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

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.