Dagaaba, Southern in Ghana

People Name:	Dagaaba, Southern
Country:	Ghana
10/40 Window:	No
Population:	1,258,000
World Population:	1,258,000
Primary Language:	Dagaare, Southern
Primary Religion:	Christianity
Christian Adherents:	75.00 %
Evangelicals:	22.46 %
Scripture:	New Testament
Ministry Resources:	Yes
Jesus Film:	Yes
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	Gur
Affinity Bloc:	Sub-Saharan Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

The language of the Dagaaba is Dagaare. The Dagaaba people inhabit the far north-west corner of Ghana, covering parts of the Lambussie-Nandom, Lawra-Jirapa, and Nadawali-Funsi districts. The area that they inhabit covers about 4,000 square kilometers in Ghana and extends into Burkina Faso to cover the same sort of area. They do not consider themselves as a 'tribe' and are composed of many different clans, but they are distinct from their neighbors and are therefore known to outsiders by the common title of Dagaaba.

The Dagaaba are farmers cultivating crops including guinea corn, yam, millet, maize, groundnuts, beans and sweet potatoes. The Dagaaba compounds vary greatly according to area, size and date of construction. It is agreed that the Dagaaba have occupied their present homeland for some 300 years and it is possible that the Dagaaba people were formed when they split away from the Dagomba.

The Catholics entered the area in 1929 and made quite an impact with the treatment that they administered to yaws and other prevalent diseases. The work grew quite quickly and Catholicism has a great impact on Dagaaba life. Other churches entered the area in 1954 and have taken up the challenge of literacy and Bible translation work. Up to now though the Catholic church is the largest Christian church in the area.