The Gur-speaking peoples of the upper Volta basin round Navrongo, Bolgatanga, Tumu, Pô and Léo.
Wikipedia says they were in their present lands by about 1100; they never formed kingdoms, and after the Mossi states arose to the north (fifteenth century) Mossi horsemen raided them for slaves. On 1 January 1200 they are farmers of millet and sorghum in fortified compounds, governed by earth priests and lineage heads. Their northern kin, the Lyele and Nuna round Réo and Koudougou, live on the Mossi plateau on the next researcher's ground.
Who holds it
- Title
- Earth priests (the custodians of the land) and the heads of lineages and compounds
- Since
- Not known
- Confidence
- low
How things stand that morning
Independent communities; no raiding by horsemen is attested so early.
Customs
Earth priests, lineages, ancestor shrines; the Talensi shrines of the Tongo hills; compounds of mud with flat roofs; iron weapons, bows and poisoned arrows.
Assemblies
Lineage and village elders.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Later ethnography and a general claim of presence by 1100 (source not named).
On the map: Drawn from later distributions, stopping south of the Mossi plateau.
Sources and studies
- Gurunsi peoples (Wikipedia, citing Tauxier 1912 and 1924, Levtzion 1968, Duperray 1984)
- Researcher's general knowledge of the ethnography and linguistic geography of Ghana and Togo (present-day distributions), used only to place peoples whose 1200 seats are not recorded
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.