ABSTRACT
Sefwi is one of the many Akan groupings in southern Ghana that shares a common cultural and linguistic heritage. 1 They are composed of three independent groupings inhabiting the forest areas of the northwestern portions of the present Western Region of Ghana. The three Sefwi principal groupings are classified under paramount chiefs 2 consisting of the independent groups within the Anhwiaso, Bekwai, and Wiawso traditional areas. 3 Sefwi Wiawso is the largest of the three traditional areas, and it shares common boundaries with the Bono and Côte d’Ivoire to the West. Due to sheer size, sections of the Wiawso traditional area were far removed from the paramount chief’s seat at Sefwi Wiawso township, and thus his influence was quite minimal in the deeper forest regions. 4 As a result, places such as what has become present-day Bia District with Debiso as the traditional seat exercised greater degrees of autonomy and may have independently chosen to pay tribute to the Asantehene in Kumasi. Therefore, they may not have considered themselves and the area as under the rule of Sefwi Wiawso for some time.
