Salaga
Encyclopedia
Salaga is a city in Ghana
's Northern Region and the capital of its East Gonja District
.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Salaga served as a key market town
of the Ashanti kingdom, particularly for the busy regional slave trade
and kola trade
controlling Salaga gave the Ashanti a monopoly over trade to the North and trade to the South Situated in the southernmost reaches of the Sahel
, Salaga was referred to as "the Timbuktu
of the south" for its cosmopolitan population and varied trade. Like many market towns of the time, Salaga's ethnic groups, the Dagomba
, Gonja
, Zabarma, Hausa
, Wangara (Dyula)
and Nanumba, divided into separate wards. Estimates of its population in these years range from 20,000 to 50,000, with the Hausa language
serving as a lingua franca. Muslim
s formed the most dominant religious group, though many residents retained animist beliefs as well.
Visitors to Salaga today can still see the pond known as Wonkan bawa (Hausa for "the bathing place of a slave"), where slaves would be washed before selling to make them look as attractive as possible, and a young baobab tree on the site of the old slave market. Many of the Slaves were local Northern Ghana tribes and many were brought from central Africa
Salaga was founded by the Nanumba people as a small trading post for meat products. The name Salaga comes from the Dagbani word "salgi" which means "To get used to a place of abode"
The area under the control of the Bimbila Naa and was called Bopelani, prior to the conquer of the area by the Gonja. The Salaga area just like Daboya salt mine belonged to the Mossi-Dagomba states of Maprusi, Dagomba and Nanumba.
One of the Naumba princes by name Wumbei used to hunt around Bopelani (later Salga). He eventually made a home there and refusd to come back home. When it was time for him to become chief, he was asked to come back home he said "N salgi ya" , which means I am used to the place. And he refused to go back home. Thus the place became known as Salga (note the dagbani spelling). Prior to Salga becoming a major trading post, the Gonja town of Kpemba was the first Gonja settlement close to the Namumba territory.
The salaga market served as a transit point through the Dagomba towns of Kpabia and Yendi
to Kano
in Nigeria
. When Ashanti rose to power 350 years after Greater Dagomba was established and 100 years after Gonja, it conquered and controlled Northern Ghana and subsequently the Salaga and Yendi trade routes,This resulted in transport of slaves, cattle and groundnuts from Yendi to Kumasi via the Salaga market.
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...
's Northern Region and the capital of its East Gonja District
East Gonja District
The East Gonja District is a district of Ghana in the Northern Region.-Sources:*...
.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Salaga served as a key market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
of the Ashanti kingdom, particularly for the busy regional slave trade
African slave trade
Systems of servitude and slavery were common in many parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world. In some African societies, the enslaved people were also indentured servants and fully integrated; in others, they were treated much worse...
and kola trade
Kola nut
Kola Nut is the nut of the kola tree, a genus of trees native to the tropical rainforests of Africa, classified in the family Malvaceae, subfamily Sterculioideae . It is related to the South American genus Theobroma, or cocoa...
controlling Salaga gave the Ashanti a monopoly over trade to the North and trade to the South Situated in the southernmost reaches of the Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
, Salaga was referred to as "the Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
of the south" for its cosmopolitan population and varied trade. Like many market towns of the time, Salaga's ethnic groups, the Dagomba
Dagomba
The Dagomba are an ethnic group of Northern Ghana. They inhabit the sparse savanna region below the sahelian belt, known as the Sudan. They speak the Dagbani language which belongs to the More-Dagbani sub-group of Gur languages...
, Gonja
Gonja
This page discusses the Ghanaian kingdom of Gonja; for uses for the word Ganja, see Ganja Gonja was a kingdom in northern Ghana; the word can also refer to the people of this kingdom. The Gonja are a Guan people who have been influenced by both Akan people and Mande people. With the fall of the...
, Zabarma, Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. They are a Sahelian people chiefly located in northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger, but having significant numbers living in regions of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Sudan...
, Wangara (Dyula)
Dyula
The Dyula are a Mande ethnic group inhabiting several West African countries, including the Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau....
and Nanumba, divided into separate wards. Estimates of its population in these years range from 20,000 to 50,000, with the Hausa language
Hausa language
Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 25 million people, and as a second language by about 18 million more, an approximate total of 43 million people...
serving as a lingua franca. Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
s formed the most dominant religious group, though many residents retained animist beliefs as well.
Visitors to Salaga today can still see the pond known as Wonkan bawa (Hausa for "the bathing place of a slave"), where slaves would be washed before selling to make them look as attractive as possible, and a young baobab tree on the site of the old slave market. Many of the Slaves were local Northern Ghana tribes and many were brought from central Africa
Salaga was founded by the Nanumba people as a small trading post for meat products. The name Salaga comes from the Dagbani word "salgi" which means "To get used to a place of abode"
The area under the control of the Bimbila Naa and was called Bopelani, prior to the conquer of the area by the Gonja. The Salaga area just like Daboya salt mine belonged to the Mossi-Dagomba states of Maprusi, Dagomba and Nanumba.
One of the Naumba princes by name Wumbei used to hunt around Bopelani (later Salga). He eventually made a home there and refusd to come back home. When it was time for him to become chief, he was asked to come back home he said "N salgi ya" , which means I am used to the place. And he refused to go back home. Thus the place became known as Salga (note the dagbani spelling). Prior to Salga becoming a major trading post, the Gonja town of Kpemba was the first Gonja settlement close to the Namumba territory.
The salaga market served as a transit point through the Dagomba towns of Kpabia and Yendi
Yendi
Yendi is a town in the northeastern quadrant of Ghana in the Dagbon territory. As of 2000, it has a population of 40,336 people. Yendi is the traditional capital of the Dagbon Kingdom with the Ya Na as the Overlord. The people of Dagbon are called Dagombas or Dagbamba...
to Kano
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...
in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. When Ashanti rose to power 350 years after Greater Dagomba was established and 100 years after Gonja, it conquered and controlled Northern Ghana and subsequently the Salaga and Yendi trade routes,This resulted in transport of slaves, cattle and groundnuts from Yendi to Kumasi via the Salaga market.