Akan Chieftaincy

Akan Chieftaincy

In many parts of West Africa, there is an old chieftaincy tradition. The Akan of Ghana have developed their own hierarchy which exists aside the democratic structure of the country. The Akan word for the ruler is nana. In colonial times, Europeans translated it to “chief”, which is not equivalent. Other sources speak of “kings”, which is also not correct. The term “chief” has naturalized nowadays, though it would be more exact to use the Fante expression nana.