bono people
{{Short description|Ethnic group in Ghana and Ivory Coast}}
{{About|Akan people of West Africa|the kingdom |Bono state}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| image = Danseuse Abron.JPG
| caption = A Bono dancer from Ivory Coast
| group = Bono
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| languages = Bono Twi, English, French
| religions = Bono Ancestral worship and spirituality, Christianity
| related_groups = Fante, Akwamu, Other Akan
| population = ~2,800,000
| popplace = Bono region, Bono East region, Ahafo Region, Eastern Ivory Coast
}}
The Bono, also called the Brong and the Abron, are an Akan people of West Africa. Bonos are normally tagged Akan {{lang|abr|piesie}} or Akandifo of which Akan is a derivative name. Bono is the genesis and cradle of Akans.{{Cite book|last=Buah|first=F. K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2PjFQgAACAAJ|title=A History of Ghana|date=1998|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-65934-2|pages=9|language=en|chapter=2}} Bono is one of the largest ethnic group of Akan and are matrilineal people.{{Cite book |last=Akuamoa |first=Geoffrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gmqTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT20 |title=KWAME, THE LAST SLAVE FROM WEST AFRICA |date=2013-03-18 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=978-1-291-35746-2 |language=en}}{{Cite book |title=Transactions of the Gold Coast & Togoland Historical Society |collaboration=Gold Coast & Togoland Historical Society, Historical Society of Ghana |publisher=The Society |year=1974 |pages=218 |language=English}} The Bono people speak the Bono Twi.{{Cite journal |last=Akan(Twi-Fante) |title=Resources for self instructional learners of less commonly taught languages |url=https://wisc.pb.unizin.org/lctlresources/chapter/about-akan-twi/ |journal=UW Press Journals}}
In the late fifteenth century, the Bono people founded the Gyaaman kingdom as extension of Bono state in what is now Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.A Profile of Bono Kyempem (Essays on the Archaeology, History, Language and Politics of the Brong Peoples of Ghana), Edited with Introduction by Kwame Arhin. Senior Research Fellow, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon.Effah-Gyamfi, E. "Aspects of the Archaeology and Oral Traditions of the Bono State. Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana"(1974) 15(2):217-227.Muhammad, Akbar. The International Journal of African Historical Studies 10.2 (1977): 242-258
In the 12th century, the Bono kingdom became wealthy with the discovery of gold at the Twi river and Prabom across the Tain river. Bonos used the gold dust as a measure of currency in Bonoman and at the various market centres of Djenne, Timbuktu, and North Africa. In most cases, gold weights ({{Transliteration|tw|abramboo}}) were used to determine what quantity of gold should be exchanged for a commodity. Bono people were noted for brass casting, weaving of cloth (gagawuga, kyenkyen, and kente), pottery and so on. Around 1471, when the Portuguese arrived at the Gold Coast, Begho of Bonoman was one of the largest ancient cities in West Africa, with an estimated population 12,000.
Bono Manso, another historic city, played a noteworthy role in the Atlantic slave trade, and in contemporary times, diaspora Africans often visit to learn more about their history. Traditionally, Bono is the hub of Akan cultures, and many aspects of Akan culture originate from Bono, e.g. clans (abusua), ntoro, Akan drums (fontomfrom, atumpan), Akan nomenclature, umbrellas used for kings, adinkra symbols, fly whisk, ivory trumpets, head gears, swords of the nation. Bonos perform many Akan traditional dances such as Kete, Adowa, fontomfrom, and other dances.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ExJPAQAAMAAJ&q=Bafuo+Twi|title=The Akan of Ghana: Their Ancient Beliefs|date=1958|publisher=Faber & Faber|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Shillington|first=Kevin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ftz_gtO-pngC&q=divine+kingship+of+bono|title=Encyclopedia of African History: A - G.. 1|date=2005|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-57958-245-6|language=en}}{{Cite book|last1=Adandé|first1=Alexis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8MgD0G4G4D8C&q=Begho&pg=PA160|title=Museums & Urban Culture in West Africa|last2=Arinze|first2=Emmanuel|last3=Arinze|first3=E. N.|date=2002|publisher=West African Museums Programme|isbn=978-0-85255-275-9|language=en}} The Bono people are mostly located in central part of Ghana and northeastern Ivory Coast.
