Banfora

Banfora lies in the savanna southwest of Bobo-Dioulasso, where the wet and dry seasons contrast sharply. The Karaboro are remembered as the earliest settlers of the area, and Gouin and Turka communities lived nearby. Streams and wooded hills gave farmers water and forest products. From about 1714 the district lay within the sphere of the Gwiriko kingdom, founded by Famagan Ouattara and centred on Bobo-Dioulasso, whose Dyula traders and rulers dominated the surrounding farming villages.