The Sefwi are an Akan people.
The Akan sub-group live predominantly in western Ghana and some parts of Ivory Coast. The Akan sub-group speak the Akan dialect Sefwi language.
The term Sefwi, which refers to the language spoken and the Sefwi people mythically originated from the withering of the Twi phrase, "Asa awie" which translates "War is over", by immigrants from Bono-Techiman, Wenchi, Adanse, Denkyira, Assin and Asante who settled on the territories of Aowin (modern-day Sefwi) escaping the 17th century wars.
Geographically located on the northern part of the Western Region, Sefwi is about 200 kilometers from the coast, and covers an area of 2,695 square miles crossed by the Tano and Bia rivers.
The ancient origin of Sefwi is unknown. Evidence suggests that by the end of the 17th century, Aowin’s ambition to expand economically and politically led to confrotations with the Asante over trade routes and gold sources, igniting the Asante-Aowin war of 1715 which eventually saw the Aowin losing much of the territory to the Twi-speaking immigrants. Although the new immigrants were victorious in the wars, they seemed to have lost their language, which now is so heavily overlaid with the dialect of the Aowin as to render it virtually incomprehensible to the other Twi speakers. Practically, all the ruling houses of Sefwi, except Bonzan and a handful of others, trace their roots to Adanse, Denkyira, and Asante.
Sefwi, collectively is made up of three traditional states namely Anhwiaso, Bekwai and Wiawso, all of which have a mutually independent paramount chief and share a common deity Sobore and a common yam festival called alluolie or Eluo.
With a total population of about 572,020 (2010), Sefwi has 7 Districts and 7 Constituencies, comprising Bia West, Bia East, Bibiani/Anhwiaso/Bekwai, Bodi, Juabuso, Sefwi Akontombra and Sefwi Wiawso. Sefwi shares the Western Region with the Aowin, Wassa, Nzema and the Ahanta.
Sefwi is endowed with natural resources such as gold, bauxite and timber. The fertile nature of the land, has served as bait for farmers from other regions mostly Northern, Krobo and Ashanti. With cocoa farming as the main occupation of the people, Sefwi produces about 2/3 of Ghana's cocoa.