ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some of the background to the expulsions from Ghana in which the group most affected were Yorubas from Western Nigeria. The Yoruba trading in Tamale consisted of non-hierarchical independent small-scale trading units, and it considers features of the migration process which might account for this. To illustrate the connection between kinship organisation and migration, the chapter examines in some detail the history of migration to Ghana from a single compound in Igbetti. It argues that in the case of the Yoruba in Northern Ghana, at least, consideration of the social structure and cultural norms of the home community can provide insights into both the nature of the migration process and the maintenance of Yoruba ethnic identity. The chapter also considers in detail the migration of Yoruba to Tamale, and the relationship of these migration patterns to Yoruba social structure in Nigeria. It discusses the nature of the migrant community that arose as a result.
