Mina / Popo

The Mina (Popo) are one of the major ethnic groups in Togo and Benin.

They are concentrated in the southern región of Togo and Benin, along the coast from Lomé to Ouidah, Benin. Most of them live in and around Anécho and Porto Seguro.

Globally, Mina group totals 676,000 in 2 countries. (Peoplegroups, 2023)

• The Mina of Benin are numbering 194,000.
• The Mina of Togo are numbering 482,000.

Their primary language is Gen. They are speakers of the languages nowadays generally termed "Ghe" (though formerly more commonly "twe"), including Ewe, Adja, and Fon.

The primary religion practiced by the Mina is ethnoreligion. Ethnoreligion is deeply rooted in a people's ethnic identity.

 

Origins

Ethnologists believe the Mina originated in Ghana and mi- grated to Anécho in the seventeenth century. The term "Mina" is actually a collective word referring to two peoples—the Ga and the Ané.

 

Economy

Most of them are subsistence farmers who raise maize, millet, manioc, and plantains.They constitute an important element in the political, commercial, and administrad ve elite of Togo and Benin.

 

Sources:

• Peoplegroups.org
• Robin Law - University of Stirling
• Samuel Decalo. Historical Dictionary of Benin. 1987; Donald G. Mor- rison et al. Black Africa: A Comparative Handbook. 1989.
• James S. Olson / Peoples of Africa