Bissa people
ethnic group in Burkina Faso and Ghana
The Bissa (or Bisa (singular), Bisan, Bissanno (plural)) are a Mande ethnic group of south-central Burkina Faso, northeastern Ghana and the northernmost tip of Togo. Their language, Bissa, is a Mande language that is related to, but not the same as, a cluster of languages in the old Borgu Kingdom area of Northeast Benin and Northwest Nigeria, including Busa, Boko, and Kyenga. An alternate name for the Bissa is Busansi or Busanga which is used by the Mossi people.
Daniel McFarland's Historical Dictionary of Upper Volta refers to them as "intrusive Mande who settled the area along the White Volta below Tenkodogo by 1300. Some live across the border in modern northern Ghana and Togo. According to some traditions, Rialle, progenitor of the Nakomse line of Mossi rulers was Busansi."
They are known for their cultivation of peanuts. Traditionally, a Bissa man who wants to court a Bissa girl must work in her mother's peanut field and be able to provide the girl with her own peanut field if they get married.
The Bissa are divided in three language groups, that is the Barka, the Lebir and the Lere. They are further divided into several clans. Each clan has a name and an appellation normally called dedaa by the Bissa.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bissa people” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.