Review of Akan Diaspora in the Americas by Kwasi Konadu - A Linguistic Perspective-gctid177939

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Review of Akan Diaspora in the Americas by Kwasi Konadu - A Linguistic Perspective
Review by Ọbádélé Kambon

Historical Linguistics perspective
One of the interesting things about The Akan Diaspora in the Americas is the import of the study as it relates to historical linguistics and contemporary linguistics alike which raise more questions than they answer. From a historical perspective, Dr. Konadu maintains that Akan archeological and climatological evidence shows that for approximately two millennia, the Akan forest was inhabited by agriculturalists (Konadu 2010:29). Did these agricultural groups self-identify as Akan (most likely not) or, more relevant, did any of these populations then make up what we know as Akan today? If so, what percentage, if not, where did they come from? The name Ghana, the principal country in which the Akan are found today, harkens to the ancient empire of Wagadu and its emperor known as Kaya Maghan (King of Gold) and Ghana "War Chief" due to a real or perceived link to that nation. According to Kyeremateng (1996, p. 23), as a distinct ethnic group, the Akan people trace their history to the Almoravid invasion of Ancient Ghana in 1076 ce and the subsequent break-up of the empire. However, Dr. Konadu systematically presents historical agricultural evidence (of oil palms), climatic evidence (50 inches of rain per year necessary for oil palm cultivation), archaeological evidence (pottery, polished tools, evidence of food sources) to debunk what he calls the Mande myth and the accepted migration narrative. Nevertheless, this discussion once again begs the question of have the people we know today as the Akan always been situated where they are now or did some, most or all migrate from elsewhere? If we accept that all humanity began from a common source, the oldest archaeological evidence points to east Kmt as the location of that source (Omo I and Omo II in Ethiopia at Omo River Valley dated 195,000 years ago). The relevance of this discussion to historical linguistics is in explaining cognates between Kmtyw languages throughout the continent. In my own Master's thesis Recurrent Sound Correspondences of Akan and Yoruba and their Significance for Proto-Benue-Kwa (East Volta-Congo) C1 Reconstruction, I documented over 188 putative cognates between Akan and Yoruba and showed the Proto-Benue-Kwa push chain that demonstrates the sound changes that each language underwent to arrive at its current state (Kambon 2005). Even more compelling work has been done by Theophile Obenga (1993)where he documents over 105 putative cognates from Mdw Ntr (Hieroglyphics) and languages throughout the continent of Kmt including Akan and many more. This work has been further expanded by the work of Jean-Claude Mboli (Mboli 2010). From this we may ask how does the autochthonous Akan narrative mesh with the Nile Valley narrative and the linguistic evidence that shows migrations did indeed occur in the past? Dr. Konadu mentions Kintampo industry sites and oral narratives that trace origins to emergence from holes in earth which he identifies as rock settlements such as the Bosompra cave (Konadu 2010:32). This also brings up the question of where did they come from before they went into those caves? Konadu also mentions descending from the sky on golden chains or brass pans and uses this as a reference to the north. This may also be reference to descent from higher elevations (mountains?) as was done in Ancient Egypt (see upper and lower Kmt) not necessarily reference to the north. Konadu cites the Akan axiom yɛfiri aman firi aman na ɛyɛ ɔman "We came from nations from nations and create a nation" (Konadu 2010:93)which relates to an exhortation not to disclose the discrete origins of the members of that nation obi nkyerɛ obi aseɛ 'One does not disclose the origins of another.' This relates to the ɔdehyeɛ 'royal' ɔhene 'king' claim to land upon which they were the first settlers rather than an allusion to origins before emergence from caves or descent from mountains. Dr. Konadu's discussion of Kintampo also begs the question of does Kintampo equate to Proto-Akan? He discusses the continuity in material culture (square houses vs. round ones) (Konadu 2010:33). By the same token, he introduces the Eotile of southeastern Ivory Coast are "the sole remnant of 'old lagoon' culture surviving today. Speaking the oldest form of Akan language, they represent the last vestige of what was probably the original Akan culture...Their society has no centralized organization, nor class structure" (Konadu 2010:47). This brings the question how did the centralized organization