The Nafana are a Senufo

Senufo

The Senufo are an ethnolinguistic group composed of diverse subgroups of Gur-speaking people living in an area spanning from southern Mali and the extreme western corner of Burkina Faso to Katiola in Côte d'Ivoire. One group, the Nafana, is found in north-western Ghana...

 people living in the north-west of Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

 and the north-east of Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...

, in the area east of Bonduku. They number about 45, 000 (SIL/GILLBT 1992) and they speak Nafaanra

Nafaanra language

Nafaanra is a Senufo language spoken in northwest Ghana, along the border with Côte d'Ivoire, east of Bondouko. It is spoken by approximately 61,000 people. Its speakers call themselves Nafana; others call them Banda or Mfantera. Like other Senufo languages, Nafaanra is a tonal language...

, a Senufo language

Senufo languages

The Senufo or Senufic languages comprise ca. 15 languages spoken by the Senufo in the north of Côte d'Ivoire, the south of Mali and the southwest of Burkina Faso. An isolated language, Nafaanra, is also spoken in the west of Ghana. The Senufo languages are generally considered a branch of the Gur...

.

The Nafana people relate that they come from Cote d'Ivoire, from a village called Kakala. According to Jordan (1978), their oral history says that some of their people are still there, and if they go back they won't be allowed to leave again. They arrived in the Banda area after the Ligbi people

Ligbi language

Ligbi is a Mande language spoken in Ghana in the north-west corner of the Brong-Ahafo region. Ligbi is spoken by approximately 10 000 speakers . It is fairly closely related to Jula, Vai and Kono. A small population of Ligbi speakers is reported to live in Côte d'Ivoire . Ligbi is also known as...

, who according to Stahl (2004) came from Bigu (Begho, Bighu) to the area in the early 17th century.town or Some major towns of the Nafana people are Sampa

Sampa

Sampa may refer to:* Sampa, the short nickname for São Paulo, Brazil* Sampa, Ghana* Sampa, Burkina Faso* Sampa, goddess commemorated in Paganism in the Eastern Alps...

,Kokoa, Duadaso No 1, Duadaso No 2, Jamera, and Kabile which are in the Jaman North District

Jaman North District

The Jaman North District is a district in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. It was split off the former Jaman District by a decree of president John Agyekum Kufuor on November 12, 2003.-Sources:*...

. Brodi and Debibi are in the Tain District

Tain District

The Tain District is a district in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. It was split off the Wenchi District by a decree of president John Agyekum Kufuor on November 12, 2003.-Sources:* * , GhanaWeb, November 20, 2003....

. The people are mainly farmers. Their major Festival is the Sumgbee Festival celebrated annually.