The Gurunsi , or Grunshi , are a set of related ethnic groups inhabiting northern Ghana and south and central Burkina Faso .
63-742: Oral traditions of the Gurunsi hold that they originated from the western Sudan passing through the Sahel. While it is unknown when the migration occurred, it is believed that the Gurunsi were present in their current location by 1100 AD. Following the 15th century, when the Mossi states were established to the north, Mossi horsemen often raided Gurunsi areas for slaves, but the Gurunsi peoples were never fully subjugated, remaining independent. According to doctor Salif Titamba Lankoande, in Noms de famille (Patronymes) au Burkina Faso ,
126-418: A Bible (the same Bible has been used for every monarch since Te Wherowhero). The eighth and current Māori monarch is Queen Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō . She was crowned on 5 September 2024, following the death on 30 August of her father, King Tūheitia . The non-sovereign monarchs of Nigeria , known locally as the traditional rulers , serve the twin contemporary functions of fostering traditional preservation in
189-933: A British pension to Zongoiri in the Gold Coast , where he died in 1904. As a result of the significant centralization of the kingdoms, the French largely kept the administrative organization in place. They made the Mogho Naava in Ouagadougou the primary leader of the region and created five ministers under him that governed different regions (largely adhering to the Mossi kingdom borders). The Mossi kingdoms were organized around five different kingdoms: Ouagadougou , Tenkodogo , Fada N'gourma , Zondoma (later replaced by Yatenga ), and Boussouma . However, there were as many as 19 additional lesser Mossi kingdoms, which retained connection to one of
252-493: A constitutional monarch or governor general); in semi-presidential systems the head of state (a president) is popularly elected and takes a role in governing alongside the head of government, though his cabinet is still accountable to the legislature and can be forced to resign. The U.A.E does possess a weak legislature, called the National Federal Council, which is partially elected and partially appointed, but neither
315-508: A coup against the Bugandan king in the Battle of Mengo Hill . During Obote's subsequent rule the monarchies were abolished, and remained so during the rule of Idi Amin as well. Restoration of the traditional monarchies came in 1993. The restored monarchies are cultural in nature, and their kings do not have policy-making power. The Kingdom of Rwenzururu, which did not exist before the 1966 abolition,
378-459: A federation, the president of which is chosen from among the emirs), or in a more informal one, in which theoretically independent territories are in feudal suzerainty to stronger neighbors or foreign powers (the position of the princely states of India during British rule ), and thus can be said to lack sovereignty in the sense that they cannot, for practical purposes, conduct their affairs of state unhampered. The most formalized arrangement
441-590: A group of kingdoms in modern-day Burkina Faso that dominated the region of the upper Volta river for hundreds of years. The largest Mossi kingdom was that of Ouagadougou. The king of Ouagadougou, known as the Mogho Naaba, or King of All the World, served as the Emperor of all the Mossi. The first kingdom was founded when warriors from the ancient Great Naa Gbewaa kingdom in present-day Ghana region and Mandé warriors moved into
504-625: A holy war against the Mossi kingdoms in 1497. Although the Mossi forces were defeated in this effort, they resisted the attempts to impose Islam. With the conquest of the Songhai by the Moroccans of the Saadi dynasty in 1591, the Mossi states reestablished their independence. By the 18th century, the economic and military power of the Mossi kingdoms had increased significantly. Foreign trade relations expanded throughout Africa, with important connections made with
567-412: A man. She then came to the house of a Mandé elephant hunter named Rialé. They had a son named Ouédraogo who was given that name from the horse that Yennenga used to escape. Ouédraogo visited his grandfather, The Nayiri, King of Mamprugu, at Gambaga at the age of fifteen and was given four horses and 50 cows. A number of horseman joined his forces, and with them, Ouédraogo conquered the local people, married
630-667: A reduction in territory after defeat in the Anglo-Zulu War , lost its independence in 1887, when it was incorporated into the Natal Colony , and later the Union of South Africa . The Zulu kings remained pretenders to their officially abolished thrones during the 20th century, but were granted official authority by the Traditional Leadership Clause of the republican Constitution of South Africa . The constitution recognizes
