University of Cape Coast Institutional Repository

Muslim ‘Priesthood’ in Dagbon: in Search of a Definition

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.author Abdul-Hamid, Mustapha
dc.date.accessioned 2015-09-03T12:44:33Z
dc.date.available 2015-09-03T12:44:33Z
dc.date.issued 2010-09
dc.identifier.issn 23105496
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1535
dc.description ii, 27p:. en_US
dc.description.abstract Dagbon refers to the geographical area occupied by the Dagomba ethnic group in the Volta Basin in Ghana’s administrative region called the Northern Region. The Dagomba are a predominantly islamised people whose social, economic, cultural, economic and political life is largely shaped by Islam. The people who serve as guardians of the Dagomba’s Islamic identity and heritage are called Afanema (singular, Afa). However, there has always been controversy in Dagbon as to who qualifies to be called an Afa. These disagreements have often led to bloody conflicts between supporters of people who claim to be qualified as Afanema as against those they claim are not qualified to be designated as such. This paper traces the historical and etymological derivation of the term Afa and attempts an accurate definition and portrait of the guardians of Islamic lore in Dagbon. This paper contends that Afanema in Dagbon are the disseminators of Islamic heritage and knowledge. They are mostly teachers of Islamic lore, mainly through the Qur’an schools and also through tafsir, the mass education method where the meaning and interpretation of the Qur’an is made known. They are also professional prayer men, whose prayer is deemed efficacious in the solution of problems. They may or may not be engaged in the art of divination. en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher University of Cape Coast en_US
dc.title Muslim ‘Priesthood’ in Dagbon: in Search of a Definition en_US
dc.type Article en_US


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record

Search UCC IR


Advanced Search

Browse

My Account