Ewe

Ewe (ā`vā,–wā), African people, numbering over 3 million, who live in SE Ghana, S Togo, and S Benin. When German Togoland was partitioned after World War I, the Ewe in that colony were divided between France and Britain. The question of reunion was constantly before the United Nations after World War II, but no satisfactory terms of reunification could be found. Part of the Ewe passed (1957) with British Togoland to Ghana by referendum. The Ewe are the largest political group in Togo.

Bibliography

See A. Ellis, The Ewe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa (1966).

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Ewe

Peoples of southeastern Ghana, southern Benin, and southern Togo. They speak dialects of Gbe, a Kwa language of the Niger-Congo family. The Ewe never formed a single centralized state, remaining a collection of independent communities that made temporary alliances in time of war. Most Ewe are farmers; some coastal Ewe fish. Spinning, weaving, pottery making, and blacksmithing are important crafts. They number more than 3.5 million.