Ominous Calm : Autochtony and Sovereignty in Konkomba/Nanumba Violence and Peace, Ghana Wienia, M
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Ominous calm : autochtony and sovereignty in Konkomba/Nanumba violence and peace, Ghana Wienia, M. Citation Wienia, M. (2009, December 15). Ominous calm : autochtony and sovereignty in Konkomba/Nanumba violence and peace, Ghana. African studies collection. African Studies Centre (ASC), Leiden. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/79062 Version: Not Applicable (or Unknown) Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the License: Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/79062 Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). Ominous calm Autochthony and sovereignty in Konkomba/Nanumba violence and peace, Ghana Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof. mr. P.F. van der Heijden, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op dinsdag 15 december 2009 klokke 15 uur door Martijn Wienia geboren te Utrecht in 1979 Promotor: Prof. Dr. P.J. Pels Overige leden Promotiecommissie: Prof. Dr. P.L. Geschiere Prof. Dr. L.J. de Haan Dr. S.W.J. Luning Dr. P. Skalník African Studies Centre African Studies Collection, vol. 21 Ominous calm Autochthony and sovereignty in Konkomba/Nanumba violence and peace, Ghana Martijn Wienia Published by: African Studies Centre P.O. Box 9555 2300 RB Leiden The Netherlands [email protected] www.ascleiden.nl Photograph front cover: Konkomba students showing a bowl for measurement in a Chamba peace meeting on 3 January 2007 (© Martijn Wienia) Printed by Ipskamp Drukkers, Enschede ISBN 978-90-5448-091-4 © Martijn Wienia, 2009 Table of contents List of maps vii List of tables vii Acknowledgements x 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Ominous or auspicious soccer 1 Konkomba/Nanumba violence and peace 4 Citizens, subjects and autochthony 10 Violence, sovereignty and security 12 Peace, reconciliation and depoliticization 19 Silence and legalistic discourses 22 The peace agreements and book structure 24 In and after the field: Presence and representation 28 2 ‘ETHNICIZING INDIVIDUAL CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR’ (1931-1981) 31 Introduction 31 Early expeditions and the German period (1874-1914) 33 Order and migration (1915-1931) 37 Indirect rule (1931-1951) 41 Citizenship (1951-1979) 47 Youth Associations in Nanun 52 The lead-up to violence (1979-1981) 56 Conclusion 59 3 ARMED CONFLICT AND RECONCILIATION (1981-1996) 61 Introduction 61 The 1981 violence 63 The inter-bellum period 65 Stimuli from Gonja and Dagbon 69 The 1994 violence 71 Security and relief 75 Petitioning and new violence 79 The Kumasi peace process 85 Reconciliation 88 Conclusion 90 v 4 POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION-MAKING 93 Introduction 93 Introducing Chamba 95 Electoral majority and maturity 104 Decentralization and the exclusion of Chamba 113 The confirmation of a District Chief Executive 118 Conclusion 122 5 CUSTOMARY PACIFICATION OF THE EARTH 123 Introduction 123 Conceptualization of the clause 124 Obligations versus prohibitions of subjects 127 The suicide case 131 Unravelling the clause 135 Konkomba and earth shrines in Nanun 139 Beer and Konkomba homeland 143 Nanumba, yams and hospitality 149 Konkomba, yams and witchcraft 150 Conclusion 152 6 THE POWER OF DECISION: THE CHAMBA DISPUTE 155 Introduction 155 The Chamba dispute (1996-2002) 157 The context Konkomba leadership in Nanun 162 The interests of the princes of Nanun 165 From headmen to women groups (2005-2006) 170 Security and peace meetings (2006-2007) 176 The ‘renewed commitments’, 2007 182 Conclusion 184 7 CONCLUSION 189 Introduction 189 Considerations for concluding 189 Synopsis 190 Silence and lack of consensus 192 Disagreements but no violence: Back to the soccer match 195 Annexes 197 References 203 Summary in Dutch 219 About the author 224 vi List of maps 1 Nanun in Ghana viii 2 Nanun ix List of tables 1 Parliamentary election results Bimbilla constituency 107 2 Parliamentary and presidential election results Bimbilla constituency 107 3 Parliamentary and presidential election results Wulensi constituency 108 vii Map 1 Nanun in Ghana viii Map 2 Nanun ix Acknowledgements This book was ‘written’ in many places, as I biked through the rolling hills of Nanun, swam in a Nijmegen pool, strolled through Hyde Park or, why not, sat behind my desk. Along the +way, hundreds of people have supported me or contributed to this book. Thanks to almost four hundred interlocutors, especially the wonderful people of Nanun, who voluntarily gave me a bit – or often a lot – of their time to ‘sit’ with me. Financial support from the Wenner-Gren Foundation and Leiden University Fund is acknowledged and appreciated. My gratitude to the Nanumba North and South District Assemblies, the Nanumba Traditional Council, the Regional High Court and Regional House of Chiefs for their cooperation and the Nanumba District Security Council for taking a huge interest in my safety. A special vow of thanks goes to Jon P. Kirby, former