Chokosi in Ghana

Chokosi
Photo Source:  Copyrighted © 2024
Kerry Olson  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source:  People Group location: SIL. Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project.
People Name: Chokosi
Country: Ghana
10/40 Window: No
Population: 124,000
World Population: 250,000
Primary Language: Anufo
Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Christian Adherents: 1.20 %
Evangelicals: 1.10 %
Scripture: New Testament
Online Audio NT: Yes
Jesus Film: Yes
Audio Recordings: Yes
People Cluster: Guinean
Affinity Bloc: Sub-Saharan Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

The Chakosi people originally began as a group of mercenaries who left Cote d'Ivoire to help the chiefs of two powerful tribes in Ghana during the mid 1700s. Eventually they assimilated into the communities that they once raided! The Chakosi trace their roots to an area in present-day Cote d'Ivoire which they call Anou or Ano. Hence, they refer to their language as Anufo.

The Chakosi in Ghana currently inhabit an area of savannah grassland in the northeastern part of Ghana.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The soil is poor, yet their main occupation is farming. Men and women work together for communal harvests. Markets in the area follow a six day cycle, and they provide social interaction as well as economic activity. People bring their local produce to sell in order to buy such things as soup ingredients (women) or bicycle parts (young men). It is a patrilineal society.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Chakosi are primarily Islamic yet there are several Chakosi churches. They keep many African traditional beliefs, which are blended with their Islamic beliefs. This legend offers an example of how they blend traditional beliefs with Islam. Before a child is born, an ancestral spirit tells Allah all that will happen during his or her lifetime. Each child is born with a special destiny. If he has a good destiny, he will become an ancestor. If his destiny is he can change it through spiritual help. Without this help, his spirit will be wild, and the person's name will be forgotten.

What Are Their Needs?

There are now Discovery Bible Studies among them. They need these to expand, and for Chakosi Christian believers to write and share worship music in their language.

Prayer Points

Pray for the expansion of the work to encompass the unreached tribes of Ghana and West Africa, beseeching the Lord of the harvest to send out more workers into His harvest field.
Pray for the establishment and flourishing of a robust indigenous Chokosi church in northeastern Ghana, that it may stand as a beacon of God’s love and truth in the region.
Pray for the transformation of the current seekers among the Chokosi community into committed believers who will be empowered to raise up the next generation of disciple makers.

Text Source:   Joshua Project