Tabom People
Encyclopedia
The Tabom People refers to the Afro-Brazilian
community in Accra
. The Tabom People is an Afro-Brazilian community of former slaves. When they arrived in Accra they could speak only Portuguese
, so they greeted each other with “Como esta?” (How are you?) to which the reply was “Ta bom”, so the Ga people
of Accra started to call them the Tabom People.
, most of them spread through Ghana
, Benin
, Nigeria
, and Togo
. One study estimates that in the 19th century between 3,000 and 8,000 former slaves decided to return to Africa.
Up to now it is not very clear, if the Tabom really bought their freedom and decided to immediately come back or if they were at that time free workers in Brazil, but were deported after the Malê Revolt
of 1835 in Bahia
. A lot of Afro-Brazilians were deported back to Africa, especially Muslim
s who organised the Malê Revolt.
Throughout these countries we can find estates, schools and museums with the name “Brazil”. In Lagos
there is an estate called “Brazilian Quarter” and a club with the name “Brazilian Social Club”; in Benin we can find a school called “Ecole Bresil”. In those countries it is very common to find family names like Souza, Silva, Olympio or Cardoso. Some of them were very well known in their countries. For example, Sylvanus Olympio
was elected the first President of Togo in 1960, before being assassinated three years later.
The first Chacha of Benin (chief and controller of trade and relations with foreigners) was the Afro-Brazilian Francisco Felix de Sousa
, who became very rich due to his involvement in the slave traffic
. He had 53 wives, 80 children and about 12,000 slaves. When he died, he left an empire of an estimated 120 Millions Dollars to his successors . The royal line of the Chachas still exists nowadays in Togo.
The first Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, Raymundo de Souza Dantas, arrived in 1961. In his book Africa dificil, he recalled that he had received a letter from a Togolese called Benedito de Souza, said to be his cousin.
At the present moment the Tabom Mantse is Nii Azumah V, descendant of the Nelson’s. The Taboms are also known as the founders of the First Scissors House in 1854, the first tailoring shop in the country, which had amongst other activities, the task to provide the Ghanaian Army
with uniforms. Proof of these skills is without any doubt Dan Morton, another Tabom and one of the most famous tailors nowadays in Accra.
The de Souza family can be found around Keta in the Volta Region which use to be part of the Trans Volta Togoland. Also at Osu, Kokomele and other parts of the Gt. Accra Region. Cape Coast is also another base. Almost all of them remained along the costal regions. However, it is very common to see a de Souza,a Wellington, a Benson, a Palmares, a Nelson, an Azumah, a Kotey (Kotei), an Olympio and other Afro-Brazilians in Ghana speaking perfect Ewe
, Ga
, Dangme
or Fante. This is because most of the Afro-Brazilian people got married to Ewes, Ga-Adangbes and Fantis. Most of the de Souzas live in Germany, France, Spain, Belgium and England.
Because they were welcomed by the Ga people and received by their king as personal guests, the Tabons received lands in privileged locations, in places that are nowadays very well known estates
, like Asylum Down, the area near to the central train station and around the Accra Breweries. In those areas, the mango trees planted by them bear silent witnesses to their presence. In the estate of North Ridge there is a street called “Tabon Street”, which is a reminder of the huge plantations that they formerly had there. Some of the Tabons live nowadays in James Town, where the first house built and used by them as they arrived in Ghana is located. It is called the “Brazil House” and can be found in a short street with the name “Brazil Lane”. Because of their agricultural skills, they started plantations of mango
, cassava
, beans and other vegetables. They brought also skills such as irrigation
techniques, architecture
, carpentry
, blacksmith
ing, gold smithing, tailoring, amongst others, which certainly improved the quality of life of the whole community.
Apart from all these contributions, they also influenced the religious life of the community, helping in the definitive establishment of Islam
and in the preservation of some syncretic
religions, such as shango
. Nowadays the Tabons are completely integrated in the Ghanaian society and are a part of the Otublohum Section of the Ga People.
Afro-Brazilian
In Brazil, the term "preto" is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" , "pardo" , "amarelo" and "indígena"...
community in Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
. The Tabom People is an Afro-Brazilian community of former slaves. When they arrived in Accra they could speak only Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, so they greeted each other with “Como esta?” (How are you?) to which the reply was “Ta bom”, so the Ga people
Ga people
The Ga-Adangbe are an ethnic group in the West African nation of Ghana. It is part of the Dangme ethnic group. The Ga people are grouped as part of theGa–Dangme ethnolinguistic group. They speak Kwa languages...
of Accra started to call them the Tabom People.
Origins of Afro-Brazilian Communities
There are various communities of Afro-Brazilian descendants in West AfricaWest Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, most of them spread through Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, and Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
. One study estimates that in the 19th century between 3,000 and 8,000 former slaves decided to return to Africa.
Up to now it is not very clear, if the Tabom really bought their freedom and decided to immediately come back or if they were at that time free workers in Brazil, but were deported after the Malê Revolt
Male Revolt
The Malê Revolt is perhaps the most significant slave rebellion in Brazil. On a Sunday during Ramadan in January 1835, in the city of Salvador da Bahia, a small group of black slaves and freedmen, inspired by Muslim teachers, rose up against the government...
of 1835 in Bahia
Salvador, Bahia
Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...
. A lot of Afro-Brazilians were deported back to Africa, especially Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s who organised the Malê Revolt.