director of the Tamale Institute for Cross- Cultural Studies, and to the wonderful people of the Catholic parishes in Saboba, Bimbilla and Chamba for their encouragement and hospitality. Thank you, Peter Skalník, for encouraging my fieldwork in Nanun. I enjoyed the professional and kind assistance of the staff at CNWS, the library of the African Studies Centre in Leiden, the Public Records departments in Accra, Tamale and Bimbilla, the Tamale Institute for Cross-Cultural Studies and the Centre for African Studies at the University of Ghana. Thanks to Felix Ameka for helping me learn Likpakpaln, a language alien to both of us. I enjoyed scholarly discussions with Charles Piot, Franklin Tjon Sie Fat, Nerina Weiss, Paul Nugent, Peter Skalník, Peter Geschiere & Sabine Luning and to colleagues working on conflicts and peace in northern Ghana: Albert Awedoba, Allan Dawson, Artur Bogner, Benjamin Talton, Julia Jönnson and in particular Julie & Tony Kaye, with whom I shared a wonderful time in Tamale. In the private sector, Ada van der Linde, Pauline Versteegh & Rein Dekker have shared their expertise with me. Many thanks to my colleagues at the African Studies Centre, Ghana Study Group, CNWS Cohort Meetings and the Young Anthropologists seminars, nota- bly Amber Gemmeke, Annemarie Samuels, Dorien Zandbergen, Lotte Pelck- mans, Maarten Onneweer, Manja Bomhoff, Roos Gerritsen, Tryfon Bampilis, Wendelmoet Hamelink & Willemijn Waal. Thanks to Fedor de Beer for our conversations on the magic of science and for his cautions that completing a dissertation was ‘hell’. x What a privilege I have had to work with Marshall Adam, Mohammed ibn Abass, Ben Hussein & Isaac Sukpen. I have no words for Mariam and her sisters at Salisu’s & Justina (‘mama’), and I was blessed working with Adam Sofo, Iddrisu Issah, Paul Jakpal, Jacob Jagri & Isaac Makuwi. Thanks to my parents-in- law for their visit to us in Nanun and many thanks to my parents for their un- abated support and encouragement. Nicolien, thank you for loving support, for sharing our Ghana experiences and for enduring my ‘eureka moments’. xi 1 Introduction Ominous or auspicious soccer Tensions between autochthons and settlers or immigrants have been a worrying phenomenon in many parts of the world, from Europe to Africa and beyond. In a striking but relatively unknown case in north-eastern Ghana, such tensions found a way out in unimaginable ethnic cleansing between autochthons and a dominant group of immigrants. Although the analysis of these hostilities contributes a lot to a better understanding of ethnic violence throughout the globe, this study specifi- cally seeks to explore the possibilities of making peace between autochthons and immigrants. Let’s specify this focus with a case study. On 15 May 2005, I watched the Chamba Soccer Heroes play a friendly match against the Nanumba Nationals, the Bimbilla town team which successfully plays in Ghana’s second league. The Chamba team was made up of Konkomba players and that of Bimbilla town of Nanumba. The exceptionality of this match has to be understood against the background of three episodes of communal violence between members of the Konkomba and Nanumba ethnic groups in 1981, 1994 and 1995 in the Nanumba districts (congruent with the Nanumba Traditional Area of Nanun), in the Northern Region of Ghana. Each lasted for only a few days, but left thousands of civilians dead. These were the most intense outbursts of violence in Ghana, an otherwise relatively peaceful country enjoying civil rule. A hotchpotch of relief-providing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) brokered a successful peace accord between delegates of both groups in 1996. Visiting this soccer match was part of my study. The Chamba soccer team had arranged a large yam truck to convey around forty players and supporters (myself 2 included) to Bimbilla town (30 km to the east) for a nominal fee. In a cacophony of drumming, the truck left Chamba, a predominantly Konkomba town of some 7000 inhabitants. The journey went through rolling hills on which farmers amidst abundant yam mounts cheeringly raised their hoes as the truck passed by. Half- way to Bimbilla, we crossed Dakpam with its still ruined chiefly palace, its crumbling colonial office from which a Nanumba sniper used to kill Konkomba attackers and the abandoned well which holds a Nanumba mass grave. But the truck drove on and the drumming continued. After Dakpam, we crossed another three villages with separate Konkomba and Nanumba quarters before reaching the environs of Bimbilla, the district and traditional area capital with over 20,000 inhabitants, where no Konkomba have permanently lived since the outbreak of hostilities in 1981. When the truck reached its destination, the Bimbilla Secondary School foot- ball pitch, the Chamba supporters had become quiet. As the match started, Nanumba Nationals scored twice in three minutes, a lead they increased to a final score of seven goals to one. But the players shook hands and parted as if the match had ended in an insignificant draw.