Etymology
Bono means "pioneer" or the "first born on the land". Among the Bonos, when a woman gave birth for the first time, it was referred to as her abonowoo.{{Cite book|last1=Arhin|first1=Kwame|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R9gJAQAAIAAJ|title=A Profile of Brong Kyempim: Essays on the Archaeology, History, Language and Politics of the Brong Peoples of Ghana|last2=Studies|first2=University of Ghana Institute of African|date=1979|publisher=Afram|pages=49|language=en|chapter=3}}
History
Oral traditions and archaeological evidence indicate that the Bono people were among the earliest Akan-speaking groups to establish a centralized state in the forest–savanna transition zone of present-day Ghana. Rather than migrating from the Ghana Empire as earlier theories proposed, more recent research supports an indigenous origin rooted in the region surrounding modern-day Techiman and Nkoranza.Effah-Gyamfi, E. “Aspects of the Archaeology and Oral Traditions of the Bono State.” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, vol. 15, no. 2, 1974, pp. 217–227. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41406570 JSTOR]
According to Bono oral tradition, the earliest ancestors emerged from a sacred cave known as Amowi, which remains a key spiritual site for the Bono people. From this origin point, they founded a town called Yefiri (meaning “we are coming out”), symbolizing their emergence into political and spiritual autonomy. Guided by ancestral deities and clan leadership, they eventually established Bono Manso, which became the capital of the Bono state. The city was organized into a confederation of clans, each responsible for different ritual, political, or military roles.Warren, Dennis M. “The Use and Misuse of Ethnohistorical Data in the Reconstruction of Techiman-Bono (Ghana) History.” Ethnohistory, vol. 23, no. 4, 1976, pp. 365–385. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/481652 JSTOR]
The Bono state expanded by incorporating surrounding settlements, many of which were named after local shrines or sacred objects (abosom). This territorial growth was achieved more through spiritual authority and social organization than by military conquest. Archaeological surveys at sites like Amowi and Bono Manso support these traditions with evidence of long-standing occupation, shrine activity, and craft production.Effah-Gyamfi, E. “Aspects of the Archaeology and Oral Traditions of the Bono State.” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, vol. 15, no. 2, 1974, pp. 217–227. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41406570 JSTOR]. Accessed 24 April 2025.
Culture and society
= Bono Conceptions of Bonoman (Bono State) =
In Bono political thought, the foundation of a state is closely tied to matrilineal inheritance, sacred authority, and the ancestral continuity represented by the queenmother (ɔhemaa). Within the traditional Akan political system, the queenmother plays a central role in both succession and state identity. She nominates the king (ɔhene) and ensures that the royal lineage (abusua) is maintained through the maternal line. This reflects the broader Akan understanding that the queenmother is both the political mother of the state and its ancestral link to the past.Warren, Dennis M. “Bono Royal Regalia.” African Arts, vol. 8, no. 2, 1975, pp. 16–21. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3334826 JSTOR]
Among the Bono, this structure is also expressed ritually through the veneration of ancestral stools, the practice of libation, and the maintenance of shrine houses, which serve as symbolic foundations of state legitimacy. The king and queenmother operate together as spiritual and administrative heads, representing the balance between ancestral authority and living governance.Effah-Gyamfi, E. “Aspects of the Archaeology and Traditions of the Bono State.” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, vol. 15, no. 2, 1974, pp. 217–227. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41406570 JSTOR]
The organization of society around seven or eight matrilineal clans—each with its own totems, taboos, and origin stories—continues to shape Bono political and spiritual life. These clans historically provided the structure for leadership selection, shrine maintenance, and social obligations, ensuring both continuity and diversity within the Bono state.
