Temba (ethnic group)

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The Temba are an ethnic group that represents the main population group in the area of ​​the former Kingdom of Kotokoli . The Temba define themselves mainly with a linguistic background, because the term Temba actually only means “Tem speaker”. Ethnically speaking, however, the group of Tem speakers is a very heterogeneous entity. Their language Tem belongs to the Gur group of the Niger-Congo languages. The current number of Tem speakers is estimated at a total of 307,100, of whom 204,100 (1991) live in Togo , approx. 50,000 (2001) in the area of ​​the Republic of Benin and about 53,000 in the area of ​​today's Ghana .

The geographical distribution of the Temba

The territory of the former Kingdom of Kotokoli extended roughly in the middle of the former German colony of Togo with its core between the 8th and 9th parallel. In pre-colonial times, the territory bordered the Kingdom of Bassari ( Ntcham ) in the northwest and the Kingdom of Dahomey in the east . In the west, the course of the Mô , which cuts the western plain in front of the rocky plateau of Fazao, formed the border with the neighboring Nanumba (which belong to the Dagomba ). In the south one bordered on the Adele country and the country of the Kebu (Kebbu), which is located in the north of the former Togo district of Atakpamé . In the southwest it was bordered by Gonja, i. H. in the 18th and 19th centuries to Ashantic territory. The eastern border of the kingdom was formed by the Mono River . The present-day Ghanaian-Togolese border runs through the western territory of the former kingdom, and the present-day border between Benin and Togo runs through the east.

The founding story of Kotokoli

A large part of the Temba are immigrant gurgles . Their first group, which also represents the main clan of the Gurma immigrants, was the Mola clan, who came into the country via Kandé in the 17th century and settled for the first time in the western foothills of the Atakora Mountains, where the village of Tabalo was founded. According to tradition, the ancestors of the Mola clan came from the village of Dadeni in Gourma . However, the immigrants did not come to deserted areas. Both the Kabre and the Lama (Lamba) claim that their ancestors settled the entire area between the Kéran (Kerang) and Koumaga rivers in the north down to Blitta in the south and Djougou in the east long before the Mola . The Mola initially stayed in Tabalo, where they mixed more or less (primarily linguistically) with the autochthonous old population. But then it spread further into the Mô plains, some of which were abandoned by the Lama, and over the course of four generations the Mola clan set up from Tabalo in the fertile regions further south-east. It appears that the lama leaving the plains was related to the slave hunts of the Guang and Gonjas. Some of the Mola settled in Pangalam , but others moved north, where they settled in Dako , and still others settled in Bafilo (Kegbafilo). Those of Pangalam then also formed their own state confederation as an amalgamation of seven villages. a. Kouma (Komo), Tschavadé, Katambara (Katamboro), Brini and Yalivo (Djelifa, Jelifa) belonged. This diaspora of the Mola clan is still present today and is represented by eleven chiefs in Tschaudjo and nine chiefs in Bafilo.

But the Mola Gurmantschen weren't the only immigrants in the 17th century. Also groups of the Bariba , Dagomba, Ntcham (also known as Bassari), Ashanti , Kanre etc. a. poured into the country during this time and settled permanently in Kotokoli land, recognizing the Mola supremacy.

However, the majority of the population in the area of ​​the former Kotokoli are the indigenous (autochthonous) groups, which today make up about 60 - 65% of the total population. These groups, also known as the “paleonigritic indigenous population”, were summarized as so-called indigenous clans during the French colonial administration. The largest group among them are the Lama . The clans of the immigrant groups of the 17th century were classified as so-called aristocratic clans during the time of the French colonial administration, since it was their chiefs who exercised political rule. However, these noble clans only make up about 30-35% of the present-day population of this area.

Another five percent of the current population of the former state territory of Kotokoli represents a group of immigrants who did not immigrate until the 18th century or later. Most of them are craftsmen and traders who came primarily from the Mandé peoples, the Haussa or from the earlier Songhaï . They are grouped together as so-called Egom clans (also called Wangara clans or Malwamba clans). It was they who brought with them Islam, which is widespread among the Temba today. During the reign of the 8th Uro Eso , the Malwamba were allowed to build their own mosque (around 1830).

The ethnic grouping of Kotokolis

The main clans in Kotokoli are:

a) autochthonous indigenous clans (the palaeonigritic indigenous population):

  • Lamba (Lama), Koli, Uruma, Baro, Kozi, Kpande, Bôgom, Adole, Deware (?), Akima (?)

b) noble clans:

  • Mola (clan with origin in Gurma)
    Your main settlement area represents the upper chiefs of the Kotokoli country and it is they who traditionally the Uro Eso , d. H. represent the king of Kotokoli.
  • Sando, Nintye, Tyeda (or Tceda), Lambu and probably also Banya are clans with Bassari origins. (northern neighboring region). Some claim Nintye is Haussa. The Deware are also classified as Be-Tyambe (Bassari or Ntcham ).
  • Luwa, Guni, Dopu, Yao are clans with origins in the Bariba country, i. H. they came from the areas of the historical kingdom Nikki (with the same capital Nikki ( 9 ° 57 '  N , 3 ° 13'  O )) whose territory extending between the upper reaches of the Oueme (Weme) and the Niger. Sometimes the Kpenye (or Kpande) are also placed in this group.
  • The Tambwi or Tombwi are an Akan clan originating in Asante .
  • The Tyare and Wado are two clans originating in Kabre Land (northeastern neighboring region).
  • The Daro are a clan originating in Dagomba (western neighboring region).

c) Foreigner clans ( Egom , Wangara , Malwamba clans):

  • The Touré are a clan that originated on the banks of the Niger.
  • The Taraore are a clan originating in Borgu and Songhai.
  • The Fofana are a branch of the royal family of Fada N'Gurma (Mossi).
  • The Sise are a clan originating in Dagomba.
  • The Mende are a Haussa clan originating in Katsina .
  • The Bayor are an Akan clan (Baulé) originating in Mango (Ivory Coast) ( 8 ° 47 ′  N , 3 ° 11 ′  W ).

