History has that, the Bissas were fearless warriors with a bunch of unlimited tricks and strategies in fighting. They have the air- fighters who mostly stay on top of trees with their skilled climbing attacking their enemies and slaves with ropes, catapults or bow and arrows. Civilization visited their brains very earlier than their immediate neighbouring tribes.
Bissas migrated in many groups with their fortified leaders and were compassed by their ancestral devined spirits.
when the Bissas arrived at Bawku in the Upper East Region of Ghana, they met no ethnic group in Bawku. The Kusasi were predominantly farmers at Yuiga, Zawga and Biengu, which is part of Burkina Faso currently. After some short period of time, the Bissas attacked them and fought for almost a week before they were able to defeated and conquered the Kusasis, and enslaved them and married to some of their wives. The Bissas then, started trading the Kusasi from Yuiga, Zawga and Biengu and passed through Bawku. The information reached to the Mamprusi and they decided to come and rescue the Kusasi. The Mamprusi arrived in Bawku and they fought with the Bissas to rescue the Kusasi and the Bissas defeated the Mamprusi, they don’t have options than to run away from Bawku and the Bissas continued selling the Kusasi as slaves again.
Some years later, the Mamprusis came back again and fought and defeated the Bissas and rescued the Kusasi from the Bissas.
NOTE 🎵
Bawku, Pusiga and other sub towns such as Garu, Binduri, Warnyanga, Widana, Bugur, Bazua and Zebila were not part of Ghana territory when Bissa came to Bawku. It was Dr. Kwame Nkrumah who, with the help of these, extended Ghana’s map to include these towns. This united the tribes for sometime before land and chieftaincy disputes emerged.
Before this conflict, all the tribes of these towns had cultural integration, inter-tribal marriages, co-operative society works and same festival celebration.
The Bissas are very peaceful people now. They are having good relationship with Kusasi, Mamprusi, Mossi, Grusi, etc. Their hometown is Bawku, located in the Upper East Region of Ghana. They celebrate a tribal annual occasion call “Bissa woo Bissa’, which means every Bissa person is a Bissa Person. In fact, Bissas are admired for their intelligence, lovely, bravery, and caring attitudes. Creativity is part of their identity and outfits.
Now if you see any Bissa, just say “Bissa woo”, and you will get the response “BISSA” Zekula N’panga.
It’s history and we can not do away with our history.
Source: BISSA Bissam BAA Kamaji.
bissabissambaakamaji@gmail.com