The Akan (/ˈækæn/) people are a Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan speak languages within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano subfamily of the Niger–Congo family. Subgroups of the Akan people include: the Adanse, Agona, Akuapem, Akwamu, Akyem, Anyi, Asante, Baoulé, Bono, Chakosi, Fante, Kwahu, Sefwi, Wassa, Ahanta, Denkyira and Nzema, among others. The Akan subgroups all have cultural attributes in common; most notably the tracing of royal matrilineal descent in the inheritance of property, and for succession to high political office. All Akans are considered royals in status, but not all are in royal succession or hold titles.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, early European writers proposed that the Akan originated from distant places such as Egypt, Libya, Nubia, the Ghana Empire, the Mossi Kingdoms, or the broader sahel region. These origins and migration theories have since been rejected by modern historians. Archaeological and oral evidence now supports a local and regional origin, linking the Akan to areas once inhabited by the ancient Kintampo Complex across the forest margins of present-day Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.

Oral traditions and archaeological evidence indicate that the Akan trace their origins to the forest and forest–savanna transition zone, with early settlements such of Bono Manso, Begho, Wenchi, Asantemanso and Adansemanso playing central roles in their historical development. The Bono people of Takyiman recount Bonoman as the first centralized Akan state—with its capital Bono Manso founded by a leader named Asaman, who emerged with his people from a sacred cave known as Amowi near modern day Techiman. According to tradition, God created the Bono before the sky itself, and their land was the birthplace of humankind. The word “Bono” is said to mean “original” or “first.” Oral traditions from the Bono people of Old Wenchi recount that their ancestors first emerged from the ground at Bonoso, led out by a pig-like quadruped called Wankyi, before establishing their settlement at Old Wenchi (Ahwene Koko). The Bono people of the Nyarko, trace their ancestry to the ancestress Efua Nyarko, after whom a quarter of Begho was named.

According to Adanse traditions and cosmogony, Adanse was the traditional “Garden of Eden” of all the Akan and is regarded as the first of the Akan states, standing at the head of the entire Akan nation. They recount that their land is considered a sacred place of creation and early political formation, regarded as the ancestral homeland from which all the southern Akan trace their origins. It is described as the first among five foundational states, Adanse, Akyem, Assin, Denkyira, and Asante, collectively called Akanman Piesie Anum. Clans such as the Asona, Agona, Oyoko, and Bretuo are believed to have either originated from, settled, or have passed through Adanse. The Asante people trace their roots to Asantemanso, where the matriarch Ankyewa Nyame is said to have descended with sacred regalia, and where the founding clans emerged from the earth. Akyem Kotoku, Akyem Bosome, Assin Atandansu, Assin Apimenin as well as the Asante ofMampong, Dwaben, Kokofu, among others, claim to have migrated at various times from the Adanse area of the Asante Region. These traditions emphasize sacred geography, clan emergence, and spiritual unity, with the deity Bona acting as guardian of Adanse's early cohesion. The Akwamu identify early capitals at Twifo-Hemang, Asamangkese and later Nyanaoase, located near key trade routes in the southern forests. As their power grew, the capital shifted multiple times, eventually crossing the Volta Gorge.

In the south and west, the Fante people recount a migration from Bono-Tekyiman to the coast, where they encountered the Etsi. Their founding is tied to Mankessim and the rock shrine Nananom Pow, linked to the legendary ancestral trio Obrumankoma, Odapagyan, and Oson. The Aowin (also known as Agni) claim an early presence in the western forests. Their kingdom dominated regional trade and provided refuge to displaced groups before its decline during wars with Denkyira and Asante. The Sefwi people trace their origins to the Bono and Adansi areas but describe distinct migrations into the western forests in response to 17th–18th century warfare.

The Nzima trace their origins to the formation of the Nzima Kingdom, created by three brothers, Annor Blay Ackah, Bua Kanyili, and Ahmiree II, who united the existing states of Jomoro, Abripiquem, and Ankobra through wealth gained from European trade. Known in European records as Apolonia, this new polity dominated the south-western coast of the Gold Coast throughout the eighteenth century. Further west, the Baoulé people of Côte d'Ivoire trace their ancestry to Akan groups who migrated westward from the Gold Coast in two waves during the early eighteenth century. The first, known as the Alanguié Baoulé, moved from Denkyira after its defeat by the Asante around 1701, while the second, the Assabou group, left Kumasi following a disputed succession after the death of Osei Tutu in 1717.

The earliest cultural developments in the Akan forest zone are associated with the Kintampo Complex (c. 2000–500 BCE), which marked the transition from foraging to sedentary village life. Archaeological evidence from central Ghana reveals that early communities practiced mixed farming, kept domestic animals, and produced decorated ceramics, polished stone tools, and terracotta figurines. These settlements laid the foundation for later urbanization and state formation in regions such as Bono Manso and Begho.

By the 5th century CE, northern forest communities had developed long-term settlements supported by agriculture, trade, and iron production. Oral traditions from the Bono recall emergence from sacred caves like Amowi and the founding of Bono Manso Archaeological research at sites such as Kranka Dada confirms continuous occupation and participation in wider regional exchange networks. By the 14th century, the Bono region was linked to the Niger trade routes and had become a major node of commerce and spiritual life. Excavations at Bonoso, the first settlement of the Wankyi Bono, uncovered iron-smelting furnaces, slag, copper ornaments, and pottery, with radiocarbon dates between 660 and 1068 CE. This record confirms the development of Old Wenchi (Ahwene Koko) as an early Bono center. The Nyarko quarter of Begho, named after the ancestress Efua Nyarko, formed a proto-urban settlement dated to 965–1125 CE. Excavations revealed iron tools, copper objects, ivory, and painted pottery comparable to 9th-century finds from New Buipe, reflecting early craft specialization and urban growth.