Navrongo is a town and the capital of

Kassena-Nankana Municipal District Kassena-Nankana Municipal is one of the fifteen districts in Upper East Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Kassena-Nankana District Kassena-Nankana District is a former district that was located in Upper East Reg ...

in the

Upper East Region The Upper East Region is located in the northern part of Ghana and it is the third smallest of the 16 administrative regions in Ghana. It occupies a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers, or 2.7% of the total land area of Ghana. The reg ...

of northern

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, adjacent to the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

with

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

. Navrongo is an important

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

, known for its

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

and its

grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

. It houses the Navrongo Solar Power Station, Ghana's first solar plant. Navrongo's population in 2005 was estimated to be 25,470, and in 2012 was estimated to be 27,306. The terrain is flat and the ecology is typical of the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

– arid grassland with occasional shrubbery.

History

The town was founded around 1740 by Butu, a Nankane speaking hunter from Zecco (present day southern

), who initially settled in Pungu (a Kasem speaking community further south of Zecco).Adewoba. 'Aspects of Wealth and Exchange'. During the 19th century, the town became an important staging post on the

caravan route. At the beginning of the 20th century the British established a base at Navrongo.Arhim. 'The Papers of George Ferguson'. A Catholic mission was established in 1906 - the

White Fathers The White Fathers (), officially known as the Missionaries of Africa (), and abbreviated MAfr, are a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right (for men). They were founded in 1868 by Charles-Martial Allemand-Lavigerie, who w ...

("Pères Blancs"), a French group made up of

French Canadians French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...

. They came to Upper East region from Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) due to French anti-clerical laws (the Fathers believed they would be expelled from Upper Volta). The British allowed them to set up in Navrongo on the condition that the school that they were to establish used English only. Despite a rocky beginning (the Fathers had learnt the wrong local language and only attracted 5 students in the first 18 months), the school eventually became a success – a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

official in 1927 said that it was the best school (of only 5) in the north of Ghana.Kimble. 'A political history of Ghana'. Following Ghana's 1957 liberation from British colonial authority, Navrongo was designated as the district capital of the Kassena/Nankani district.

Climate

Navrongo has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(''Aw'' according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

) with the temperature being hot year-round, although there is a wet season and a dry season. On 26 March 2017, Navrongo recorded a temperature of , which the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Ghana.

Economy

Navrongo has a fast-developing Economy. Coupled with the existence of The Tono Irrigation Project, Naara Bank, GCB Bank, ADB Bank, Hospitals, Navrongo Health Research Centre, radio stations and PIO TV station, and several other companies, there is a lot of the population who are teachers, nurses and subsistence level farmers in crops and rearing (goats, sheep, cattle, poultry). There are also several institutions including, the C.K Tedam University, St John Bosco teacher training college, Nursing training college, Navrongo SHS (NAVASCO), Notre Dame SHS, Our Lady of Lourdes Girls SHS etc.

Navrongo Cathedral

Navrongo Cathedral, as it is now known, was built in 1906 and expanded in 1920. Originally called "Our Lady of Seven Sorrows", the construction was overseen by the White Fathers. The walls are of mud (therefore it is also called "Mud Cathedral"), and wooden beams form the roof. On the inside, the walls are decorated with animal forms, scenes of everyday life, and Christian themes such as the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

and the Bethlehem scene in the entrance area. The site also contains a grotto and accommodation facilities.

Etymology of name

The word "Navrongo" is an Anglicization of the name ''navrongo'' which is in Nankane, which combines the word ''naare'' (meaning foot or leg in Nankane) with ''vorongo'' (the term given to the sound of stepping onto muddy soil) or "voro" which is the Kasem term for same.St. John-Parsons, Donald. 'Legends of Northern Ghana'. This is why Kasena call the town "Navoro" while Nankana call it "Navorongo."

References

External links

Navrongo Health Research Centre
— a Ghana Health Service research centre based in Navrongo. {{Authority control Populated places in the Upper East Region