(Read this post with a free learning mind willing to learn like me)
I have come to be fully convinced that The History of we the Ewe People is incomplete and filled with a lot of fictional storytelling to cover up some issues the Leaders who told our History felt should not be privy to the public.
Now let’s iron out some of the issues that keeps bothering me as I listen to the Historians speak on radio on the issue of Torgbui Wenya III as the legitimate “Dutor” of the Anlo “Dogbo-Nyigbo” clanks to be more powerful than the Awormefia title.
Torgbui Wenya according to all our current Historians is indeed the Leader and Founder of the “Dogbo Clan” which is now the “Anlo people”. Nobody is arguing this.
So how was his Leader title called in the Ewe language?
“Nunorla” as some historians want to make us believe that, that was the title Torgbui Wenya had in Notsie are not being fair to we the Younger generation.
There’s no single Ewe clan with a history of having a “Nunorla” title ever. The Churches introduced this title for their local Church Leaders in the late 1800s to early 1900s.
“Dutor” as all historians keep referring to Torgbui Wenya literary means “Owner of the town” which we can say is same as “Fiaga”. Because owners of a town are Kings and not Kingmakers.
Also all our historians have also agreed that “Torgbui Sri” the first who in real life is called “Kponoe” is not a Paternal Dogbo citizen but then from the “Tando Clan” or “Tado”.
He is said to be the nephew of Torgbui Wenya. And this information without malice intended means that the “Sri” family is pertenally from the “Tado clan” which are still in Togo and maternally from the “Dogbo clan” which is the Anlo.
Therefore calling the “Torgbui Sri” Leadership as strangers ruling over the people is very disrespectful but then it can be argued with facts from history.
It is also true the every Ewe society ONLY has a Chief as its Leader. We don’t have any other Leadership system except the Leader being the Chief. And the Ewe people sure had a Chief before Wenya was even born.
So to argue that Torgbui Wenya was not a Chief in Notsie and only a Leader and Founder sounds a untrue and bias. The Ewe people of the “Dogbo-nyigbo” clan only practiced the Chietancy rule and every Leader was the Chief. So Torgbui Wenya took over from a Chief and not a “Nunorla”.
And one important question is that why should the lineage of being the family that produced the Leaders of the “Dogbo-Nyigbo” be completely erased after Torgbui Wenya died?
Now one other thing I want to say with no malice intended is that the title “Fiaga” (Biggest Chief) is different from the title “Awormefia” which means “Secluded Chief”. We should stop confusing the two.
Now there’s no where in history that “Torgbui Sri” has been called “Fiaga” but then Awormefia.
And according to Ewe traditional system, The Awormefia stays secluded and is not a ceremonial King. The Fiaga was the ceremonial King and this only changed during the colonial rule era.
So my investigative mind has been asking the rhetorical question of What if in Notise Torgbui Wenya was “Fiaga” which is the Ceremonial King, Torgbui Sri the Awormefia was the “Spiritual King”, and then they had another Torgbui who was “Awadada” which is the “War King”?
What if somebody rewrote this history to fit their narrative?
So what if Torgbui Wenya only made “Kponoe” an “Awormefia” and maintained the “Fiaga” title for himself?
This would explain why even though Torgbui Sri was the “Awormefia” in Notsie long before their exodus escape, Torgbui Wenya was still the Leader who ruled over the Dogbo-nyigbo people and also led them from Notise to Anloland as the major Leading figure and Founder even in his old age.
Why was he still acting and performing the duties of a Big Chief or “Fiaga” if he actually wasn’t a Chief?
And we know Torgbui Wenya was not the first in his leadership position among his people. He had Leaders selected from among his tribesmen long before he was born and they would definitely be Torgbui (Chief) and not Nunorla (Leader).
So what happened to that Leadership lineage?
And then why should the original natural leadership of the Anlo people, which had family Ancestors of Torgbui Wenya occupy as the leaders of the “Dogbo-nyigbo” before it got to Torgbui Wenya’s turn which he executed and even led the people into a new land.
But then after Torgbui Wenya, it seems that Leadership which had a pure Dogbo-nyigbo” clansmen occupy has completely been erased from the history, heritage and culture of the Ewe people. And it doesn’t make sense to me.
The enstoolments of Torgbui Wenya III has indeed opened up a conversation we need to have. This is our past and we need to see know our roots.
Because according to history, Torgbui Wenya was the Leader of the Ewe people in Notsie. And he was the one who led their escape from Notsie under Agorkorli to Ghana.
He was the only one called Leader which in Ewe language should be Chief and nothing else.
And Awormefia was called Awormefia and not “Fiaga”. And we should not try to make this 2 sound like one.
And one other thing to now is that, after Torgbui Sri the first died, it took the Sri and Adeladza families over 400years to ever become Awomefia again.
This was between 1906 to 1956 when Torgbui Sri II was installed after the first died in 1504 according to Wikipedia.
Why were they absent for 400 years and only came back to power during the Colonial days when the Europeans meddled in our Chieftaincy issues to make their favorites Chief.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_the_Ewe_state_of_Anlo
I beg we are learning! I am learning!
Picture credit; Dela Goldheart
Questions by Selorm Ameza