Yesterday I told you that Naa Zanjina's Samban' luŋa is very hard. Naa Zanjina's talks are plenty. What I'm telling you, if I am going to talk all of Naa Zanjina alone, it will be more than what we have talked. Of all the chiefs, Naa Zanjina's talks are very difficult. Inside his talk, there are matters standing at different places. Some drummers will only stand at one place, and some, only half of that one. Sometimes somebody will talk something that you have never heard before, and it is true. And again, you can take some drummers' talks to talk about Naa Zanjina, and it will be lies. When you follow it, you will become confused, and everything will spoil. That's why I have told you that when you are asking, and you follow here, you follow there, and you follow somewhere, you will get mixed answers. The one you are asking, if the time comes and the thing is hard for him, he will tell you, “You should exercise patience. I will go and ask.” You should exercise patience and be waiting. You shouldn't be in hurry to go and ask somebody else. When the one you asked comes back, he is going to tell you, “The question you asked me yesterday, I have been able to ask, and this is what they say.” Then you will take it to do work. But if he's showing you a talk, and what he's showing you, you go and ask somebody else: it looks as if your eye is not satisfied with what he's telling you. And so let your heart be resting. When we started these old talks, I told you that I am not going to talk the whole Samban' luŋa. I said I would take some of the important talks, and I would join them and at the same time separate them. And the way I have taken the talks, don't you see how they are following? How I have separated it, you can ask many drummers, and they can talk, but they wouldn't know how to separate it like that. And now you see that the way we are talking about the old talks, it is falling nicely.
Yesterday I told you that when Naa Zanjina was going to eat the chieftaincy, there were many who wanted the chieftaincy, and there was confusion. And they all went to the Mamprusi land, and the chieftaincy was given to Naa Zanjina. And all of Naa Zanjina's brothers were annoyed. And Naa Siɣli was told that he should take the sandals of Naa Zanjina, that when Naa Zanjina is dead, he Naa Siɣli would be the chief. And Naa Siɣli went to Zuloɣo Kpaliyɔɣu. And when Naa Zanjina ate the chieftaincy, he didn't go to Yendi. He went to Sabali to pray. There is a river there, the river Oti, and Naa Zanjina was staying beside the river at a place called Agbandi. This Agbandi is a town near Sabali; it is a town of the Yaa-Naa. It's on the way to Yelizoli. If you are going from Sang to Sabali, you will pass Yendi before you reach Sabali, and Sabali and Agbandi are just close. And Naa Zanjina was there when the Gonjas came to wage a war against the Dagbamba.
The one who woke up the war was called Zabaɣ'bila'bia, and that name means the “son of a Gonja slave.” This Gonja was the one they call Kumpatia, and he was the head of the Gonjas. Kumpatia was the name they were using to praise him, that if you kill a snake and put it on top of a tree, you will not eat the liver of the snake. That was how they were calling that Gonja man: “Death is not a tree.” We know him as Kumpatia. And Kumpatia's name again was Goliŋgoliŋ: a coiled thing. In Dagbani, when we hear goliŋgoliŋ, it means the way snakes move. Kumpatia was the biggest and strongest of the Gonjas. If it was medicine or if it was chieftaincy, he was the only one. And Kumpatia was a grandson of Kaluɣsi Dajia, and Naa Siɣli was a grandson of Naa Luro. And this was how it was. When Naa Siɣli and Kumpatia fought, the war was very strong.
And the time Naa Siɣli was at Zuloɣo Kpaliyɔɣu, Dagbamba say that that Gonja man, he took his warriors and was pulling them like mosquitoes. Dagbon: Lungbunga. He collected Lungbunglana's land to be his own. And he took Kasulana's land to be his own land. And he took Vo-Naa's land to be his chieftaincy land. And he took Kumbun-Naa's land to be his own chieftaincy land. When Kumpatia woke up the war, he started from Daboya to Tolon, to Voggo, Kumbungu, Nanton, Tampion, and to coming to Sang. And Kumpatia was knocking all of Toma. And he brought his war up to Chirizaŋ, near Sang, and he came and sat at Chirizaŋzoli, that is, Chirizaŋ hill, and he built some houses there. The rooms they build with flat roofs, like the kind of houses in Bolgatanga, that was the type of room Kumpatia built there, and he was staying there.
And so Dagbon was shaking, and when Naa Zanjina heard about it, he was there at Sabali with the maalams. And he said because of the war with Kumpatia, he would like to go home. And Naa Zanjina said the way he collected the chieftaincy, he is going to be by the side of God's Holy Qur'an, and beg God, and the land will be cool. And Dagbamba people used to say that you will pray and His land will be cool like clay, and His land will be cool like the rainy season. And so that is how Naa Zanjina got up from Sabali, and he reached Agbandi, and he was lying down there. And Naa Zanjina let the maalams pray. And they prayed for him to hold Dagbon, that God should give him the strength to hold Dagbon. And they prayed that anyone who might bring war, may God let the Dagbamba defeat them.
When Naa Zanjina heard that the war was coming, he found a messenger and sent to his senior brother Yelizolilana Gurumancheɣu. This Yelizolilana Gurumancheɣu was Naa Tutuɣri's first-born son, and he and Naa Zanjina looked for the Yendi chieftaincy, and he could not get it. And Naa Zanjina sent his messenger to tell Yelizolilana Gurumancheɣu that war was coming. And Naa Zanjina said that the son of a slave was coming to collect their father's land to make it his own. And Yelizolilana Gurumancheɣu answered Naa Zanjina that the way he took to eat his chieftaincy, that was the same way he should take to fight the war, and so he the Yelizolilana is not coming. And Naa Zanjina called Sunson-Naa Timaani, and Timaani also answered him that he should fight the war the same way he got his chieftaincy. And Naa Zanjina called all his mother's children to come and fight the war, and many of them refused to come, and only a few of them came. And Naa Zanjina was calling his people, and any time he would call somebody, that fellow would say, “The way and manner in which you are able to go to Mamprusi to be the chief, you should do it in that same way and manage to fight the war.”