693-399: A similar fashion, each with their own monarchs. While they no longer hold sovereignty, they still retain some cultural and political influence. Accounts of the origin of the Mossi kingdoms and parts of their history are imprecise, with contradictory oral traditions disagreeing on certain aspects of the story. The origin story is unique in that a woman plays a key role as the progenitor of
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#1732859342249756-522: A state, including magistrates, a state newspaper known as Te Hokioi, and government ministers (there was even a minister of Pākehā affairs [ Pākehā being the Māori term for Europeans]). A parliament, the Kauhanganui, was set up at Maungakawa, near Cambridge , in 1889 or 1890. Today, though the monarch lacks political power, the position is invested with a great deal of mana (cultural prestige). The monarchy
819-472: A woman named Pouiriketa who gave him three sons, and built the city of Tenkodogo . The oldest son was Diaba Lompo , who founded the city of Fada N'gourma . The second son, Rawa , became the ruler of Zondoma Province . His third son, Zoungrana , became the ruler of Tenkodogo after Ouédraogo died. Zoungrana married Pouitenga, a woman sent from the king of the Ninisi people, and the resulting intermarriages between
882-485: Is a constitutional monarch styled Yang di-Pertuan Agong (In English, "He who is made lord"). The Yang di-Pertuan is elected to a five-year term by the Conference of Rulers , made up of the nine state monarchs and the governors of the remaining states. A system of informal rotation exists between the nine state monarchs. The Māori of New Zealand lived in the autonomous territories of numerous tribes, called iwi , before
945-553: Is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in Polynesia consisting of three main islands ( Wallis , Futuna , and the mostly uninhabited Alofi ) and a number of tiny islets. The collectivity is made up of three traditional kingdoms: Uvea , on the island of Wallis, Sigave , on the western part of the island of Futuna, and Alo , on the island of Alofi and on the eastern part of the island of Futuna. The current co-claimants to
1008-405: Is elective in theory, in that there is no official dynasty or order of succession , but hereditary in practice, as every monarch chosen by the tribal chiefs has been a direct descendant of Potatau Te Wherowhero (though not always the firstborn child of the previous ruler). Their Māori monarch does not have a physical crown: the "coronation" is performed by tapping the ascendant on the forehead with
1071-600: Is governed as a parliamentary republic in which the citizens elect a Territorial Assembly, the president of which becomes the head of government. His cabinet, the Council of the Territory, is made up of the three kings and three appointed ministers. In addition to this limited parliamentary role the kings play, the individual kingdoms' customary legal systems have some jurisdiction in areas of civil law . A number of independent Muslim sultanates and tribal territories existed in
1134-500: Is in Malaysia. Instead, the formal governmental structure has features of both semi-presidential and parliamentary systems, with some modifications. In purely parliamentary systems the legislature elects the head of government (the prime minister) and can force their resignation, and that of the cabinet, through a no-confidence vote , while the head of state is generally appointed or hereditary position without practical power (such as
1197-487: Is known as a federal monarchy , in which the relationship between smaller constituent monarchies and the central government (which may or may not have a territory of its own) parallels that of states to a federal government in republics, such as the United States of America. Like sovereign monarchies, there exist both hereditary and elective non-sovereigns. Systems of both formal and informal suzerainty were common before
1260-550: Is the King of Nanumba, who resides in Bimbilla. Yennenga’s grandsons are the Kings of Tenkodogo , Fada N'gourma , Zondoma Province , Boussouma and stretching across large expanse of Burkina Faso. This event of the story of Yennenga dates in different oral histories to be anytime between the 11th and the 15th centuries. According to the story, the princess Yennenga escaped dressed as
1323-513: The Dutch East Indies . The British controlled the eastern half of modern Malaysia (in a variety of federations and colonies, see History of Malaysia ) through a system of protectorates , in which native states had some domestic authority, checked by the British government. The eastern half of Malaysia was part of the independent Sultanate of Brunei until 1841, when it was granted independence as
