Jirapa | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Jirapa Location of Jirapa in Upper West region, Ghana | |
| Coordinates: 10°32′N2°42′W / 10.533°N 2.700°W Coordinates: 10°32′N2°42′W / 10.533°N 2.700°W | |
| Country |  Ghana |
| Region | Upper West Region |
| District | Jirapa Municipal |
| Government | |
| • Municipal chief Executive | Christina Bombanye Amadu |
| • Member of Parliament | Dapilah Seidu Cletus |
| Elevation | 1,033 ft (315 m) |
Jirapa is the capital town of the Jirapa Municipal in the Upper West Region of Ghana. [1]
There is a very strong Roman Catholic tradition in the Jirapa-Lambussie district. The White Fathers opened a mission station first in Navrongo in 1906, from which three men were delegated to work in Jirapa in 1929. They were allotted a plot of land by the Jirapa Naa (chief) who allegedly wanted to see whether they would be driven out by evil spirits, or vice versa. [5] Despite early conflicts between converts and the local chiefs, and even the resulting disapproval of the British District Commissioner of Lawra, the work was given great impetus by the locally famous 'rain event' of 1932 in which rain fell during a severe drought in the Lawra district, only in Jirapa and in nearby villages following prayer for each case. [6] [7] According to government statistics, 42.5% of the population in the district now claim to be Christian, 96.1% of which are Catholic, the remainder being affiliated to either Islam or traditional religion. [8]
The Chief of Jirapa is the Paramount Chief of the Jirapa traditional area, and is at present Peter Nanfuri, Naa Ansoleh Ganaa II. There is an annual festival called Bong-Ngo in Jirapa for the chiefs and people of the area. It is held in the last week of April and marks the end of the ban on harvesting the fruit of the Dawadawa tree (Parkia Biglobosa) and the beginning of the farming season. [9]
The local people are called Dagaaba, and speak Dagaare, which is a Gur branch of the Niger–Congo language family. The name of the town, written in Dagaare as Gyerebaa, is pronounced roughly as jira-‘baa, and means 'reed-stream', i.e. a stream of reeds. [10]
The Dagaaba people are an ethnic group located north of the convergence of Ghana, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire. They speak the Dagaare language, a Gur language made up of the related Northern Dagaare dialects, Southern Dagaare dialects and a number of sub dialects. In northern dialects, both the language and the people are referred to as Dagara. They are related to the Birifor people and the Dagaare Diola. The language is collectively known as Dagaare, and historically some non-natives have taken this as the name of the people. One historian, describing the former usage of "Dagarti" to refer to this community by colonials, writes: "The name 'Dagarti' appears to have been coined by the first Europeans to visit the region, from the vernacular root dagaa. Correctly 'Dagari' is the name of the language, 'Dagaaba' or 'Dagara' that of the people, and 'Dagaw' or 'Dagawie' that of the land."
Wa is a town and the capital of Wa Municipal District and the Upper West Region of northern Ghana. Wa had a 2012 settlement population of 102,446. Features of the town include several churches and mosques, the Wa-Na Palace, the St. Andrew's Catholic cathedral, the University for Development Studies (UDS), a museum, a nearby hippopotamus sanctuary in Wicheau, the mushroom rock In Jirapa and the ants hill at Nanvielle. The geography of Wa is notable for the dramatic monadnock Ombo Mountain, which is located around Kaleo and visible from much of the Wa town. Other notable towns around Wa region include Naaha and Ga.
Lawra is a small town and is the capital of Lawra district, a district in the Upper West Region of Ghana.
The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the north-western corner of Ghana and is bordered by Upper East region to the east, Northern region to the south, and Burkina Faso to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest settlement is Wa. The Upper West was created by the then Head of State, Flight-Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings in 1983 under the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) military regime. The area was carved out of the former Upper Region, which is now the Upper East Region. For about thirty-five years, it remained the youngest region of Ghana until 2018 when six more regions were created by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government; hence increasing the total number of administrative regions in the country to sixteen.
