Ghanjawiyyu , endonym Ngbanya ) are an ethnic group that live in Ghana . The Gonja established a kingdom in northern Ghana of the same name, which was founded in 1675 by Sumaila Ndewura Jakpa .
7-435: Gonja may refer to: Gonja people Gonja language Ranjan Ramanayake See also [ edit ] East Gonja District North East Gonja District West Gonja District Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Gonja . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
14-583: A Guan people who have been influenced by Dagbon , Akan , Mande and Hausa people. With the fall of the Songhai Empire (c. 1600), the Mande Ngbanya clan moved south, crossing the Black Volta and founding a city at Yagbum . The Gonja kingdom was originally divided into sections overseen by male siblings of Sumaila Ndewura Jakpa including their children and grandchildren. Under
21-732: The leadership of Naba'a , the Ngbanya dynasty of Gonja was founded. The capital was established at Yagbum . The Ngbanya expanded rapidly, conquering several neighbors in the White Volta valley and beginning a profitable gold trade with the Akan states through nearby Begho . By 1675, the Gonja established a paramount chief , called the Yagbongwura , to control the kingdom. The Ngbanya dynasty has controlled this position from its founding to
28-423: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gonja&oldid=920952391 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Language and nationality disambiguation pages Gonja people The Gonja are
35-529: The market town of Salaga , sometimes called the " Timbuktu of the South." The Gonja language , properly called Ngbanya or Ngbanyito, is a Tano language within the Kwa languages family, closely related to Akan languages . Most Gonja are Muslims but still incorporate traditional practices and beliefs. The Gonja converted to Islam around the 18th century due to the influence of Muslim missionaries that settled in
42-404: The present day, with only two brief interregnums . The current Yagbongwura, Bikunuto Jewu Soale I , has held his position since 2023. Precolonial Gonja society was stratified into castes , with a ruling class, a Muslim trader class, an animist commoner class, and a slave class. Its economy depended largely on trade in slaves from Central Africa and kola nuts , particularly through
49-587: The region. The healing powers attributed to the Muslims and perceived strength of Islamic prayers aided in facilitating conversions. Trading connections also helped in converting the Gonja chiefs and locals to adopt the religion. Akan languages The Central Tano or Akan languages are languages of the Niger-Congo family (or perhaps the theorised Kwa languages ) spoken in Ghana and Ivory Coast by
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