Upper West Region

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the northwestern corner of the country and bordered by Burkina Faso to the north and west. The capital and largest city is Wa. Other cities include Jirapa, Lawra, and Tumu.

The major tribal groups are the Dagaare, Sisaala and Wala. The Dagaare live in the western part of the region, the Sisaala live in the eastern areas, and the Wala live in Wa and a few of the nearby villages. The Sisaala and Dagaare are mostly Christian and animist, while most Wala are Muslim, and Wa is the largest predominantly Islamic city in Ghana. Waali, the language of the Wala, and the Dagaare language are somewhat mutually intelligible.

The major economic activity of the region is agriculture. Crops grown include corn, millet, groundnuts, okra, and rice. Sheep, goats, chickens, pigs and guinea fowl are raised for meat and eggs. Since the region is poor and the dry season is long, extending roughly from October to May, many people leave the area to work in the southern part of Ghana for at least part of the year.

A distinctive feature of the region's culture is the brewing of pito (pronounced PEE-toe) a sweet, mildly alcoholic beverage from millet. The pito is sold by the brewers in open air bars and drunk from calabashes.