Larabanga Mosque

Labaragaga is situated 10 miles (16 km) west of Damongo, N/R and only about 5 miles to the Mole National Park (Dept of Game and wild life). In case you don't know where Damongo is, it is about 72 miles west of Tamale. It is a common belief that this mosque is the oldest mosque in Ghana. Even the present generation think it was built by God. The villagers built another mosque which is similar to the one on the stamp where they go to pray or worship daily. The so-called 'God-built mosque' also houses a holy koran which also is believed to have descended from heaven. This holy book is read once in a year or so during a special ceremony. Many prominent moslems from Ivory Coast, where the people of Larabanga claimed to have migrated from, visit the village for such a function. It is a commonly believed that some coup-makers in Ghana even visited the village for some blessings before they approached GBC. At least I knew Carlos Giwa and another soldier was Damongo were there before and after the attempted coup. The same mosque was on the old five cedi note.

This same village has a stone which could not be moved away during the time the Wa-Sawla-Tamale road was constructed because each time it was moved, it kept coming back so they had to leave it and divert the road somehow. This portion of the road is popularly known as Larabanga SS now.

Larabanga is a small town in Western Gonja in Northern Region. It is a predominantly moslem town and had become famous because of the mosque which was built in the mode of buildings in the former Western Sudanese Empires.