News from Buluk 1999-2001



(compiled by Danlardy Leander and Franz Kröger, GHP: Ghana Home Page)



27/6/99     (GHP)  "Armyworms" (caterpillars with a life span of two weeks) were detected in the east of the UER. They spread to all the six districts and caused considerable harm to the Bulsa District.

July 1999     (GHP) Government granted 18.2 billion cedis for the rehabilitation of roads in the UER. Roads that benefitted from this scheme include... Chuchuliga-Sandema, Chuchuliga-Chiana..., Wiasi-Gbedemblisi... roads.

19/7/99     (GHP) The Bulsa District recorded 1,211 female and 1,171 male admissions into day care centres. 6,121 girls and 5,355 boys were enrolled in primary schools; 1,200 girls and a little over 9,000 boys were attending the 22 junior secondary schools.

August 99     Serious outbreak of cholera in the whole of Bulsa causing a lot of deaths.

15/9/99     (GHP) The Institute of Adult Education (IAE) launched a community newspaper in Buli at Sandema for the benefit of local adult literacy learners.

20/8/99     Heavy rains caused a lot of destruction in Bulsa. Many compounds in Wiaga were affected.

1/9/99     Death of the first popularly known teacher Mr Robert Ayoma from Wiaga-Yisobsa. He was also the first Christian in Wiaga. Burial took place at the Wiaga cemetary.

28/9/99     Bees raided Wiaga market, which was temporarily transferred to Wiaga-Goansa.

21/11/99     Nana Agyeman Rawlings visited Bulsa District and parts of Yagba, Yisiesa, Mankuruk etc.

18/12/99     Annual fiok festival (durbar) of the Bulsa at Sandema's new play park near the Sandema Traditional Law Court (before Atuiri's house)

15/1/00     Country-wide vaccination against polio disease. Children between 0-5 years were immunized; all Bulsa villages were involved in the vaccinations; second immunization on 19th February

21/1/00     Farmers' Day Celebration at Sandema (Bulsa District);

Main aims: Farmers to improve food production and livestock breeding and also to stop the practice of setting fire to bushlands.

First prize: 1 Phoenix bicylce and 2 cutlasses for a farmer from Doninga; second prize: a tape recorder, 6 pieces of cloth for a woman from Chuchuliga

26/1/00     A sit-down strike (going to school without teaching) by teachers in Ghana including Bulsa-schools; reasons: Government should deal with their grievances; they resumed work after government had agreed to solve their problems immediately.

2 -6/3/00     Training Course for the 2000 Population and Housing Census at Sandema Secondary Technical School; a selected group of Bulsa took part; after a break it was continued 6th-18th March

26/3 - 9/4/00     Population Census carried out

31/3/00     Catholics from Bulsa Parishes travelled to Kongo (part of Bolgatanga) for their annual yearly Easter fasting prayer.

11/4/00     Death of Wiesi chief (Naab Roland Leo Amoabil ) at Sandema hospital

13/4/00     Anamogsi (Wiaga-Badomsa) and his drummers attended ground display at Sandema (New Play Park) in preparation for the competition at the annual Art und Cultural Festival at Ho (Volta Region); Anamogsi's drummers won a prize in Ho.

26/4/00     Launching of World Leprosy Week in Bulsa District at Wiaga; main agenda: How to eliminate leprosy in the U.E. Region

14/5/00     Heavy rainfall. Many farmers already started planting their early millet.

1/6/00     Launching of "Environmental Awareness" in Wiaga-Market Square

7/6/00     The Flagbearer of NPP (New Patriotic Party), the Hon. J.A. Kufuor toured the Bulsa villages to introduce himself to the chiefs and their people as a candidate contesting for the December 2000 presidential elections.

8/7/00     Danlardy Leander assigned by research people (e.g. George Akanlig-pare from Wiaga and Akosua Ayidoku) of the University of Ghana, Legon, to collect and transcribe stories / folk-tales, funeral dirges, nanzuk-yiila, circumcision-songs, wa-togma etc. in Buli for three months; he paid visits to compounds in Chiok, Sinyansa, Yisobsa etc.

25/7/00     NCCE (National Commission on Civic Education), Human Rights, Appeal Court and District Administration organised a durbar / drama with officers from the Regional Office of UER, District Office, chiefs, assemblymen, opinion leaders, school children, teachers, drummers

Main ideas: 1) women's participation in every activity, 2) ways of solving husband's and wife's problems, 3) uniting husbands, wives and children

3/8/00     The Flagbearer of NDC, Prof. John E. Attah Mills, visited Northern and Southern Bulsa to introduce himself as the contesting candidate for the Presidency Elections in December 2000

20/8/00     First meeting of Wiaga youths to form a Fun Club Association; name of the club to be given on the next meeting scheduled for 27/8/2000

August 00     In co-operation with the PTA (Parents-Teachers-Association) two Canadian ladies worked for a Girl Child Education Programme at some schools in Buluk.

