The Akan tribe is a very historically important tribe, they're also the largest ethnic group in West Africa. The Akan tribe contains approximately 20 million members, they are made up of many smaller ethnic groups such as The Asante's, The Bono's, The Akuapem, and Anyi amongst many others, some of these groups are a mixture of Akan and another ethnic group called Guan.
There are many different accounts on where the Akan originated, some say they originated in ancient Ghana and some say they originated in North Africa near the Sahara Desert. Most stories of the Akan's cultural past is told through oral tradition and passed down generation-to-generation.
The name 'Akan' means 'Foremost', 'Genuine', or 'First'. It is said to have been pulled from the Arab's from the word 'Akane' and 'Akana'. Akan's have a very rich culture and although there is only language spoken, there is a large variety of dialects. The Akan's say "Once you speak one, you understand them all". The language they speak is called Twi, Twi is spoken by 80% of the Ghanaian population as a first or second language. The Akan tribe consists of very influential people, due to the Atlantic slave trade a well known diaspora of the Akan people exist in countries such as The Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados, and Guyana. This is evident in the language and the culture that has been passed on.
Slave owners were hesitant to enslave many of the Akan's because they were experience warriors. They were experienced with military methods because of the wars that ensued with neighboring tribes. The Akan people were known as a proud and disciplined group, the British thought that this meant they would make good slaves , they thought that they would do their work to the best of their ability. The Akan, whenever captured and enslaved often rebelled and escaped.
The Akan people were once nomadic like many other tribes, we can see their influence on a variety of cultures. From religion to kingship, from their style of writing all the way to their style of fighting.
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