Biography of Naa Gbewaa

Full Name: Naa Gbewaa
Also Known As: Tohazie Gbewaa, Gbewa, or Gbewaa
Title: Founding ancestor and king
Region: Northern Ghana (Dagbon, Mamprugu, Nanung)
Nationality: Ghanaian (Ancestral figure of Mole-Dagbani heritage)
Known For: Legendary founder of the Mole-Dagbani states; revered as the patriarchal ancestor of several northern Ghanaian kingdoms and a symbol of unity, migration, and royal legitimacy

Overview

Naa Gbewaa is a towering ancestral figure in the history and oral tradition of northern Ghana. Credited as the founder and patriarch of the Mole-Dagbani states—including Dagbon, Mamprugu, and Nanung—he is celebrated as a unifying force, the father of kings, and the source of political and spiritual authority for millions of people in northern Ghana and parts of neighboring Burkina Faso and Togo.

While the exact dates of his life are uncertain, scholars and oral historians generally place his reign around the 14th to 15th centuries, during a period of migration, settlement, and state formation across West Africa.

Origins and Migration

According to oral tradition, Naa Gbewaa was the son of Tohazie (the "Red Hunter"), a powerful warrior who migrated southward from the Lake Chad region or somewhere in the Sahel. Tohazie is remembered as a brave conqueror, and Gbewaa, his descendant, is portrayed as a more diplomatic and state-building figure.

Gbewaa's people are believed to have migrated into what is now northern Ghana, where he established a centralized authority that laid the foundations for the kingdoms of Dagbon, Mamprugu, and Nanung.

This migration story is central to the identity and legitimacy of the Mole-Dagbani peoples, linking them to both a heroic past and a shared ancestral source.

State Formation and Royal Legacy

Naa Gbewaa is often described not only as a king, but as a father figure—both literally and symbolically. He had many children, several of whom became founders of separate royal houses, including:

• Tia – Ancestor of the Mamprusi kings

• Sitobu – Ancestor of the Dagomba kings

• Mantambo – Ancestor of the Nanumba kings

• Kachaɣu (a daughter) – Often remembered for her wisdom and maternal lineage influence

Through his offspring, Gbewaa created a dynastic network that would rule for centuries, with each descendant forming their own kingdom while maintaining a spiritual connection to the original Gbewaa ancestry.

This genealogical and spiritual link remains essential to the chieftaincy systems in the region to this day. Succession, legitimacy, and historical authority are still traced back to Gbewaa, and the Gbewaa Palace in Yendi, the seat of the Yaa Naa (King of Dagbon), bears his name.

Death and Cultural Significance

The story of Naa Gbewaa’s death is wrapped in layers of oral myth and symbolic meaning. According to tradition, he did not die in the usual sense but rather disappeared into the earth—a motif that signifies immortality, sacredness, and transformation into an ancestor.

It is said that when he felt his death approaching, he entered the ground at Pusiga, near Bawku, where a sacred shrine known as the Naa Gbewaa Shrine still exists. The site is a place of pilgrimage and ancestral reverence, visited by royals, spiritual leaders, and community members seeking blessings or affirming lineage.

Unifying Ancestral Figure

Naa Gbewaa’s legacy is pan-ethnic and unifying. Despite political divisions between the kingdoms of Dagbon, Mamprugu, and Nanung, they all acknowledge a shared descent from him. In a region that has sometimes experienced inter-ethnic tension, Gbewaa remains a symbol of common origin and solidarity.

His story is told in drumming traditions, oral recitations by griots (lunsi), palace ceremonies, and initiation rites. His memory is not only historical—it is spiritual, political, and cultural, forming the backbone of identity for many northern Ghanaian societies.

Legacy and Influence Today

Centuries after his time, Naa Gbewaa continues to shape the political and cultural landscape of northern Ghana. His influence is evident in:

• The structure of traditional governance among the Mole-Dagbani peoples

• The respect for chieftaincy and lineage in northern communities

• The continued use of his name in royal titles, palaces, and shrines

• The unity of diverse kingdoms through shared ancestry

His name is invoked during royal installations, funerals of chiefs, historical performances, and during ritual visits to sacred ancestral sites.

Naa Gbewaa is more than a historical figure—he is the foundational ancestor, state-builder, and symbolic patriarch of some of the most prominent traditional kingdoms in West Africa. His life and legend represent migration, unity, cultural endurance, and royal authority.

For the Mole-Dagbani peoples, Naa Gbewaa remains a living presence in the spiritual and political life of the region—a name carried with pride, a legacy passed through generations, and a reminder that history lives not only in books, but in the heartbeat of a people.