| Group: | Nanumba people |
| Total: | 78,812 |
| Total Year: | 2000 |
| Languages: | Nanugli, French |
| Religions: | Islam, Christianity, Traditionalism |
| Related Groups: | Mole-Dagbon people |
The Nanumba people are an ethnic group whose traditional homeland is in the southeast of the Northern Region of Ghana. They speak Nanugli (var. Nanuni), a Gur language.[1] [2]
As of 2000, population of the Nanumba in Ghana were estimated at 78,812.[3]
Though Nanumba constitute a homogeneous cultural and linguistic group, they are closely related to the Dagomba to the north and east and the Mamprusi further to the north, and more-remotely to the Mossi of Burkina Faso. Traditionally the originating ancestors of the paramount chiefly lines of the former three brothers, and the Mossi paramounts descended from a daughter of the Mamprusi line. Published references include quoted statements of Mampruli speakers: Ti ŋmampurisi, Yooba, Naanumma ni Moosi piiligu nyɛ la Kyama maa "The origin of us Mamprusi, Dagomba and Nanumba was in Chama",[2] Ti zaa nyɛ la yimmu "We are all one. (Mamprusi, Dagomba, Nanumba)"[4] and discussion in [''passim''].[5]
The capital town of the Nanumba is Bimbilla, a small town which serves as the capital of Nanumba North Municipal in the Northern Region of Ghana.[6] It is also the capital of the Nanumba State and the seat of the Overlord of Nanumba, the Bimbilla Naa.[7]
The highest level in the traditional hierarchy, referred to in English as the 'Paramount Chief' or sometimes 'King', is the last court of appeal for all disputes at lower levels: between paramounts there was no recourse other than war. The subjects of a Paramount Chief constitute an ethnic group or 'tribe'. In this system the Bimbilla Naa with his seat at Bimbilla is the Paramount Chief of the Nanumba ethnic group.[8] The area occupied by the Nanumba is known as Nanung. It was founded by Gmantambo, a son of Naa Gbewaa. The leopard is the emblem of the area, and the seat of the Bimbilla Naa is called the Gmantambo Palace. The Nanumba have a particularly close relationship with the Dagomba, but the larger group have rarely exercised direct power over them.[9]
In modern Ghana there is a House of Chiefs where traditional matters have a forum at the level of the nation state.[10]
Islam is the most-practised and characteristic religion of the Nanumba and the Dagomba, the Nanumba less-so than the Dagomba, though many people also consult non-Muslim diviners and give offerings to ancestral and other shrines.[11] There are a few Christians, mostly Roman Catholics.[12]
Besides the two Islamic festivals; Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the Nanumba celebrate Bugum Chugu, Damba and Naa Jigli festivals.[13] [14] [15]