the Tchaman people

History

According to oral tradition, the ancestors of the present-day Tchaman people emigrated from the east – land that is now Ghana – under the leadership of a chief named Otsogbi at the beginning of the 17th century, in response to a bloody war with a neighboring ethnic group. Tchaman people have come to the lagoon region in multiple waves of migration. These migration waves are reflected through nine distinct phratries (gotho): Kwɛ, Bijan, Yophugɔn, Nɔnkwa, Sɔngɔn, Bɔbɔ, Japo, Bya and Yangɔn. The Tchaman people are considered to be the most recent of the Akan peoples to settle in the lagoon region of southeastern Côte d'Ivoire. First contact with Europeans came with Portuguese arms traders at the beginning of the 19th century. French colonizers claimed the land around the Ebrié lagoon as their own in the mid-19th century, expelling many Tchaman people from the land upon which they lived. The name of the city Abidjan comes from Atchan: the story goes that a Frenchman asked a Tchaman boy for the name of the land, and the Tchaman boy responded with, 'Mɛn chan ábijan' –  'I was just cutting grass'. 

Geography

Atchan is spoken in a relatively small geographic area over a span over about 65 kilometers in southeastern Côte d’Ivoire surrounding the Ebrié Lagoon. In 1901, the number of Tchaman people was estimated at 25,000 across 55 villages. Over the past few decades, Abidjan has attracted millions of migrants in search of better economic prospects, resulting in further displacement of the Tchaman community. Today, there are roughly 150,000 Tchaman people living across 63 villages in and around the city of Abidjan.

The majority of my work takes place in two villages: Anono, which is part of the Kwɛ phratry, and Blockhauss, which is part of the Nɔnkwa phratry (although geographically it forms a buffer between villages of the Bijan and Kwɛ phratries). According to oral tradition, the village name 'Anono' comes from the phrase a nɔ́n yɔn - 'it is quite ripe'. The name 'Blockhauss' is a reference to the European-built concrete buildings found in the neighborhood, but it is also known as Anɔnkwathé in Atchan. 

Village organization

Tchaman villages have three main districts (ákrɔ́khu): the 'quartier haut' (átho), the 'quartier bas' (áthe´), and the center (áɟamɛn or áɟɛmɛn). Ceremonies, like generation ceremonies, start at the bottom of the village and proceed to the top. Public meetings take place in the center. New Tchaman villages were often formed by districts breaking off from older villages. When a new village broke off, it maintained its former name, including the label for the district – for instance, Elokaté and Elokato are villages whose residents formerly occupied the átho and áthe´, respectively, of the village Eloka. Tchaman people are overwhelmingly Christian –  see praise songs in Atchan here, here, here, here, here and here. Each Tchaman village typically has three separate churches: Catholic, Protestant, and Harrist. The arrival of the missionary William Wadé Harris from Liberia in 1913-14 marked an important turning point for Tchaman society. Prior to mass Christianization, for instance, each district of a Tchaman village had a hut (njɛchrénkhú) where women were made to stay while menstruating. This practice, among others like the worship of fetishes, was explicitly outlawed by Harris. Cemeteries are always located in the átho part of the village. 

Generation system

Each adult in Tchaman society is initiated into a generation and category. There are 4 generations – Blessoué, Gnando, Dougbo, and Tchagba. Each generation spans roughly 15-20 years, and each generation comprises 4 categories – Djéhou, Dogba, Agban, and Assoukrou (a roughly 2- to 4-year span each). Once a Tchaman person is initiated into a generation and category, they associate with those labels for the rest of their life (e.g. Blessoué Djéhou, Dougbo Assoukrou, Tchagba Agban, et cetera). The generations and categories always rotate in the same order: the Djéhou are always the eldest of their generation, and the Assoukrou are always the youngest. After the Tchagba Assoukrou category, the next category to be initiated is Blessoué Djéhou. 

In the past, the generation system determined economic activity, political power, and roles in wartime. Additionally, the generation system involved only men: however, today, both men and woman participate. Traditionally, the youngest group, considered 'children', climbed palm trees and harvested palm kernels. The second-youngest group, considered the 'adults', cleared away dead leaves, the second-eldest group, considered the 'mature adults', cleared trees and created access routes, and the eldest group, considered 'elders', monitored women working on the oil production process. In terms of political power, the second-eldest group (the 'mature' men) are in charge of village governance. Each generation has an ábhɛ́óthe (generation chief), ako (funder), and mwa (town crier), among other roles. 

In wartime, an entire category was sent to fight together. Because of this, two brothers of the same mother must always be initiated into different categories. Each category has a thaphroyan – the head warrior. He must know how to dance and have a good temperament. The thaphroyan is chosen by members of the preceding category, not his own. In a time of war, the thaphroyan must never be left alone: he must always be protected by his age-mates. As he symbolizes his entire category, capturing or harming him means harming the entire category, so if he dies in battle, none of his age-mates should survive. When all four categories come together, every 16-20 years, the thaphroyan djéhou carries the afran (a war machete made of openwork iron). There are a variety of other wartime roles determined by generation: for instance, each category has a dwasanwo (deputy warrior) and cɔ́mán (musicians). Cɔ́mán are a small group of people who go through a special initiation, where members meet in the middle of the night and learn to sing war songs and to speak Ácɔ́, a secret ritual language. 

