Bulsa people are believed to be descendants of a Mampurusi prince named Atuga and a Kasena blacksmith named Akana, who met and lived with indigenous Koma people in the area. They speak Buli as their native language and live in the north-central part of Ghana. The Bulsa have a history of resistance, notably against slave raiders like Babatu in the 19th century. They successfully defended their territory and avoided enslavement.
The Mamprusi and Atuga: From around the 9th century onwards, large and powerful kingdoms were established on the southern edge of the Sahara. The first was Gana, after which the modern state of Ghana is named. Old Gana's economic wealth was a result of its location, where gold from the coastal areas was exchanged for salt from the Sahara. After the 15th century, new kingdoms were created in what is today Northern Ghana, including the Dagomba, Nanumba, and Mamprusi. The latter kingdom had a strong influence on the people who lived in Bulsaland.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, there was apparently a certain dependence of this area on the Mamprusi. More important for the historical self-identity of the Bulsa, however, was another event: After a family dispute, a Mamprusi prince immigrated with his family and a small entourage into Bulsaland, where he probably first lived south of Sandema in an area that is still called Atuga Pusik, close to today's Senior High School.
Almost at the same time, other Mamprusi princes left the kingdom after either an argument with their father or in search of land. Ali, son of the Mamprusi king Atabia, took Bawku, facing little resistance from the local inhabitants. Furthermore, Mosuor, the ancestor of the Namoo, a Tallensi clan, was a member of the Mamprusi royal family. He, too, had to flee because of a conflict. After his death, three of his sons founded the Tallensi villages Yamelog, Sie, and Biuk.
Around 1760, the Mamprusi King Atabia (Atabea or Zontua) had moved his residence from Gambaga to Nalerigu and made it the new capital of his kingdom. The departure of Atuga must have taken place after that date. A report written before 1933 by the British officer S.J. Olivier, who had collected data on Bulsa history. He was told that Wurungwe (whose name also appears as Wurume), together with his son, Atuga, had left Atabia, the Mamprusi king, in search of land (Kröger 2013: 73).
According to Perrault, a Rev. Father at the Catholic Mission of Navrongo, Atabia reigned from 1760 to 1775 in Nalerigu (1954: 47). This means that the immigration of Atuga and his family to Bulsaland might have happened around 1770, or 250 years ago.
According to Olivier (1933: 2), Atuga married the daughter of his Bulsa friend, Awulong, and had four sons: Akadem, Asam, Awiag, and Asinieng. These sons settled in the villages of Kadema, Sandema, Wiaga, and Siniensi. Atuga's ancestral shrine is venerated in Kadema, where his eldest son had lived and died.
There is an anecdote, told by Olivier (1933: 2), demonstrating that the Atuga-bisa, i.e., the children or descendants of Atuga, even adopted customs hitherto strange to them. After having settled between Wiaga and Sandema, Atuga met a man called Awulong who spoke a language called Buli... These two became friends, but Atuga, being a Mamprussi, was not a dog-eater. Awulong was, and he asked Atuga to join in eating a dog to celebrate his arrival. Atuga agreed and swore an oath to this effect: "Now that I have eaten a dog, I am no longer a Mamprussi, and none of my descendants shall ever set foot in Mamprussi country again on pain of death." This story has been handed down to the present day and no descendant of Atuga has ever been into Mamprussi unless ordered to by the British to a conference at Nalerigu or for some other reason.
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