The Akan are a Kwa-speaking ethnic group of West Africa, concentrated in southern and central Ghana and southeastern Ivory Coast, with major subgroups including the Ashanti, Fante, Akuapem and Akyem. Historically organized into powerful kingdoms and confederacies, most notably the Ashanti Empire, the Akan developed a matrilineal clan system and an elaborate stool-based system of chieftaincy that still structures much traditional authority today. Akan culture is closely associated with kente cloth weaving, goldweights used in historic trade, and the Adinkra system of symbols, and Akan languages, chiefly Twi and Fante, remain among the most widely spoken indigenous languages in Ghana.
Facts
Group TypeEthnic group (Kwa-speaking, traditionally matrilineal) 1 Typical RegionGhana and parts of Ivory Coast, West Africa 1 Population Estimatecirca 25 million (est.) 1 Primary LanguageAkan languages (Tano branch of Niger-Congo), including Twi and Fante 1 Subsistence ModeTraditionally matrilineal lineage-based agriculture, with lineage-held land farmed collectively by kin groups 1 Group Type
Group Type (category) Subsistence Mode
Subsistence Mode (category) Population Band
Population Band (category) Connections
Associated With
The Akan of West Africa are one of the most frequently cited textbook examples of a matrilineal descent society, with inheritance and clan membership passed through the mother line.
Source Wikipedia: Matrilineality
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Language Atlas: Akan, used in there.
Sources
1. Akan people (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAkan people (Wikipedia), lead paragraph, classification
The Akan () people, or Akanfoɔ, are a Kwa group living primarily in Ghana and parts of Ivory Coast in West Africa.
Akan people (Wikipedia), Independence section
Like Ghana, Ivory Coast is home to a significant Akan population with 40% of the national total.
Akan people (Wikipedia), infobox population field
c. 25 million (est.)
Akan people (Wikipedia), lead paragraph, language line
The Akan speak languages within the Tano branch of the Niger-Congo family.
Akan people (Wikipedia), Matrilineality section
Each lineage controls the lineage land farmed by its members, functions together in the veneration of its ancestors, supervises marriages of its members, and settles internal disputes among its members.
Akan people (Wikipedia), lead paragraph, native name
The Akan () people, or Akanfoɔ, are a Kwa group living primarily in Ghana and parts of Ivory Coast in West Africa.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.