A Drummer's Testament

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A DRUMMER'S TESTAMENT:  Dagbamba Society and Culture in the Twentieth Century

Expanded Table of Contents




FRONT MATTER



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JOHN CHERNOFF'S INTRODUCTION  topics covered

Capsule geography and demography; descriptions of Tamale and Accra; descriptions of urban and rural landscapes; the situation of traditional societies in modern Ghana

Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulai and the genesis of the work; indigenous views of cultural relevance; assessment of the role of ethnography in contemporary anthropology; why the work was done in this manner; web publication and indigenous access

The nature of the collaboration; portraits of significant personnel; issues of method and substance; description of interviewing techniques and translation methods

Advice on reading the text:  the context and pacing of evening discussions in a village; style and idioms; the size of the text; relationship of drumming to the presentation of information



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Volume I:  THE WORK OF DRUMMING

PART 1:  ALHAJI IBRAHIM'S INTRODUCTION TO THE DAGBAMBA WAY OF LIVING










PART 2:  DRUMMERS AND DRUMMING IN DAGBON






PART 3:  MUSIC AND DANCING IN COMMUNITY EVENTS








PART 4:  LEARNING AND MATURITY






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Volume II:  OLD TALKS:  DRUMMERS, CHIEFS, HISTORY AND RELIGION

Part 1:  CHIEFTAINCY









Part 2:  HISTORY







PART 3:  FESTIVALS IN COMMUNITY LIFE AND THE WORK OF DRUMMERS




PART 4:  RELIGION AND MEDICINE












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Volume III:  IN OUR LIVING

PART 1:  ECONOMIC LIFE








PART 2:  FAMILY




PART 3:  CHILDREN







PART 4:  HOUSEHOLDING









PART 5:  OLD AGE



PART 6:  CONCLUSION:



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SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS