Bimoba people are a Gur-speaking ethnic group from north-eastern Ghana who are closely related to the Moba people of north-western Togo. They are an acephalous tribe of the Kingdom of Dagbon numbering around 221,000 people. The Bimoba speak the Moba language.
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Origin
The Bimoba are believed to have migrated southwards from the Sudan following the collapse of the Shilluk Empire around the 1500s.
Society
Bimoba society is patriarchal and is structured around clan and family heads. There are no kings or chiefs with vested power to hold the various clans together. The clans themselves are grouped based on their location. Presently, the clan groups of the Bimoba are: the Baakpang, Turinwe and Kanyakib. Unaffiliated clans also exit at scatted locations.
Religion
The Bimoba practice predominantly ethnic religions. Although they believe in the concept of an Almighty God, they each identify with personal deities collectively referred to as Yennu which translates as "god" or "sun". Their ancestors play a role by being the contact between themselves and Yannu. A typical Bimoba compound would have a clay construction alter (patir; plural: patra) in an enclosed hut (nakouk) where sacrifices are made to invoke the presence of the ancestors. Women are not allowed into the nanouk. Aside the patir located in the compound, every family member is allowed to construct their own small alter known as a mier. Villages typically have a common shrine known as tingban. The tingban is visited at times of problems that concern the entire community such as a drought or a disease outbreak.