Nouna is a town, with a population of 32,428 (2019), located in the
Province of Kossi in
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳ðž¤ðž¤²ðž¤¢ 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 ...
. It is the capital of the Province. Nouna is a fairly developed town that boasts electricity, running water, land-line telephones, and cellular phones. It also has a high school, bank, post office, mayor's office, and several hotels.
According to the legend, the town of Nouna was founded by an elder of the Dafin ethnic group, who having spotted a water source in the wilderness, exclaimed "N'nouna diara!" (I am happy!), and that is how the place came to be called "Nouna".
Nouna is located on the line of separation between Samo (or Samogo) territory to the east and Dafin territory to the west. Its inhabitants are mostly Dafin, with a sizable minority of
Samo
Samo (–) founded the first recorded political union of Slavic tribes, known as Samo's Empire (''realm'', ''kingdom'', or ''tribal union''), stretching from Silesia to present-day Slovakia, ruling from 623 until his death in 658. According to ...
,
Bobo
Bobo may refer to:
Animals and plants
* Bobo (gorilla) a popular gorilla at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle from 1953 to 1968
* Bobo, Vietnamese name for Job's tears, a plant of south-east Asia
Entertainment, arts and media
* ''Bobo'' (maga ...
, 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. ...
(french: link=no, Peul or ; ff, Fulɓe). There are also some
Mossi (the majority tribe in the country) and a few other minorities. The dominant language is the
Dioula language
Dyula (or Jula, Dioula, ''Julakan'' ߖߎ߬ߟߊ߬ߞߊ߲) is a language of the Mande language family spoken mainly in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Mali, and also in some other countries, including Ghana, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. It is one of ...
, which belongs to the same family as the Dafin.
Nouna's main street, which runs through the town from east to west, goes to the second largest city in the country,
Bobo-Dioulasso
Bobo-Dioulasso is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 904,920 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula".
The local Bobo-speaking population (re ...
, in both directions.
References
{{coord, 12, 44, N, 3, 52, W, region:BF_type:city, display=title
Populated places in the Boucle du Mouhoun Region