Jirapa | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Jirapa Location of Jirapa inUpper West region, Ghana | |
| Coordinates:10°32′N2°42′W / 10.533°N 2.700°W /10.533; -2.700 | |
| Country |  Ghana |
| Region | Upper West Region |
| District | Jirapa Municipal |
| Government | |
| • Municipal chief Executive | Christina Bombanye Amadu |
| • Member of Parliament | Dapilah Seidu Cletus |
| Elevation | 1,033 ft (315 m) |
Jirapa is the capital town of theJirapa Municipal in theUpper West Region ofGhana.[1][2]
There is a very strong Roman Catholic tradition in the Jirapa-Lambussie district. TheWhite Fathers opened a mission station first inNavrongo in 1906, from which three men were delegated to work in Jirapa in 1929. They were allotted a plot of land by the Jirapa Naa (chief) who allegedly wanted to see whether they would be driven out by evil spirits, or vice versa.[6] Despite early conflicts between converts and the local chiefs, and even the resulting disapproval of the British District Commissioner ofLawra, the work was given great impetus by the locally famous 'rain event' of 1932 in which rain fell during a severe drought in the Lawra district, only in Jirapa and in nearby villages following prayer for each case.[7][8] According to government statistics, 42.5% of the population in the district now claim to be Christian, 96.1% of which are Catholic, the remainder being affiliated to either Islam or traditional religion.[9]
The Chief of Jirapa is the Paramount Chief of the Jirapa traditional area, and is at presentPeter Nanfuri, Naa Ansoleh Ganaa II. There is an annual festival called Bong-Ngo in Jirapa for the chiefs and people of the area. It is held in the last week of April and marks the end of the ban on harvesting the fruit of the Dawadawa tree (Parkia Biglobosa) and the beginning of the farming season.[10]
The local people are calledDagaaba, and speakDagaare, which is aGur branch of the Niger–Congo language family. The name of the town, written in Dagaare as Gyerebaa, is pronounced roughly asjira-‘baa, and means 'reed-stream', i.e. a stream of reeds.[11]
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