The story of Bepong Kwahu
The town is located in the Kwahu South District in the Eastern Region of Ghana .
It lies between Mpraeso and Kwahu Asakraka .
The inhabitants are predominantly farmers — cultivating bananas, cassava, plantains, coffee ,cocoa and other farm products .
Of late one school which has projected the image of the town in the field of sports is the Methodist Primary School which is the current Under 13 Milo Football Champions in Ghana.
According to Adamu Yanko Oral Historical Tradition ,the people of Bepong once lived at Kwaefo,/Nkwaefo which was their headquarters .
The people of Bepong were said to be the first indigenous people of Kodiabe/Okwahu/Kwahu. Tradition has it that there were First Kwaefo and Second Kwaefo and that the founders of these two settlements were members of the Aduana clan locally called the Amoakare clan . The first chief or leader of Kwaefo was Nana Omari Duto . He was followed by Nana Kwame Awua 1 and Nana Kwame Awua 11 respectively . The tradition continued that these chiefs were followed by Nana Adamu Yanko , who shared boundary with the chief of Begoro in the Akim Abuakwa Traditional area .
The oral tradition claims that Nana Adamu Yanko was a great statesman who always sought for peace in his land. Thus he received other settlers and persuaded them to come together and lived peacefully ,hence his name ” Yanko ” , that is, “we will not fight’. A place called Nyameanim which was between Kayera and Baw ( now villages of Bepong) was said to be one of the smaller settlements / villages under Kwaefo .
The tradition continued that later the people of Kwaefo moved to Akropong . Akropong was located at the place / farmland called Ampaa , just about ten minutes drive from the present Bepong township off Bepong– Ntomemu route .
The oral tradition further indicated that there were about seven ( 7 ) smaller settlements under Akropong. The tradition has it that when the people were at Akropong , one Abrah ,the Chief Hunter ,on his usual hunting expeditions came to a spot in the then dense forest and managed to kill Obopong or Bie pong , an animal . It was said that Obopong or Bie pong was the name given to a big buffalo , that is, Bie or Ekoo .
The oral tradition continued that owing to frequent drought at Akropong , the people moved to the spot where Abrah killed the animal which happened to have many sources of drinkable water. The people called the spot ” Bie pong paa ni ” that is , ” What a big buffalo “. It is inferred that ” Bie pong ” later corrupted to BEPONG or BEPON .
Up till today the people of Bepong show their gratitude to Abrah in the following panegyric : ” If there is any animal at Kwaefo/ Nkwaefo that animal belongs to Abrah, that is, ” Se aboa biara ewo Kwaefo/ Nkwaefo a na ewo Abrah “. It is said that it was at Bepong that Adamu Yanko’s Line created Gyasehene ( Captain of the Bodyguard) for Kokora . Nana Kokora later became the first chief of Bepong . It is of interest to note that up till today at Bepong Adamu Yanko’s Line is recognised as the customary owner of the land, that is , ” Asase wura ” .
The story of Bepong which is traced from their initial settlement at Kwaefo 1 , Kwaefo 11 , Akropong and finally to Bepong was mostly based on oral historical tradition. Consequently, I have tried to avoid dates since the authenticity of such dates cannot be guaranteed . However , there is one spectacular event in the annals of Bepong history/story which date is certain .
In December 1895, a child was at a local Presbyterian Mission House at Bepong .The child grew up to become one of the illustrious sons of Ghana and he was the late Dr J .B
. Danquah , ” the Doyen of Gold Coast politics ” and also a member of the Big Six .
Credit: The late Nana Oboo Anyinam ( aka Opanyin Kofi Minka , Principal of REES , Nkawkaw ) of Adamu Yanko Stool , Bepong .
The writer Joseph Boateng Gyamfi . Director of Kwahu Socio Economic Research Center , based at Bepong.
Founder , Nana Adamu Yanko Information Center , Bepong .
Source:Kwahu socio-economic research center facebook page.
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