HISTORY

Abyssinia to Notse

 

The Asogli people, like most Ewe speaking people, trace their origin from a place called Abyssinia in what is now Ethiopia. They migrated with other Ewes from Abyssinia to Oyo in Yorubaland, Western Nigeria. From Oyo they went to Ketu in Dahomey (now Benin) before settling at Notse in present day Republic of Togo in about the 12th century.

 

Oral history has it that in their settlements at Ketu and Notse, the Ewes lived in walled cities called Agbome, literally meaning within the fence wall. At Notse, the Ewes were ruled by a tyrant, King Agorkorli whose sadistic rule is reported in the historical records of all Ewes.

 

The Asoglis naturally detested the rule of King Agorkorli and, under the leadership of Togbe Kakla, they broke through a portion of the fortified wall for all Ewes to escape. Togbe Kakla and his people broke the wall after softening it through a planned and persistent splashing of water.

 

The conspiracy included a deceptive plan under which the escaping subjects walked backwards out of the walled city. The objective was to create the impression that the footprints they left were those of people who had entered the city. This confused the King's soldiers and by the time they realized what had happened, most of the subjects had escaped to freedom.

 

“Gligbayi”, the dagger which Togbe Kakla used in breaking through the wall of Notse, is a sacred relic of the Ewes. It is in the custody of the Agbogbomefia, the traditional overlord of Asogli State.

 

Early Settlements

 

Togbe Kakla and his people broke away from the larger Ewe group to settle at Komedzrale, near what is now Ho, the capital of the Volta Region of Ghana in West Africa. At Komedzrale, the Asoglis engaged in subsistence farming and hunting.

 

Oral history has it that Togbe Kakla had three sons and a daughter. These were Akoe, Letsu, Asor and Esa. As Komedzrale lands gradually lost their fertility and could no longer support any meaningful economic activity and the growing population, the Asoglis migrated further.

 

The descendants of Akoe and Letsu founded Akoefe and Kpenoe, and later, Takla. The descendants of Asor settled at the present day Ho after a brief sojourn at Hofedo. The only daughter of Togbe Kakla, Esa, migrated and settled at present day Saviefe which lies north of Ho.

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