The Ponaal people are believed to
have hailed from Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire. With varied backgrounds, the
Ponaal are located around the boundaries of Upper West Region and Northern
Region of Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire. The Ponaal are closely related
to the Brifos.
Agriculture is their mainstream
economic activity with emphasis on food cropping, piggery, and poultry rearing.
Pottery and basket weaving are other economic ventures they engage in,
especially the women. While official currency exist in the tribe (Souma is
their traditional currency), barter system of trade as well as the use of
cowries for customary and business activities is common practices among the
Ponaal.
The people of Ponaal are
hard-working yet they lack a lot of basics in life. They are being confronted
by issues like child labor, teenage marriages, high school drop outs –
especially among girls –, a rampant rural-urban drift among boys, violations of
women rights, and limited access to health and educational facilities. Most of
these drawbacks have customary undertones. For instance, girls are married out
for cattle, and women are much seen and treated as estates than human beings.