Denkyira People
The Denkyira are an ancient group of warlords and matriarchal Kwa-speaking people who live in the Central Region of Ghana. They are a subset of the bigger Akan ethnic group. People from Denkyira who lived in Twifo Ati-Mokwa (Hemang lower Denkyira) and Upper Denkyira speak the Akan Twi language. They were once a famous kingdom, but the Asante people took it down.
This is the main city for the Denkyira people. Odeefuo Boa Amponsem III is the strong and honorable traditional leader.
The Denkyira people are known for growing a lot of palm fruits to use as oil and for traditional or small-scale gold digging, which they do on their land and in the River Offin. Ghana refers to the traditional or small-scale method of gold mining as “Galamsey.” Denykira has places like Jukwa, Dunkwa-On-Ofin, Ayafuri, Diaso, Kyekyewere, Mfuom, Dominase, Ntom, New Obuasi, Nkotumso, Maudaso, Asikuma, Jameso Nkwanta, Buabinso, Bethelehem, Buabin, Akropong, Nkronua, Nkwaboso/Akwaboso, and Afiefiso.
History
According to legends, the people who started Upper and Lower Denkyira in the Central Region first lived in the Mande areas in the Voltaic Region, which is south of the Niger Bend. The people left because the land was too dry, causing famine and fighting. Around 1570, they moved west to south, crossed the Volta, and ended up in the Tekyiman (Techiman) area of the Ancient Bono State.
As time went on, the newcomers lived in the same area with the Nkyiras for a while. They were known as ADAWUFO during that period, originating the saying “Adawu, Dawu Denkyira, mene-sono”. This phrase became a respectful reference to the Denkyira people. People said, “They had become like the Nkyiraa because they lived with them for more than a hundred years and learned their ways so well.” (See: Daaku K. Y., “Oral Tradition of Denkyira,” I. A. S., Legon, 1970.) To count on Nkyiraa is to be “Dan-Nkyiraa.”
Around the 1600s, the Denkyira finally decided to move south into the central forest region. Nana Ayekraa Adeboa of the Agona clan, who was the first woman to rule, led them in doing so. The Asakyiri clan had built Tutumbe, about 3.5 kilometers from Adanse Akorokyere, where she settled.
Both Akyem Oda and Bodweseanwo, the leaders of Denkyira, are believed to hail from the same ethnic group and Bomaasi family. Agobani, one of her three daughters, married Denkyira Abankesieso and became Agona Piesie; Anadineho married Akyem Oda and became Agona Manu; and Siema’s children, who became Agona Mensah, founded Bodweseanowo.
Nana Ayekraa Adeboa died after a long and happy rule. Her oldest son, Anin Panyin, was the first male king. He ruled for a long time without any problems. Two brothers, Ahi and Aha, took over after him. Because their family name is Ahahiaha, they may have ruled together. During most of their rule, they went exploring. By that time, they had already established a highly developed and effective government unit.
Mumunumfi was the next king. He wished he had as much money and power as Adansehene Otibireku Asare. After going to war with the Adans, he beat them badly. He appointed Awurade Basa to run the defeated Adanse’s business.
Wirempe Ampem took over after Mumunumfi (1624–37). After routing the Aowin and establishing a military system with divisional groups, Wirempe Ampem built the famous capital, ABANKESIESO BANSO, which consisted of 77 villages about 24 kilometers west of Jacobu in Adanse Akorokyere territory and grew into a large, sprawling kingdom.
The king was in charge of everything because the state army was well organized and strong. That was the start of the rule of terror, which is why people say “Wirempe Ampem a wo din yem mo,” which means “Wirempe Ampem, whose name does not exist.” He died in one of his battles in the west, which was a shame. An eight-year-old boy took over as leader. They rushed him to the battlefield to boost their spirits, and everyone was delighted. Back then, the blood royals were young. Boa Amponsem Dakabere became the new king.
During his rule, Boa Amponsem was in charge of most of Asante and the surrounding areas. “Kotoko som Amponsem,” which means “the porcupine (Asante) is servant to Amponsem (Denkyira),” was a reference to this useful rule. Europeans on the Atlantic coast learned about the Denkyira kingdom as a place with a lot of alluvial gold. The kingdom became very wealthy. During Boa Amponsem I’s reign, he could afford to have new gold decorations made for every ceremony. Once he used gold for something, he never reused it again.
This led to his nickname, “Boa Amponsem a, odi sika tomprada” (Boa Amposem who eats fresh gold).When Olei Tutu was still very young, his uncle, Opoku Ware, sent him to the court of Denkyira as a page. At the same time, Okomfo Anokye was King Boa Amponsem’s magician and seer. At the same time, the kingdom got so rich that Dutch traders went to Denkyira most often to buy gold because it was so plentiful and mostly pure. He was smart and had no rivals. When he died in 1692, the people lost their boss.
His nephew, Ntim Gyakari, took over and was full of pride and swagger. Written records support Bossman’s assertion that Denkyira was so proud of its wealth and power that it treated all other black people with contempt, viewing them as nothing more than slaves. See W. Bossman’s 1907 publication, “A New and Accurate Description of the Coast of Guinea.” Everyone opposed Denkyira and anticipated the loss of their power.
