ABSTRACT
The earth is often viewed as a potent cosmological force that is intimately bound up with the spirits of the ancestors. In order to expand an ethnic group territory, one must gain the approval and protection of the ancestors. Anthropologists are frequently faced with the dilemma of dealing with disparate descriptions of social groupings within an ethnic group made by members of the group themselves. Sahelian West African peoples do use concepts and categories similar to what anthropologists mean when they use term tribe or clan. This chapter focuses on territoriality, chieftaincy and village organization and how they relate to territoriality among the Konkomba, an ethnic group found in Ghanas administratively defined Northern Region. The Konkomba look to their neighbors first to aid in battle, kinship notwithstanding, and reckon Konkomba territory not in terms of a clearly defined line on a map but rather in terms of where in northern Ghana they are able to wield economic influence.
