Introduction to the History & Culture of Larabanga

Larabanga is a wholly Muslim rural community located in the heart of the West Gonja district of what is today the Northern Region of Ghana. Although the Kamara people of Larabanga are not actually Gonjas, a unique relationship exists between the two and the village maintains a traditional function of providing spiritual protection and guidance for the whole Gonja region. This tradition is born from the story of its very beginnings with the Gonja conquest of the area in what is believed to be the eleventh century.



In many ways, Larabanga and its traditions and customs continues to reveal this story, which like most of the deepest history of Africa, has been preserved orally over the centuries, told by one generation to the next.

The Sudanese architectural style of the famous ancient mosque located in this home of Arabs speaks visually of origins far away. It is the oldest in Ghana and one of the oldest in West Africa and is now recognized officially as a World Heritage Site. The village is also home to one of the oldest Koran in the world, believed to have been brought miraculously to the village through the prayers of its founder Yidan Braimah, at the site of the "Mystic Stone" that rests just outside of the village on the ancient Trans-Sahara trade route which runs through the village and connects it, like an umbilical cord, with its roots amongst the Arabs.

A community based eco-tourism project was initiated here by the community in 1992. Its aims are to make visitors welcome, raise awareness about local customs and ways of life, as well as to provide some revenue to support the communities economic and social development.