During Ntim Gyakari’s rule, the Denkyira Kingdom was at its largest in 1699. But with wealth and power came pride and arrogance. At the same time, King Osei Tutu I and his close friend, priest, and constitutional adviser, Okomfo Anokye, were busy trying to find a reason to start a full-scale military action. And it was as if Ntim Gyakari did something on purpose that set off a war. The king sent a messenger with a metal pan to Kumase. He told Osei Tutu and the Asante chiefs to fill the pan with gold and send it back to him.
Each Asante chief had to send his favorite wife to Abankesieso to work as a wet nurse (mmagyegyefo) for the king of Denkyira (W.E. Ward, “Short History of Ghana,” pp. 32–33). In fact, they thought the claim was an insult to their honor.
No matter where you were in the state, war drums were beating. This was the same thing as starting a war. Mamponhene Boahinantuo was in charge of all the separate units. Ntim Gykari, confident in his ability to defeat the Asante army, remained hidden from the battlefield. Instead, he stayed in his tent with his wife and played the Oware game.
Finally, the main army of Asante met the other army at Feyiase, which is between Kuntenase and Kumase. The Juaben unit quickly surrounded Ntim Gyakari, who was sitting with golden chains around his legs, and took him prisoner. They took him to Kumase, tried him, and executed him.
Ntim Gyakeri gave his head to the Asantehene, his left leg bone to Asumegya, his right leg bone to Mampon, and his spine to Aduaben. It was okay for these three Stools to copy Ntim Gyakari’s garb (see R.S. Rattery, “Ashanti Law and Constitution,” 1956, p. 132).
In the middle of 1701, the Asante took their victory into Denkyira proper, where they destroyed the capital, AbankKumase took many of Denyira’s best workers as slaves and used them as weightmakers. Kumase. As it turned out, it was a war that changed Denkyira’s past forever.
“Ntim Gyakari asoa ne man akobo Feyiase” means “Ntim Gyakari carried his nation and wrecked her at Feyiase.” The disaster, occurring on a Friday, prompted the creation of the Denkyira Oath, “Fiada ne Denkyira.”
The Agona clan brothers, Akyem Oda and Bodweseanwo, fought alongside their older brother, Denkyira. As a result, the Asantehene made it their policy to separate and rule the three clan brothers. In this order, Akyem Odahene was under the Anantahene of Kumase, Boadweseanwohene was under Dadeasohene, and Denkyirahene was under the Bantamahene. This caused Denkyira to lose its power.
Still, there was another revolt that didn’t work out during Denkyirahene Owusu Bore I’s reign. Once again, the Denkyira attempted to regain their freedom by exploiting the death of the Asantehene Osei Kwadwo (1781), only to have their rebellion crushed a third time.
Because their stay in west Adanse had been rough, they promised to leave the area. So, after the Asante-Gyaman War in 1818, they went south during the rule of the 15th Dekyirahene Nana Kwadwo Tibu I, making JUKWA their new country.
According to Prof. Adu Boahen’s article “When did Osei Tutu die?” (THSG, 1975, Legon, pp. 87–92), this happened after King Osei Tutu Mpimso died in 1717. Denkyinahene Buadu Akafu Brempon planned to get back to Asante, but right away, the Asante army moved in to put down the rebellion.
The Asante forces went to battle against Gyamanhene Adinkra, which led to the flight right away. As an act of peace, Denkyirahene and his men went to Gyaman to smoke a pipe with Adinkra, who said that the Agona clan had a relationship with Nana Tibu. But Adinkra saw that Denkyira’s speedy move was more likely a sign of war than a desire to negotiate peace. Adinkra was shot, and the explosion from his own gun hit him in the mouth. He died right away. Adinkra’s son Apau brought the skull to Kumase as a war prize.
According to legend, when they arrived in Kumase, the Asantehene himself greeted the Denkyira group with cold words: “Kwadwo, woko ma ni woko afa e?” In other words, “This is your zeal when you fight for someone else; what are you when you fight for yourself?”
Denkyira disagreed with this remark and was angry about it. They said the Asantehene hated the Denkyira with that phrase.
People from all over Denkyira heard the call to leave and went south. They followed Nana Tibu to the south, crossing the Offin River at Nkyenkyenso near Aboaboso, and then went through Wassaw and Fiase Mpoho before stopping at Cape Coast.
The governor instructed them to stay at Kakomdo (or Essakyiri). After a while, they moved through the bush and finally settled in a place about 22 kilometers north-west of Cape Coast because it couldn’t hold all of them.
When the Denkyiras got there, they saw that the whole area was very quiet, which is how the new name DWOKWA came about, which means “nothing but peace.” Therefore, they confused “EHA DWO KWA” to become “DWUKWA,” which is simply “JUKWA” in English.
In 1868, Denkyira joined the Fante Confederacy to fight against the Ashanti and the Dutch for Great Britain. Ashes were able to defeat the Confederacy, and in 1874, the area became part of the British colony of Gold Coast. The Gold Coast separated into Ghana in 1957. JUKWA became the main town and home to the Kyidom Wing. Since 1943, Dunkwa has been the administrative capital.
Also Read: The Incredible History Of Akan During The Eighteenth Century
