Frafra people

The Frafra are a subset of the Gurunsi peoples living in Upper East Region.[1] The adopted name 'Frafra' is a corruption from colonial times of the salutation "Yɛ fara fara?" when translated means "How is your suffering [work]?". It may carry pejorative overtones in local usage. Frafra-language speakers number approximately 300,000. The larger group of Gurunsi people inhabit southern Burkina Faso and Upper East of Ghana.[2]

The Frafra people, located in Northeast Ghana consists of four groups that share a similar culture, language, and overall background. These groups are known as the Gurensi, Talensi, Nabdam and Kusasi.[3] "Frafra" is often used as a blanket term for these groups because of their shared similarities but they are distinguishable groups that vary linguistically as well as in other key areas.[4] The region is mostly rural and a majority of people participate in agriculture.[4]

The origin of the Frafra name comes from a greeting that is common among their people. The greeting is characterized by the shouting of the phrase "furra furra" three to four times while simultaneously clapping their hands.[5]

  1. ^ Tengolzor Ba-an, Maxwell (January 2023). "Burial and Funeral Rituals of Elderly Persons among Nabdam of Frafra subgroupings in Northern Ghana Citation of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0)". Indiana Journal of Multidisciplinary Research – via ISSN (Online)- 2583- 3820.
  2. ^ https://lagim.blogs.brynmawr.edu/files/2015/03/The-Peoples-of-Northern-Ghana.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  3. ^ Smith, Fred T. (1987). "Symbols of Conflict and Integration in Frafra Funerals". African Arts. 21 (1): 46–51. doi:10.2307/3336499. JSTOR 3336499.
  4. ^ a b Sow, Papa; Adaawen, Stephen; Scheffran, Jürgen (2014-01-14). "Migration, Social Demands and Environmental Change amongst the Frafra of Northern Ghana and the Biali in Northern Benin". Sustainability. 6 (1): 375–398. doi:10.3390/su6010375. ISSN 2071-1050.
  5. ^ Brukum, N.J.K. (1999). "Chiefs, Colonial Policy and Politics in Northern Ghana, 1897-1956". Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana (3): 101–122. ISSN 0855-3246. JSTOR 41406652.