and class structure get introduced as it is now found amongst other Akans; from outside or as an indigenous bio-cultural adaptation? Or both? Or neither? If from outside introduction was this from a forced/coerced migration from the savannah or elsewhere? Also what did the configuration of early Akan presence in southern regions look like: were there 7 or 8 Akan clans in the 1400s or 2000 years ago? Did subdivisions like Biretuo/Tena and Aduana-Aberade exist at that time or do such divisions indicate perhaps a coming together of groups from disparate sources? Were there 12 ntorɔ patrilineages or more or less and what do the associations with these bodies of water tell us about the identity of each group? Is it possible that X amount of clans arrived earlier than others and others came to join? Basically were all the ancestors of all the people we know today as Akan present at the time of "Proto-Akan" culture as discussed by Konadu? If not, how do these dialogues of autochthonous Akan going back into proto-history and/or migratory settlement mesh and merge? This is the discussion of whether the Akans where they are found now indeed a diaspora having dispersed from other places due to voluntary or forced migration? Historical linguistics may help us to answer these and other questions about the origins of the Akan as a subset of a discussion of the origins of all humanity.
Contemporary Linguistics
With regard to contemporary linguistics Dr. Konadu provides us with a wealth of linguistically relevant information which documents the Akan presence in the diaspora as found in names and other words. History is replete with Kmtyws named Coffee (Kofi), Cudjoe (Kwadwo), Quaco (Kwaku), Coffi (Kofi), Coffy (Kofi), Quaco (Kwaku), Abba (Aba) and more (Konadu 2010:3-4). Dr. Konadu documents some 39 terms employed in Suriname which are undoubtedly of Akan origin including abɛrewa/Abálawa (aberewa) 'earth mother, old woman; ancient ancestress linked to Akan matrilineality', akéma (ɔkyerɛma) 'drummer', akra/akaa (ɔkra) 'soul; supernatural force that governs one's destiny', anansi (Ananse) 'spider', anumá (anomaa) 'bird', Bosum or Abosomo (abosom) 'children or spiritual extensions of the Akan creator, often inappropriately referred to as "shrines" or "gods"', doku/dokonu (dɔkono) 'dish of cornmeal wrapped and cooked in banana leaves', Kediama Kediampon (Tweaduampɔn Kwame) 'Supreme God,' a synonym for Nana', Komfo/Konfó 'priest or spiritual specialist', Nana Nyanwé (Nana Onyame) 'Great God', Osai Tando (ɔse Tanɔ) 'father tanɔ', Sunited snakes (sasa) 'avenging spirit (of an animal)', Tata Yao 'Tanɔ Yao or "father" Yao' (Konadu 2010:115-116). One of the remarkable things about the brief list is the preponderance of terms related to Akan spirituality. This list and others like it show the preservation and conservation of the spiritual system in the diaspora as evinced through language. Such preservation can be found in lexical items, phonetics, syntax, pragmatics etc. Indeed, in some instances linguistic phenomena in the diaspora can be shown to be more conservative in their degree of retention and adherence to archaic forms than languages as spoken on the continent of Kmt itself where they may be lost in contemporary developments.
In sum, historical and contemporary linguistics as alluded to and dealt with directly in Konadu's The Akan Diaspora in the Americas may factor prominently in continuing to probe the nature of the Akan Diaspora–both ancient and modern–as well as helping us tease out answers to historical questions inspired by this thought-provoking contribution to Kmtyw history and Diaspora studies.

REFERENCES
 
Kambon, O. (2005). Recurrent Sound Correspondences of Akan and Yoruba and their Significance for Proto-Benue-Kwa (East Volta-Congo) C1 Reconstruction. Masters Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Konadu, K. (2010). The Akan Diaspora in the Americas, Oxford University Press, united snakes.
Kyeremateng, K. N. (1996). The Akans of Ghana: Their History and Culture. Accra, Sebewie Publishers.
Mboli, J.-C. (2010). Origine des langues Kmtines: Essai d'application de la méthode comparative aux langues Kmtines anciennes et modernes. Paris, L'Harmattan.
Obenga, T. (1993). Origine Commune de l'Egyptien Ancien, du Copte et des Langues Negro-Kmtines Modernes. Paris, L'Harmattan.

[Kwadwo Tòkunbọ̀]

I have this book but have yet to start into it.   Thanks for the review.

"If you accept the white man's definitions you will share his reality" - Amiri Baraka

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

You're welcome. As always Prof Konadu produces scholarship of the highest quality. Let me know your thoughts when you get a chance to read it.

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