Old Buipe (Ghana, Northern Region)
Some Observations on Islamization and Urban Development at the South-Western Margins of the dar al-islam
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.35271Keywords:
Ghana, Gonja State, Islamization, West African urbanism, architectureAbstract
The state or kingdom of Gonja emerged in the mid-16th century in the savannah area extending to the north of the tropical forest in modern Ghana. Its origins seem to go back to the arrival of Mande conquerors who came from the area of Djenne to take control of the gold trade from the mines situated further south. Due to its geographical position, the kingdom essentially became a crossroads at the southern extremity of the sub-Saharan trade routes between the Niger and Hausaland on one hand and the tropical forest area on the other. The Islamization of the region was one consequence of the conquest and of the creation of a new kingdom involved with the Niger trade. Old Buipe was one of the seats of Gonja kingship and the capital town of one of the main Gonja chieftaincies. It is nowadays a very extensive and well preserved archaeological site. Archaeological research has been going on in Old Buipe since 2015, under the Gonja Project, and mostly involves excavations and extended topographical survey. It is providing new data on the material culture of the Gonja state, as well as on forms of West African urbanism at the time of the progressive Islamization of the area. This article is intended as a first comprehensive presentation of Old Buipe, although it remains somewhat preliminary because the project is still in its early stages.
References
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Flight, C.
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Genequand, D., W. Apoh, K. Gavua, H. Amoroso, I. Hajdas, F. Maret and C. de Reynier.
2016. “Excavations in Old Buipe and study of the mosque of Bole: Report on the 2015 season of the Gonja Project.” SLSA Jahresbericht 2015: 25–66.
Genequand, D., W. Apoh, K. Gavua, I. Hajdas, F. Maret, C. de Reynier and I. Ruben.
2017. “Preliminary report on the 2016 season of the Gonja Project (Ghana, Northern Region).” SLSA Jahresbericht 2016: 65–108.
Goody, J.
1954. The Ethnography of the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast, West of the White Volta. Cambridge: Colonial Office.
1967. “The over-kingdom of Gonja.” In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century, edited by D. Forde and P. M. Kaberry, 179–205. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gruner, D.
1990. Die Lehm-Moschee am Niger. Dokumentation eines traditionellen Bautyps. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner.
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1981. “Bole and Gonja: Contributions to the history of northern Ghana.” Unpublished PhD thesis, Northwestern University.
Huysecom, E., B. Chevrier, A. Mayor, et al.
2016. “Traditions et continuités dans la vallée de la Falémé (Sénégal): résultats de la 18e année de recherche du programme international ‘Peuplement humain et paléoenvironnement en Afrique’.” SLSA Jahresbericht 2015: 103–160.
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2003. The Archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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2008. Current Archaeological Research in Ghana. Oxford: Archaeopress.
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2013. Temporalising Anthropology: Archaeology in the Talensi Tong Hills, Northern Ghana. Frankfurt: Africa Magna Verlag.
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2004. “Ghana’s vanishing past: Development, antiquities, and the destruction of the archaeological record.” African Archaeological Review 21: 89–128. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:AARR.0000030786.24067.19
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2008. “The archaeology of slavery: A study of Kasana, Upper West Region, Ghana.” In Current Archaeological Research in Ghana, edited by T. Insoll, 103–116, Oxford: Archaeopress.
Ogundiran, A.
2013. “Towns and states of the West African forest belt.” In The Oxford Handbook of African Archaeology, edited by P. Mitchell and P. Lane, 859–873, Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199569885.013.0059
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2004. Larabanga. Grenoble: CRA Terre éditions.
Posnansky, M.
1973. “Aspects of early West African trade.” World Archaeology 5(2): 149–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.1973.9979562
1979. “Archaeological aspects of the Brong-Ahafo region.” In A Profile of Brong Kyempim, edited by K. Arhin, 22–35. Accra: Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.
1987. “Prelude to Akan civilization.” In The Golden Stool: Studies of the Asante Center and Periphery, edited by E. Schildkrout, 14–22. New York: The American Museum of Natural History.
Prussin, L.
1969. Architecture in Northern Ghana: A Study of Forms and Functions. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Shinnie, P. L.
1981. “Archaeology in Gonja, Ghana.” In Le sol, la parole et l’écrit. Mélanges en hommage à Raymond Mauny, Vol. I, 65–70, Paris: Société française d’histoire d’outre-mer.
