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Diversity and Tolerance in the Islam of West Africa

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Diversity and Tolerance in the Islam of West Africa Interview with Chief Fanyinama III, head of the Wangara community in Ghana Kintampo, March 21, 2006 Interview by Emmanuel Akyeampong with Dr. Sey and Rebecca Tandoh Today is March 21 st , 2006. We are at Kintampo at the palace of Chief Fanyinama III. This area of Kintampo is Fanyinama electoral area or Fanyinama line. We have come here today to talk generally about -- no structure -- Islam, your institution in the larger context, understanding how it has changed within the chieftaincy institution. Fanyinama: Thank you very much for coming. We start in the name of God, in the name of Allah, the most merciful. First of all, about Islam, if you look at West Africa, and the Trans Atlantic slave trade, it was the collapse of the Mali and Songhai empires which separated everybody including our ancestors, this is during the C16, they were Muslims. After the collapse of the Mali and Songhai empires some left Mali to Guinea, some to Gambia, Senegal etc. But our ancestors came down through the Ivory Coast and during the C16 they entered this country. They dealt with the Dutch, the Portuguese and finally the British and as they are moving, you know, our ancestors even from the beginning when you took history, history talks about Batuta, Askia Mohammed, Sandiata, Mansa Musa etc. Even Mansa Musa, it is Masa Musa, It is Wangara, it is chief. In Ghana it is Dyula. In Ghana we are Wangara, in Mali it is Bambara, in Guinea it is Mandingo and when you reach Ivory Coast it is Dyula. In the present day Ghana, it is the Wangaras, when you look at the ethnic tribes in Ghana you see the Guans, Akans, Dagbanes, the Mandes, they are the Wangaras. So many from the old empire, they have become Wangaras. As I was saying about Mansa Musa, when you hear Masa, it is the chief in Wangara language. But when we hear it in school it said Mansa Musa, but it is Masa Musa. I understand the day he was leaving for his pilgrimage to Mecca, he went with a thousand people to Hajj. This shows that our ancestors were Muslims and we were born and bred in the Islamic religion. To cut it short, [look at] the coming of Samori Toure. People don’t know what brought Samori here. It was Islam that brought Samori here. When he met you he would try to convert you to Islam, if you did, you became friends, and if not then he would have problems with you. Our ancestors were Muslims and traveled with Islam so they brought it to this sub region. Samori brought some, but the Wangara people traveled with it. They were born and bred Muslims. And in the olden days too, when you look Mali, Guinea, Niger, Burkina Faso they are all one, so passing through with Islam was quite easy. Then coming down here, I mean coming to Sankana, that is the Wa area, I mean Nandom, that is the Wa Lawra, coming down. You see that is where our ancestors passed. In short for you to understand the Wangara, it was when they entered the Wa area that is Sankana (the Wale, Dagarte) they speak the same language. They told our ancestor that “come and pass” that is “Wangara”. They were all Muslims up there. You see Samori did not come here (Ghana); he entered through the Sankana border, which is why it was easy. Diversity and Tolerance in the Islam of West Africa http://westafricanislam.matrix.msu.edu And they all said “Wangara” meaning “come pass” and why our ancestors could spread Islam faith easily because whenever they reach anywhere they stayed for a while planted and harvested before moving on. Usually after a couple of years and they usually left some behind who had converted to come to Islam. They usually traveled in large groups. They couldn’t feed them so they usually stayed during the rainy season to plant harvest and dry before moving on. Prof: So trade was a big part of this movement. Chief F: Yes, they usually traded during the dry season so they could stay somewhere during the rainy season to plant and harvest. They were using horses. You see after the war. I don’t want to go too far back to the matters of war. You see after the fall of the Ghana, Mali, Songhai empires slavery started, that was simply a matter of the strong against the weak. After the collapse of the empires, the slaving started, selling the weak for food and other items. So in doing this, on and on, that is when they entered Asante. You see, when Asante say