Communities in Northern Ghana have known chieftaincy prior to the era of colonization

Communities in Northern Ghana have known chieftaincy prior to the era of

Nas Dasana Andani

colonization.

  For peoples like the Dagomba, Mamprusi and Gonja the culture of chieftaincy goes far back in time to the 15th Century. From these sources chieftaincy as an institution has spread to other parts of the North either by persuasion as formerly a cephalous peoples welcomed immigrant princes fleeing from dynastic disputes or by imposition. The British have also been responsible directly or indirectly for promoting chieftaincy in parts of the North where in pre-colonial times chiefs were either unknown or of not much importance.   The Northern chief, it will be observed, sits on a pile of skins unlike his southern counterpart.   It is therefore customary in Ghana to refer to the skin polities of the North where chiefs are 'enskinned' or enrobed rather than 'enstooled', as is the case in southern Ghana.   In a number of respects Northern chieftaincy differs from what obtains in the south of the country.   Succession is patilineal rather than matrilineal and among the Dagbomba peoples a person cannot succeed to a chiefly office that is higher than the one that his father once held in life.   In a few communities (for example Gonja) offices equivalent to queen motherships were traditionally recognized but not in the majority of Northern communities.   The office of magazia (a term of Hausa origin) is the local women's leader.   She is elected and need not have kinship connections to the chiefs.   There are however female chiefs among the Dagomba and Mamprusi groups.

In many communities the office of tendaana (earth priest) coexists with that of chief. It is suggested that earthpriestships predated the institution on chieftaincy in most parts of the North.   While chiefly families do not claim any autochthonous status earthpriest lineages often do.   Eathpriests are essentially priestly figures who supervise ritual activities concreted on the earth.   In addition to their priestly duties or as a consequence, they usually serve land owners who apportion land for building and farming purposes. These rights have been taken over by chiefs in some communities.

The traditional religious beliefs still count for much among the peoples of the North.   There is frequent recourse to the ancestors and the divinities in accounting for incidents in the lives of people.   Sacrifices are made to invite the intercession of the ancestors and the local gods. It is even believed that humans can themselves through witchcraft harm their neighbors and kin.   However, in some of the communities Islam has taken deep roots which date back to precolonial times.   Islam is particularly strong among peoples like the Dagomba, Mamprusi, Gonja and Wala. Not only do we find people bearing Moslem names the recognized Moslem feasts such as Eid UL Adha and Eid UL Fitr are celebrated, even if the actual celebrations are not devoid of traditional non-Islamic features and people pray faithfully five times a day, and attend the mosque on Fridays.   Islam was introduced via the trade that brought Hausa and Wangara traders to these parts.   Where and when the ruling elites espoused Islam many of their subjects followed suit and Islam was on its way to becoming the religion of the state.

Christianity arrived in the decade that coloniasation was introduced in the North.   Of the Christian dominations the Catholics seem to dominate in the North, particularly in the Upper Regions.   It is worth noting that the centenary

Celebrations on the coming to the North of the White Fathers, a Catholic missionary society, are scheduled for 2006.   The Catholics were able to establish a firm foothold here and it would appear that the colonial policy of reserving particular areas for particular religious denominations was a factor in the predominance of certain denominations in the area