The Volta River is the main river system in the West African country of Ghana. It flows south into Ghana from the Bobo-Dioulasso highlands of Burkina Faso. The main parts of the river are the Black Volta, the White Volta, and the Red Volta. In the northwest, the Black Volta forms the international borders between the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. The Volta flows southward along the Akwapim-Togoland highlands, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of Guinea at Ada Foah. One of its smaller tributaries, the Oti River, enters Ghana from Togo in the east. The Volta River has been dammed at Akosombo for generating hydroelectricity. The reservoir named Lake Volta stretches from Akosombo Dam in the south to the northern part of the country, and is the largest man-made reservoir by area in the world.
The Dyula are a Mande ethnic group inhabiting several West African countries, including Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Burkina Faso.
Islam was the first Abrahamic monotheistic religion to arrive in Ghana. Today, it is the second most widely professed religion in the country behind Christianity. Its presence in Ghana dates back to the 10th century. According to the Ghana Statistical Service's Population and Housing census (2021), the percentage of Muslims in Ghana is about 19.9%.
Bono State was a trading state created by the Bono people, located in what is now southern Ghana. Bonoman was a medieval Akan state that stretched across the modern Ghanaian regions of Bono, Bono East and Ahafo and the Eastern Ivory Coast. It is generally accepted as the origin of the subgroups of the Akan people who migrated out of the state at various times to create new Akan states in search of gold. The gold trade, which started to boom in Bonoman as early as the 14th century, led to the Akan War, as well as increased power and wealth in the region, beginning in the Middle Ages.
João de Santarém was a Portuguese explorer who discovered São Tomé, Annobón and Príncipe, and hence became the first known European to reach the southern hemisphere. Together with Pero Escobar, he also encountered the town of Sassandra in the Ivory Coast in 1471 and 1472, explored the African land from Ghana up to the Niger Delta. From 1484 he was captain of Alcatrazes in Cape Verde.
Bondoukou is a city in northeastern Ivory Coast, 420 km northeast of Abidjan. It is the seat of both Zanzan District and Gontougo Region. It is also a commune and the seat of and a sub-prefecture of Bondoukou Department.
Salaga is a town and is the capital of East Gonja district, a district in the Savannah Region of north Ghana. Salaga had a 2012 settlement population of 25,472 people. Salaga was the largest slave market in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Yagbum was the capital city of the Gonja (kingdom) founded by Naba'a of the Ngbanya dynasty. Naba'a reigned from 1552/3 to 1582/3.
The Wangara are a diaspora community of ethnic Soninke origin who served as specialized long-distance merchants throughout West Africa, particularly in Trans-Saharan trade. Originating from the Ghana Empire, over time the Wangara became integrated into numerous other communities and ethnic groups, particularly in Timbuktu, Agadez, Kano, Gao, Salaga, Kong, Bissa, Kankan, Fouta Jallon, Djenné as well as Bambouk, Bure, Lobi, and Bono goldfields and Borgu. They were practicing Muslims who helped spread the religion widely and served as clerics, political advisors, healers and marabouts, often following the Suwarian Tradition.
Ghana is a multilingual country in which about eighty languages are spoken. Of these, English, which was inherited from the colonial era, is the official language and lingua franca. Of the languages indigenous to Ghana, Akan is the most widely spoken in the south. Dagbani, Dagare, Sisaala, Waale, and Gonja are among the most widely spoken in the northern part of the country.
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Fernão Gomes was a Portuguese merchant and explorer from Lisbon, possibly the son of Tristão Gomes de Brito.
Professor Emeritus Ivor G. Wilks was a noted British Africanist and historian, specializing in Ghana. Considered one of the founders of modern African historiography, he was an authority on the Ashanti Empire in Ghana and the Welsh working-class movement in the 19th century. At the time of his death, he was Professor Emeritus of History at Northwestern University in Illinois, USA.
Kangaba is a town, commune, and seat of the Kangaba Cercle in the Koulikoro Region of south-western Mali.
Sheikh Al-Hajj Salim Suwari was a 13th-century West African Soninke karamogo who focused on the responsibilities of Muslim minorities residing in a non-Muslim society. He formulated an important theological rationale for peaceful coexistence with the non-Muslim ruling classes called the Suwarian tradition, which survives to this day despite the pressures of modernism.
The Anufo or Chakosi are an Akan people who live in the Dapaong and (Sansanné-)Mango areas of Togo, as well as in Ghana. They trace their origin to a place called Anou or Ano on the Komoé River in the Ivory Coast. Thus, they refer to themselves Anoufou "people of Anu". The exonym Chakosi has also been spelled 'Chokossi', 'Chakossi', 'Kyokosi', 'Kyokoshi', 'Tschokossi', and 'Tyokossi'. They migrated to their present location in the late 18th century. The Anufo had their own kingdom based in Sansanné-Mango, prior to German colonization of Togo. As of 2003 they had a combined population of 137,600. They speak the Anufo language, one of the Akan languages.
Kpandai is a town and is the capital of Kpandai district, a district in the Northern Region of north Ghana. Kpandai had a 2012 settlement population of 11,239 people.
Ndewura Jakpa was an African king, founder of a dynasty in Gonja, in the early 17th century.
The Savannah Region is one of the newest regions of Ghana and yet the largest region in the country. The creation of the Region follows presentation of a petition by the Gonja Traditional Council, led by the Yagbonwura Tumtumba Boresa Jakpa I. Upon receiving favourable responses from all stakeholders in the Northern Region, the Brobbey Commission, a referendum was conducted on the 27th December 2018. The result was a resounding yes of 99.7%. The President of the Republic of Ghana signed and presented the Constitutional Instrument (CI) 115 to the Yagbonwura in the Jubilee House, Accra on 12 February 2019. The launch was well attended by sons and daughters of Gonjaland including all current and past Mps, MDCEs and all appointees with Gonjaland descent. Damongo was declared the capital of the new Savannah Region. It is located in the north of the country. The Savannah Region is divided into 7 districts; Bole, Central Gonja, North Gonja, East Gonja, Sawla/Tuna/Kalba, West Gonja, North East Gonja and 7 Constituencies; Bole/Bamboi, Damongo, Daboya/Mankarigu, Salaga North, Salaga South, Sawla/Tuna/Kalba and Yapei/Kusawgu. The capital of Bole district is Bole; East Gonja municipal is Salaga; West Gonja district is Damango; Sawla Tuna Kalba district is Salwa; Central Gonja is Buipe; North Gonja is Daboya; and North East Gonja is Kpalbe
8 roads with several sub routes were built by the Asante Empire to connect the capital with cities north and south of the empire starting from the 18th century. Asante roads were supervised and policed by the government, but the sacred roads of the state received more attention. 4 main roads were directed northwards of the state whiles the other 4 were built south and towards the Coast. The southern roads of the Asante Empire fell into decline in the late 19th century and the entire road network was abandoned following British colonization.
