GHANA

first of the great medieval trading empires of western Africa (fl. 7th13th century). It was situated between the Sahara (Desert) and the headwaters of the Sngal and Niger rivers, in an area that now comprises southeastern Mauritania and part of Mali. Ghana was populated by Soninke clans of Mande-speaking people who acted as intermediaries between the Arab and Berber salt traders to the north and the producers of gold and ivory to the south. (The empire should not be confused with the modern Republic of Ghana.) An unconfirmed tradition dates the origins of the kingdom to the 4th century AD. Nothing is known of the political history of Ghana under its early kings. The first written references to the empire are those of Arabic geographers and historians from the 8th century, and it seems certain that, by 800, Ghana had become rich and powerful. Called Wagadu by its rulers, it derived its more familiar name from the king's title of ghana. The king was able to enforce obedience from lesser tribes and to exact tribute from them. Much of the empire was ruled through tributary princes who were probably the traditional chiefs of these subject clans. The Ghanaian king also imposed an importexport tax on traders and a production tax on gold, which was the country's most valuable commodity. According to the 11th-century Spanish-Arab chronicler Abu 'Ubayd al-Bakri, the king welcomed to his capital many of the northern African traders of the Sahara, who, after the Arab conquest in the 8th century, had been converted to Islam. In the course of Ghana's history the capital was moved from one place to another: that of the 11th century has been tentatively identified by archaeologists as Kumbi (or Koumbi Saleh), 200 miles (322 km) north of modern Bamako, Mali. The principal raison d'etre of the empire was the desire to control the trade in alluvial gold, which had led the nomadic Berber tribes of the desert to develop the western trans-Saharan caravan road. Gold was secured, often by mute barter, from blacks at the southern limits of the empire and was conveyed to the empire's capital, where a Muslim commercial town developed alongside the native city. There the gold was exchanged for commodities, the most important of which was salt, that had been transported southward by northern African caravans. As Ghana grew richer it extended its political control, strengthening its position as an entrept by absorbing lesser states. It also incorporated some of the gold-producing lands to its south and such south-Saharan cities to the north as Audaghost, a famous market that has since disappeared. Ghana began to decline in the 11th century with the emergence of the Muslim Almoravids, a militant confederation of the Sanhajah and other Berber tribes of the Sahara who combined in a holy war to convert their neighbours. Abu Bakr, the leader of this movement's southern wing, took Audaghost in 1054 and, after many battles, seized Kumbi in 1076. The Almoravids' domination of Ghana lasted only a few years, but their activities upset the trade on which the empire depended, and the introduction of their flocks into an arid agricultural terrain initiated a disastrous process of desertification. The subject peoples of the empire began to break away, and in 1203, one of these, the Susu, occupied the capital. In 1240 the city was destroyed by the Mande emperor Sundiata, and what was left of the empire of Ghana was incorporated into his new empire of Mali. officially Republic of Ghana coastal country of western Africa, covering an area of 92,098 square miles (238,533 square km). The capital is Accra. Facing the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean on the south, Ghana is bordered by Cte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) on the west, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) on the northwest and north, and Togo on the east. The population in 1990 was estimated to be 14,488,000. officially Republic of Ghana country of western Africa situated on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of 92,098 square miles (238,533 square kilometres). It is bordered on the northwest and north by Burkina Faso, on the east by Togo, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by Cte d'Ivoire. The capital is Accra. Although relatively small in area and population, Ghana is one of the leading countries of Africa, partly because of its considerable natural wealth, and partly because it was the first black African country south of the Sahara to achieve independence from colonial rule and to embark on its own extensive educational and industrialization programs. Ghana, which became independent on March 6, 1957, consists of the former British colony of the Gold Coast and the part of Togoland that was formerly a UN Trust Territory under British administration. Additional reading E.A. Boateng, A Geography of Ghana, 2nd ed. (1966), is an account of the systematic and regional geography. Jack Goody, Changing Social Structure in Ghana (1975), is an ethnological examination. Political development is studied in David Kimble, A Political History of Ghana: The Rise of Gold Coast Nationalism, 18501929 (1963, reprinted 1971); F.M. Bourret, Ghana: The Road to Independence, 19191957, rev. ed. (1960); Dennis Austin, Politics in Ghana, 19461960 (1964); and David E. Apter, Ghana in Transition, 2nd rev. ed. (1972). J.D. Fage, Ghana (1959, reprinted 1983); and Daniel Miles McFarland, Historical Dictionary of Ghana (1985), provide introductions. Ghana's historical importance in trading is related by K. Yeboa Daaku, Trade and Politics on the Gold Coast, 16001720 (1970); J.K. Fynn, Asante and Its Neighbours, 17001807 (1971); and Edward Reynolds, Trade and Economic Change on the Gold Coast, 18071874 (1974). Ernest Amano Boateng John D. Fage Administration and social conditions Government The constitution provides for a unicameral parliamentary form of government with a president as head of state and a vice president. The president is elected for a term of four years (with the possibility of reelection for one further term) by universal adult suffrage. There is a broadly based Council of State with deliberative and advisory functions, and an elected unicameral Parliament. The president appoints the cabinet, which averages between 20 and 25 members. Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings led a military coup in December 1981 and became the head of state as chairman of the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC). The Parliament was disbanded and political parties were prohibited. After much political unrest, a new constitution in 1992 established a multiparty system, and the PNDC was dissolved in 1993. Ghana is divided into 10 regions: Western, Central, Greater Accra, Eastern, Volta, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Upper West, and Upper East. After 1972, when the first constitution was suspended, each of the then-existing eight regions (Greater Accra had not yet been created, and Upper West and Upper East formed the Upper region) was administered by a regional commissioner, who was an army officer. The constitution of 1979 revived the local, district, and regional councils, but the military government in 1982 appointed regional secretaries and district secretaries to take charge of the regions and districts and abolished the local councils as previously known. Under the PNDC's proposals for the development of participatory grass-roots democracy, district elections were held in late 1988early 1989 for the establishment of district assemblies composed of elected and government-nominated members. The judicial system is based chiefly on the English model, but Ghanaian customary law is recognized as well as English common law. The administration of justice is handled by various courts divided into two groups: the superior courts, consisting of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and the High Court; and inferior courts, consisting of the circuit courts, the district courts, and other courts provided by law, such as the juvenile courts. After the military government took control the Supreme Court was abolished, and the Court of Appeal became the highest court. The constitution of 1979 restored the Supreme Court, and the Rawlings government retained it as the final court of appeal. A special tribunal investigates corruption. In 1982 the PNDC established a special military tribunal to hear cases against members of the armed forces and people's tribunals to handle corruption and abuse of public office. The adjudicating authorities in chieftaincy and purely traditional matters are the regional and national houses of chiefs. Appeals from decisions of the National House of Chiefs are made directly to the Supreme Court. Dating to the period of British colonial rule, chieftaincy and the traditional political authorities have tended to run along parallel lines with the central government. Since independence, this tendency has persisted or even expanded, and the institution of chieftaincy has become increasingly divorced from the exercise of real political power at almost all levels of government; its role now is largely ceremonial. Education Ghana has one of the best-developed educational systems and one of the highest adult literacy rates in tropical Africa, but the cost is high. In April 1974 the government began implementation of a new educational system. It consisted of a pre-primary cycle for ages four to six; a basic first cycle, including six years of primary education and three years of junior secondary; and a second cycle of variable length. The second cycle leads to secondary vocational or commercial programs or to a senior secondary course preparing students for university studies or other third-cycle courses in high-level polytechnics and specialized institutions. The first cycle is free and compulsory; for the first three years education is in the predominant local language, with provision for education in at least one other Ghanaian language and English, the latter being the language of instruction from the fourth year of the primary cycle. Teacher training and technical education are approximately equivalent to secondary education, though they tend to attract pupils who are not aiming at university careers. University education is provided at three institutions: the University of Ghana, at Legon, near Accra, established as a university college in 1948 and granted full university status in 1961; the University of Science and Technology at Kumasi, established in 1951 and granted full university status in 1961; and the University of Cape Coast, established in 1962 for the training of science teachers and granted full university status in 1972. All three institutions are financed by the government; there are no private universities. The Tarkwa School of Mines, which is also a government-financed institution, is affiliated with the University of Science and Technology and offers diploma courses in mining and related subjects. Under the restructuring program of the late 1980s it was decided that more drastic reductions should be made in student subsidies for food and accommodation in third-cycle institutions. The enrollment in all schools, especially in secondary schools, has soared dramatically since Ghana achieved self-government. There are a number of private schools at both elementary and secondary levels. The number of available places in second- and third-cycle institutions, especially the universities, however, is still far short of the demand from qualified applicants. Despite the heavy national expenditure on education and the large school population, Ghana still has a relatively low literacy level by world standards. Thanks to the extensive use of the sound and visual media, however, illiteracy is not as serious a handicap as it formerly was. English is widely spoken, especially in the urban areas. Cultural life The cultural milieu Ghana has a rich indigenous culture. Culturally, the peoples of Ghana have many affinities with their French-speaking neighbours, but each tribal group has distinctive cultural attributes. In all parts of the country the cultural heritage is closely linked with religion and the institution of chieftaincy. Various festivals and rites are centred on chieftaincy and the family and are occasioned by such events as harvest, marriage, birth, puberty, and death. Ghanaian society is without sharp class distinctions. Insofar as traditional authority is based on a system of hereditary chieftaincy, it is possible to speak of aristocratic classes within the tribal groups, but the institution of chieftaincy is essentially democratic in operation and the authority of chiefs is broadly based. Land is usually owned by families, militating against the emergence of a small, powerful landed class wielding economic control over a landless class. These inherent egalitarian tendencies of the society have been heightened by economic and social mobility, depending on education and individual enterprise. Daily life Although the bonds of family life are an important factor in the social norms of Ghanaians as a whole, they tend to be much less pronounced among the urban population, where the trend is toward the nuclear family, especially among the professional classes and scattered immigrant groups. The same differences between the urban and rural populations are found in dress and eating habits, with the urban dwellers being distinctly more Westernized and sophisticated. The national cuisine reflects the country's agricultural wealth and varied historical connections, and Ghana is one of the few countries in tropical Africa that can be said to possess a rich indigenous cuisine. Traditional social values, such as respect for elders and the veneration of dead ancestors, are generally more evident among the rural than the urban population. However, a revival in the importance of these values and a closer identity with traditional social roots, as expressed in the institution of chieftaincy, is gaining ground among the urban diaspora drawn from different parts of Ghana.