Gaoua is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in southern

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

known for its superstitious values and customs. The population, rested at 45,284. (2019 census) Located in the red earth, green hills, and fast flowing streams of southwestern Burkina Faso, Gaoua is the capital of

Poni Province Poni is one of the 45 provinces of Burkina Faso, located in its Sud-Ouest Region. Its capital is Gaoua. Departments Poni is divided into 10 departments: * Bouroum-Bouroum * Bousséra * Djigoué * Gaoua * Gbomblora * Kampti * Loropéni * Ma ...

and forms a sort of capital for the sacred rites and bush lore of the Lobi peoples. According to local myth, Gaoua was founded when the Lobi migrated across from northern

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 ...

where they found the

Gan people The Gan-speaking Chinese or Jiangxi people or Jiangyou people or Kiang-Si people (old romanized spelling) are a subgroup of Han Chinese people. The origin of Gan-speaking people in China are from Jiangxi province in China. Gan-speaking populations ...

peoples occupying the territory. As a result, they named the trek across to Gaoua ''Gan-houo'' meaning "route of the Gan people". Attractions in the town include a

sacred grove Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...

of trees, the

Poni Museum Poni may refer to: * Poni (province), Burkina Faso * Poni Adams (born 1921), American actress * Project on Nuclear Issues The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS wa ...

(''Musée des Civilisations des Peuples du Sud-Ouest'' or ''Musée du Poni'') and

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s. There is also a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

on elevated ground near the centre. The Gaoua Catholic parish Church of the Sacred Heart will be the cathedral for the newly erected Catholic Diocese of Gaoua.

Lobi Goldfields

Though their ancient home was considered to be

Takyiman Techiman is a city and is the capital of Techiman Municipal and Bono East Region of Ghana. Techiman is a leading market town in South Ghana. Techiman is one of the two major cities and settlements of Bono East region. Techiman is home to West ...

in Ghana, the Lobi migrated across the

Mouhoun River The Black Volta or Mouhoun is a river that flows through Burkina Faso for approximately 1,352 km (840 mi) to the White Volta in Dagbon, Ghana, the upper end of Lake Volta. The source of the Black Volta is in the Cascades Region of Burki ...

as a result of the Dagomba Wars in the 1770s. Thirty years later, the Lobi displaced the Gan at Gaoua. The French occupied southwest Burkina Faso in 1879, based on the region's reputation for gold, dating back to the era of Mossi and Dyula gold traders. Although primarily farmers, the Lobi did partake of

gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts especi ...

around Gaoua, besides Gaoua being on a trade route to the

Poura Poura is a town in the Poura Department of Balé Province in southern Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to ...

gold mines further north.

References

External links

{{Authority control Populated places in the Sud-Ouest Region (Burkina Faso) Sacred groves

Lobi Goldfields

See also

References

External links