Mossi Wars and Raiding: Prehistory to 1400: Africa

Lady Jane Acquah

Scholars give much attention to large empires and states with recognizable features such as centralized governments and structural monuments. The result is the overshadowing of even more formidable civilizations that lasted longer and influenced other states—as the Mossi did. The Mossi people and their configuration of states affected political developments in west Africa and have managed to survive time, environment, and colonialism. The Mossi belong to the Voltaic, or Gur, group of languages spoken in the Volta basin. Scholars generally agree that there are two groups of Mossi: the northern group and the southern group. The relation between the Mossi groups is preserved in the oral traditions of the southern group. The southern Mossi, whose principal states are Dagomba, Mamprusi, and Nanumba, reckon their origin directly through the sons of Na Gbewa: Tohugu, Sitobu, and Namtambu. Their drum history traces their ancestry to Toha Zie (the Red Hunter), who led ...

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