And at that time, Naa Zanjina sent to call Naa Siɣli. And some people said that Naa Siɣli was at Zuloɣo Kpaliyɔɣu, and Naa Zanjina and his elders decided that he should send to his mother's child Naa Siɣli. And this Zuloɣo Kpaliyɔɣu: between Zulogo and Sang is not far. I think it will be about five or ten miles. That was where Naa Siɣli put up the village, and that was where he was sitting. And at that time, he was not a chief: he was only a grown-up prince. But every chief feared him. And so Naa Siɣli didn't eat any chieftaincy before making the war. Never! Whoever tells you that Naa Siɣli ate a chieftaincy is telling you a lie. They were only calling him Siɣli, Andani Siɣli. That was his name, Andani, and Siɣli means “first rains”: I have told you some time ago how Naa Siɣli's mother gave birth to him and how Naa Siɣli got his name. And Naa Zanjina sent and told Naa Siɣli that the Gonja son of a slave had come to take their father's land to make it his own, and Naa Zanjina said that the Mamprusi chief had told Naa Siɣli to take his sandals. Do you see the reason Naa Zanjina was sending to Naa Siɣli to come and make a war? Naa Zanjina's junior brothers and his senior brothers and his junior fathers and his senior fathers: they were the only people eating chieftaincy in Dagbon. And Naa Zanjina sent messengers to all of them calling them for the war, and some came and some refused. And so Naa Zanjina decided to send them to go and call Naa Siɣli to come so that they would prepare and take the war against the Gonjas. And Naa Siɣli said he would not come.
And Naa Zanjina started sending messengers and chiefs to Naa Siɣli. And they told Naa Zanjina that he should send to Kumbungu, and that he should go and tell the Kumbungu chief Sulemana. If drummers want, they can say Kumbun-Naa Jɛŋgbarga. And the Kumbun-Naa got up and went and told Naa Siɣli, “You coward. As for me, I want the right hand of that son of a slave to go to Kumbungu.” And Naa Siɣli shouted on him, that he should get down from his horse, and remain there. And they told Naa Zanjina that if he wanted Naa Siɣli to come, he should send to Nanton. And that he should go and tell the Nanton chief Sulbɛribo, and he is the one they call Dakɔɣo, but his real name is Sulbɛribo. And they went and told Naa Siɣli. And Naa Siɣli shouted on him to get down from his horse, and stay there.
And how Naa Siɣli was sitting, anytime Naa Zanjina sent people to Naa Siɣli that he should come, Naa Siɣli would hear them, but Naa Siɣli would swear that they should remain in that village and not go back to Naa Zanjina. He would shout on them that they should put their horsepegs and tie their horses. Naa Siɣli was not allowing anybody to go back to Naa Zanjina. And Naa Zanjina continued sending chiefs. And so Naa Zanjina sent many of the chiefs of Dagbon to Naa Siɣli, and when they went there, he would shout, and the person would come down. And the way drummers talk about it, any chief who arrives, Naa Siɣli will come out roaring like a lion, and shouting like thunder, and he will go into the room, and the chief who was sent there will remain there. And so at that place where Naa Siɣli was sitting, if any messenger came from Naa Zanjina to call him, Naa Siɣli would collect that messenger and let him have a house and stay at that place. And if Naa Zanjina happened to send any chief, Naa Siɣli's housepeople would be outside, and if they heard the noise of the drums, Naa Siɣli would ask, “Who is that coming and his night sounds are also sounding?” If a chief is coming, and drummers are following him, and that is why Naa Siɣli asked, “Which chief is coming, and his night sounds are sounding?” The sound of the drums, that is what they call “night sounds”; that is how they say it. If it was Naa Zanjina's brothers, they would answer him in the room that, “Your father Naa Zanjina's brothers are coming.” And he would answer them that he would not receive their message, and they should stay in that village, that his people would show them the land and they would put their horsepegs.
And Naa Zanjina said, “We have to send his friends to go because they will be able to call him to come.” And he called Talolilana Kobli, and he called Puusamli again. They were Naa Siɣli's friends. When they went and arrived, Talolilana Kobli went and told Naa Siɣli that Naa Zanjina was calling him, and Naa Siɣli shouted on him and said, “Come and peg your horsepeg here.” And Puusamli went and called Naa Siɣli, and Naa Siɣli answered him, “I have heard and I have not heard at the same time. I won't go.” And he shouted on Puusamli, and Puusamli turned to the other side and sat down. And he also remained there.
And have you seen Naa Siɣli's plan? At that time, he was thinking that he would be collecting the people and making them stay with him in that village so that he would gather many people and start to fight the war. That was why he didn't want the people to return back to Naa Zanjina. That was how he planned everything, and that was the plan he took and gathered around him all the princes and the commoners and everybody in Dagbon. All the chiefs Naa Zanjina sent there, Naa Siɣli shouted on all of them, and they all remained there. The way all of them were remaining there now, didn't they turn to be his warriors? Anyone who came, Naa Siɣli would say that he should become one of his warriors and remain there.
As they were staying with Naa Siɣli, he wasn't leaving them. He was giving them medicine. No knife will go inside anyone's body. How should they talk about an arrow? Or a spear? That was how it was. But I think that as for a gun, I have not asked, but I think that there was no medicine for a gun. These guns have just started. We blacks here, what we knew were bow and arrow, knife, and spear. These were what we were using for fighting. Even during Naa Luro's time there were no guns. I have not heard of any gun inside the war. I only heard of those shooting arrows and throwing spears. If you are at the Samban' luŋa and you hear them say, “And those with guns should shoot,” they are only saying it because they want the drummer's talks to be sweet. As for guns, they were not there.
And that time Naa Zanjina was lying down at Agbandi, and he was sending. And it was tight. And his strength too was Diarilana Tusuwa. And they told Naa Zanjina to send and tell Diarilana Tusuwa; he was Naa Siɣli's friend. And they said, “If you want Naa Siɣli to come, send his best friend the Diarilana to Naa Siɣli, and he will come.” How Naa Siɣli and Diarilana Tusuwa were, it was like junior father and senior father's sons. And they were mother's children friends again. And so the time it was tight, Naa Zanjina called for Diarilana Tusuwa. And Naa Zanjina told Diarilana Tusuwa to tell Naa Siɣli that Zabaɣ'bila'bia collected their father's land, and turned it to be his. So he Naa Zanjina is calling him. And he said that he should go and remind Naa Siɣli of what the Mamprusi chief had said to him. He should ask his friend: when they went to Mamprugu, what did Naa Siɣli hear there? The Mamprusi chief had told Naa Siɣli that a child whose hand is clean is the one who will skin the elder's goat and will take all and will only give the liver to the elder. That was the proverb the Mamprusi chief had told Naa Siɣli, and Naa Zanjina sent Diarilana Tusuwa to Naa Siɣli to tell him this. And Diarilana Tusuwa got there. And his drummers started beating. And Naa Siɣli asked, “Who is that coming?” And they told him that “Your friend Diarilana is coming.” And they said, when Diarilana got there, he jumped with his horse in front of the palace. And the Diari chief got down. And he said he would swear on Naa Siɣli's father, Naa Zaɣli, and he would swear on Naa Siɣli's mother, Ziŋnaa. And he told Naa Siɣli, “You are a coward. As for me, I want that pagan's left hand. The Chief said I should come and tell you that when you last went to look for chieftaincy, the Mamprusi chief told you the talks that he told you. And have you forgotten them? The Mamprusi chief told you that ‘A child whose hand is clean is the one who will skin the elder's goat and take all the meat, and take only the liver and give it to the elder.’ And so that is the same meat that Naa Zanjina is calling you to come and take, and give him only the liver. And so the Chief said I should come and call you. And if you get up and go, and you fear, I myself, Diarilana, I am at your left-hand side. And Talolilana too is at your right-hand side. I want the day when I and Kumpatia, our eyes will see one another, and I will cut off his head, and put rope inside, and hang it.”
