Wa and the Wala Islam and Polity in Northwestern Ghana [Hardcover]

The first full study of Wala history and society, which will be of interest to Africanists, Islamic studies specialists and historians of colonialism.Wa and the Wala is the first full study of Wala history and society. The author pays particular attention to relations between the Muslim and non-Muslim elements in its population, and examines the impact of Zabarima, Samorian, British and French intrusions into Wala affairs.Wa and the Wala is the first full study of Wala history and society. The author pays particular attention to relations between the Muslim and non-Muslim elements in its population, and examines the impact of Zabarima, Samorian, British and French intrusions into Wala affairs.In the late seventeenth century Wala emerged as a small state in what is now northwestern Ghana. Ivor Wilks traces the history of Wala from its beginnings to the present, paying particular attention to the complex relations between the Muslim and non-Muslim elements in the population. He also examines the impact of Zabrima, Samorian, British, and French intrusions into Wala affairs. By the use of orally transmitted traditions and recensions of these in both Arabic and Hausa, he is able to show how the Wala themselves view thier past. Ivor Wilks analyzes the periodic eruptions of communal violence in Wala in terms of both religious and secular factionalism. He suggests that the policy maker, concerned with the region's current political problems, should have a sound knowledge of the history of Wala and an understanding of the deeper structures of society.List of illustrations; List of tables; Preface; List of abbreviations; Preamble; 1. Wa and the Wala; 2. Wala origins: Lasiri and Kubaru; 3. Wala origins: the 'alim as local historian'; 4. Wa chronology: an exercise in date-guessing; 5. Tajdid and jihad: the Muslim community in change; 6. Colonial intrusions: Wala in disarray; 7. 'Direct rule': Wala in the early twentieth century; 8. Wala under 'indirect rule': power to the l“P