Throughout these countries we can find estates, schools and museums with the name “Brazil”. In Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
there is an estate called “Brazilian Quarter” and a club with the name “Brazilian Social Club”; in Benin we can find a school called “Ecole Bresil”. In those countries it is very common to find family names like Souza, Silva, Olympio or Cardoso. Some of them were very well known in their countries. For example, Sylvanus Olympio
Sylvanus Olympio
Sylvanus Epiphanio Olympio was a Togolese political figure who served as Prime Minister, and then President, of Togo from 1958 until his assassination in 1963.-Political career:...
was elected the first President of Togo in 1960, before being assassinated three years later.
The first Chacha of Benin (chief and controller of trade and relations with foreigners) was the Afro-Brazilian Francisco Felix de Sousa
Francisco Felix de Sousa
Francisco Felix de Sousa was a slave trader from Brazil of Portuguese origin. He has been called "the greatest Portuguese slave trader". Marketing slaves in the Dahomey region, now known as the Republic of Benin, he was known for his extravagance and reputably had at least 80 children and 1000...
, who became very rich due to his involvement in the slave traffic
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
. He had 53 wives, 80 children and about 12,000 slaves. When he died, he left an empire of an estimated 120 Millions Dollars to his successors . The royal line of the Chachas still exists nowadays in Togo.
The first Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, Raymundo de Souza Dantas, arrived in 1961. In his book Africa dificil, he recalled that he had received a letter from a Togolese called Benedito de Souza, said to be his cousin.
Afro-Brazilians in Ghana
In Ghana, the only representative group of people that decided to come back from Brazil is the Tabom People. They came back on a ship called SS Salisbury, offered by the British government. About seventy Afro-Brazilians of seven different families arrived in Accra, in the region of the old port in James Town in 1836, coming from Nigeria as visitors. The reception by the Mantse Nii Ankrah of the Otoblohum area was so warm that they decided to settle down in Accra. The leader of the Tabom group at the time of their arrival was a certain Nii Azumah Nelson. The eldest son of Azumah Nelson, Nii Alasha, was his successor and a very close friend to the Ga King Nii Tackie Tawiah. Together they helped in the development of the whole community in commerce and environmental sanitation. Also the people of Ada with names like Otu or otoo, Otuco, Otuko, Otukoor also known as korkor, Otumele also known as Ma Male, etc. belong to this familyAt the present moment the Tabom Mantse is Nii Azumah V, descendant of the Nelson’s. The Taboms are also known as the founders of the First Scissors House in 1854, the first tailoring shop in the country, which had amongst other activities, the task to provide the Ghanaian Army
Ghana Army
The Ghana Army is the army of the West African nation of Ghana. In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast obtained independence as Ghana, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West African Frontier Force, and formed the basis for the new Ghanaian Army...
with uniforms. Proof of these skills is without any doubt Dan Morton, another Tabom and one of the most famous tailors nowadays in Accra.
The de Souza family can be found around Keta in the Volta Region which use to be part of the Trans Volta Togoland. Also at Osu, Kokomele and other parts of the Gt. Accra Region. Cape Coast is also another base. Almost all of them remained along the costal regions. However, it is very common to see a de Souza,a Wellington, a Benson, a Palmares, a Nelson, an Azumah, a Kotey (Kotei), an Olympio and other Afro-Brazilians in Ghana speaking perfect Ewe
Ewe language
Ewe is a Niger–Congo language spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin by approximately six million people. Ewe is part of a cluster of related languages commonly called Gbe, spoken in southeastern Ghana, Togo, and parts of Benin. Other Gbe languages include Fon, Gen, Phla Phera, and Aja...
, Ga
Ga language
The Ga language is a Kwa language spoken in Ghana, in and around the capital Accra. It has a phonemic distinction between 3 vowel lengths.-Classification:Ga is a Kwa language, part of the Niger–Congo family...
, Dangme
Adangme language
Adangme , is a Kwa language spoken in south-eastern Ghana by 800,000 people.Some sources list Adangbe as another name for the same language whereas lists it as a different language in the Kwa family, and it has a separate ISO 639-3 code of 'adq'.-Classification:Adangme is a Kwa language, part of...
or Fante. This is because most of the Afro-Brazilian people got married to Ewes, Ga-Adangbes and Fantis. Most of the de Souzas live in Germany, France, Spain, Belgium and England.
Because they were welcomed by the Ga people and received by their king as personal guests, the Tabons received lands in privileged locations, in places that are nowadays very well known estates
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...
, like Asylum Down, the area near to the central train station and around the Accra Breweries. In those areas, the mango trees planted by them bear silent witnesses to their presence. In the estate of North Ridge there is a street called “Tabon Street”, which is a reminder of the huge plantations that they formerly had there. Some of the Tabons live nowadays in James Town, where the first house built and used by them as they arrived in Ghana is located. It is called the “Brazil House” and can be found in a short street with the name “Brazil Lane”. Because of their agricultural skills, they started plantations of mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
, cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
, beans and other vegetables. They brought also skills such as irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
techniques, architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
ing, gold smithing, tailoring, amongst others, which certainly improved the quality of life of the whole community.
Apart from all these contributions, they also influenced the religious life of the community, helping in the definitive establishment of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and in the preservation of some syncretic
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
religions, such as shango
Shango
In the Yorùbá religion, Sàngó is perhaps one of the most popular Orisha; also known as the god of fire, lightning and thunder...
. Nowadays the Tabons are completely integrated in the Ghanaian society and are a part of the Otublohum Section of the Ga People.