And at that time, the big man became annoyed. And his heart got up. And he started dressing. Drummers say, when he was coming out, he couldn't come through the door, and they had to push down the wall. And his hair stood up from the skin. And he got up right away with the war. And he went to Naa Zanjina. And Naa Zanjina told him, “It is nothing, but it is something. As for me, my guinea corn has dried, and I have collected it and put it down in the room." Inside Dagbani, if somebody tells you that his guinea corn has dried and he has collected and put it in the room, it means that his life is no more long. That is its meaning in Dagbani. And Naa Zanjina said again, “When we went to Mamprugu the other time, what did they tell you there? Didn't they tell you that you should collect my sandals? That is why I called you to inform you. That son of a slave has collected our father's land, to do whatever he wants.” And Naa Siɣli said he heard. And then Naa Siɣli got up, and he talked to Naa Zanjina. He told Naa Zanjina that he should also gather his warriors. And Naa Zanjina also started called others, those who liked him, that such-and-such a child, Naa Zanjina wants you. And they gathered, and he gave all of them to Naa Siɣli. And so Naa Zanjina gathered people and added to him. What they told me is what I'm telling you.
And when Naa Siɣli saw that the people were many, his heart was white. Naa Siɣli looked to his front, and he got the war. And he looked to his back, and he got the war. And he looked at the left-hand side; he got the war. He looked the right-hand side, and he was happy. And he climbed his horse. And that day, he swore. The swearing he swore was that the day he will come to meet Zabaɣ'bila'bia, he will tear the skin off his back to show him in front of him. And he told Naa Zanjina, “The way the war is, you will take it to enter Kpuŋkpam” — that is the Konkomba lands. And he said that he has to use the war on the Konkombas first. He said the war is a big one. He won't use it for only Zabaɣ'bila'bia. And so he will take it around inside Konkomba. And he will fight Konkombas so that the edges of the spears will cool down before he will enter into the Gonjas. Have you heard? They were ready to fight. And so if you use the spear to cut something, the way the spear was sharp, the sharpness will come down a bit. But after killing the Konkombas, the spear will still need more people to kill. And so it is good that he enters into the Konkombas, to kill them before he will get to the Gonjas, so that the spears will get the necessary number of people to kill. That is how drummers talk about it. Yes. That is what they call a man. That is the work of a man. The way he did that and came back, don't you see that when people remember about him, it is sweet to them?
And that is why they show that Naa Siɣli entered into Konkomba villages and started fighting all the villages. And so it wasn't only the Dagbamba Naa Siɣli was gathering. It was during the time of Naa Siɣli, when Naa Siɣli wanted to go to see Kumpatia, he started catching Konkombas and sending them to the war. And he also said, “I have sent Zuu Jinli,” the first-born of Naa Zanjina, Naa Bimbiɛɣu, to his friends to get people to come to help him. And Zuu Jinli also brought the war and gathered Konkombas, and he followed Naa Siɣli. And before Naa Siɣli was going to meet Kumpatia, Naa Siɣli went and fought against a Konkomba town we call Naakpalba. It's behind Yendi. He went and fought against Yaawura; it's also a Konkomba town. He went and fought against Baakuya; it's also a Konkomba town. After that he went and fought against Sunson Gbiŋ, but they are not Konkombas; they are Dagbamba.
And so Naa Siɣli was also fighting some of the Dagbamba, and collecting and gathering them. After Sunson Gbiŋ, Naa Siɣli went and fought like that up to Sakpiegu. Now it is a Yaa-Naa's village, but at that time, at Sakpiegu they didn't have a chief; they had a tindana, and it was there Naa Siɣli killed the tindana. When Naa Siɣli got there, the tindana saw him. And how Naa Siɣli was going and doing these things, anyone who saw him would fear him. And the Sakpiegu tindana and his children caught the leaves of a dawadawa tree, and they ran and entered the shrine. At that time, if something was happening, you would run to the buɣli. And Naa Siɣli got there. And Naa Siɣli came and asked children, “Where is your town's tindana?” And they said that the tindana had heard about him Naa Siɣli, and he had run to hide inside the buɣli, the shrine of the god. And Naa Siɣli went and got an animal, and he sacrificed to the buɣli. And he brought out the tindana. And the tindana was very handsome. And Naa Siɣli said, “This Dagbana man: it's not nice to kill him. And if I leave him, it won't do.” And then he made them to grind okra seeds, and then they ground raw beans, and then they mixed it together, and smashed it, and he gave it to the tindana to drink. And the way drummers say. the tindana drank it, and his stomach became swollen, and he died.
Then Naa Siɣli took his own mother, Ziŋnaa, and he made her the chief of that town. And at that time, Sakpiegu had a market. And then he said that the market for the town, they should be collecting foodstuffs from the market for his mother, and he would go and fight against the Gonjas and come back. And he called the name of the market “Mol' ʒee tab' looli.” And they were going round, taking the foodstuffs there, and giving to his mother. And the way drummers talk about it, there was a tree there, and Naa Siɣli came and sat under it, and he leaned against it, and he sneezed, and the sneeze came out from his nose to the ground, and a type of tree we call kparachia, a snuff-box tree, grew there. And so that was where Naa Siɣli put his mother. These are some of the talks inside the Samban' luŋa about how Naa Siɣli fought against the Konkombas and how he gathered the Dagbamba. And these Konkombas, many of them were there with Naa Siɣli, and he was using them to fight the Gonjas. And even up to now, if you look inside the families of the Kambonsi, you will see that many of them are Konkombas.
