Bissa language

Bissa
Bisa, Busansi
Bɩsa
Region	Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo
Ethnicity	Bissa people
Native speakers	(590,000 cited 1999–2003)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Mande Eastern Bisa–Busa Bissa
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bib
Glottolog	biss1248
Majority areas of northern dialects of Bissa, in dark blue, on a map of Burkina Faso.

Bissa

Total population
1.7 million
Regions with significant populations
Burkina Faso	approx 6.8 million
Ghana	1.1 million
Togo	3,356
Languages
Bissa, French
Religion
Islam African Traditional Religion
Related ethnic groups
other Mandé peoples

Bissa (or Bisa (singular), Bisan, Bissanno (plural)), is a Mande ethnic group of south-central Burkina Faso, northeastern Ghana and the northernmost tip of Togo. Their language, Bissa,^[2] is a Mande language that is related to, but not the same as, a cluster of languages in the old Borgu Kingdom area of Northeast Benin and Northwest Nigeria, including Busa, Boko, and Kyenga. An alternate name for the Bissa is Busansi which is used by the Mossi people and Kusasi people or Busanga.

The word Bissa in the language itself is river. The Bissa people refer to themselves as Bissano, which means People by the river. This can be seen in their settlement structures since they mostly live by the river side and engage in a lot of farming activities.

Bissa is a language similar to Moré, otherwise known as Mossi. That is because Mossi people share common ancestry with the Bissa people. A common folktale explaining the existence of the Mossi is that a Bissa hunter and a Ghanaian princess married. They are believed to be the ancestors of the Mossi.

Some Bissa live in Ivory Coast.