Origin of Tribes in Ghana: The Kwehu People

The Kwehu people speak a dialect of Akan language called Twi and live specifically in the mountainous Eastern Region of Ghana in the towns such as Abene, Abetifi, Pepease, Atibie, Nkwatia, Obo, Bepong, Tafo, Akwasiho, Obomeng, Twenedurase, Nteso, Mpraeso, Asakraka, Aduamoa, Pitiko, Sadan, Burukuwa, Nkantanane, Ahinasie and Donkorkrom. Macmillan and Kwamena Poh (1965) described the wonderful climate of their mountainous town, Abetifi as “… the Switzerland of West Africa, with nights as cool as May nights in Europe”. According to an associate professor at the Folklore Institute of Indiana University, the Kwehu are mountain-dwellers who are considered to be “wealthy …. very successful traders,.., who reside at the top of a mountain, a location which is somewhat removed from the other Akan groups” Majority of Kwehus migrated from Asante Kingdom from towns such as Pampasi, Kuntunasi, Juaso, etc because of wars, misunderstandings and other issues as reflected in the formation of various townships in Kwahu. Kwahus first settled on the mountains to seek for protection. This offered them opportunity to see their enemies whenever any group was about to attack them. They used to hide in the valleys and roll stones/ rocks from the hill top against their enemies. According to Asihene‟s (1996:22), “Kwehus migrated with Begoros and have certain historical and artistic traditions in common.” Roy Sieber in his analysis of wood carvings based on Oral Traditions of Begoro revealed that: “Kwehu Oral traditions record a series of migration which took place about 1700 AD to the scarp of Kwahu on the area south of Kumasi from Adanse during the infamous reign of Ntim Gyakari who was then the king of Denkyira (1695-99). Kwehu people whose slogan is Asase Aban, Yεnte Gyae (Protectors of the Land, We don`t quit) and also Oboכּ (Rock) or Oboכּba (Child of the Rock) are very famous for their industriousness and uncanny entrepreneurial skills. The Kwehu traditional area is located between longitudes 1° West and 0° 15 East and between latitudes 6°30 and 7°15 North. Kwehu is at the mid-point from Accra to Kumasi on the high way. Kwehu shares a boundary with Asante Akyem South on the Northern part; Atiwa District is also on the Southern part of Kwehu and Birim North which is also on the Western part. Kwehu lies within the Semi-Deciduous forest zone. The vegetation is dense in terms of tree coverage with most trees shedding off their leaves in the dry season. Trees of economic value like Odum, Wawa, Sepele, etc. are found in the forest. The forest is made of three layers namely the upper, middle and lower layers. A greater part of the natural vegetation has been altered due to man‟s activities on the land. The forest however, remains in their natural state in the five (5) reserve areas namely the Southern Scarp Forest, Oworobong South, Abisu, Northern Scarp West, Oworobong South, Northern scarp West and Oworobong North Forest reserves. Together, the reserves cover a total of 37, 070 hectares of land. The Afram, a tributary of the Volta, is the major river in the area. It forms Kwehu South district‟s northern border with the Afram Plains South District. Another significant river is the Pra which takes its source in the area. Apart from these, there are some other small rivers and streams. Kwehu people speak an Akan Twi language which is a Kwa language belonging to the larger Niger-Congo phylum. Their Twi is slight difference in their language as compared to Ashantes, Akwapims and Akyems. Kwehus are fond of using the syllabi ( La), (hunu) and the like. They are noted for ending their speech and pronouncing words ending with “La” sound. For instance, instead of “saa” the Kwahu ends it with Saala (that‟s it), yei ala (just this). This makes it distinctive or different from Akans, especially Obos who pronounce words in this way; on the Kwahu language. To be Continued… Sources : http://www.kwahutv.com/2016/09/brief-history-about-kwawu-people-of.html?m=1 and https://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2013/09/kwahu-people-ghanas-hardworking-and.html?m=1