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The strength of drummers with chiefs; Punyiɣsili: waking the chief; names people call drummers; drummers as women; begging the chief; if Namo-Naa and Yaa-Naa quarrel; the seniority of drummers to other musicians: the origins of Akarima and the timpana; dalgu; names in Dagbon; the origins of fiddles (goonji), solo string instruments (mɔɣlo and jɛnjili)
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Goonji group: Mahama Braimah, leader
Goonji and vocals: Alhassan Braimah, Alhassan Ibrahim, and Yimusah Seidu; zaabia: Mashahudu Mahama and Issahaku Mahama
Dogua Bayoyoyo (“Do Not Feel Sympathy for the Tallest Chief”)
Sung in Hausa, the song is for a chief, Kari-Naa Abukari, that is, Abukari, chief of the town of Karaga. While the chorus sings Dogua Bayoyoyo, Mahama sings proverbial praise-names: Among all the chiefs, he (Abukari) is the tallest. What is your message (concerning war)? When trouble is coming, you will try to prevent it so that it will not fall on you. God has given you chieftaincy; no one can compare (himself) with you. A gift is in the hands of God; if gifts were in the hands of people, they would refuse to give them. You whom God has given a gift, and you have not given it to somebody: use that gift to help us follow God. The lion is senior to the hyena and the leopard.
Wanda Ya Chi Magani Yaa Baata (“Someone Who Fears Wants to Use Juju (but it won't work)”
Sung in Hausa, the song is for Kori-Naa Bukari, that is, Chief Bukari of the town of Korli. The rhythm resembles a popular dance drumming called Dam' Duu. The idea behind the chorus is that someone without courage may have medicine (juju) for protection against weapons but will still run from danger. The leader sings the choral line and adds other proverbial praises that refer to chieftaincy: If a crocodile catches someone, you can only help by shouting; if you enter the water, the crocodile will catch you, too. What God has done, nobody is angry with it except a fool. When the axehead comes out of the fire, no one will put it on his shoulder. If you used to cross a stream easily, water will come with more force in the rainy season. If there is a strange crocodile (a new chief) in the stream, you will be afraid to cross because you haven't seen that crocodile before.
Mai Karatu (“A Student”)
Mahama was so pleased with this song that he did not restrain a laugh at the end. Sung in Hausa, the chorus, Yaaro baya sha giya, says that “A boy should not drink alcohol.” The song is in praise of a Hausa maalam (Muslim scholar), known as Imam Imoro, who was from the town of Krachi in east-central Ghana, in the northern section of the Volta Region. The leader sings: When you hear of someone called a man, he should not drink alcohol. The one whom God has gifted, he should not drink alcohol. If you are someone who is capable, you do not need to consult many people. If God has given you riches, no matter how you spend it, more will come.
Mai Karfi (“A Strong Person”)
Sung in Hausa, the chorus is Mai karfi zai che kawo fada: “A strong man will call for a fight.” The section of a town where African foreigners (often Hausas) live is called a zongo in Hausa. This song is for the Hausa chief of the zongo in Yendi many years ago, named Labo. Mahama sings: The one who owns milk will keep it; if you are in need of it, go to the owner. If a flock of sheep gathers without a ram, they are useless. The fiddles and chorus entertain the words Yaaro taaka during a bridge: “Son (of chiefs), walk majestically.” Toward the end of the song, the chorus and leader alternate singing, “Go forward, father (of the retinue).”
Ka Mi Zuhiri Maanga (“I Have Invited Myself”)
Sung in Dagbani, the song is for Tugulana Yiri, that is, Chief Yiri of the town of Tugu. The goonjis' responsive line says: You have not invited me, but I have come. The idea of the chief inviting himself is that no rival contestant nor townsperson could prevent him from obtaining the chieftaincy. The singer calls the names of past chiefs in the chief's family and tells them: walk majestically. He adds: The one who is not invited has washed his hands before me. The one who is not invited has taken a ball of food before me. Before I put mine in my mouth he has already swallowed his. Then the singer calls the past chiefs again.