23/8/00     An international Day in memory of the slave trade

5/9/00     Members of the Wiaga Youth Organization (WYO) help electricians to put up most of the remaining poles in Central Wiaga and other nearby areas.

25/9/00     The running mate of Hon. J.A. Akufuor visited the Sandem-naab and the Bulsa people.

26/9/00 Immunization of school-children at Azenab Girls' Primary against Tetanus Texoid

8/10/00     Goosie Tanoh, the flag-bearer of the National Reform Party (NRP), toured the Bulsa country visiting the chiefs and most of the Northern and Southern Bulsa villages to introduce himself as the Party's Candidate for the December 2000 elections.

20/10/00     Immunization of children (0-5 years) against polio in a house-to-house procedure; second round: 24 - 26/11/00

1/11/00     Rally organised in Wiaga to meet the NPP contesting candidate Hon. Azagzuk Azantinlow at Goansa; he talked to the people to vote for him and win the elections to bring positive changes to the people of Ghana and to increase the low rate of living standard of the people; drummers of Anamogsi and those of Ankisi-yeri took part.

10/11/00     The 16th annual regional celebration of Farmers Day took place at Wa (U.W.R.), the district celebration took place at Kanjaga.

Prizes won in Bulsa were: 1) Ateng (Kadema): 1 bicycle and other things, 2) Mme Akperibadek Sulley: 8-battery tape-recorder and other things, 3) Wiaga-naab: 1 bag of fertilizer, a pair of Wellington boots and other things

16/11/00     The contesting PNC candidate for the December 7th parliamentary elections, Mr. J.B.S. Agbaadem (Bulsa North), organised a rally in Wiaga to meet the Hon. Dr. Edward Mahama, the contesting candidate for the presidential seat.

18/11/00     The first 10 km-bicycle-race and cross-country running organised by the Deputy Minister, Mr Sylvester Azantinlow and the Builsa District Assembly

21/11/00     Mass polio workshop for supporters of Wiaga / Kadema communities at the Catholic Mission Parish

22/11/00     Electricity connection grid in Wiaga town: wires were installed (electric power had not yet been supplied at the copy dead-line of BULUK ).

4/12/00     Last rally of the NDC in Wiaga. The contesting M.P., Basil Anurka, organised all drummers of the various sections for a rally at Wiaga Goansa to brief them for the support on the voting procedures.

7/12/00     Ghanaians going out to vote for a president and 200 parlamentarians (for details about the election in the Bulsa District see "Report on the Elections in the Builsa District", p. 25-26).

18/12/00     Fiok festival of the Bulsa at Sandema. Because of quarrels some groups of Sandema and Wiaga did not participate in the traditional war dance.

19/12/00     Archery shooting competition among competitors of the Bulsa war dancers; a Siniensi warrior won the competition.

24/12/00     Opposition Parties (NPP, PNC, UGM, GCRP, CPP) favouring a change of government organised a rally at Sandema to advise their supporters to vote for J.A. Kufuor at the presidential elections on 28th December.

28/12/00     Ghanaians went to the polls to vote and elect a president for the Fourth Republic of Ghana after the round-off of the 7th December elections

- contestants:     Hon. John Attah Mills (NDC), flag-bearer

- Hon John A. Kufuor (NPP), flag-bearer

10/2 - 16/4/01     Franz Kröger visited the Bulsa District for some research on the earth-cult and the status of the teng-nyono; as before he lived in the traditional compound Anyenangdu Yeri (Wiaga-Badomsa) with his friend Anamogsi.

24/2/01 In Sandema Akangyievari Akanfel was elected new chief of Kanjaga.

28/2 - 3/4/01     Anne Schwarz of the University of Berlin (Germany) stayed in the Bulsa District for linguistic research, especially in Wiaga and Fumbisi; she was helped by her assistant Norbert, son of Charles Amoabil.

12/3 - 15/3/01     Father (Dr.) Jon Kirby (SVD), director of the Tamale Institute of Cross-Cultural Studies (TIGGS), did research in the Bulsa area and in Yagba on peace-making and the functions of the yaba-nyono. He was accompanied by Franz Kröger on some of his visits.

19/4/01     Death of the Rev. Father Abangdin Percy (see obituary, BULUK 2, p. 14)

15/5/01     Rev. James Agalic from Sandema-Kalijiisa-Anuryeri elected District Chief Executive (DCE) for the Bulsa District.(see BULUK 2, p. 9)

5/8/01     Rev. Father Heinrich Kirschner, priest of the Wiaga Catholic Mission, died (we are trying to publish an obituary in our next number of Buluk).