And so Naa Siɣli got up from Sakpiegu, and his next place to sleep was Tampioŋwɔɣu. That is another Konkomba land. He was at Tampioŋwɔɣu, and Naa Zanjina rested. When we say, “He rested,” then it means he wasn't there. He died. And there is some separation in this talk. If you talk and you don't separate it, drummers will come to say that Naa Siɣli was at Singa. But he was at Tampioŋwɔɣu. The reason why some people think Naa Siɣli was at Singa is that the time they were in the war, the Singlana died. I don't know whether he fell sick and died, or he fell inside the war. I only heard that he died in the war, when they had gathered and moved to the war with the Konkombas. This was what let Naa Siɣli become a chief. At that time, too, Naa Siɣli was a son of a chief, Naa Zaɣli, but he was not eating chieftaincy at that time. He was fighting the war but he was not a chief. And in our Dagbon, we say that a prince who has not eaten chieftaincy cannot lead a war. And Naa Siɣli had not eaten chieftaincy, and so they said he should collect Singa, and they gave Singa to Naa Siɣli. And Naa Siɣli took Singa to be his chieftaincy because he was in the war, but he didn't go to Singa. A drummer who knows will talk it like that. If I talk it, I will say he ate Singa before he took the war, but he didn't enter Singa.
And so Naa Zanjina died at Agbandi. Some say they buried Naa Zanjina between a dawadawa tree and a kapok tree. And others say that when he was buried, a dawadawa tree and a kapok tree came out from his grave. And I haven't asked, but I think that they would have carried him home to bury him. A Yaa-Naa will not die somewhere and they will bury him there. The one who will die and they won't bring him home is somebody who falls in a war. Anyone who falls in a war, even a chief, if he falls in a war, that is where he is going to remain. But with Naa Zanjina, he was not in the war. It was old age or sickness, so in this case, I think that maybe they would have carried him home.
And Naa Siɣli was in the war when Naa Zanjina died. Who was going to be the Yaa-Naa? It was Naa Zanjina himself who said that if he died, they should give the chieftaincy to Naa Siɣli. Before he died, Naa Zanjina told all the elders of Dagbon everything, because if not because of Naa Siɣli, the son of a Gonja slave would have collected Dagbon. I am talking about Kumpatia. If not because of Naa Siɣli, Kumpatia would have conquered Dagbon. And because of that, Naa Zanjina said, “Now I am old; I am going to die. And so there is not any long talk. Go and tell Naa Siɣli that if he has finished the war, and if he returns from the war, he is a Yaa-Naa; if he has died in this war, he is a Yaa-Naa. I will die; I am getting ready to die. And so go and tell him all this, and say that I Naa Zanjina have sent to tell him, ‘Maybe you will go to this war, and you won't meet me again. That is why I have sent these people to come and tell you.’” And as I have told you that Naa Zanjina's talk is hard, some people say that Naa Zanjina called Naa Siɣli and gave him the chieftaincy things before he died. But Naa Zanjina did not give Naa Siɣli these things. Naa Zanjina only sent a message to tell him, “When I die, I have given everything to you.” And he reminded him of the tongue they used to talk to them at Mamprugu, that Naa Siɣli should collect Naa Zanjina's sandals if Naa Zanjina is not there. And so Naa Zanjina told Naa Siɣli that when he died, he should collect everything. And when Naa Zanjina died, they also looked and they gave Yendi to Naa Siɣli, and they called his name as Yaa-Naa. And by that time, Naa Zanjina's funeral had not been performed, and Naa Siɣli was fighting the Gonjas and was not yet home.
And so Naa Siɣli was at Tampioŋwɔɣu when Naa Zanjina died, and so at that time, he got to know that the war was for himself alone. And so when Naa Zanjina rested, then Naa Siɣli got up. At that time he said he's going to meet Zabaɣ'bila'bia. I told you that when the war started, and the Gonjas entered Dagbon, Naa Zanjina had tried to find his mother's children to come and see. And his elder brothers, those he went to Mamprugu with, all of them had run to their villages. And if he sent to call any of them, they replied that the sense he had used to eat the chieftaincy was the sense he should use to fight the war. All the brothers he sent to call, none of them came. And when they were in Mamprugu, Mamprugulana had told Naa Siɣli that he should take Naa Zanjina's sandals. And that was the reason why he called Naa Siɣli.
And Naa Siɣli too was gathering people. And all the villages the Gonjas were coming to, the chiefs of those villages were also going and staying with Naa Siɣli. Truly, I haven't seen any chief from this side of Dagbon here who was not with Naa Siɣli. And Naa Siɣli collected all of them and let them stay where he was. And so that was how Naa Siɣli gathered the Dagbamba, and they were sitting. And when his friends came to him and reminded him of the talk Mamprugulana had given him, Naa Siɣli got up, and he was roaring. And many people became afraid. When he dressed and came out to the door, he filled the room, and they came with axes and pushed down the door, and they pushed another wall down before he came out. And Naa Siɣli sat on a horse and started the war. The people Naa Zanjina had sent and he had made them remain with him, they all got up and followed him, and they took the war.
And Naa Siɣli took the war and entered the Konkombas and was coming. And he was at Tampioŋwɔɣu when Naa Zanjina died, and he got up and took the war to the Gonjas. During that time, the Gonjas were already at Tolon, Zoggo, Kumbungu, and other towns. And so the time Naa Siɣli was gathering these people, that was the time that Kumpatia had started the war at Tolon and was coming. And what I heard was that as the Gonjas were coming, they didn't leave people to sit in Tolon and Kumbungu and the other villages. The Gonjas were coming, and they were driving people in front of them, and they were conquering some villages and leaving others. And it wasn't all the villages that they were able to conquer. And so they were afraid that if they conquered a village and put people there, the Dagbamba would come back and kill the people who remained. They would be fighting with the people, and they would leave the village and meet the next village. It wasn't that they beat all the people and collected the town. So I think the Gonjas planned that the war would finish before they would settle all the towns and villages.
