The larger group of Gurunsi people inhabit southern Burkina Faso and Upper East of Ghana.
[2] The Frafra people, located in Northeast Ghana consists of four groups that share a similar culture, language, and overall background.
Both a rainy and dry season are experienced here from May to October and November to March respectively with the mean annual rainfall coming in at around 40 to 50 inches.
Most Gurunsi live in Burkina Faso, and the degree to which Frafra history differs from their northerly neighbors, such as the Nuna, Bwa and Winiama, is linked to their abode in Ghana.
Migration In precolonial times, the Frafra were considered to be acephalous, which means that there was no centralized authority and groups were mostly organized through lineage rather than political allegiance.
Excessive rainfall and flooding, have caused deteriorating landscapes, there is no longer enough viable land not only to farm but to live on.
Also, about forty percent of the ground is covered in rocky landscape, making much of the area unsuitable for peoples needs in the first place.
Other unforeseen factors can also take a role such as farmers settled in the Bongo region forced to relocate due to an infestation of Oncho flies.
Farmers throughout the region traditionally practiced slash-and-burn farming, using fields for approximately seven or eight years before they were allowed to lie fallow for at least a decade.
In family fields close to villages, women grow cash crops for sale in local markets, including sesame and tobacco.
They had no system of chiefs, and all important decisions were made by a council of elders consisting of the oldest members of each lineage.
Religious leaders hold some political authority, determining the agricultural cycle and parceling out land for cultivation.
They (particularly the eldest son) are in charge of organizing the mortuary rites that can take place anywhere from one to three years after a person has died.
During this time, the dead are considered to be in a state of limbo and are neither alive or moved on until a proper wuure (funeral) takes place.
The ritual can only take place during the dry season and the length differs depending on the status of the deceased.
The ritual begins with shouting as the oldest son yells out to the compound at midnight on the first day, again using increments of three for a male and four for a female.
In addition, anthropomorphic figures sculpted from clay and wood and various personal objects, ranging from jewelry to wooden stools, are created to honor the spirits.
Intellectual Agaysika Agambila gathered a collection of Frafra folktales under the title Solma: Tales from Northern Ghana.
Pottery is mainly used for domestic and ritualistic purposes, but a small portion of it is produced for commercial use with the intent to be sold.
The first common decoration is the yie, which is a curved line meant to resemble the first phase of the moon, and thus symbolically the beginning of something.
The third motif is wanzageze, or a broken shard of calabash, and is meant to represent women's role as a wife as well as a mother.
This practice is believed to be a result of the minimal clothing worn in traditional Frafra settlements and the desire for individuality.
This is also the reason facial scarification is so popular because it is the most visible place and differs depending on factors like shape and character.
Dovisi is scarring all over with a leaf pattern between the eye and ear, dua looks like horizontal triangles, bone is overall scarification, and bene, which is the most popular, is one or two lines on one or both cheeks.
Marriage Courtship is a fairly formal process among the Frafra and can last extensive periods of time.
Historically, they work in the fields naked, if not for the occasional skin worn over the back of a man or leaves to cover the women.
Skins were meant to connect to a male's ability to hunt while leaves represent the women's relationship with the crops.
The skins were historically worn by a tendanna , otherwise known as the custodians of the earth, who assumed the role of religious and political leader in traditional Frafra practice.
Skins are believed to please the gods, as it shows the peoples relationship to the earth as well as humans ability to assert power over its resources.
Hunters and warriors wear a calabash helmet adorned with cowrie shells, animal hair, and feathers and is meant to show off their achievements.