Jirapa/Lambussie District is a former district that was located in Upper West Region, Ghana. Originally created as an ordinary district assembly in 1988. However on 29 February 2008, it was split off into two new districts: Jirapa Municipal District and Lambussie-Karni District. The district assembly was located in the northwest part of Upper West Region and had Jirapa as its capital town.
Eremon is a relatively small community located in the Lawra Municipality in the Upper West Region of Ghana. It is about 50 kilometers north of Wa the regional capital. It is the biggest subdistrict in the entire region. The people are mainly Dagaaba and they speak an indigenous language called Dagaare.
Saint Francis of Assisi Girls' Secondary School is the only girls' secondary school located in Jirapa in the Upper West Region of Ghana.
Jirapa is one of the constituencies represented in the Parliament of Ghana. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Jirapa is located in the Jirapa/Lambussie District of the Upper West Region of Ghana.
Lambussie Karni District is one of the eleven districts in Upper West Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Jirapa/Lambussie District in 1988; until the northern part of the district was later split off to create Lambussie-Karni District on 29 February 2008; thus the remaining part has been renamed as Jirapa District. The district assembly is located in the northwest part of Upper West Region and has Lambussie as its capital town.
The arrival of the Europeans in 15th century into the then Gold Coast brought Christianity to the land. There were many different cultural groups across the West African region who were practicing different forms of spirituality. As the Europeans explored and took control of parts of the country during the colonial days, so did their religion. Christianity is the religion with the largest following in Ghana. Christian denominations include Catholics, Methodists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Seventh-Day Adventists, Pentecostals, Baptists, Evangelical Charismatics, Latter-day Saints, etc.
Peki is a town in the South Dayi District in the Volta Region of Ghana. It comprises eight subtowns, each with a subchief - Tsame, Avetile, Afeviwofe, Blengo, Dzake, Wudome, Dzobati and Adzokoe. All of these subchiefs swear allegiance to a paramount chief known as Deiga. The current paramount chief is Deiga Kwadzo Dei XII. The town is known for the Peki Secondary School, the E.P Seminary and the government training college GOVCO. The school is a second cycle institution.
Bimbilla is the capital town of Nanumba North District, a district in the Northern Region of Ghana. It is located in the East of the region, and is near the Oti River.
Nandom is the capital town of the Nandom Municipal of the Upper West Region of Ghana.
Clement Kubindiwor Tedam was a Ghanaian politician from the royal family of Paga in the Upper East Region of Ghana.,
Tizza is a small town in the Jirapa District of the Upper West Region of Ghana. The People of this town speak Dagaare
Zambo, one of eight divisional group under the Lawra Traditional council, is a small town in the upper west region of Ghana. It is about 87.5 kilometres (54.4 mi) north of Wa, Ghana the regional capital. Found under the Lawra Municipal, it and nearby Eremon both claim to be the biggest village in the entire municipal. The people are mainly Dagaabas and they speak an indigenous language called Dagaare. The religion there is mainly Roman Catholicism and the traditional religion which has been there for ages.
Bagri Festival is an annual festival celebrated by the chiefs and people of Jirapa, Lawra and Nandom in the Upper West region of Ghana. It is usually celebrated in the month of April to January.
Francis Gyafiiry Korbieh is a Ghanaian politician who served as a member of the 1st and 2nd parliaments of the 4th republic of Ghana representing Jirapa Constituency under the membership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He served as a member of parliament for the Jirapa Constituency from 7 January 1993 to 6 January 2001.
The N12 or National Highway 12 is a national highway in Ghana that begins at the Ghana - Côte d'Ivoire border in the Western Region of Ghana and travels generally north to Hamile on the Ghana - Burkina Faso border. Its total length is 670 kilometres.
Jirapa Municipal District is one of the eleven districts in Upper West Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Jirapa/Lambussie District in 1988; until the northern part of the district was later split off to create Lambussie-Karni District on 29 February 2008; thus the remaining part has been renamed as Jirapa District, which it was later elevated to municipal district assembly status on 15 March 2018 to become Jirapa Municipal District. The municipality is located in the northwest part of Upper West Region and has Jirapa as its capital town.
| Municipal (5) |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary (6) |
| |