Konkomba people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bikpakpaam | |
|---|---|
 Early-20th-century postcard | |
| Total population | |
| 823,000 in Ghana and 122,209 in Togo | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Ghana (Northern, Brong-Ahafo, Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra Regions) and Togo (Kara, Centrale and Plateaux Regions) | |
| Languages | |
| Konkomba (Likpakpaani), French | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional African religions (about 50%), Christianity (about 45%) and Islam (about 5%) |
The Konkomba people are a Gur ethnic group in northern Ghana and north-west Togo, primarily in the area around the Oti River and the Volta and Northern Regions.[1] They are the second-largest ethnic group in Ghana's Northern Region.
According to the 2010 census,[full citation needed] 823,000 Konkomba lived in Ghana. The CIA World Factbook reports that 3.5 percent of the country's population spoke the Konkomba language in 2010.[2]
The Konkomba speak the Konkomba language, also known as Likpakpaanl.[3] Until the turn of the 21st century, their primary occupation was farming and animal husbandry. The Konkomba are primarily subsistence farmers and raise poultry, small ruminants, and cattle.[4]
Ethnogenesis
The Konkomba refer to themselves as Bikpakpaam (plural form) and to their language as Likpakpaln. A male member of the tribe is an ukpakpaanja, and a female is an ukpakpaanpii. The anglicization "Konkomba" is commonly used to refer to the people and their language, native to northern Ghana.[5][6] Before the 15th- and 16th-century arrival of other ethnic groups in northern Ghana, the Konkomba were settled in the area.[7]