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#17328593422491386-622: The Fula kingdoms and the Mali Empire . During this time, the Mossi were attacked by a variety of African forces. Although there were a number of jihad states in the region trying to forcibly spread Islam, namely the Massina Empire and the Sokoto Caliphate , the Mossi kingdoms largely retained their traditional religious and ritual practices. Domestically, the Mossi kingdoms distinguished between
1449-590: The Kingdom of Sarawak under the White Rajas . The kingdom would remain fully independent until 1888, when it accepted British protectorate status, which it retained until the last raja, Charles Vyner Brooke , ceded his rights to the United Kingdom. The two halves were united for the first time with the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Modern Malaysia is a federal monarchy , consisting of 13 states (of which nine, known as
1512-506: The Malay states , are monarchical) and three federal territories. Of the Malay states, seven are sultanates ( Johor , Kedah , Kelantan , Pahang , Perak , Selangor and Terengganu ), one is a kingdom ( Perlis ), one an elective monarchy ( Negeri Sembilan ), while the remaining four states and the federal territories have non-monarchical systems of government. The head of state of the entire federation
1575-505: The Ooni of Ife , retain their spiritual authority as religious leaders of significant parts of the country in question's population. The Zulu Kingdom was the independent nation state of the Zulu people , founded by Shaka kaSenzangakhona in 1816. The kingdom was a major regional power for most of the 19th century, but eventually was drawn into conflict with the expanding British Empire , and after
1638-606: The Scramble for Africa , the powerful Bantu kingdom of Buganda was placed under the administration of the Imperial British East Africa Company . In 1894, however, the company relinquished its rights to the territory to the British government, which expanded its control to the neighboring kingdoms of Toro , Ankole , Busoga , Bunyoro and tribal territories in establishing the Uganda Protectorate , which
1701-636: The Zabarima Emirate within Gurunsiland, which makes up far northern Ghana and southern Burkina Faso. The people who speak closely related Gur languages and dialects and classed by the Mossi under the umbrella term Gurunsi form an arc of village communities mostly organised as defensive strongholds from the Koudougou residency west and northwest of Ouagadougou in colonial times to the northeast of current day Ghana. Historically, these groups were subjects of
1764-460: The nakombse and the tengbiise . The nakombse claimed lineage connections to the founders of the Mossi kingdoms and the power of naam, which gave them the divine right to rule. The tengbiise , in contrast, were people who had been assimilated into the kingdoms and would never have access to naam . However, because of their connections to the area, they did have tenga, which allowed them to make decisions about land issues. The rulers' naam and
1827-401: The 20th century, when monarchical systems were used by most states. During the last century, however, many monarchies have become republics, and those who remain are generally the formal sovereigns of their nations. Sub-national monarchies also exist in a few states which are, in and of themselves, not monarchical, (generally for the purpose of fostering national traditions). The degree to which
1890-567: The Dagbamba—mamprusi, dagomba, And namumba, the Mandé, the Ninisi, and local peoples became the Mossi people. Zoungrana and Pouitenga had a son, Oubri, who further expanded the kingdom by conquering the Kibissi and some Gurunsi peoples. Oubri, who ruled from around 1050 to 1090 CE, is often considered the founder of the Ouagadougou dynasty, which ruled from the capital of Ouagadougou . Following
1953-528: The East Indies (the modern-day states of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Brunei) before the coming of colonial powers in the 16th century, the most prominent one in what is now Malaysia being Melaka . The first to establish colonies were the Portuguese , but they were eventually displaced by the more powerful Dutch and British. The 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty defined the borders between British possessions and
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2016-545: The Kingdom of Yatenga to the north and the Kingdom of Rizim. War between Komdimie and Yatenga lasted for many years, with Yatenga eventually taking over the independent Mossi state of Zondoma. At the same time, Komdimie created a new level of authority for his sons as Dimas of separate provinces. They had some autonomy but recognized the sovereignty of the Ouagadougou dynasty. This system of taking over territory and appointing sons as Dimas would continue to be practiced by many of
