Tamale is the capital city of the Northern Region of Ghana. It is Ghana's third largest city, with a population of 950,000. The city has been ranked as the fastest-growing city in West Africa. It is located 600 km (370 mi) north of Accra.
Ghana is a country of 28.21 million people and many native groups, such as:
Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II was the King of Dagbon, the traditional kingdom of the Dagomba people in northern Ghana, from 31 May 1974 until his assassination on 27 March 2002. He was born in August 1945 in Sagnarigu, a suburb of Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana. Yakubu II was killed on 27 March 2002 at Yendi, the capital of the Kingdom of Dagbon, by unknown people when clashes broke out between the two feuding Gates of Dagbon Kingship. For 600 years the Abudu and Andani clans, named after two sons of the ancient Dagbon king Ya Naa Yakubu I, cordially rotated control of the kingdom centred in Yendi, 530 kilometres (330 mi) north of Accra, the capital of Ghana. As of January 2014, a regent has acted as sovereign of the kingdom until 18 January 2019 when a new ruler is chosen to occupy the revered Lion Skins of Yendi.
The Dagombas or Dagbamba are an ethnic group of Ghana, and Togo. They number more than 3.1 million people. The term Dagbamba is originally extended to refer to other related peoples who were unified by Naa Gbewaa including the Mamprusi and Nanumba. The Dagomba country is called Dagbon and they speak Dagbanli language. Dagbanli is the most spoken language of northern Ghana and second most widely spoken local language of Ghana. Dagbanli belongs to the Mabia (Mole-Dagbani) subgroup of the Gur languages, a large group of related languages in West Africa. The Dagomba practises both patrilineal and matrilineal systems of inheritance.
The Northern Region is one of the sixteen regions of Ghana. It is located in the north of the country, and it is the second largest of the sixteen regions. Until its split, it covered an area of 70,384 square kilometres, or 31 percent of Ghana's area. In December 2018, the Savannah Region and North East Region were created from it. The Northern Region is divided into 14 districts. The region's capital is Tamale, Ghana's third largest city.
Ya Na Darimani (Kulkarijee) was Ya-Na or king of the Kingdom of Dagbon, a kingdom located in the northern part of modern-day Ghana. He was said to have ruled Dagbon for only seven weeks in 1899 but played an important role in the Dagbon chieftaincy conflict.
West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly is one of the six districts in North East Region, Ghana. Originally created as an ordinary district assembly in 1988 when it was known as West Mamprusi District, which was created from the former Mamprusi District Council, until the western part of the district was split off on 28 June 2012 to create Mamprugu-Moagduri District; thus the remaining part has been retained as West Mamprusi District. However, on 15 March 2018, it was elevated to municipal district assembly status to become West Mamprusi Municipal District. The municipality is located in the western part of North East Region and has Walewale as its capital town. Other settlements within the municipal assembly include Wulugu.
The Ghanaian Smock or Tani is a fabric worn by both women and men in Ghana. It is the most popular traditional attire in the country. The fabric is called Tani in Dagbani, while the male and female wear are respectively called Bin'gmaa and Bin'mangli. The smock is formally worn with a hat (zipligu), footwear (muɣri), and a trouser (kurugu).
The Buɣim Chuɣu is the first Dagomba festival in the year. It is celebrated in the first month of the Dagomba lunar year, the Bugum Goli, and is celebrated on the ninth day of the month. The festival is celebrated to remember the "lost son of a king" during ancient Dagbon.
Naa Gbewaa is the founder of the Kingdom of Dagbon, in what is now northern Ghana. His sons and daughters are credited with founding several states, including the Mossi kingdoms of Burkina Faso. He established a stable and prosperous kingdom. Naa Gbewaa's shrine is located at Pusiga, 90 km east of Bolgatanga. His descendants continue to pay respects at the shrine.
Nyankpala, with the appelation Beyom Yili, is a town located about 10 miles south-west of Tamale, the capital of the Northern Region of Ghana. The University for Development Studies (UDS) has its premier campus located in the town. This campus is the first of the university's campuses, the first to be established in northern Ghana.
World Damba Festival is an enactment of the Damba festival of Northern Ghana by Ghanaians living in other parts of the world. World Damba festival was first celebrated in 1999 in Louisville, Kentucky. London hosted the event in 2012. Other cities that have hosted the festival include Boston in Massachusetts, Amsterdam, and Brussels.
The Kingdom of Dagbon (Dagbaŋ) is the oldest and one of the most organised traditional kingdoms in Ghana founded by the Dagomba people (Dagbamba) in the 15th century. During its rise, it comprised, at various points, the Northern, Upper West, Upper East, Savannah Region and North East regions of present-day Ghana. It also covered portions of Burkina Faso, North East Ivory Coast and North West Togo. Since Ghana's independence in 1957, the Kingdom just like all of Ghana's kingdoms and ethnic states has assumed a traditional, customary role.
The Mole-Dagbon, also called Mossi-Dagbon or Mole-Dagbani are a meta-ethnicity and western Oti-Volta Gur ethno-linguistic group residing in six present-day West Africa countries namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali and Togo. They number more than 15 million. The Mole/Mossi/Moore people are located primarily in Burkina Faso while Dagbon is in Ghana.
The Nanumba people are an ethnic group whose traditional homeland is in the southeast of the Northern Region of Ghana. They speak Nanugli, a Gur language.
Yendi Senior High School(YESS) is coeducational secondary school at Yendi in the Northern Region of Ghana. The school was established in 1970, first as middle boarding school to enable access to basic education for communities in the Eastern Corridor enclave before it was upgraded in September same year to the status of a secondary school. For the first academic year, the school had only 77 total student population with 70 boys and seven girls. The first headmaster of the school was Cletus Bernard Teviu. He headed the school for nearly a decade spanning between 1970 and 1979 and one of the hostels in the school has been named in his honour. In the year 2020 when the school celebrated its 50 years anniversary, total student population was 2,724 and number of teachers were 121. The school operates as a boarding school but few attend as day students.
Bukali II, known as Gariba II, is the current Yaa Naa, traditional ruler of the Kingdom of Dagbon in Ghana.
Gbewaa Palace is the seat of the Yaa Naa of the Kingdom of Dagbon. Located at Nayilifong along the Yendi-Saboba road in Yendi, Gbewaa Palace was named after the patriarch of the Mole-Dagbani people of Ghana. In 1896, The Gbewaa palace was burnt down and plundered during the German invasion of Dagbon. On March 4, 2023, Gariba II cut sod for the redevelopment of the palace.
Kpini Chugu, which means Guineafowl Festival in Dagbani, is a minor festival celebrated on the fourth month after Damba in Northern region of Ghana. It is observed in the Dagbon, Mamprugu and Nanung traditional areas. Naa Zangina is known to have been the initiator of this festival.
Dumba Festival is an annual festival celebrated by the chiefs and people of Wa of the Wala Paramouncy in the Upper West Region of Ghana. It is usually celebrated in the month of September or October.