When Naa Siɣli gathered his followers, he divided them into groups that some people should go to one side, and some should go to the other side, and Naa Siɣli was in the middle. That was how they divided themselves and attacked the Gonjas. They formed it like a circle. Naa Siɣli was in the middle. And they beat the Gonjas in all the villages. How they were going, fighting the war, at times they would arrive at a village and spend about some days there, planning which villages to attack again. And they would show, “On such-and-such a day, we will meet again.” This is what they were doing. And how they were fighting, they didn't want to seize villages. How Naa Siɣli fought the war, some of Kumpatia's fighting hand attacked the Dagbamba and pushed to fight them in the middle. As Naa Siɣli was in the middle, the Gonjas were behind, driving back those people, and some of them were running to Naa Siɣli. And the other groups Naa Siɣli had separated got behind the Gonjas and started attacking them and driving them toward Naa Siɣli again. Do you see? They would surround the Gonjas. These people would drive the Gonjas one way, and the other people would drive the other way, and they would come toward the middle. That was why they killed a lot of the Gonjas. Even up to now, the Gonjas are not many. How they killed them, if not those with medicine who were able to fly away, they would have killed all of them, because it was in Naa Siɣli's war that they killed a lot of Gonjas and finished them. And those who followed Naa Siɣli's footsteps at the western and northern sides also killed a lot of the Gonjas there. As for Naa Dariʒɛɣu's war, they also killed people but not to the extent of Naa Siɣli. But Naa Luro and Naa Siɣli, they killed people, truly. Naa Luro killed a lot, and it wasn't a joke: as we show that Naa Luro went to Koliŋ, it wasn't only Koliŋ he went to. There were many villages Naa Luro went to, and it's only that they don't call the names of the villages apart from Koliŋ. This is how it is.
And so the Dagbamba were fighting and beating the Gonjas. And Naa Siɣli knew that the Gonjas had fought the war and they were now lying near Sang. I told you that the name of the town the Gonjas stopped was Chirizaŋ. The town is for the Sang chief: Chirizaŋ. There is a hill there we call Chirizaŋzoli. There is a something like a cave there, at the foot of the hill. and Kumpatia built rooms at that place, and he was sitting. And Naa Siɣli also passed to the foot of Sang mountain. And Kumpatia was at Chirizaŋ mountain cave. And so they were staying at different places, and sending words to one another. They were talking like that and waiting for the day they will see one another. And a day came and Naa Siɣli sent a messenger to Kumpatia, that the messenger should go and tell him that he wanted some guinea corn to give to his horse. And Kumpatia returned the messenger to come and tell Naa Siɣli that there was only a little guinea left for his horse, and the name of his horse was “I don't refuse anything.” And it was there like that. And Naa Siɣli sent a messenger again, that if Kumpatia has some guinea corn, he should give some to Naa Siɣli to give to his horse, “Problems are over tomorrow.” And Kumpatia replied, that his nose is fed up.
And at that time, the way old drummers say, those who were looking after Naa Siɣli's horse went to the bush to cut grass. And they met those who were looking after Kumpatia's horse, who were also there to cut grass. And one of Naa Siɣli's horseboys caught one of Kumpatia's horseboys, and cut off his head, and he put a rope through it and hung it on another one of Kumpatia's horseboys. And Kumpatia's horseboys ran home. And Kumpatia was annoyed.
And then Kumpatia's wives too went to the riverside for water, and when they went there, they met Naa Siɣli's wives there. The way old drummers say, Naa Siɣli's wives caught one of Kumpatia's wives, and cut off her ear. And the woman ran home crying. And Kumpatia heard the crying and asked, “What happened?” Then the woman said, “Don't you see me coming?” And that was what made Kumpatia very annoyed. So at first, they cut off the head of one of the children, and then, they cut off the wife's ear. And that time, when Kumpatia saw his wife with one ear, he started dressing up. And when Kumpatia was dressing up, Naa Siɣli heard of it, and Naa Siɣli also got up. He was coming to meet Kumpatia. And so Kumpatia was still at Chirizaŋzoli dressing.
And Naa Siɣli was at Sang mountain, and he got up with the war. And so that was the place Naa Siɣli came and met Kumpatia. This is the way drummers talk about it, this is the place he met him. The way they talked to me, he was fighting with Kumpatia up to the time the whole thing was tight. And Kumpatia ran into the cave. And at that time Naa Siɣli came down from his horse, and he sat down.
And his drummer talked to him, and name of the drummer was, “Our grandfather, the male elephant's chest cannot be moved.” And so when Kumpatia was inside the cave, Naa Siɣli came down from his horse and sat down. And the drummer cried and talked to him, that, “What made him a man, and he will make a guinea corn farm and eat it by himself? And what made him a man, and he can make a yam farm and eat it by himself?” And he said that, “Naa Siɣli is an okra plant stick that is not strong.” And so that time, Naa Siɣli's hair stood up again. And he told the warriors that they should destroy the cave; they should destroy it now, and they started destroying it. And they reached some point, and Kumpatia just sprang out, and he wanted to run. And Naa Siɣli took his spear and pierced it through Kumpatia's head, and it came out through the anus. And then Naa Siɣli removed the spear.
And at that time, the drummer saw it, and his heart cut off. And Naa Siɣli said the drummer should give him the bad name of a chief. And the bad names was “They will look for me, but they will not see me.” And that is Baŋgumaŋa. That is the meaning of Baŋgumaŋa I told you.
And Naa Siɣli cut off Kumpatia's left hand. And he gave the left hand to Diarilana, that Diarilana should use it to make tobu kabiga, that is, war scattering, so that tobu kabiga will be abundant in the world, because when Diarilana entered the war, the war scattered. And so because Diarilana took the left hand of Kumpatia, they praise Diarilana as Nuzaalana, left-hand owner. And Naa Siɣli cut of Kumpatia's head, and he removed the teeth. And he gave the head to his grandfather Kumbun-Naa, that he should take it to build the buɣ'toli, the buɣli mortar, and buɣ'toli will be abundant in the world. And he the teeth he removed from the head, he gave the teeth to Tolon-Naa, that he should get the teeth and open holes inside, and use them as beads for the Jɛbuni house shrine, and Jɛbuni beads will be abundant in the world. And so how Naa Siɣli took these three things, this is how they talk about it.