Each generation and category is also qualified by its village: for instance, one might be initiated as Blessoué Djéhou of Anono. Each village is on a different timeline with regards to generation, so it is not necessarily the case that everyone born in a certain year is initiated into the same generation or category across distinct villages. Additionally, some villages have slightly different customs: for instance, the village of Abya-Yangbo (known as Petit Bassam in French) skips the Agban category. According to oral tradition, this is because, at one point in the past, the village sent the Agban category off to war, and they failed to protect their thaphroyan. Today, this village only has three categories – Djéhou, Dogba and Assoukrou. 

Villages also differ in how they celebrate generation ceremonies. In some villages, there is a ceremony for each category of a generation, so they take place every 2-4 years. However, in other villages, the generation ceremony takes place only for the entire generation, so every 15-20 years (this is the fachwe – see below for more details). During a generation ceremony, men being initiated wear red loincloths, called abho nannan, and cover themselves in white kaolin clay. The thaphroyan has his face covered in black charcoal, and he performs a warrior dance. He may wear an outfit made of raffia palm fronds, and may wear a hat or belt covered in mirrors, and holds two weapons in his hands. Women clap nkpákpá (flat wooden sticks) and sing aleyɛn, songs specifically intended for this occasion which extol the virtues of their generation and category. You can see examples of aleyɛn here: Tchagba Dogba, and Blessoué Djéhou. 

Today, economic roles are not determined by age class, and traditional warfare is no longer practiced. However, generations continue to play an extremely important role in social organization. Within a category, all members are considered equal, and there is a strong sense of solidarity across age-mates. Once a Tchaman person has been initiated into their generation, they are able to fully participate in adult life: for instance, they are now granted a voice at village meetings. 

The fachwe

The ákhúbhɛ́óthe – the village chief – is chosen for his intelligence, thoughtfulness and good morals. When he is enthroned, his entire generation is now considered village leaders alongside him. This event is marked by a ceremony called the fachwe. During the fachwe, the outgoing chief presents the new chief to the nannán, the eldest man of the village. Following this, the thaphroyan of each category of the generation performs a special warrior dance. Women of the Tchagba generation sing aleyɛn, as well as songs specifically for this occasion: see one here. 

Clans

There are seven clans (amándo) of the Tchaman people: the Lokoman, Afiedoman, Badoman, Tiadoman, Akouedoman, Diouman and Goudouman. Clan membership is matrilineal. Traditionally, the dean of the clan for each village played an important role in religious life, and had jurisdiction over land distribution. Clans are the only place in Tchaman society where generations do not play a role. 

Childbirth customs

When a Tchaman woman gives birth, she performs the ntánbro ritual. For about three months after giving birth, the new mother (the tanbroya) remains indoors, and her female relatives help her to take care of her new baby. She is fed copious amounts of food and is expected to gain a great deal of weight. After three months, she returns with her baby to her husband's home. This event is called the ntánbrodí – the new mother is anointed with oil and paraded around the village in beautiful clothing, and the village celebrates with a feast and often an accompanying religious ceremony at church.  

Food

Tchaman women traditionally prepare and sell attiéké (áyi in Atchan), a staple made from steamed fermented cassava. Attiéké is now consumed all over West Africa, but was originally prepared and consumed exclusively by three ethnic groups in and around Abidjan: the Adioukrou, Alladian and Tchaman. Attiéké is made by first peeling, grating and pounding the cassava root into a paste, then letting it ferment for several days. This fermented cassava paste is called mányan in Atchan. The paste is later winnowed, dried and sifted, then cooked. It is typically served with fish and pepper sauce, but can accompany essentially any dish. For special occasions, áyi nannan (red attiéké) is served: this is made by mixing attiéké with palm oil. Another typically Tchaman dish is kókocha, plantain which has been boiled and pounded with palm oil and chili peppers. 

All photos included here were taken by me. 

References

Augé, Marc. 1975. Tribus et villages : l'organisation socio-politique des Ébrié. In Théorie des pouvoirs et idéologie: Étude de cas en Côte d'Ivoire, ENS Editions. p. 69-95. 

Bouscayrol, René. 1949. Notes sur le peuple ébrié. Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 11(34): p. 382-408. 

Clozel, François-Jean. 1906. Dix ans à la Côte d'Ivoire. Paris, Challamel. 

Dido, Yao Maxime & Firmin Ahoua. 2019. Une langue secrête et sacrée parlée par les ébrié : l'acô. Presentation at the 31ème Congrès de la SLAO (Societé de Linguistique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest), 12-14 August 2019, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. 

Djeni, N.T., K.F. N'Guessan, D.M. Toka, and K.M. Dje Kouame. 2011. Quality of attieke (a fermented cassava product) from the three main processing zones in Côte d'Ivoire. Food Research International 44: p. 410-416.

Kobi, Joseph Abo. 2019. Le pouvoir traditionnel en pays atchan (ébrié), entre permanences et ruptures (1896-2014). NZΛSSΛ 2: p. 379-388. 

Konin, Aka. 2010. Aspects de l'art musical des tchaman de Côte d'Ivoire. Tervuren, Belgium: Musée Royale de l'Afrique Centrale. 

Niangoran-Bouah, Georges. 1969. Les Ébrié et leur organisation politique traditionelle. Annales de l'Université d'Abidjan, série F, 1(1): p. 51-89. 

Personal communication with Dido Yao Maxime, Gomon Christelle, Koutouan Evelyne and Mobio Sidonie