Brief History:According to the local legend, the first Kabre human, Kumberito, landed in this region and lived for several years before the hooting of an owl-like bird (mututukuγu) scared him into the mountains where he and his descendants lived ever since (Piot, 29-30). Historically speaking, the Kabre people probably migrated into this region during the time of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1700-1850 (Piot 30). During that time, villages were often violently raided for slaves, so many communities retreated to the mountains where it was easier to defend (Piot, 31). However, no researches have been done to confirm this hypothesis.
(Picture from http://z.about.com/d/africanhistory/1/0/5/2/Trans-Atlantic1.jpg)
After the slave raids ended, there was a period of peace where the Kabre people developed their excellent agricultural skills. However, when the German colonized the area, the Kabre people were forced to work on the infrastructure of the country, and they built much of Togo’s roads and railroads. When the Germans lost World War I, they ceded “Togoland” to France and Britain. The French had the portion that is now known as Togo (Piot, 35, 41).
In 1963, Gnassingbé Eyadéma (see photo to the left), a young Kabre soldier, overthrew the government and became the sole ruler from 1967 until his death in 2005. Eyadéma is somewhat of a legend in Togo. During his reign as a dictator, he miraculous survived a plane crash where everyone died except him, and he survived several assassination attempts. Due to his identity as a northerner, a Kabre, tension often formed between him and the southern Togolese, which is from a different ethnic group. Upon his death, his son Faure Gnassingbé came to power and was elected as the president.(Picture from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Gnassingbe_Eyadema_detail2_DF-SC-84-10025.jpg)
Local Culture and Social Norms:
In Togo, there are two major ethic groups: one that speaks Kabiyé (or Kabye) and lives in the North, and the one that speaks Ewe and lives in the South. From general observation, the South is considered to be more prosperous than the North, which is considered to be more “backwards."
The northern region, where I am headed, is known as the Kabre (Kabiyé) region. The people there believe strongly in ancestral spirits and are spiritually led by the local diviners. Although there is a chief for the village, his major responsibilities are only to collect taxes and act as judge for local disputes. Most of the power in the village rest on people who perform the traditional rituals (Piot, 148-149).
A village in Kabre is made up of many homesteads, which are groups of mud-brick homes with a central courtyard. The father is the head of the household, with one or more wives.(Picture from http://www.travelswithsheila.com/wtchdr2village.jpg)
The society in Kabre values dependency on others rather than individualism. According to Dr. Piot, “The general view [in Kabre] is that such individuals—the person who stands apart, the isolated individual—are abnormal” (Piot, 67).
For example, people are constantly borrowing things from each other. On one hand, they are satisfying their own needs. On the other hand, they are building up relationships through these exchanges of things. Dr. Piot told a story of how a rich man borrowed land from his friends even though the land borrowed was not as fertile as his own. The reason that the man gave was that “it is not good to die without having eaten off someone else’s plate” (Piot, 56). However, it is advisable to not romanticize about this gift exchange system because Dr. Piot suggests that gifts could be a way that the locals put control over the foreigners--by indebting the foreigners (70). Nevertheless, I am looking forward to being in this community and learn much more about this fascinating culture.
Source:
Piot, Charles, Remotely Global: Village Modernity in West Africa. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1999.
