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Contents and Contexts the Rhetoric of Oral Traditions in the ɔman of Sefwi Wiawso, Ghana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Stefano Boni
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Abstract

This article examines political oral traditions in the Sefwi (Akan) area of Ghana. Two types of narrative are studied: negotiations over the political status of stools within the kingdom and the claims to succession of matrilineal branches within stools. Narratives are analysed in relation to their claims to historicity, to the political conflicts in which they are generated and to their correspondence to legal criteria of attribution of ‘traditional’ political offices. It shows that pre‐colonial dynamic norms concerning stool status and succession turned into a fixed legal corpus in the twentieth century. Contenders’ histories have been used as evidence to judge ‘traditional’ stool disputes. Narrators have thus constructed narratives presenting ideal pasts considered worthy of legal attribution of ‘traditional’ political office. Narratives have consequently legalised narrators’ claims with reference to ancient history. The study of the context of the emergence of oral traditions—hostility between particular stool holders, national politics’ influence or conflicts over the sharing of stool revenue—shows that narratives and political conflicts have a history of their own which is carefully omitted from the narration.

Résumé

Cet article examine les traditions orales politiques dans la région de Sefwi (Akan) au Ghana. Il traite de deux types de récits : les négociations sur le statut politique des chefferies (stools) au sein du royaume et les revendications à la succession des branches matrilinéaires au sein des chefferies. Les récits sont analysés du point de vue de leurs prétentions à l'historicité, des conflits politiques dans lesquels ils s'inscrivent et de leur lien avec les critères juridiques d'attribution des fonctions politiques “traditionnelles”. Cette analyse montre que les normes dynamiques précoloniales concernant le statut et la succession des chefferies se sont transformées en corpus juridique déterminé au cours du vingtième siècle. Les histoires des prétendants ont servi de moyens de preuve pour trancher les conflits “traditionnels” liés aux chefferies. Les narrateurs ont ainsi construit des récits présentant des passés idéaux jugés dignes de l'attribution légale d'une fonction politique “traditionnelle”. Les récits ont ensuite légalisé les revendications des narrateurs se référant à l'histoire ancienne. L'étude du contexte de l'émergence des traditions orales (hostilité entre chefs en fonction, influence de la politique nationale ou conflits portant sur le partage du revenu de la chefferie) montre que les récits et les conflits politiques ont une histoire propre soigneusement omise de la narration.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 70 , Issue 4 , November 2000 , pp. 568 - 594
Copyright
© Edinburgh University Press 2000

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