Ewe people

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Ewe people (Eʋe, Eʋeawó)
Raccolte Extraeuropee - Passaré 00217 - Statua Ewe - Togo Ghana.jpg
Ewe artwork
Total population
c. 6.7 million[1]
Regions with significant populations
 Ghana 3.3 million
 Togo 3 million
 Benin 0.4 million[1]
Christianity (50%),[2] Vodun traditional religion, Islam
Related ethnic groups
Other Gbe peoples

The Ewe people (Ewe: Eʋeawó, lit. "Ewe people"; or Mono Kple Volta Tɔ́sisiwo Dome, lit. "Ewe nation","Eʋenyigba" Eweland;[3]) are an African ethnic group. The largest population of Ewe people is in Ghana with (3.3m) people,[4] and the second largest population in Togo with (2m) people.[5][1] They speak the Ewe language (Ewe: Eʋegbe) which belongs to the Niger-Congo Gbe family of languages.[6] They are related to other speakers of Gbe languages such as the Fon, Gen, Phla Phera, and the Aja people of Togo and Benin.


Ewe-speaking region (yellow).

Ewe people are located primarily in the coastal regions of West Africa, in the region south and east of the Volta River to around the Mono River at Togo and Benin border.[7] They are particularly found in Volta Region in southeastern Ghana (formerly British Togoland), southern Togo (formerly French Togoland), and in southwestern parts of Benin.[4] The Ewe region is sometimes referred to as the Ewe nation or Eʋedukɔ́ region (Togoland in colonial literature).[1]

They consist of four groups based on their dialect and geographic concentration: the Anlo Ewe, the Mina, Anechɔ, Ʋedome(Danyi), Tongu or Tɔŋu. The literary language has been the Anlo sub-branch.[7]


The ancient history of the Ewe people is not recorded.[4] But people believe that the Ewe migrated from a place called Kotu or Amedzowe, east of the Niger River[8][9], or that they are from the region that is now the border between Benin and Nigeria and then because of invasions and wars in the 17th century migrated into their current location.[1][7] Archaeological evidence suggests that the Ewe people likely had some presence in their current homelands at least earlier than the 13th century. This evidence dates their dynamism to a much earlier period than previously believed.[4] However, other evidence also suggests a period of turmoil, particularly when Yoruba warriors of Oyo Empire ruled the region. Their own oral tradition describes the brutal king Agɔ Akɔli or (Agor Akorli) of Notsie ruled from Kpalimé in 17th century.[4]


The Ewe people had cordial relations with colonial-era European traders. However, in 1784, they warred with Danish colonial interests as Denmark attempted to establish coastal forts in Ewe regions for its officials and merchants.[7] The Ewes were both victims of slave raiding and trade, as well slave sellers to European slave merchants and ships.[7][12] Politically structured as chiefdoms, the Ewe people were frequently at war with each other, raided other clans within the Ewe people as well as in Ashantiland, and they sold the captives as slaves.[13]

After slavery was abolished and slave trade brought to a halt, the major economic activity of the Ewe people shifted to palm oil and copra exports. Their region was divided between the colonial powers, initially between the German and British colonies, and after World War I their territories were divided between the British and a British-French joint protectorate.[7] After World War I, the British Togoland and French Togoland were respectively renamed Volta Region and Togo. The French Togoland was renamed Republic of Togo and gained independence from France on April 27, 1960.

There have been efforts to consolidate the Ewe peoples into one unified country since the colonial period, with many post-colonial leaders, like Kwame Nkrumah, occasionally supporting their cause, but none have ultimately been successful.

Agorkoli, the cause of Hogbetsotso


Traditional religion[edit]

The sophisticated theology of the Ewe people is similar to those of nearby ethnic groups, such as the Fon religion. This traditional Ewe religion is called Voodoo. The word is borrowed from the Fon language, and means "spirit".[2] The Ewe religion holds Mawu as the creator god, who created numerous lesser deities (trɔwo) that serve as the spiritual vehicles and the powers that influence a person's destiny. This mirrors the Mawu and Lisa (Goddess and God) theology of the Fon religion, and like them, these are remote from daily affairs of the Ewe people. The lesser deities are believed to have means to grant favors or inflict harm.[13]

The Ewe have the concept of Si, which implies a "spiritual marriage" between the deity and the faithful. It is typically referred to as a suffix to a deity. Thus a Fofie-si refers to a faithful who has pledged to deity Fofie, just like a spouse would during a marriage.[14] Ancestral spirits are important part of the Ewe traditional religion, and shared by a clan.[13]


Islam arrived in Ewe region in the 17th century, and remained concentrated in its north among the wealthy nobles and trans-Saharan traders. Islam has remained a minority religion among the Ewe people, with continued strong presence in the north, and some regions such as Lomé in south of a significant presence.[15]



Christianity arrived among the Ewe people with the colonial merchants and missionaries. Major missions were established after 1840, by European colonies. German Lutheran missionaries arrived in 1847.[15] Their ideas were accepted in the coastal areas, and Germans named their region Togoland, or Togo meaning 'beyond the sea' in Ewe language. Germans lost their influence in World War I, their Christian missions were forced to leave the Togoland, and thereafter the French and British missionaries became more prominent among the Ewe people.[13][15]

About 50% of the Ewe population, particularly belonging to the coastal urban area, has converted to Christianity. However, they continue to practice the traditional rites and rituals of their ancestral religion.[2][13]

Society and culture[edit]

The Ewe people are a patrilineal people who live in villages that contain lineages. Each lineage is headed by the male elder. The male ancestors have Ewe are revered, and traditionally, families can trace male ancestors. The land owned by an Ewe family is considered an ancestral gift, and they do not sell this gift.[7]

Ewe people are notable for their fierce independence and have lacked group identity, and they have never supported a concentration of power within a village or through a large state. Village decisions have been made by a collection of elders, and they have refused to politically support strong kings, after their experience with the 17th century powerful despot named Agokoli of Notse. This has led to a lack of state, and their inability to respond to jihads and wars that followed in and after 18th century. In regional matters, the chief traditional priest has been the primary power.[4] In contemporary times, the Ewes have attempted to connect and build a common culture and language-driven identity across the three countries where they are commonly found.[2]

While patrilineal, the Ewe women are traditionally the major merchants and traders, both at wholesale and retail level. Most shops and transactions are solely managed by women, and this include groceries to textiles.[7]












Traditional Ewe dancers performing the Bobobo
Traditional Ewe dancers performing the bɔbɔbɔ




A Gbedzimido dancer [entertainer] in his hand-made attire




Language: Eʋegbe[edit]

Region between rivers Mono and Volta
The flag of the Ewe people.[1]




See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b c d e f James Minahan (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World A-Z. ABC-CLIO. pp. 589–590. ISBN 978-0-313-07696-1.
  3. ^ Basic Ewe for foreign students, p. 206.
  5. ^ Ghana, CIA Factbook
  6. ^ Éwé: A Language of Ghana, Ethnologue

Further reading[edit]

  • African Rhythm: A Northern Ewe Perspective by Kofi Agawu
  • Gahu: Traditional Social Music of the Ewe People
  • Kpegisu: A War Drum of the Ewe by Godwin Agbeli
  • Gahu: Traditional Social Music of Ewe People
  • Amegbetɔa alo Agbezuge ƒe ŋutinya

External links[edit]

  • Wikisource "Eẃe" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 10 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 40.