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Malshegu Sacred Grove
Katalga, ~12 km from Tamale, Northern Region
Ghana
Active
Single grove
- Location
- Katalga, ~12 km from Tamale, Northern Region
- Coordinates
- ~9.5°N 0.9°W
- Elevation
- Savanna plain (~150 m)
- Size
- ~1 ha
- Age / Founded
- ~300 years
- Status
- Active
- Deity & Religion
- Kpalevorgu god (oracle = boulder under baobab); Dagomba traditional religion
- Community & Guardians
- Malshegu / Dagomba community
- Vernacular name
- Kpalevorgu shrine grove
- Record type
- Single grove
Cultural practices & uses
Shrine to Kpalevorgu (rain, harvest, fertility); strict protection
Plant species
Closed-canopy relict; baobab (Adansonia digitata) & savanna trees
Biome & fauna
One of the last closed-canopy forests in West African savanna
Threats & protection
Religiously protected; rare canopy-forest refuge in semi-arid zone
Source
Dorm-Adzobu & Ampadu-Agyei, 'Religious beliefs and environmental protection: the Malshegu sacred grove' (WRI/ACTS)