Daboya, Northern Ghana. Of arvchival memories, salt mines and the markets

This essay explores the historical and political precolonial relations between the Gonja kingdom, located in the present-day Northern Region of Ghana, and neighbouring polities, and the crucial role of Daboya as a market and especially as a salt production site. The analysis of Arab sources and archival materials reveal that Daboya constituted a vital node of the Sahelian network, which contributed substantially to the commercial, social, and religious development of northern political entities. The relationship with the Asante kingdom and the Hausa trade routes is considered, but also the impact of the British colonial occupation of the North that contributed to the gradual decline of the commercial and strategical role of Daboya. The flows of people and goods testify to the vitality of this node of the mobility network that constituted, and constitutes also today, the core of power relations and identity construction processes in the region.