And so when Naa Siɣli finished killing Kumpatia, he went and caught Kumpatia's Pakpɔŋ, his eldest daughter. That daughter of Kumpatia was having her own Gonja name, but it was Naa Siɣli who gave the name Puumaaya to that daughter. How he had success in the war, and he caught her, he told her that, “The way I have caught you, now my stomach will cool down.” That is “M'puumaaya.” If you kill somebody's father and catch the child, you have benefited from the war. And so inside this war, he caught the daughter of this Zabaɣ'bila'bia. And it was Naa Siɣli who gave that daughter the name right there, Puumaaya, the stomach is cool. He killed the father and collected the daughter, his heart was white, and inside Dagbani too, this happiness, or white heart, is also Puumaaya. The stomach is cool. And he said he would take her to Yendi to be his wife. And the woman said she didn't agree. And he asked the woman, “Why?” And the woman replied, “How can you kill my father, and come to take me to be your wife?” And Naa Siɣli told her that she must agree. And the woman also replied that she will never agree. And Naa Siɣli brought out a knife and showed it to her. It was a proverb he gave to her: The cooking pot that they use to cook a monkey, the same cooking pot is not forbidden to be used to cook a dog. And it means that the knife that has killed a man can also kill a woman. And Naa Siɣli said the name of the knife he is showing to her is Suuchɛŋuni: “Whom does the knife leave?” The knife doesn't care whom it meets on the way. The knife didn't leave your father. How much less you? And fear caught the woman, and she agreed. And so at that time the woman had another name again. At first, he called Puumaaya. After Puumaaya, he showed the knife to the woman and said, “The knife doesn't care whomever it meets on the road.” And they took it to call another name for the woman as Suuchɛŋuni: whom does the knife leave?
And so the woman agreed, and Naa Siɣli married her, and he took her to give birth to Yamusah as his first-born son. When Naa Siɣli died, this Yamusah sat as the Gbɔŋlana, and Yamusah went and ate Tong. If drummers are praising the Tonglana, they say Puumaaya bia, Stomach-is-cool's child. And some people also praise Tonglana as Suuchɛŋuni bia, Whom-does-the-knife-leave's child. And so those are two names Naa Siɣli gave to her. She was having her Gonja name, but that one, we haven't heard about it. And it is because of this Tonglana Yamusah that we drummers beat Zuu-waa. That beating started with him, and sometimes you will hear its talk inside the Samban' luŋa. And so after Naa Siɣli fought Kumpatia, and when Naa Siɣli died, his zuu Tonglana Yamusah sat on the skin as the Gbɔŋlana, and then he went and ate Tong, and he remained there.
And so it was at Chirizaŋzoli that Kumpatia and Naa Siɣli met and fought. Naa Siɣli fought Kumpatia, and Naa Siɣli used a spear and stuck it in Kumpatia's head, and it came out his anus. And so the place they finally defeated the Gonjas was at Sang, at Sang Chirizaŋzoli. That is how it is. Many drummers say that it was at Sang that they killed the son of a slave, Kumpatia, that that was the place they killed him. And so what I have heard in my drumming is that it was Naa Siɣli who fought Kumpatia at Sang on the Chirizaŋ hill. Naa Siɣli fought Kumpatia there, and it was there he killed him. And he gave his left hand to the Diari chief and said he should use it to eat new yams. It means he should make the sacrifice to Jɛbuni, his house shrine. And he gave his head to the Kumbungu chief and said he should use it for the shrine and the gods would be many. And he gave his teeth to the Tolon chief and said he should take it and add to the Jɛbuni beads. And those who were with Naa Siɣli during that time, if the Gonjas have driven you from your town, what will you do? Whatever happens, you will find your way to go to your place. That was how everybody was finding his way, and they returned to their villages and drove the Gonjas away. And the Gonjas didn't think of making another war again.
And so that was how Naa Siɣli gathered people to fight the Gonjas. The Dagbamba made one mouth and divided themselves into groups. If not that, the Gonjas would have defeated us. And so Naa Siɣli was the last Dagbana to fight the Gonjas, and they never tried to make any war against us again. And we Dagbamba never thought of making war against them again. The Gonjas had more land than us, and even up to today they have more land than us. But the Dagbamba didn't know how to take their children and put them as chiefs in the Gonja land. If not that, we would have the Gonja lands now. We defeated them but we didn't collect their land. And I am telling you that if the Gonjas had been able to defeat us the Dagbamba, up to this day we would still be fighting. But we defeated them. They may think of making war against us, but they can't do it. The Gonjas are not many. If we are going to count human beings, the Gonjas are not more than the Dagbamba. You can count the people of Dagbon and divide them six times, and we would be more than them. I think that if all the Gonjas came together, this Tamale alone would be more than all the Gonjas. But the Gonjas have got land. As the people are not many, if you start from one town, you can walk for many miles before you will come to another town. From Kpandai to Daboya, it's more than a hundred miles, and that is not the end of the Gonja land. And so their land is more than ours, but they cannot think of fighting us. And if not that Naa Siɣli drove them away, they wanted to do us bad. They didn't say that they had equals in Dagbon. And so how we and the Gonjas fought, it was pride. And now hunger is killing them, just for them to revenge the way we defeated them. Any time a Dagbana is arguing with a Gonja, he will try to bring this talk inside to abuse him. Sometimes you will abuse a Gonja in that way, and you will see that you will fight with him. And so what I have told you today is a big talk. In the olden days, we and the Gonjas fought and killed one another. And now we take it that we are friends, and we try to joke with one another about it. And this is how it is.
And so when they beat Naa Siɣli's Samban' luŋa, they will also beat Baŋgumaŋa because Naa Siɣli's talk is also war. If they are beating him at the Samban' luŋa and they reach his point, they will beat Baŋgumaŋa, and it is from his grandfather Naa Luro. Baŋgumaŋa is war drumming. That is why when I taught you Baŋgumaŋa I asked you to kill a sheep, because Baŋgumaŋa is red-eyes. Baŋgumaŋa shows that if you fight a war and you win, that is what they have to beat. If you fight a war and you get good luck, it is good you get somebody who is going to talk, and the talk will enter you about the work you did, and it will support you at the front and at the back. And so that is Baŋgumaŋa. The drum and the guŋgɔŋ in Baŋgumaŋa are saying, Bɛm bɔ ma, bɛ pam bɔ ma jɛ: they will look for me, and they won't see me. It has some different sense. In the war, some people died and they have not come home, and so these people, they are no more there, and we will not see them again. There is no day we will see them. And again, the chief who won the war, maybe a war will come and the one who is the chief is not as strong as the chief who fought a war and won, and we will be looking for such a chief who is strong, and we won't get him. That is inside Baŋgumaŋa. And what our grandfather Lunʒɛɣu was saying with this Baŋgumaŋa is: if not because of you, we Dagbamba would have been useless. And so Naa Siɣli took his grandfather's Baŋgumaŋa, because it was Naa Luro who started the Baŋgumaŋa. It is not Naa Siɣli who started it, but Naa Siɣli inherited it. And so only two chiefs have Baŋgumaŋa. Nobody else has Baŋgumaŋa, and that is how it is. Does Naa Dariʒɛɣu have Baŋgumaŋa? He hasn't got. What has he done and he will have Baŋgumaŋa? Naa Zanjina: has he got Baŋgumaŋa? He does not. That is how it is.
