Bono people
The Bono, also known as the Brong or Abron, are an Akan people of central Ghana and northeastern Ivory Coast. They speak the Bono Twi and form one of the largest matrilineal Akan groups. According to Takyiman traditions, the Bono were the first Akan to develop a state, and other Akan states are believed to have emerged later. Oral traditions and archaeological evidence highlight Bono Manso and Begho as major centers of early Akan settlement.” Past historians described Bono as the cradle of the Akan people, with all Akan groups tracing their origins to Bono.Archaeological evidence and modern historians emphasize that Bono-Manso and Begho were among several of the earliest centers of development for the Akan people, serving as major sites of cultural and political formation closely tied to both oral traditions and material evidence.
The Bono became prosperous at Bono state through gold discovery, trade and commerce from neighbouring partners and across Africa. As part of commercial transactions, gold dust were used as currency and gold weights as a measure of value. In 1471 when the first European-Portuguese visited Gold Coast, Bono Manso and Begho were an urban cities in West Africa. Begho at its peak had an estimated population of 15000. Bono Manso on the other hand played a significant role in the Atlantic slave trade and as a result, Africans in Diaspora visit to learn more about their history. The Bono people are mostly located in central part of Ghana and northeastern Ivory Coast.
Etymology
The name Bono is derived from the phrase Abono woo, meaning “pioneer or firstborn of the land.” Nana Kwakye Ameyaw elaborated:According to Techiman-Bono oral tradition, the earliest ancestors of the Bono emerged from a sacred cave known as Amowi, and, believing they were the first to inhabit the region, referred to themselves as Abono woo—which eventually shortened to Bono. These oral traditions of emergence from caves and sacred holes emphasize a spiritual connection to the land and ancestry, with sites such as Amowi and others in the Bono region regarded as points of origin.
By the 19th century, the name Bono had come to signify a wider geographic and political area. As historian explain it, “the whole area between Asante-Mampong and the Volta was known both to the peoples in that area and to outsiders as ‘Brong’, signifying an area that but for the Asante conquest, would be the domain, ‘Bonoman’, of the king of Bono-Manso”. In some cases, neighboring groups such as the Asante and Gonja applied the name “Brong” to peoples in proximity to Bono Manso, even if they were not originally part of the Bono polity.
Colonial Fallacies and Misinterpretations
Earlier theories about the origins and cosmology of the Bono people, especially those advanced by colonial-era scholars such as Eva Meyerowitz, have been strongly challenged by Bono oral historians and contemporary researchers. Meyerowitz proposed that the Bono originated from the Sahara via a place called Diala, and that their cosmology was derived from Middle Eastern sources—claiming that Nyame and Nyankopon represented opposing lunar and solar deities. These ideas formed part of a broader theory that linked the origins of Akan-speaking peoples to the ancient Ghana Empire, Libya, Ancient Egypt, and wider trans-Saharan migration routes.These interpretations are explicitly rejected by Bono oral authorities. During interviews recorded in Techiman by Dennis Warren and Owusu Brempong, Nana Kwame Nyame, a respected local historian, responded:
He further dismissed the theological distinctions made by Meyerowitz, stating:
Historian Kwasi Konadu reinforces this position with archaeological and ecological data, writing that there is “no evidence of an intrusive northern people moving into the region.” Instead, sites such as Amowi, Bono Manso, and Begho reflect long-term indigenous presence, iron-smelting activity, and cultural development dating back to at least 300 CE.
Together, these oral and archaeological sources affirm that Bono society developed indigenously and effectively refute speculative migration and cosmological theories pioneered by colonial-era scholars and previously accepted in early academic literature.
History
Origins and Early Settlement
Bono oral tradition holds that their ancestors emerged from a sacred cave called Amowi, which remains a significant spiritual site near modern Techiman. According to these traditions, the people emerged under the leadership of Asaman, the first ruler, who led them to found a settlement called Yefiri—meaning “we are coming out”—symbolizing their emergence into political and ritual autonomy.This origin narrative emphasizes the Bono people’s deep attachment to the land and their belief in autochthony. It contradicts earlier academic theories that associated the Bono with north-to-south migrations from the Ghana or Mali empires. Instead, both oral accounts and archaeological evidence support an indigenous development within the forest–savanna zone of what is today central Ghana, particularly around Techiman and Nkoranza.