Ninsal' Ku Toi Ban O Dalirilana (“A Human Being Cannot Know His Benefactor”)
Sung in Dagbani, the song is for a turn-of-the-twentieth-century chief of Savelugu, Abukari Jia. The chorus first sings Ban tee bora: “They will remember their need” (for the chief, but they will not see him again). Later in the song, the chorus changes to sing “A human being cannot know his benefactor” (the one who will help him). Mahama also sings that main phrase as well as other proverbs: If you gather a hundred diamonds, they will never look like a piece of gold. You reap what you sow: if you plant lies, you will reap lies; if you plant good things, you will reap good things. The cat is eating and it pains the dog (he is jealous). Does the grinding mill belong to the dog? Does the river belong to the dog? A dog does not fetch water, nor does he grind anything.
Yaaro Yaa Sani Baba (“A Boy Knows the Father”)
Sung in Hausa, the song is for an elder, Mba Duɣu Sheni, of the early twentieth century Yaa-Naa (Chief of Yendi), Naa Abudu. The chorus first sings Chali ya magana: “An excuse-maker is full of talk.” Later the chorus changes to Yaaro yaa sani baba. The leader sings: A boy knows the father. If you are looking for milk, you will go to the cow. If God has blessed somebody with something, but it hasn't come to you yet, don't be disturbed about it. The baobab tree is fat, but the bagarua tree is more useful than the baobab tree. (Its fruit is used to tan leather.) If God has made you a watchman over something, and someone takes something out of it, God will replace that thing. (If God has given you riches, no matter how you spend it, more money will come.)
Wariye Jelima Mai Makada (“The Prince Who Has Many Goonji Players”)
Sung in both Hausa and Dagbani, the song is for a turn-of-the-century chief of Savelugu, Savelugu-Naa Mahami. The first chorus is Wariye jelima mai makada: “The prince who has many goonji players.” Mahama sings a number of proverbial praises. If God gives something to someone, be patient; it is not your turn yet. Someone who destroys and someone who builds, they are never the same. Someone who gives and someone who is selfish, they are never the same. The life of a lizard ends at the bottom of a tree (that is, where it has left the safety of the tree and is vulnerable to its enemies). The leader then sings: If you want to give us something, get it from a rich man, not a poor man. The chorus responds Jelima kama kwabo: “The prince should catch and collect the money for us.”
Ba Zai Karfi, Sai Allah Ya Yi Lafia ("No One Has Power Unless God Makes It So”)
Sung in Hausa, this song is for the early nineteenth century chief of Yendi, Naa Ziblim Kulunku. The idea in the chorus is that chieftaincy is given by God. The leader greets the chief: I've come to find out how you passed the night. Did you sleep well? The leader then calls the names of other chiefs and moves into proverbs: Somebody's father cannot be the same as your father. Somebody's mother cannot be the same as your mother. Somebody's village cannot be the same as your village. If the moonlight shines in your room, it cannot be the same as daylight. If you look at your face in the mirror, if the mirror could see as well as your eye, then a blind person could also have sight if he used the mirror. Porridge mixed with water cannot satisfy your hunger. The song shifts to call the places where Dagbamba have fought: Are we going to Konkomba land to fight? Are we going to Gonja land to fight? Are we going to Chekosi land to fight? Are we going to Nanumba land to fight? Are we going to Mamprusi land to fight? Are we going to Ashanti land to fight? At each question, the chorus answers, Za mu yi: “Yes chief, your wish (We will obey).”