2079-461: The Mossi kingdoms. The last king of Ouagadougou, named Wobgo or Wobogoo, was warned a day before the French forces were going to attack. He sent a force to meet them in battle as he fled the city. Wobgo's brother, Kouka, then became the king of Ouagadougou and allied himself with the French and Yatenga to try and capture Wobgo. When the French and British agreed on the boundary between their colonies, Wobgo lost his main support system and he retired with
2142-461: The Mossi kingdoms. This area became in the late 1890s part of a three-way competition between the colonial forces of the French, the British, and the Germans, trying to subdue Djerma warlords and fight also the warlike local population who resisted fiercely to maintain its autonomy, while vying to occupy as much territory as possible at the expense of rival colonial powers. Each of the three claimed part of
2205-546: The Persian Gulf were under informal suzerainty to the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century. Later, this dominance gradually shifted to the United Kingdom. In 1853 the rulers signed a Perpetual Maritime Truce , and from that point onward delegated disputes between themselves to the British for arbitration (it is from this arrangement that the territory's former title, the "Trucial" States was derived). In 1892 this arrangement
2268-563: The Zulu king as the province's official ceremonial monarch and head of state, establishing the province as a constitutional monarchy within South Africa. The current Zulu king is Misuzulu Zulu , who reigns as king of the Zulu nation , rather than of Zululand, which is today part of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal . Zulu ascended the throne in 2021. The numerous small sheikdoms on
2331-784: The area and intermarried with local people. The different kingdom's consolidation of political and military power began in the 13th century, leading to conflicts between the Mossi kingdoms and other nearby powerful states. In 1896, the French took over the kingdoms and created the French Upper Volta colony, which for many decades largely governed using the Mossi administrative structure. Some Mossi Kingdoms still exist today as constituent monarchies within Burkina Faso. Most notably, Naba Baongo II currently reigns as Mogho Naba of Wogodogo (Ouagadougou). The kingdoms of Boussouma , Fada N'gourma , Tenkodogo , and Yatenga currently co-exist in
2394-576: The arrival of British colonialists in the mid 19th century. The Treaty of Waitangi , signed in 1840 by about a third of the Māori chiefs, made the Māori British subjects in return for (theoretical) autonomy and preservation of property rights. British encroachment on tribal lands continued, however, leading to the creation of the King Movement ( Māori : Kīngitanga ) in an attempt to foster strength through intertribal unity. Numerous tribal chiefs refused
2457-442: The boundary with the Gold Coast (now Ghana). This partition divided Gurunsi peoples among French and British administrative systems, facilitating the political and cultural divergence of sub-groups on each side of the boundary. The term Gurunsi is used as a meta term to refer to a group of very loosely relate peoples. The ethnic groups classified as Gurunsi do not share a common language and have distinct cultural practices. Some of
2520-422: The four main kingdoms. Each of these retained significant domestic autonomy and independence but shared kinship, military, and ritualistic bonds with one another. Each kingdom had similar domestic structures with kings, ministers, and other officials, and a high degree of administrative centralization. There were prominent rivalries between the different kingdoms, namely between Yatenga and Ouagadougou. Ouagadougou
2583-509: The future rulers. The increasing power of the Mossi kingdoms resulted in larger conflicts with regional powers. The Kingdom of Yatenga became a key power, attacking the Mali and Songhai Empire between 1328 and 1477, taking over Timbuktu and sacking the important trading post of Macina . When Askia Mohammad I became the leader of the Songhai Empire and desired to spread Islam , he waged
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2646-531: The imposition of Islam and had retained independence from the main Islamic states of West Africa, there began to be a sizable number of Muslims living in the kingdom. In Ouagadougou, the Mogho Naaba assigned an Imam who was allowed to deliver readings of the Qur'an to royalty in exchange for recognizing the genealogical power of the king. The first European explorer to enter the region was German Gottlob Krause in 1888. This
