heir farms ablaze and also cut down trees for firewood. Hunters equally set fire in search for bushmeat).
Some indigenous ethnic groups claim that marriage relations between them and Fulani i s traditionally forbidden. The Dagomba, Konkomba and Asante (in some areas) have no marriage relations with Fulani people. Some see as ‘waywardness’ any member of their ethnic group who has sexual relationships with Fulani. A man claimed that anyone among his ethnic group who has a sexual or marriage relation with a Fulani is ‘a completely useless human’. The reason is attributable to the inferior status given to the Fulani pastoralists who historically have herded the cattle of kings of some of these ethnic groups and were slaves to the king and the aristocratic class. In some instances, spiritual stereotypes and prejudices are held against Fulani pastoralists including their ability to fly in the night (also see Barre 2012); to talk to and command their cattle to kill; to possess spiritual powers to heal; to put spells on a person and kill him/her instantly with magical powers; and even to change themselves into cattle. All these are perceived in a negative light.
Nevertheless, not in all cases are Fulani stereotypically and prejudicially discriminated. Fulani have been cultural neighbours 25 to the Dagomba, Mamprusi, Gonja and Builsa ethnic groups in northern Ghana and have engaged in very productive cooperative relations with them. Cooperation and strong social networks between them and these communities are built in many ways such as exchanges of goods and services, entrustment of cattle to them, friendship, visitations, trade, communal labour, social solidarity and even marriage with some Ghanaians. The wife of the vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party26 (who himself comes from the chiefly Mamprusi ethnic group) is of Fulani extraction. And there have been many inter-marriages between members of indigenous Ghanaian ethnic groups and Fulani. Also, Ghanaian veterinary services are made available to Fulani herders across the country.
Fulani pastoralists as violent and causers of farmer-herder conflicts
There has been a supposed increase in violent farmer-Fulani herder conflicts, and this is particularly reported in the Ghanaian media. There are quite a number of attacks on both local farmers and Fulani herders resulting in deaths and destruction of properties in almost all the ten regions of Ghana. The conflicts are especially high in Agogo in the Ashanti Region and in parts of the Eastern and Northern Regions. Historically, Fulani pastoralist conflicts with local farmers in 1988/1989 and 1999/2000 led to expulsions of the former by the Ghanaian Government through the security agencies (see Tonah 2002). Thus, the Ghanaian state itself sees farmer-herder conflicts as the fault of Fulani. In these conflicts, it is ‘us’ against ‘them’. And the blame is put on Fulani herders’ destructive behaviour - ‘they intentionally drive their cattle into peoples’ farms destroying large acres of crops and when you confront them they kill you.’27
The media put the blame mainly on the Fulani herders. The Fulani are seen as the ones perpetuating violence.
There is focus on the atrocities and gory activities of the Fulani against local residents of communities rather than the atrocities of local residents against the Fulani.28
‘There have been series of reports about Fulani herdsmen terrorizing people in some parts of the country, especially the Afram Plains in the Ashanti, Eastern and Brong Ahafo Regions.’29
Fulani claimed that another instance of bias towards them was the 14 Fulani who were killed and their properties looted and destroyed by a group of Konkomba farmers in some communities in Gushiegu on 7 and 8 December 2011, without any single person being held responsible. There have been calls for actions to be taken against Fulani pastoralists30 and in some cases open calls on community members to attack Fulani pastoralists in the communities.31 Thus, both media and local discourses frame Fulani as the ultimate causers of viole