The Battle of Sandema was a battle in Africa that was fought between Babatu and the people of Sandema. The battle is said to have taken place at a place called Akumcham, where the

Builsa Builsa is a town in the Builsa District of the Upper East Region of Ghana. The capital of Bulsa North District is Sandema, of Bulsa South District Fumbisi; other villages/towns are Wiaga, Fumbisi Fumbisi is a town in the Builsa South District ...

united and defeated the leader of the Zabarma warriors.

History

According to historians, Babatu was said to have hailed from Indunga, a town in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesGrunshie Mossi,

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

and

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

as fighters who took part in slave raids in the Northern Territories. It was said he conquered an area that stretched from

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's ...

in the north to what is now the Upper East region and certain parts of Northern region in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

It is said Babatu brought the people of Zabarma state to its peak of power and prestige in the late 1880s.

Background

It was said certain events took place before the confrontation between the two sides. Babatu attacked the

for about three months. He captured many warriors of the village of Wiaga as prisoners. Some of the warriors rushed to Sandema and he pursued them. Babatu was defeated in a battle that took place in a hill between Sandema and Fiisa called Azagsuk. The warriors from

Navrongo Navrongo is a town and the capital of Kassena-Nankana District in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana, adjacent to the border with Burkina Faso. Navrongo is the capital of Kassena-Nankana District – which is within the Upper East Region of ...

Fumbisi Fumbisi is a town in the Builsa South District in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The town is known for rice production. In 2019, the Paramount Chief of Fumbisi was Nab Clement Anyatuik Akanko II. Institutions * St. Peter & Paul Parish * Fu ...

, and Kunkwa united as one Builsa. The Zabarma were defeated with the help of white men. It is claimed the battle took place between 1890 and March 1897. Other sources claim it took place between the market and where the current Old Primary School is in 1896.

Legacy

After the Zabarma were defeated, their weapons were collected as relics of war and kept in Fiisa which has a shrine in Sandema. Slaves under Babatu were freed by the Builsa. The Feok Festival is celebrated every year in the third week of December to mark their victory and encounter with the slave raiders and also the War dance after it became a public event in 1972. The festival means abundance of food.

References

History of Ghana African slave trade 19th-century African people {{Africa-hist-stub