Sources
- {{cite journal |last=Anquandah |first=James |date=2013 |title=The People of Ghana: Their Origins and Cultures |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43855009 |journal=Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana |issue=15 |pages=1–25 |issn=0855-3246 |access-date=23 April 2025}}
- {{cite book |last=Arhin |first=Kwame |year=1979 |title=A Profile of Brong Kyempim: Essays on the Archaeology, History, Language and Politics of the Brong Peoples of Ghana |publisher=Institute of Development Studies and Partner Organisations |series=Monograph |url=https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/articles/monograph/A_profile_of_Brong_Kyempim_essays_on_the_archaeology_history_language_and_politics_of_the_Brong_peoples_of_Ghana/26477404?file=48250279 |access-date=24 April 2025}}
- {{cite book |last=Crossland |first=L. B. |year=1989 |title=Pottery from the Begho-B2 site, Ghana |series=African Occasional Papers |volume=4 |location=Calgary |publisher=University of Calgary Press |isbn=0-919813-84-4}}
- {{cite journal |last=Effah-Gyamfi |first=E. |year=1974 |title=Aspects of the Archaeology and Oral Traditions of the Bono State |journal=Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=217–227 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41406570 |access-date=24 April 2025}}
- {{cite journal |last=Effah-Gyamfi |first=E. |date=1974 |title=Aspects of the Archaeology and Traditions of the Bono State |journal=Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=217–227 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41406570 |access-date=23 April 2025}}
- {{cite journal |last=Effah-Gyamfi |first=Kwaku |year=1987 |title=Archaeology and the Study of Early African Towns: The West African Case, Especially Ghana |journal=West African Journal of Archaeology |volume=17 |pages=229–241 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25802031 |access-date=23 April 2025}}
- {{cite journal |last=Konadu |first=Kwasi |year=2022 |title=A Manden Myth in the Akan Forests of Gold |journal=African Economic History |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=64–86 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/873892 |access-date=23 April 2025}}
- {{cite book |last=Konadu |first=Kwasi |year=2010 |title=The Akan Diaspora in the Americas |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195390643 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195390643.001.0001 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195390643.001.0001 |access-date=23 April 2025}}
- {{cite book |last1=Konadu |first1=Kwasi |last2=Campbell |first2=Clifford C. |title=The Ghana Reader: History, Culture, Politics |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2016 |isbn=9780822359845 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv125jqp2 |access-date=24 April 2025}}
- {{cite journal |last=Posnansky |first=Merrick |year=2015 |title=Begho: Life and Times |journal=Journal of West African History |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=95–118 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.14321/jwestafrihist.1.2.0095 |access-date=23 April 2025}}
- {{cite journal |last=Warren |first=Dennis M. |year=1975 |title=Bono Royal Regalia |journal=African Arts |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=16–21 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3334826 |access-date=23 April 2025}}
- {{cite journal |last=Warren |first=Dennis M. |year=1976 |title=The Use and Misuse of Ethnohistorical Data in the Reconstruction of Techiman-Bono (Ghana) History |journal=Ethnohistory |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=365–385 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/481652 |access-date=23 April 2025}}
- {{cite book |last=Kumah |first=Daniel |year=2024 |chapter=Early Trade and Urbanization in Pre-Modern Ghana: Evidence from Begho ca 1000 to 1700 AD |editor1-last=Akurang-Parry |editor1-first=Kwabena O. |editor2-last=Biveridge |editor2-first=Fritz |title=History, Culture and Heritage of Ghana: Essays in Honour of Professor Robert Addo-Fening |location=Yaoundé |publisher=Langaa RPCIG |pages=165–200 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.19458598.9 |access-date=23 April 2025}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Akan topics}}
{{Akan states}}
{{Ethnic groups of Ghana}}
{{Ethnic groups in the Ivory Coast}}
{{Authority control}}