Gá – A Language in Focus.

Gá – A Language in Focus.

Gá – A Language in Focus.

The Gá people of Accra, Ghana, are originally Dangme (Krobo, Ada, Prampram, Shai, Ningo, Osu-Doku, and Kpone) by ethnicity and lineage. The Gá dialect, which is predominantly Dangme mixed with a little Guan, Portuguese, Dutch, English, and some Akan, was developed as a language of commerce in cosmopolitan Akra. This summarised piece touches on the metamorphosis of the language we know today as Gá.

For centuries, the Gá people played the role of middlemen (and translators) in the commercial trade between the European merchants and inland traders. As a result, the dialect was developed over a period to promote easy communication between all the trading factions. Accra also attracted people of various ethnicities, making it a cosmopolitan melting pot, and this necessitated a common means of communication.

From the 16th to the 18th century, the Gà language was the lingua franca for commerce in the European Protected Southern States. It is, however, worth mentioning that Fante was initially the medium of communication when trade was centred around Cape Coast, Elmina, etc. However, due to their constant harassment by the Denkyiras and later, the Ashantis, the trading posts in Akra and the Gà language became the main options. This was also why the capital was moved from Cape Coast to Accra. Thus, it comes at no surprise that Gá was the first language to be translated into the bible by the European missionaries in the whole of colonised Africa.

The Ga-Damgbe kingdom, with its capital Ayawaso (formerly Ayiwaso), shared a diplomatic relationship with the young Ashanti kingdom through the Gá-Dangme-Akwamu connection Thus, a peaceful pact which lasted 87 years was signed between Gá-Dangme and Ashanti until it was broken in 1824 when the Gá-Dangme people joined forces with the Fantes and British against the Asantes in the Battle of Nsamankow. Note that Accra shares borders with Fanti Land and the Awutus (or Afutus) were of a mixture of Fanti and Gá-Dangme lineage. This, amongst other reasons, caused the Gá-Dangme to break the peace-pact and joind forces with their Fanti kinsmen. And rightfully, this was seen as a betrayal by the Ashanti king, Osei Yaw Akoto, who vowed to crush the Gá-Dangme people even if they hid in the belly of a small fish called the Kanfra

Ultimately, in August 1826, Osei Yaw Akoto attempted to attack the Gá-Dangme in what was recorded as the bloodiest war to have ever been fought in the Gold Coast. The Ga-Damgbe (Krobo, Ada, and Ga) and their allies defeated the Ashantis in the War of Katamanso. The Akyems played a key role by providing reconnaisance for the Gá-Dangme troops (with 60 British soldiers and less than 100 Fanti warriors) who laid in ambush in the Dodowa Forest.

Today, we are one people and one country with a common enemy, poverty. Let’s put our differences aside and forge forward together because there is strength in unity 🤝🏾 🤎