If Naa Siɣli had not been there, then all of us would have been under the Gonjas. Do you see how it is? It was Naa Siɣli who saved Dagbon. As for Naa Siɣli, his name will never finish in Dagbon. But his family doesn't eat the Yendi chieftaincy again. He gave birth to many children. Apart from Puumaaya and the children he gave birth to with her, I have told you about Naa Zanjina's wife, Laamihi. Naa Siɣli married a daughter of Naa Zanjina and Laamihi, Aminara, and Aminara is the mother of Naa Saalana Ziblim. Now their fire is dead. I have told you already that as I am sitting, I am the family of Naa Siɣli, and it is not something different. Naa Siɣli brought forth Zoggolana Dasana. Do you hear me? And Dasana brought forth Zugulana Ali. And Ali brought forth Singlana Aduna and Dalunlana Blemah. And Singlana Aduna brought forth my grandfather Sulemana. And Sulemana brought forth my mother Kaasuwa. And my mother gave birth to me. Am I Naa Siɣli's family or not? And our family is not there again on the part of Yendi.
And I am telling you that truly, if not Naa Siɣli, if it were to have been Naa Zanjina who had gone to the war, the Gonjas would have defeated the Dagbamba. But where Naa Zanjina went and was sitting, his going to that place protected something, because he prayed to God there. And so Naa Zanjina's praying to God was what let Naa Siɣli not to be annoyed, and it let Naa Siɣli come out for the war. And Naa Siɣli got up and fell on the Gonjas and defeated them. And so Naa Zanjina and Naa Siɣli, they are senior father and junior father's children. Naa Zanjina's father was Naa Tutuɣri, and Naa Tutuɣri was the senior brother of Naa Zaɣli, and Naa Zaɣli gave birth to Naa Siɣli. That was the relationship between them. And so their stomachs were paining for one another. If it weren't so, Naa Siɣli would not have come.
And I want to tell you that between Naa Siɣli and Naa Zanjina, regarding the time of the war, there is a lot of confusion among drummers, and they didn't settle it. As for that time, even most drummers don't know the inside of it. And didn't I tell you that even before the time of the war, there was a quarrel in Dagbon, and the quarrel followed them, Naa Siɣli and Naa Zanjina, up to Kumpatia's war? And most drummers don't know all the talk inside these talks. And the differences in the talks is the same as how I have been telling you about how some people learn it. And that is why I am telling you that Naa Zanjina and Naa Siɣli have got a lot of talk between them.
For example, I already told you that there are some drummers who say that Naa Zanjina was still sitting down alive when Naa Siɣli fought Kumpatia and finished the war and came back, and that they put the chieftaincy dress on Naa Siɣli before Naa Zanjina died. And some say that after he killed Kumpatia at Chirizaŋ, Naa Siɣli was at Sang, and a messenger came to tell him that Naa Zanjina was not there again, and they brought chieftaincy dress to him at that place. But to me, it is not true. The time Naa Siɣli was fighting the Konkombas, Naa Zanjina was still alive, but when Naa Siɣli fought the Konkombas and came to Tampioŋwɔɣu, that was when Naa Zanjina rested. It was when Naa Zanjina saw that his life was not long, he said what Mamprugulana had told Naa Siɣli, that he should take his sandals, that is, he would eat Yendi after Naa Zanjina. And when Naa Zanjina wasn't there, that was when Naa Siɣli said that from there he was going to face Kumpatia. Drummers have been struggling to separate it like that, unless the one who has searched into details. That is how it is. That is why I have added it to Naa Siɣli's talk, to open your eyes.
And some drummers even say that when Naa Siɣli and Kumpatia fought each other, Kumpatia died there, and Naa Siɣli also died there. And so they say that Naa Siɣli never returned home from the war to perform his brother Naa Zanjina's funeral. And so they said that he went to the war and fell in the fighting, and so there was a way to say that Naa Siɣli was the Yaa-Naa. And some say that Naa Siɣli killed Kumpatia, he was going to hear his brother's talk, and he didn't reach his brother's place. And others say that Naa Siɣli didn't die in the war. They say that when Naa Zanjina died, the time Naa Siɣli was made the chief was the same time they were performing the funeral of Naa Zanjina. And they say Naa Siɣli ate the chieftaincy, and he also did not keep long, and he died. And when they performed Naa Zanjina's funeral, they performed it and also performed the funeral of Naa Siɣli, too. Some say that. Some say he didn't even reach Yendi before he died, but it shows that he was a Yaa-Naa because they had given him everything of the chieftaincy. Some say he died before they finished performing the funeral of Naa Zanjina, and some say after the funeral was performed, Naa Siɣli also died. And some say when Naa Zanjina and Naa Siɣli died, they performed two funerals, Naa Zanjina's funeral and Naa Siɣli's funeral. I have heard drummers say that.
And the way they have talked, and how I am going to separate it: when they say Naa Siɣli died at Chirizaŋzoli, it's a lie. The way it is, he killed Kumpatia. And so who killed Naa Siɣli, and they said he also died there? After Kumpatia, who was there to be able to kill Naa Siɣli? And he killed Kumpatia first. Was it sickness that caught him at Chirizaŋ hill, or somebody killed him there? The way some drummers talk about it, is it good? That is why I am telling you that all that is a lie. And they also said he didn't go to Yendi? How did he come to give birth to Tonglana Yamusah and his other children? Listen well, and I will talk for you to hear. I don't want to talk, and there will be any argument over it.
Inside Dagbani, there is something we say: if a truth curves so many ways, or if you are going to talk the truth and it is not straight, sometimes it turns to be lies. And the lies that will be straight can turn to resemble truth. Maybe it is inside your country talk, too. If somebody is going to talk truth to you, and he doesn't talk it straight, and he does not talk to you to show how everything happened, and he just talks it to lean against the wall, then you the one they talked to, what are you going to do with that talk? And if the talk were to be true, at that time it will turn to look like lies. And so what I have talked, have you seen where everything stands, or not? What I am showing you, you should try to catch it well. Forget about outside-the-house asking.
Truly, inside Naa Zanjina, there are many talks, and our today's drum children, they won't go to ask elders. They will just go anywhere, and when somebody asks them anything, they force themselves to answer. And you the one sitting down, if they can try to collect something small from you, then they will tell you lies. And later you won't know where to put yourself. And so what I am telling you, you will search inside drum children, and you can will find it difficult to see what I have talked to you. What I'm stepping on before I talked this talk, it is there.
