Bono State

Na **Bono State** (anaa **Bonoman**) be sam trading state wey Bono people create am, wey edey for wat now be southern Ghana. Na Bonoman be medieval Akan kingdom insyd wey now ebe Bono, Bono East den Ahafo region wey dem name afta de (Bono den Ahafo) den Eastern Ivory Coast. Dem dey accept generally say ebe de origin of de subgroups give Akan people wey migrate out of de state for various tyms wey dem go create dema new Akan states so say dem go search gold. De gold trade, wey dem start am wey boom for de Bonoman as early for de 12th century insyd, na ebe de genesis for Akan power den wealth for de region insyd, wey dey begin for de Middle Ages insyd.

## Origin
De origin of de Akan people of Bonoman be wah dem say ebe date far back insyd de north in wat be now called de Sahel or de den Ghana Empire as de Bono natives wan go remain with demma traditional form for de Bono ancestral worship den demma spirituality, dose Akans wey dey disagree plus dem go fight for dema wars against Islam, wey dem migrate come south for de Sahara, wey ebe present-day Ghana.

## Trading centers used by state

### Bono Manso
Bono Manso [literally "On de state of Bono"]) sometyms dem call am as Bono Manso or Mansu be trading area insyd de medieval state for Bonoman, den ebe major trading centre insyd wat be now predominantly Bono East region. Locate am just south for de Black Volta river for de transitional zone wey dey between Savanna den forest, de town be roam by caravans wey dey comot from Djenné den Timbuktu as part of demma Trans-Saharan trade. Goods dem trade dey include kola nuts, salt, leather, den gold; gold be de most important trading good for de area, wey dem start insyd de mid-14th century.

### Begho
**Begho** (san *Bighu* anaa *Bitu*; call *Bew* den *Nsokɔ* by de Akan) be medieval trading town wey dey just south for de Black Volta for de transitional zone wey edey between de forest den savanna north-western Bono Region. De town, lyk Bono-Manso, wey dem dey consider am importance as an entrepot  frequent by northern caravans from Mali Empire from around 1100 AD. Goods dem trade dey include ivory, salt, leather, gold, kola nuts, cloth, den copper alloys.

Excavations wey dem lay bare wall structures wey edey date back insyd between 1350 den 1750 AD, as well as pottery for all kinds, smoking pipes, den evidence for iron smelting. Wid demma probable population for over 10 000, Begho be one of de largest towns wey dey for de southern part for West Africa at dat time of de arrival of de Portuguese insyd 1471.

De Malian king wey occupy Bighu insyd de mid-sixteenth century as a "perceived failure for Bighu Juula go maintain supplies for gold," according to Bakewell. "As a result of de occupation of Bighu edey seems clear say de Malian king gey ein access for a tym to dat part for de Akan gold trade wey de Wangara be able to control." Bakewell san note say, "de site for de abandone town for Bighu, anaa Bitu, for de present-day Ghana...lies near de present village of Hani.

### Bonduku
Bonduku be anoda trading center wey dey within de empire of de Bonoman. Ecome give birth to de state of Gyaman wey dem san spell am Jamang Kingdom wey ebe particularly famous for ein production of cotton. De state dey exist from 1450 to 1895 wey dem locate insyd wat be now Ghana den Côte d'Ivoire.

## Structure of towns of Bonoman
Based on excavations, carbon datings den local oral traditions, Effah-Gyamfi (1985) talk say dem gey three distinct urban phases. According to ein, insyd de early phase (thirteenth to de fifteenth century) de urban center be relatively small, den de towns be populated by thousands of people, wey not all dey live insyd de urban center. Buildings dem made of daubed wattle. Painted pottery for dis period be found wey dem distribute am insyd a radius of 3.3 km.

Insyd de second phase, de 16th to de 17th century, de urban centers be bollar, consisting mainly for evenly distribute houses den a nuclear market center. Chaw indications for de participation insyd de long-distance trade, such as imported glass beads den mica coated pottery, stem from dis period.

## Fall of de Bonoman
De fall of Bono state occur during the rise of more Akan nations, especially de exodus for various subgroups for Akans from de Bono state. Dis be where a majority of Akan dialects wey dey comot from Ivory Coast migrate come de west of Ghana. Several factors come weaken dis state, including conflicts among demma leadership, conflicts due to demma taxation, den no direct access to de coast of Gold Coast, wey trade no dey help chaw Akan states wey gey more influence.

## Influence on Akan Culture
Various aspects of Akan culture dey come from de Bono state, wey dey include de umbrella dem use am for demma kings, de swords for demma nation, de stools, goldsmithing, blacksmithing, Kente cloth weaving, de famous adinkra symbols den goldweighing.

## References



## You fi read further

* Anquandah, James (2002). "Ghana: early towns & the development of urban culture: an archaeological view". In Adande, Alexis B. A.; Arinze, Emmanuel (eds.). *Museums & urban culture in West Africa*. Oxford: James Currey. pp. 9–16. ISBN 0-85255-276-9.
* Crossland, L. B. (1989). *Pottery from the Begho-B2 site, Ghana*. African occasional papers. Vol. 4. Calgary: University of Calgary Press. ISBN 0-919813-84-4.
* Effah-Gyamfi, Kwaku (1987). "Archaeology and the study of early African towns: the West African case, especially Ghana". *West African Journal of Archaeology*. **17**: 229–241.
* Goody, Jack (1964). "The Mande and the Akan Hinterland". In Vansina, J.; Mauny, R.; Thomas, L. V. (eds.). *The Historian in Tropical Africa*. London: Oxford University. pp. 192–218.
* Insoll, Timothy (2003). *The Archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa*. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-65702-4.
* Effah-Gyamfi, Kwaku (1979), *Traditional history of the Bono State* Legon: Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.
* Meyerowitz, Eva L.R. (1949), "Bono-Mansu, the earliest centre of civilisation in the Gold Coast", *Proceedings of the III International West African Conference*, 118–120.