Shinnie, P. L., and F. J. Kense.
1989. The Archaeology of Gonja, Ghana: Excavations at Daboya. Calgary: University of Calgary Press.
Shinnie, P. L., and P. C. Ozanne.
1962. “Excavations at Yendi Dabari.” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana 6: 87–118.
Sinclair, P.
2013. “The archaeology of African urbanism.” In The Oxford Handbook of African Archaeology, edited by P. Mitchell and P. Lane, 689–702. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199569885.013.0047
Stahl, A. B.
2001. Making History in Banda: Anthropological Visions of Africa’s Past. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Stahl, A. B. and A. L. Logan.
2014. “Resilient villagers: Eight centuries of continuity and change in Banda village life.” In Current Perspectives in the Archaeology of Ghana, edited by J. Anquandah, B. Kankpeyeng and W. Apoh, 45–63. Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers and The University of Ghana. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511489600
Swanepoel, N.
2005. “Socio-political change on a slave-raiding frontier: War, trade, and ‘big men’ in nineteenth century Sisalaland, Northern Ghana.” Journal of Conflict Archaeology 1: 265–293. https://doi.org/10.1163/157407705774928999
2008. “View from the village: Changing settlement patterns in Sisalaland, Northern Ghana.” International Journal of African Historical Studies 41(1): 1–27.
Wilks, I., N. Levtzion and B. M. Haight.
1986. Chronicles from Gonja: A Tradition of West African Muslim Historiography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
York, R. N.
1973 “Excavations at New Buipe.” West African Journal of Archaeology 3: 1–189.
1993. “Urbanization and state formation in Ghana during the Iron Age.” In The Archaeology of Africa. Food, Metals and Towns, edited by T. Shaw, P. Sinclair, B. Andah and A. Okpoko, 642–651, London: Routledge.
Apotsos, M.
2016. Architecture, Islam and Identity in West Africa: Lessons from Larabanga. London: Routledge.
Binger, L.-G.
1892. Du Niger au Golfe de Guinée en passant par le pays de Kong et le Mossi (1887–1889). Paris: Hachette. https://doi.org/10.5479/sil.303894.39088000684670
Effah-Gyamfi, K.
1985. Bono Manso: An Archaeological Investigation into Early Akan Urbanism. Calgary: University of Calgary Press.
Flight, C.
1968. “The settlement-mounds of central Gonja: Provisional chronology and historical context.” Bulletin of the Institute of African Studies, Legon 4(3): 94–107.
Genequand, D., W. Apoh, K. Gavua, H. Amoroso, I. Hajdas, F. Maret and C. de Reynier.
2016. “Excavations in Old Buipe and study of the mosque of Bole: Report on the 2015 season of the Gonja Project.” SLSA Jahresbericht 2015: 25–66.
Genequand, D., W. Apoh, K. Gavua, I. Hajdas, F. Maret, C. de Reynier and I. Ruben.
2017. “Preliminary report on the 2016 season of the Gonja Project (Ghana, Northern Region).” SLSA Jahresbericht 2016: 65–108.
Goody, J.
1954. The Ethnography of the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast, West of the White Volta. Cambridge: Colonial Office.
1967. “The over-kingdom of Gonja.” In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century, edited by D. Forde and P. M. Kaberry, 179–205. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gruner, D.
1990. Die Lehm-Moschee am Niger. Dokumentation eines traditionellen Bautyps. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner.
Haight, B. M.
1981. “Bole and Gonja: Contributions to the history of northern Ghana.” Unpublished PhD thesis, Northwestern University.
Huysecom, E., B. Chevrier, A. Mayor, et al.
2016. “Traditions et continuités dans la vallée de la Falémé (Sénégal): résultats de la 18e année de recherche du programme international ‘Peuplement humain et paléoenvironnement en Afrique’.” SLSA Jahresbericht 2015: 103–160.
Insoll, T.
2003. The Archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Insoll T., ed.
2008. Current Archaeological Research in Ghana. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Insoll, T., B. W. Kankpeyeng and S. Nkumbaan.
2012. “Fragmentary ancestors? Medicine, bodies, and personhood in a Koma mound, Northern Ghana.” In Archaeology of Spiritualities, edited by K. Roundtree, C. Morris and A.A.D. Peatfield, 25–45. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3354-5_2
Insoll, T., R. MacLean and B. W. Kankpeyeng.