And so how I am talking now, and I am showing you the signs, it is the same as if I am sitting with drummers. If your fellow drummers talk something like Naa Siɣli dying in the fight with Kumpatia, I can easily ask him some questions. If Naa Siɣli didn't kill Kumpatia there, how is Kumpatia's left hand at Diari? And where did he get the teeth to give to Tolon-Naa? And was it somebody's head he gave to Kumbun-Naa? And how did Naa Siɣli manage to kill Kumpatia and collect Kumpatia's daughter and give birth to children? And if Naa Siɣli didn't go to Yendi, how did he manage to give birth to Tonglana Yamusah, and Yamusah was matured enough to sit as Gbɔŋlana when Naa Siɣli died? If he wasn't matured, could he have sat on the gbɔŋ? Or has he heard somebody talk and say that they took Naa Siɣli's brother's child to sit on the gbɔŋ? Has anybody talked something like that for that drummer to hear? And so if my fellow drummer talks something that is not going straight, I have questions to ask him. And these questions are what we use to defeat one another. I have told you that everybody is sitting with his talk, and everybody catches what he can catch. But if your fellow drummer talks some talk and it is lies, and he takes it to lean against a wall, then you have to go and bring something and ask him. Then you will see him standing at one point. He has no answer to give back to you. So that time, everyone will get to know that what he said was a lie. That is how it is.
And so what I have heard is that Naa Siɣli was in the Konkomba war when Naa Zanjina died. And Naa Siɣli took the war to the Gonjas. And we heard elder people say that he didn't perform the funeral because he was inside the war. And these talks, they are not in a book. The way today's talk is, sometimes somebody can talk about something and turn to doubt it again. And some people just use their sense to talk. And if you talk and keep quiet, what you will talk, tomorrow somebody will wake it up. But I have heard that Naa Zanjina died and Naa Siɣli did not perform the funeral. He was in the war, and he wasn't at home. I heard that. And so let it stand like that. When Naa Zanjina was not there, Naa Bimbiɛɣu was the first-born son of Naa Zanjina, and when they performed Naa Zanjina's funeral, Naa Bimbiɛɣu was the Gbɔŋlana. When Naa Siɣli finished the war, he came back to Yendi, and he collected the chieftaincy at Yendi. And he keep long there and gave birth to his children. And when Naa Siɣli died, and Yendi had no chief, it was Tonglana Yamusah who sat as the Gbɔŋlana. And that was the time Naa Bimbiɛɣu was made the chief. It was Naa Bimbiɛɣu who followed Naa Siɣli and ate the Yendi chieftaincy. If you write it like that, that is fine.
And so these talks, and how we are following them, and repairing them, we fear to tell lies. Sometimes a tailor will sew a very beautiful gown, and when he is finished, you will see some small threads at some places where he has sewn it. And he will take scissors and cut those some threads off. That is how our talk is. I want the way to cut off the small pieces of thread. That is the reason why sometimes when you ask me what I don't know, I don't want to add it. I will go and ask our elders, and my brother Mumuni is also there. The way we are sitting in Dagbon, I am not saying that I am something, but I don't think there is a drummer in Dagbon who doesn't know me and Mumuni, unless maybe a drummer who was born in the south and he hasn't been home. And so the position we reached at this time, we fear to tell lies. If you tell a lie into this kind of big talk you are holding, if somebody happens to look through and see a lie, then they will mention my name, “Eh? Mba Ibrahim?” or my brother, “Mba Mumuni?” Everybody will know who we are. That is why, when I talk some talk, I will give you examples. And it is the small thread on the gown I'm also cutting off. The way you are cutting them off, I'm also cutting it like that. That is it.
And so you see that the time they are beating the Samban' luŋa, and they are talking these talks I am telling you, you will see them slaughtering sheep and other things. They only make the sacrifice because of these particular talks. It's not that they want meat; if they want meat, they can buy it at the market. But if you talk these talks and you don't kill a sheep, all the talks that you will be saying will come back and fall on you. That is why we don't want to talk about the Samban' luŋa. If you want, you can find a drummer and tell him that you want to know the talks about Naa Zanjina, Naa Siɣli, and Kumpatia's war. There are many drummers who won't tell you anything at all. Someone will tell you and will not talk into details and finish it. And on top of that, many drummers don't know it. They will be mixing things and telling lies. And so what I am telling you now, and how I have talked it, if you go to join it with what has been talked before, there wouldn't be any argument between them. It will be all right, and there will be nobody who will hear it and find any dirt inside. What I have talked to you, if they take the Samban' luŋa to beat it, they will tell you the same thing. What I have told you is the same.
One time I was sitting, and I put my mind on these old Dagbamba talks we have been talking. The way our fathers talked about those first Dagbamba, as for them, they were wild. They didn't want life. They wanted a name. And they look like they were bad people. They had medicine for everything. And every day they wanted war. They will be eating, and they will just leave the food like that and get up to go to war. And if you don't go to fight, then they will kill you the one who remained behind to eat the food. That was how their life was going, and our fathers talked.
Sometimes some people would leave their house and wife. If they were farming, and the food was mature in their farms, they would just leave it and go. And when they go, maybe they won't return again. If they got to another place and it was sweet to them, they would settle there and forget about their other place. Someone who is not strong, some people will catch him and take him and sell him. He won't come back home. Someone will leave the house, and he will take what he has from the room. If they see such a person, they will catch him. If he is lucky, they will only take the money and everything he is holding, and allow him to go. At that point he will thank God because he still has life. That is how the Dagbamba were doing.
During the olden days, there was not any other tribe that could sit down and say that he wants to fight the Dagbamba. There was not any black-skinned person who could fight Dagbamba and defeat them. Dagbamba did not regard a Gonja to be a man. Konkombas, Mamprusis: Dagbamba did not regard them. In the olden days, they were all afraid of the Dagbamba. Any black-skinned man, if he saw Dagbamba people, he would run away. The only people who appeared in this world, and the Dagbamba cooled down and fear caught them, were these Europeans. When the white men entered Dagbon, everybody went and hid.
And so I used to think about how they were. Suppose at that time they had a very old man who couldn't walk, and they had very small children. When they were going like that, what were they doing with them? If they had animals, and foodstuffs: they would leave all and go. Then sometimes I would think, “These people, they were really very foolish.” Sometimes I myself used to lie down and think about all that. When I think like that, I compare it to this time when we are living. This time our living is somehow easier, and I see that our time is better than their time, and I'm glad that I only came to appear in Dagbon at this time, and not their time.