Ghana food is widely eaten across West Africa and the world at large. In this article in celebration of Ghana month, we will be talking about major ethnic groups in Ghana and the Ghana food that they definitely call their cultural dish.
History of Ghana
Ghana which is officially the Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It is bordered on the south by the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean, on the west, it shares borders with Ivory Coast, Togo in the east, and Burkina Faso in the north.
Ghana has a land mass area of about 238,535 km and about thirty-one million inhabitants according to the 2021 Census. Ghana is the second most populated country in West Africa after Nigeria.
The capital and largest city in Ghana is Accra; there are other major cities such as Kumasi, Tamale e.t.c
Ghana gained Independence from colonial masters on March 6th, 1957 after 83 years of British colonial rule becoming the first sub-Saharan African country to achieve independence from Britain., and became a republic in the year 1960 on July 1st. Before becoming a republic, Ghana was ruled by Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah, who became Ghana's first president in 1960.
Ethnic Groups in Ghana
Ghana is a country with multiple languages with about 80 languages spoken. English is the official language of the Ghanaian people and it is the lingua franca. Ghana also has an indigenous language spoken by the majority which is Akan.
Ghana has over seventy ethnic groups each with its own definite language. Languages that belong to the same ethnic group are usually mutually understandable.
Eleven languages are government-sponsored: four Akan ethnic languages (Akuapem Twi, Asante Twi, Fante, and Nzema) and two Mole-Dagbani ethnic languages (Dagaare and Dagbanli). The rest are Ewe, Dangme, Ga, Gonja, and Kasem, Hausa.
The major ethnic groups in Ghana include the Akan at 47.5% of the population, the Mole-Dagbon at 16.6%, the Ewe at 13.9%, the Ga-Dangme at 7.4%, the Gurma at 5.7%, the Guan at 3.7%, the Grusi at 2.5%, the Kussasi at 1.2%, and the Bikpakpaam a.k.a Konkomba people at 3.5%.
According to Victor Mochere, about 0.064% of the Ghanaian population is white, while another 0.03% is Indian, 0.01% of the population is Arab, 0.011% is African American and about 2.4% of the population is Chinese.
Chale you tried with the list but how can you talk about the Fante people without mentioning Etew and fresh fish pepper sauce? Fufu is Akan yes, but the way Ashanti people pound their cassava and plantain to get that smooth elastic texture is completely different from how it's done in the Eastern region oo.