When the British authorities were building a road in the 1950s in Larabanga, a Muslim community in the Northern region of Ghana, they found a strange stone on the way.
Source: Facebook
Therefore, the stone was removed so that the road could be built where it was. But the next morning, the road contractors noticed that the stone had returned to its usual place, the old legend says.
Shocked, the contractors moved the stone again, but once again it returned to its original place. This happened for three days, and when the rulers were informed about the “extraordinary potential” of the stone, the contractors decided to abandon it and were forced to change the direction of the road.
Today, when one moves to Larabanga, about 6km Southwest of Mole National Park and 21km away from Damongo, the capital of Gonja West District, they will find a stone in its traditional location where the authorities tried to remove it.
With about 1500 inhabitants, most of them farmers, the residents of Larabanga grow yams, sorghum and maize. The elders of the area refer to the stone as the Wonder Stone or the Desire Stone, and the sacred stone is located near the famous Larabanga Mosque (the oldest Mosque in Ghana, and one of the most revered holy places in the country), being the main attraction of tourists from different parts of the world.
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Others also use the site as a place of worship, hoping to receive miracles of healing, fertility and financial freedom, just by touching a stone.
The mysterious powers of the stone can be traced back to the years of Ndewura Jakpa, an African king and founder of a dynasty in Gonja in the early 17th century. Being the leader of the Gonjas, Jakpa wanted to conquer and unite large lands in West Africa, but this was difficult because of the various tribes and kingdoms that opposed his move.
Kango, an ancient city in today's Cote d'Ivoire had strongly opposed Jakpa in his attempts to unify the land. Therefore, to help him in his mission, Jakpa invited the first Wakara to Ghana – Idana Ibrahim and Fatawu Murkpe – who were spiritual leaders to lead him and his troops into battle.
The two had come from present-day Saudi Arabia, and had several magical charms, which they used to help Gonjas capture Kango.
They would later help the Gonjas by becoming administrators of Islamic law, dispute arbitrators and prayer leaders, he writes. Rajeev in his 2013 article.
Jakpa later perished in battle when he crossed the White Volta. Before his death, he told Idana Ibrahim, who was now too old to return to Saudi Arabia, that he could settle anywhere in the lands that he (Jakpa) had taken by military victory.
Variable accounts say that Ibrahim was sitting on the Mystic Stone praying for guidance from God on where to stay in the land of Gonja. Time
Different stories say that Ibrahim was sitting on the Strange Stone praying for guidance from God on where to stay in the land of Gonja. While praying, he had a dream that he had to throw a spear and wherever it fell would be his home. He should also build a mosque there.
The next morning he did as he was told in the dream, and the spear landed on the “fertile land” in “Zuriyir”, the village where the people of “Dhen Zuo” had stayed before and left. At that place, Ibrahim realized that the foundation of the mosque had already been built.
Ibrahim began to build a mosque, the story of which said it increased in height every night and more than the height of the day. With divine intervention, he completed the mosque within a short time and called the place his home. He could pray at the Wonder Stone while building the mosque.
After a while Ibrahim realized that he would need the Quran, as an Islamic leader. At that time, there were seven handwritten Qurans, and all of them were in Mecca, according to the scriptures.
Ibrahim, on the advice of a spiritual leader, went to the Wonder Stone and asked for the Koran to be brought to Larabanga. A tradition says that one of the seven original copies of the Qur'an from Mecca was brought to him from Heaven.
Today, this copy of the Qur'an is kept in Larabanga by an administrator and is kept open every year during the Great Day of Fire for a special prayer when the new Muslim calendar begins, sources told Rajeev, who had visited Larabanga to get information about the stone and the mosque.
Many other Muslims outside Larabanga and even people of other faiths and religions, head to the city during such events for blessings and to find out more about the Quran, the mosque, and indeed the Mystic Stone, which is said to have stopped one Samuri Turi, belonging to Guinea of today, on all his West African conquests.
The author is Kevin Anindo, Nairobi County.
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