Mamprusi people

Mamprusis are an ethnic group in Northern Ghana and Togo. Estimates are that there are over 400,000 Mamprusis living in the Northern Regions of Ghana, and about 11,000 in Togo.[1] They speak Mampruli, a Gur language. In Ghana, the Mamprusis live mainly in Nalerigu, Gambaga, Walewale, and their surrounding towns and villages in the North East region. They also inhabit parts of the Upper East Region, principally in Bawku. And the Upper West Region, too.

The Mamprugu Kingdom was founded around the 13th century by the Great Naa Gbanwah/Gbewah[2] at Pusiga, a village 14 kilometres from Bawku, which is why Mamprusis revere Bawku as their ancestral home. Naa Gbanwaah’s tomb is in Pusiga.

The Kingdom spans most of the North East, Northern, Upper East and the Upper West Regions of Ghana, and into Burkina Faso. As a consequence, the King of Mossi, Moronaba, of Burkina Faso, to this day, symbolically, is enskinned by the Nayiri – the king of Mamprugu. Thus, establishing this kingdom as the pre-eminent of its kind. The only kingdom in present-day Ghana whose relevance and authority cuts across national boundaries on the weight of its humble supremacy.

The name of the kingdom is Mamprugu, the ethnicity is Mamprusi, and the language is Mampruli. Succession to a skin is hereditary. Only male direct descendants of Naa Gbanwaah are eligible.

The story of the Mamprusi Monarchy traces its origin to a great warrior named Tohazie the Red Hunter. Tohazie was called the Red Hunter by his people because he was fair in complexion. Tohazie's grandson Naa Gbanwaah settled in Pusiga and established the Mamprugu kingdom.

Mamprusi is the eldest of the Mõõre-Gurma ( Mole—Dagbamba) Ethnic group—Mamprusi, Dagomba, Nanumba, and Moshie

References
  1. Group, The Diagram (2013-11-26). Encyclopedia of African Peoples. Routledge. p. 590. ISBN 9781135963415.
  2. Claessen, H. J. M.; Skalník, Peter (1981). The Study of the State. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9789027933485.

Further reading
  • Plissart, Xavier (1983). "Mamprusi Proverbs". Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale Annales. 8 (111).
  • Drucker-Brown, Susan (1993). "Mamprusi Witchcraft, Subversion and Changing Gender Relations". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 63 (4): 531–549. doi:10.2307/1161005. JSTOR 1161005.
  • Drucker-Brown, Susan (December 1982). "Joking at Death: The Mamprusi Grandparent-Grandchild Joking Relationship". Man. 17 (4): 714–727. doi:10.2307/2802042. JSTOR 2802042.
  • Drucker-Brown, Susan (March 1992). "Horse, Dog, and Donkey: The Making of a Mamprusi King". Man. 21 (1): 71–90. doi:10.2307/2803595. JSTOR 2803595.


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