2709-574: The largest Gurunsi ethnic groups are the Frafra , Nabt and Talensi in Ghana as well as the Ko , Lyele , Nuna , and Sisaala in Burkina Faso. The sub-groups Kassena and Nankani inhabit both Ghana and Burkina Faso. The Kassena people are known for their clay houses, which are built by the men. The women decorate the exteriors of the houses with geometric patterns. Mossi Kingdoms The Mossi Kingdoms , were
2772-472: The later royal elections of Polish kings ), as the rulers of the two largest and wealthiest emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, have always held the posts of president and prime minister, respectively. This Council also elects the lower cabinet, the Council of Ministers, as well as the judges of Supreme Court. The seven constituent emirates of the U.A.E. are Abu Dhabi , Ajman , Dubai , Fujairah , Ras al-Khaimah , Sharjah , and Umm al-Quwain . In 1888, during
2835-499: The legislature nor the population at large has a hand in determining the country's political leadership. In the U.A.E., it is the Federal Supreme Council (a sort of "upper" cabinet made up of the seven emirs), which elects both the head of state (the president) and the head of government (the prime minister), both of whom have considerable governing power, to five-year terms. This is a purely formal election, however (similar to
2898-508: The mantle of King, but the leader of the Tainui iwi, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero , was persuaded, and was crowned as the Māori king in 1857. The federation of tribes supporting the king fought against the British during the territorial conflicts known as the New Zealand Wars (which resulted in the confiscation of four million acres (16,000 km²) of tribal land), not emerging from their refuge in
2961-473: The monarchs have control over their polities varies greatly—in some they may have a great degree of domestic authority (as in the United Arab Emirates), while others have little or no policy-making power (the case with numerous ethnic monarchs today). In some, the monarch's position might be purely traditional or cultural in nature, without any formal constitutional authority at all. Wallis and Futuna
3024-616: The name Gurunsi comes from the Djerma language of Niger words “Guru-si”, which means “iron does not penetrate”. It is said that during the Djerma invasions of Gurunsi lands in the late 19th century, a Djerma jihadist leader by the name of Baba Ato Zato (better known by the Hausa corruption of his name: Babatu) recruited a battalion of indigenous men for his army, who after having consumed traditional medicines, were said to be invulnerable to iron. They set up
3087-724: The polity itself, are subject to a temporal authority higher than their own. The constituent states of the German Empire or the princely states of the Indian Empire during British rule provide historical examples; while the Zulu king , whose power derives from the Constitution of South Africa, is a contemporary one. This situation can exist in a formal capacity, such as in the United Arab Emirates (in which seven historically independent emirates now serve as constituent states of
3150-528: The reign of Oubri, centralization and small-scale expansion of the kingdoms were the primary tasks of rulers. The Ouagadougou dynasty retained control in Ouagadougou , but the other kingdoms established by the sons of Ouedraogo retained independence in Tenkodogo, Fada N'gourma, and Zondoma. Under the fifth ruler, Komdimie (circa 1170), two revolutions were started by members of the Ouagadougou dynasty that established
3213-533: The right of "traditional authorities" to operate by and amend systems of customary law , and directs the courts to apply these laws as applicable. It also empowers the national and provincial legislatures to formally establish houses for and councils of traditional leaders. The Zulu king is head of this council of tribal chiefs, known as the Ubukhosi. In 2005, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government officially recognised
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#17328593422493276-418: The royal line. The origins of the Mossi state are claimed by one prominent oral tradition to come from when a [[Moré-Dagbamba princess, Yennenga , left home because of a dispute with her father, Naa Gbewaa , the founder of the Kingdom of the now Tri-kingdoms of Mamprugu, Dagban, and Namumba. The Dagbamba ethnic group comprises Mamprusi, dagomba, Nanumba, and Mossi People. These four sub-groups sprung out of
