Gaoua is a

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 ...

in southern

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 ...

known for its superstitious values and customs. The population, rested at 45,284. (2019 census) Located in the red earth, green hills, and fast flowing streams of southwestern Burkina Faso, Gaoua is the capital of

Poni Province Poni is one of the 45 provinces of Burkina Faso, located in its Sud-Ouest Region (Burkina Faso), Sud-Ouest Region. Its capital is Gaoua. Departments Poni is divided into 10 departments: * Bouroum-Bouroum Department, Bouroum-Bouroum * Bousséra D ...

and forms a sort of capital for the sacred rites and bush lore of the Lobi peoples. According to local myth, Gaoua was founded when the Lobi migrated across from 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 ...

where they found the

Gan people The Gan-speaking Chinese or Jiangxi people or Jiangyou people or Kiang-Si people (old romanized spelling) are a subgroup of Han Chinese people. The origin of Gan-speaking people in China are from Jiangxi province in China. Gan-speaking population ...

occupying the territory. As a result, they named the trek across to Gaoua ''Gan-houo'' meaning "route of the Gan people". Attractions in the town include a

sacred grove Sacred groves, sacred woods, or sacred forests are groves of trees that have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. These are forest areas that are, for the most ...

of trees, the Poni Museum (''Musée des Civilisations des Peuples du Sud-Ouest'' or ''Musée du Poni'') and

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s. There is also a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

on elevated ground near the centre. The Gaoua Catholic parish Church of the Sacred Heart will be the cathedral for the newly erected Catholic Diocese of Gaoua.

Lobi Goldfields

Though their ancient home was considered to be Takyiman in Ghana, the Lobi migrated across the Mouhoun River as a result of the Dagomba Wars in the 1770s. Thirty years later, the Lobi displaced the

Gan The word Gan or the initials GAN may refer to: Places * Gan, a component of Hebrew placenames literally meaning "garden" China * Gan River (Jiangxi) * Gan River (Inner Mongolia), * Gan County, in Jiangxi province * Gansu, abbreviated '' ...

at Gaoua. The French occupied southwest Burkina Faso in 1879, based on the region's reputation for gold, dating back to the era of Mossi and Dyula gold traders. Although primarily farmers, the Lobi did partake of

gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts espec ...

around Gaoua, besides Gaoua being on a trade route to the Poura gold mines further north.

Climate

Gaoua 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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Aw''), typical of the Sudan region of West Africa. The weather is hot year-round, and sweltering in the period before the rainy season begins from February to May. In the rainy season itself temperatures are less extreme due to increased cloud cover, but high humidity means this period is no less uncomfortable. At the height of the dry season in December and January temperatures remain hot to sweltering by afternoon, but humidity is at its lowest and mornings fall to pleasant temperatures.

References

External links

{{Authority control Populated places in the Sud-Ouest Region (Burkina Faso) Sacred groves Wangara trade towns

Lobi Goldfields

Climate

See also

References

External links