The Story of Mahadaga

As told by Community Historian, Amadu

There was a village named Jan Kale near Fada N’Gourma. The descendants of those in Jan Kale settled in Mahadaga. The story of their migration and settlement follows:

War broke out in Jan Kale. It was a time long before Islam entered the land, and interior slave raids were the source of such violence. The inhabitants of Jan Kale fled to Bwajaga. In Bwajaga, war broke out as well, so they were displaced yet again.

Some of the group came to what is now Logobu, while others went on to Benin and eventually came back. Of this group that went to Benin there was a handicapped woman named Sarmwale (“Someone who is light skinned”). She was handicapped in her legs, and she had to be carried on someone else’s back. This handicapped woman had a brother named Danjego and a nephew named Swale. These three returned to the area from what is now Benin and learned of their extended relatives in Logobu.

They visited their relatives and were served a drink made out of the niere. This drink was a milky color with brown and red speckles in it. Sarmwale saw this as a prophecy that they will never be able to mix in with their relatives in Logobu. Therefore, they moved on.

The three were determined to find a place to settle down. They came to a village half way between what is now Logobu and Mahadaga---it is now called Moadideni. Using a gourd, Sarmwale discerned by its noise that this place was not theirs to settle in either. She believed that war would break out if they lived there. Once again, they moved on.

They went to Kindikonbou. The gourd told her to move on yet again. Its sound declared an unsafe future. Once again they moved on. The three came to a place which is now behind the SIM missions compound between the two beaobob trees. They found a couple who were blacksmiths that had also been displaced by war. This man and woman would make certain tools out of iron-ore and sell them to neighboring villages. The three named this place “Mahadaga” or “the market where metal instruments are sold.” She discerned at this place that they were not in the exact best place. So they moved to what is now the far end of the village. Sarmwale believed that the village would grow towards Logobu. This is how Mahadaga began.

Comments by Amadu: It is very clear that there is a link between the founder and the infamy of the handicap center here. It makes sense that the future history would echo the past.

Note: The Fulanis came much later. This is the Gourma Heritage.

Woman pounding millet for Toh, a traditional food in Burkina Faso

A group of Burkinabe women