3339-560: The rural region known as King Country until 1881. The position of the Māori monarch has never had formal authority or constitutional status in New Zealand ( which is itself a constitutional monarchy , as a Commonwealth realm ). Before its defeat in the Land Wars, however, the King Movement wielded temporal authority over large parts of the North Island and possessed some of the features of
3402-509: The support of tenga were connected, creating a two-way balance of power in society. Being located near many of the main Islamic states of West Africa, the Mossi kingdoms developed a mixed religious system, recognizing some authority for Islam while retaining their indigenous Mossi Religion . The king participated in two great festivals, one focused on the genealogy of the royal lineage (in order to increase their naam ) and another of sacrifices to tenga . Although they had initially resisted
3465-411: The territory occupied by the Gurunsi villages, but the competition between the colonial powers was not resolved until the last year of the 19th century. After establishing the protectorates of Yatenga (1895) and Ouagadougou (1896), the French annexed Gurunsi lands in 1897. Eventually the Germans withdrew to Togoland (modern Ghana & Togo), and an 1898 Anglo-French agreement officially established
3528-755: The three sons and daughter of the Great King, Naa Gbewaa. Naa Gbewaa found his kingdom from Pusiga, near Bawku, stretching across almost all of Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso, and parts of northern Togo. The Mossi branch is of Yennenga , the Sister of the three brothers. The eldest of the sons is the Nayiri, King of Mamprugu He resides in Nalerigu. His younger brother is the Yaa Naa, King of Dagon He resides in Yendi. The third and youngest brother
3591-496: The title King of Uvea are Felice Tominiko Halagahu and Patalione Kanimoa , the current King of Alo is Filipo Katoa and the current King of Sigave is Eufenio Takala . They have been reigning since 2016. The territory was annexed by the French Republic in 1888, and was placed under the authority of another French colony , New Caledonia . The inhabitants of the islands voted in a 1959 referendum to become an overseas collectivity of France, effective in 1961. The collectivity
3654-400: The wake of globalisation and representing their people in their dealings with the official government, which in turn serves to recognise their titles. They have very little in the way of technical authority, but are in possession of real influence in practice due to their control of popular opinion within the various tribes. In addition to this a number of them, such as the sultan of Sokoto and
3717-402: Was followed by a British expedition in 1894 led by George Ekem Ferguson , who convinced the Mossi leaders to sign a treaty of protection. Despite this, the French entered the area in 1896 and ignored the treaty of protection, conquering the Mossi Kingdom and make it part of the Upper Volta colony. The French had already conquered or taken over all of the surrounding kingdoms, which had isolated
3780-407: Was formalized into a protectorate in which the British assumed responsibility for the emirate's protection. This arrangement existed until 1971, when the U.A.E. was granted independence. The U.A.E.'s system of governance is unique, in that while the seven constituent emirates are all absolute monarchies, the structure of the federal government itself is not (theoretically, at least) monarchical, as it
3843-443: Was maintained until independence was granted in 1961. Shortly after achieving independence, Uganda became a republic, and its first years were characterized by a power struggle between the Uganda People's Congress and the Bugandan nationalist and monarchist Kabaka Yekka Party . Edward Muteesa II , the king of Buganda, was appointed president and commander of the armed forces, but in 1967 Prime Minister Apollo Milton Obote staged
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#17328593422493906-406: Was officially established in 2008. The areas which now make up the kingdom were formerly part of the Kingdom of Toro. The region is populated by Konjo and Amba peoples, whose territory was incorporated into the Kingdom of Toro by the British. A secession movement existed during Uganda's early years of independence, and after a 2005 report from the Ugandan government found that the great majority of
3969-435: Was often considered the primary Mossi kingdom, ruled by Mogho Naaba , but it was not the capital of the Mossi kingdoms as each retained autonomy. Non-sovereign monarchy Philosophers Works List of forms of government A non-sovereign monarchy , subnational monarchy or constituent monarchy is one in which the head of the monarchical polity (whether a geographic territory or an ethnic group), and
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