As the earliest abusuas emerged, they established autonomous settlements around shrine centers, forming the nucleus of what would become Bono Manso. These founding stories underscore the intertwining of ancestry, sacred geography, and clan leadership in the emergence of Bono society.
Formation of the Bono State
Following their emergence at Amowi and settlement at Yefiri, the Bono clans eventually established Bono Manso, which became the political and ritual capital of the early Bono state. The town was organized as a confederation of clans, each with specific roles—some served as priests, others as warriors or administrators—structured along matrilineal lines and ancestral shrines.Expansion of the Bono state occurred through the incorporation of surrounding settlements, many of which were named after abosom, signifying their ritual significance and political affiliation. This growth was driven more by shared religious cosmology and social cohesion than military conquest.
Archaeological evidence supports this development. Surveys conducted at Bono Manso reveal remains of shrine activity, long-term habitation, and local craft industries such as pottery and metallurgy. These findings corroborate oral traditions that describe Bono Manso as a structured, sacred center of governance and spiritual authority.
Trade and Urban Growth
As Bono society expanded, it developed vibrant trade networks centered around Begho, located near present-day Hani. Archaeological excavations show that Begho became one of the largest towns in the interior of what is now Ghana, flourishing between the 12th and 18th centuries as a major market town along trans-Saharan routes.The town’s layout included distinct quarters: two associated with local Brong populations, two Kramo quarters for Mande-speaking Muslim traders, and a Dwinfuor quarter for metalworkers. The presence of shrine rooms, decorated ivory trumpets, and inverted offering vessels suggests the continued importance of ritual life and chieftaincy authority within the urban space.
From the 12th century onward, the Bono state prospered through its control of gold resources in the Twi and Prabom valleys, within the Tain River basin. Gold dust became the principal medium of exchange, both internally and in long-distance trade with Djenne, Timbuktu, and North Africa.
Trade at Begho connected the Bono region to Hausaland, the Niger Bend, and North Africa. Gold, kola nuts, and ivory were exchanged for salt, textiles, beads, copper alloys, and brassware. The site’s strategic location—between forest and savanna ecologies—made it ideal for mediating exchange between coastal and Sahelian zones.
Ethnoarchaeological research and oral tradition confirm that Begho attracted multiethnic and multilingual populations. Muslim merchants, particularly the Wangara, contributed to both commercial expansion and the introduction of Islamic cultural practices. Despite this diversity, Bono institutions remained dominant within the political framework.
Asante Invasion and Political Displacement
By the early 18th century, the Bono state had become a regional power with considerable wealth from gold and long-distance trade. However, this prosperity also attracted the attention of the rising Asante Kingdom. In 1722/23, Asante forces under Opoku Ware I invaded and destroyed Bono Manso, ending its role as the political center of the Bono people.Following this defeat, much of Bono territory was redistributed. The Nkoranzahene, an Asante ally, was granted former Bono lands as a reward for supporting the invasion. As a result, Nkoranza’s influence in the region expanded considerably.
The surviving Bono population relocated their capital to Techiman, which retained its spiritual significance and continued to act as a unifying center for the dispersed Bono clans. Oral traditions preserved in Techiman emphasize continuity with the former Bono Manso polity and claim custodianship over sacred lands and shrines, including Amowi.
In the decades following the conquest, the Bono towns of Dormaa, Wenchi, and Techiman maintained varying relationships with Asante. At times, Bono states were compelled to support Asante military campaigns, while at other moments they resisted. For instance, during the 1870s, Techimanhene Kwabena Fofie refused to participate in an Asante war, prompting a second invasion of Techiman around 1877, which resulted in the town’s destruction once again.
Despite these disruptions, Bono towns preserved their institutions of chieftaincy, matrilineal succession, and ritual practices. The relocation of sacred stools, regalia, and priesthoods from Bono Manso to Techiman helped maintain continuity of state symbolism and clan authority in the post-conquest era.
Prior to its destruction, Bono Manso was a regional hub that became involved in the early Atlantic slave trade. In recent times, it has become a site of memory for African diaspora visitors.