Kingdom of Gonja

Origins

Gonja tradition credits its foundation to Ndewura Jakpa, leader of Mande cavalry from the Niger region, who conquered the lands between the Black and White Volta rivers in the mid-17th century. The invaders, the Ngbanya, ruled over many older peoples, and Jakpa divided the conquests among his sons, creating the divisions that formed the kingdom.

Rule and society

The paramount chief, the Yagbumwura, was chosen in rotation from the ruling divisions and resided at Nyanga (Yagbum). Society was layered into the ruling estate, Muslim scholars of Mande origin and commoners. Gonja controlled the kola trade of Salaga and Kafaba, linking the Ashanti Empire with Hausa traders. Muslim clerics wrote the Kitab Ghanja, an 18th-century chronicle of the state.

Decline and legacy

The Ashanti Empire defeated Gonja in 1751-1752 and took tribute until 1874, when Salaga revolted. In the 1890s Britain and Germany divided the area, and most of Gonja became part of the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast. The Yagbumwura still heads the traditional state in Ghana.