International chiefs among the ewe astride the ghana-togo boundary: from political hegemony to ritual authority, 1914-2014

Abstract

An important feature of Africa’s international boundaries is how they cut across ethnic groups, communities and families. This paper analyses the consequences of the bisection of communities by colonial boundaries that have become the new territorial markers of political communities. The study argues that contrary to claims of the enduring or lasting legacy of European international political boundaries on concepts of space in sub-Saharan Africa, collective identities were not weakened by colonial boundaries and administration. Rather, they were transformed and reinvigorated through cultural practices such as rituals which sustained a sense of belonging to Ewe communities that straddled international boundaries. In Nyive, an Ewe community astride the Ghana-Togo boundary the international boundary has not prevented chiefs from performing recognized ritual chiefly functions across the boundary, thus describing themselves as ‘international chiefs.’ The paper however notes that relationships between the separated communities have changed, specifically from political hegemony to largely ritual practices. It shows the importance of cultural space in the reproduction of communal or collective identities across international boundaries