Kramo, it is Kramogo in Wangara meaning teacher. So it is not Kramo, and Asante Kramo is Tuba. All this is when my elders say Kramogo they mean Mallam. Because it was the Wangara people that spread Islam the most. Most of the words in Akan, they are derivatives of Wangara words. When you go to Abofo, Kokote, Offinso, Techiman, etc. the influence is very great. My history tells me that, the Kenkansu Kramo who performed some magic with a cow for Asantehene, he is a Wangara and his Grandson is the current Imam of Kenkansu. When you look at the population of the Wangaras because we have the Daafe, the Kro, Gemene etc., the last war that our ancestors were involved in was the Yaa Asantewaa that was 1901. Then after the war, they surfaced again in 1923 when they were honoured for their effort in the Yaa Asantewaa war. It was then that they received the provisional council medal. Prof: Can I ask something about the Gonja, since the first [Gonjas were from] Mande. Chief: well, why I don’t talk about the Gonja, the first Gonja man; well any Gonja man who doesn’t regard the Wangara as a kinsman is not a Gonja. Because the one who led the Gonja into the state Ndewura Jakpa is not a Gonja, he was a Wangara. They Gonja too are Gbanya, a Wangara word. Gbanya means “come with me”. There is a lot, there is a history that brought some confusion between the Gonja and the Wangara but they use the same language with a little variation, primarily they used the same words. For example Ansum and Ansogoma means good morning Ansum is Wangara and Ansogoma is Gonja. Then the word “Antire” the Wangara word found its way even into Akan the program on Radio “Antire pa” is a Wangara derivative, it means good Afternoon and “Anula” means good evening. Then any Quran, any Wala who become a Muslim the tone is a Wangara tongue in their interpretation. So the Wares, Gonjas, Walas and even Asante Muslims all use Wangara interpretations. So when we look [it is] the Wangaras who dominate by percentage. Prof: So all the vocabularies link also to trade. Diversity and Tolerance in the Islam of West Africa http://westafricanislam.matrix.msu.edu Chief F: Yes, the Wangaras played the major role in trade, but why they didn’t they get a place? Well, take Kintampo for instance during the beginning of the C19 or earlier but at least after the return of Prempeh [1924] they asked our ancestors to come and get iron sheet. You see, throughout Ghana you won’t find any large group like ours at Kintampo. They told them they would give them iron sheets; there was a disaster in our area around 1937 during the war when the army came. But they decided against it because they felt that if the white men give you iron sheet they will take your buildings. They also urged that they are sojourners and need to return to their roots some day so they always felt that they would go, they would go. They even introduced a festival in 1923 but they were always in abeyance. That is why the Wangaras never had a defined place. Now there is a town in Tamale called Savrogo, it is predominantly Wangara. When you go to Kunburu the same thing among the Dagombas they have a group called Malagajaskar, they are Wangaras they live near Ivory Coast. When you go to WaleWale the same thing they always said they would go back, they would go back, now they are all over the place. Even the last time we celebrated our festival, you know we celebrate the Kurubi festival, I don’t know if I can give you a map of Brong ahafo. The leading festival in Brong Ahafo right now is the Kurubi and Apoo festival of Techiman and Nkoranza then the Kwafie. So there is a guide to Brong Ahafo produced by the Minister and we are featured in it. It was started in 1923 and they stopped celebrating it but I revived it in 1999. Prof: What does the festival represent? If we say Addae or Addae Kese we understand it. Chief F: Actually it brings unity among the people. It is celebrated over the week and it climaxes on Saturday and it brings people together. It is usually celebrated in September and last year was my third year of celebration. We usually talk of emancipation. When we were discussing Panafest I told them that we should decentralize everything because when we look at the slave route it is from Sandema to Salaga then to Gambaga, Salaga, Kintampo, to Assin Manso; So Cape Coast is a destination. I gave them an example that if you buy a sheep at Kintampo and take it to Kumasi and decide not to kill it but raise it.
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