Foreign clans who immigrated at the end of the 19th / beginning of the 20th century:

  • The Watara are a weaver clan with origins in Fada N'Gurma (Mossi).
  • The Keïta (Kauta, Keyta) are a shoemaker clan with origins in Kabara ( 16 ° 43 ′  N , 2 ° 59 ′  W ) on the Niger near Timbuktu.

d) Temba clans outside of Kotokoli:

  • Sâdo in Bassari (North Togo)

The political structure of Kotokolis

The Kingdom of Kotokoli consists of six main chiefs, which are either subordinate to the chief chiefs of Tabalo or Tschaudjo. These chiefs, whose political leaders are all provided by the Mola clan, are (in descending order of priority in the hierarchy):

01. Tschaudjo (Tchaoudjo) (the chief chieftainship): The chief of Tschaudjo is the king of Kotokoli.
02. Adjeïde (daughter chiefs of Tschaudjo)
03. Fazao (daughter chiefs of Tschaudjo)
04. Daudé (the original chiefs of the Mola clan
0subordinate to Tabalo ) 5. Bafilo (Kegbafilo) (subordinate to Tabalo)
06. Agoulou (Agulu ) (Daughter chiefs of Tschaudjo)

The following chiefs have a rather subordinate role in the hierarchical level of the political administration of Kotokoli land:

07. Soudou

This is a more or less loose federation of several villages, the population of which mainly originates in Kabrè. The political authority of the Soudou chiefs is provided by the Tyade clan.

08. Koumondé

The political authority of the Koumondé chieftainship is provided by the Luwa clan. The Luwa have their origins in Bariba.

09. Aledjo-Kadara, (smaller daughter chiefs of Koumondé)
10. Kolina-Bo (a very heterogeneous composite chiefs of the mountain region, which is under the leadership of the Sâdo clan)
11. Kemini (a small chiefs of the Nintye clan)
12. Boulohou

This is the chieftainship of the Mô plain, whose inhabitants mainly belong to the Tyeda clan. The chief of Boulohou, who bears the title "Uro Banya", is considered a powerful magician.

13. Djerekpanga (Djerekpana Guerepanga) (Ashanti chiefs under the leadership of the Tambwi clan)

Kings of Kotokoli

The articles Kotokolien # list of rulers and Temba_ (ethnic group) # kings of Kotokoli overlap thematically. Help me to better differentiate or merge the articles (→  instructions ) . To do this, take part in the relevant redundancy discussion . Please remove this module only after the redundancy has been completely processed and do not forget to include the relevant entry on the redundancy discussion page{{ Done | 1 = ~~~~}}to mark. Herzi Pinki ( discussion ) 10:04, 31 Mar. 2020 (CEST)

Title: Uro or Uro Eso
(list incomplete; numbering according to tradition)

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Kandé in today's Togo at 9 ° 59 ′  N , 1 ° 2 ′  E
  2. ↑ Tabalo in today's Togo at 9 ° 13 '  N , 1 ° 0'  O
  3. ↑ east of the Oti , approximately between 10 ° and 10 ° 15 'N
  4. ↑ Blittaim present Togo at 8 ° 20 '  N , 1 ° 0'  O
  5. ↑ Djougou in today's Benin at 9 ° 42 ′  N , 1 ° 38 ′  E
  6. ↑ Pangalam in today Togo at 9 ° 2 '  N , 1 ° 9'  O
  7. ↑ Dako in today's Togo at 9 ° 19 ′  N , 1 ° 3 ′  E
  8. ↑ Bafilo or Kegbafilo in today Togo at 9 ° 21 '  N , 1 ° 14'  O
  9. ↑ French clans aborigènes
  10. ↑ French clans nobles
  11. ↑ Egoma = foreigner
  12. ↑ Malwamba = Muslims
  13. ↑ Uro Eso or just Uro is the title of the King of Kotokoli. Eso is the creator god.
  14. ↑ French: chefferie supérieur
  15. ↑ Tchaoudjo is now a prefecture of Togo with Sokodé at 8 ° 59 ′  N , 1 ° 8 ′  E as the administrative center.

literature

  • Pierre Alexandre, Pierre: Les Kotokoli et les Bassari , in: J.-C. Froelich, P. Alexandre, R. Cornevin (eds.), Les populations du Nord-Togo , Paris 1963
  • Alexandre, Pierre; Froelich, Jean-Claude: Histoire traditionnelle des Kotokoli et des Bi-Tchambi du Nord Togo , Paris, BIFAN 1960
  • Alexandre, Pierre: Organization politique des Kotokoli du Nord-Togo , Cahiers d'Études africaines Vol. 4 No. 14, Paris 1963, pp. 228-274
  • Barbier, Jean Claude: L'Histoire présente, exemple du royaume Kotokoli au Togo , Center d'étude d'Afrique noire (Talence), Travaux et documents No. 4, Université de Bordeaux I, 1983
  • Barbier, Jean Claude: Sokodé, ville multicentrée du Nord-Togo , ORSTOM, Paris 1995
  • Barber, Jean Claude; Klein, Bernhard: Sokodé, un siècle d'images , Editions HAHO Editions Karthala, Lomé / Paris 2001
  • Komá, Histoire du village de Komá , EDITEM, Sokodé 1991 (in Tem)

Web links