2013. Temporalising Anthropology: Archaeology in the Talensi Tong Hills, Northern Ghana. Frankfurt: Africa Magna Verlag.
Kankpeyeng, B. W. and C. R. Decorse.
2004. “Ghana’s vanishing past: Development, antiquities, and the destruction of the archaeological record.” African Archaeological Review 21: 89–128. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:AARR.0000030786.24067.19
Kankpeyeng, B.W., N. Swanepoel, T. Insoll, S. Nkumbaan, S. Amartey and M. Saako.
2013. “Insights into past ritual practices at Yikpabongo, Northern Region, Ghana.” African Archaeological Review 30(4): 475–499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-013-9143-2
Levtzion, N.
1968. Muslims and Chiefs in West Africa: A Study of Islam in the Middle Volta Basin in the Pre-Colonial Period. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mathewson, R. D.
1968a. “Some notes on the settlement-mounds of Central Gonja.” Bulletin of the Institute of African Studies, Legon 4(2): 108–114.
1968b. “Excavations at Jakpasere—1968.” Bulletin of the Institute of African Studies, Legon 4(3), 88–93.
Nkumbaan, S. N.
2008. “The archaeology of slavery: A study of Kasana, Upper West Region, Ghana.” In Current Archaeological Research in Ghana, edited by T. Insoll, 103–116, Oxford: Archaeopress.
Ogundiran, A.
2013. “Towns and states of the West African forest belt.” In The Oxford Handbook of African Archaeology, edited by P. Mitchell and P. Lane, 859–873, Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199569885.013.0059
Olympio, G. et al.
2004. Larabanga. Grenoble: CRA Terre éditions.
Posnansky, M.
1973. “Aspects of early West African trade.” World Archaeology 5(2): 149–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.1973.9979562
1979. “Archaeological aspects of the Brong-Ahafo region.” In A Profile of Brong Kyempim, edited by K. Arhin, 22–35. Accra: Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.
1987. “Prelude to Akan civilization.” In The Golden Stool: Studies of the Asante Center and Periphery, edited by E. Schildkrout, 14–22. New York: The American Museum of Natural History.
Prussin, L.
1969. Architecture in Northern Ghana: A Study of Forms and Functions. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Shinnie, P. L.
1981. “Archaeology in Gonja, Ghana.” In Le sol, la parole et l’écrit. Mélanges en hommage à Raymond Mauny, Vol. I, 65–70, Paris: Société française d’histoire d’outre-mer.
Shinnie, P. L., and F. J. Kense.
1989. The Archaeology of Gonja, Ghana: Excavations at Daboya. Calgary: University of Calgary Press.
Shinnie, P. L., and P. C. Ozanne.
1962. “Excavations at Yendi Dabari.” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana 6: 87–118.
Sinclair, P.
2013. “The archaeology of African urbanism.” In The Oxford Handbook of African Archaeology, edited by P. Mitchell and P. Lane, 689–702. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199569885.013.0047
Stahl, A. B.
2001. Making History in Banda: Anthropological Visions of Africa’s Past. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Stahl, A. B. and A. L. Logan.
2014. “Resilient villagers: Eight centuries of continuity and change in Banda village life.” In Current Perspectives in the Archaeology of Ghana, edited by J. Anquandah, B. Kankpeyeng and W. Apoh, 45–63. Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers and The University of Ghana. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511489600
Swanepoel, N.
2005. “Socio-political change on a slave-raiding frontier: War, trade, and ‘big men’ in nineteenth century Sisalaland, Northern Ghana.” Journal of Conflict Archaeology 1: 265–293. https://doi.org/10.1163/157407705774928999
2008. “View from the village: Changing settlement patterns in Sisalaland, Northern Ghana.” International Journal of African Historical Studies 41(1): 1–27.
Wilks, I., N. Levtzion and B. M. Haight.
1986. Chronicles from Gonja: A Tradition of West African Muslim Historiography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
York, R. N.
1973 “Excavations at New Buipe.” West African Journal of Archaeology 3: 1–189.
Published
2017-12-20
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Genequand, D., & Apoh, W. R. (2017). Old Buipe (Ghana, Northern Region): Some Observations on Islamization and Urban Development at the South-Western Margins of the dar al-islam. Journal of Islamic Archaeology, 4(2), 139-162. https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.35271