Yelizolilana Laɣfu (“Laɣfu, Chief of Yelizoli")
This song begins in Dagbani and changes to a mixture of Dagbani and Hausa. The long title, sung by the chorus, is Gajere dan Yaamusa dan kane Salchi Yani: “Short man, son of Yaamusa, nephew of the Chief of Yendi.” Yelizolilana is the title of the chief of the town of Yelizoli. Laɣfu is Dagbani for a cowrie shell, or money. (Cowrie shells were formerly used as money in the region.) Yelizolilana Laɣfu's real name was Yidantogma, but his name Laɣfu obviously refers to him as a rich man. The chorus refers to the uncommon circumstance that he obtained chieftaincy not through his father but through his mother. In Dagbon, some chieftaincies are held by women, and his mother was Kpatu-Naa Shetu, that is, Shetu, Chief of Kpatuya. Her brother was Naa Yakuba, Chief of Yendi in the mid-nineteenth century. Yelizolilana Laɣfu occupied nine chieftaincies before taking over Yelizoli, a point alluded to when the goonjis count some of the towns and villages where he sat as chief. Yelizolilana Laɣfu is also known because Naa Yakuba became mad during his reign, and there was a war to take his chieftaincy from him; Yelizolilana Laɣfu was killed in that war.
Against the chorus line, the leader sings: The Chief of Yelizoli has money. The chief says he has money. Money has no fat, but people love money. Using the chief's name Yidantogma, the leader calls the chieftaincies Laɣfu held before he took Yelizoli, including Zabzugu (another name for Yelizoli), Gbungbaliga, Taginamo, and so on. Then the singer, in an allusion to the chief, refers to a group of diviners called Jinwarba; the proverb refers to the belief that when they are dancing, it is dangerous to knock your leg against one of their legs. He sings: When jinwarba are dancing, it is interesting to watch, but if you don't have juju (power) yourself, you can't come close; you have to hide or stand far off (to look at them). More proverbial praises follow: A man will not eat plenty of food before he is called a man. A man will not drink plenty of water before he is called a man. A man will not drink plenty of alcohol before he is called a man. Your deeds show you to be a man. When a camel comes with a load and dumps it, it is only a camel who can carry it again (that is, only the chief can deal with chieftaincy matters). Then the song changes to Hausa and Dagbani, and the leader sings: The stream at Sabali is not for you (chief), but you have used power to take it, and the chorus responds, Ba ruwanka ba: “The stream is not yours.”
Goonji duo (Mahama Braimah, Alhassan Braimah): Part 1 (47:45) / Part 2 (48:32)
Alaasan Sulemana goonji group: Part 1 (46:00) / Part 2 (46:17)
Part 1: Song breaks at 05:24/11:42/18:21/25:35/32:20/40:48
Part 2: Song breaks at 09:15/16:26/22:20/28:00/34:50/41:02
Jɛnjili
Fuseini Tia
(jɛnjili and vocals) with Mahamadu Fuseini (bottle and supporting vocals)
Continuous recording (48:54) with song changes at: 07:15 / 11:07 / 15:28 / 24:50 / 31:47 / 35:41 / 42:20 / 44:56
Yakubu Silmindoo
(jenjili and vocals)
Continuous recording (49:07) with song changes at: 03:48 / 06:45 / 09:43 / 12:14 / 15:29 / 17:56 / 20:55 / 23:59 / 27:52 / 29:55 / 34:16 / 35:55 / 38:21 / 40:47 / 42:49 / 46:10
Mɔɣlo
Nyologu Lun-Naa Issahaku Abdulai (mɔɣlo and vocals): Part 1 / Part 2
Part 1 (45:49): song changes at 6:08 / 20:13 / 35:19
Part 2 (46:50): song changes at 17:08 / 30:53 / 41:33
The greater respect and importance of drumming
If you want to praise somebody, you have to take his own name to praise him.
The tongue and the teeth: they quarrel.
A drummer has no rope in the chief's house.
Bimbiɛɣu yi palo, ku lan lab' sɔɣi.
An ugly thing that has come out will not go back again.
Lies are like urine: when you urinate, it starts and goes far; and when it is ending, it finishes in front of you.