A Drummer's Testament
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Why Dagbamba like proverbs; what proverbs add to living; how to understand proverbs; how people use proverbs as names; proverbial names and “praising”; introduction to the family; how drummers beat praise-names on their drums; where and how drumers use praise-names; the role of praising at community gathering; introduction to praise-names and dance beats
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Supplementary material
Figures and lists
Images
Praising gallery
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Contents outline and links by paragraph
Introduction
- 1. drummers use sense to use proverbs for praise names and dances
Proverbs
- 2. their characteristics and types
- 3. meaning is not clear; doing its work involves interpreting it
Examples of proverbs and their meanings
- 4. example: “if a river is dry”: interpreting the proverb; thinking and asking
- 5. further explanation of the proverb; extended to someone with knowledge
- 6. in custom, when give a proverb, do not show its meaning; person has to interpret
- 7. why give proverbs; proverbs are two talks, different possible meanings
- 8. example: “people are talking”; two talks or meanings; good and bad
- 9. further explanation: John's reputation in Dagbon
Proverbs as indirect talk
- 10. proverbs are not straightforward; need for patience to understand the reference
- 11. indirect reference: “bury a dead goat”
- 12. “how is the market is not friendship” refers to greeting
- 13. “stealing somebody's back” reference to gossiping
- 14. “gather to bury shea nuts”
- 15. proverb has many talks inside it; don't want to say something directly
- 16. indirect talk for something you are shy to say
Proverbs make talk sweet
- 17. proverb adds to talks
- 18. proverbs give long thoughts; people like long thoughts
- 19. proverbs show people sense
- 20. the sense of proverbs can give a warning or advice; help people live correctly
- 21. proverbs are for people with sense; have to hold the meaning
Drummers and proverbs
- 22. drummers have proverbs; their sense started from worries and sadness as orphans
- 23. drummers use proverbs to praise people, as a name to fit the person
- 24. the name helps people know more about a person
Examples of praise names
- 25. example: how a proverb might apply to someone
- 26. Nama-Naa Issahaku's name
- 27. Alhaji Ibrahim's names
How praise names are beaten
- 28. name can be spoken, sung, or beaten on drum; the drum can imitate the language
- 29. many people can recognize their names when beaten on a drum
- 30. drummers learn praising; different ways to beat names; singing while beating is difficult
- 31. in addition to language, drumming has meaning in the reason why it is beaten
Learning to hear drum language
- 32. people can ask to know the meaning of the drumming
- 33. people learn to hear drumming talks to different extents; some chiefs learn it gradually; chiefs like Tolon-Naa Yakubu and Nanton-Naa Alaasani hear well because are close to drummers
- 34. chiefs can learn it as princes; befriend and sit with drummers
- 35. how a prince befriends a drummer to learn more
- 36. the prince meets the drummer quietly in the night; doesn't talk about what he learns
- 37. a prince does not show his knowledge in public
- 38. if such a prince becomes a chief, might even correct a drummer
- 39. differences among chiefs; many do not know much; elders sit near and help them
- 40. Alhaji Ibrahim wants John to learn to beat proverbs and to write down the drumming
Drumming in Hausa and Dagbani
- 41. many proverbs are beaten as names; Hausa (Taachi) and Dagbani
- 42. examples: Hausa and Dagbani versions of the same proverbs
- 43. Dagbamba proverbs that are beaten on a drum
- 44. Hausa proverbs that are beaten on a drum
The benefits of praise names
- 45. proverbial names enhance a person and also enhance the culture
- 46. a name can hold a person back; drummers will correct it
- 47. drummers praise a person with the grandfather's name; enlightening
Praise names and family
- 48. proverbs are old talks; proverbs are with everybody
- 49. drummers keep alive the names of dead people within a family
- 50. drummers know people's families; family compared to a tree
Praise names and chieftaincy
- 51. every Dagbana has a relationship to a line of chieftaincy
- 52. a commoner comes from a chieftaincy line that has separated
- 53. all Dagbamba have some relation to Yaa-Naa; even typical Dagbamba from Naa Niŋmitooni
- 54. the “children” of Naa Nyaɣsi were not all his actual children
- 55. if a prince marries a commoner, the child can become a chief
- 56. chieftaincy lines mix and separate; many ways; can go to far ancestor, like drummers to Naa Nyaɣsi
- 57. Alhaji's mother's side is Naa Siɣli; no longer a door to Yendi
- 58. everyone is a chief's grandchild; examples: Naa Zoli, Savelugu-Naa Mahami
How drummers praise within a family
- 59. when drummers praise people, they start with grandfather's name; show person's family line
- 60. praise a commoner with praise-name of a chief; all the chiefs have lines; people know to varying extents
- 61. drummers' work: praising and showing the family; makes people happy; get money as gift
- 62. family can be traced to different origins; example: Alhaji Ibrahim from Savelugu and Voggo
Praise names and knowledge of a family
- 63. drummers know a person's family to varying extents; compared to levels of schooling
- 64. people learn about their family lines from praising
- 65. praising and drumming always related to chieftaincy; chiefs and drummers are one
- 66. the old talks (history) are behind both the chieftaincy and the drumming; not written
Praising at gatherings
- 67. example: praising at a funeral house
- 68. how drummers praise people with proverbial names; excites people
- 69. example: man who killed his horse when praised
- 70. at gatherings, drummers use praise to invite people to dance; dancers receive money from friends and relatives; drummers collect it
- 71. gatherings are ways to help one another; go to funerals to support people; money makes support visible
- 72. the giving of money, from talking truths about gathers and grandfathers
- 73. people are happy at gatherings; hearing the good names of their forefathers
- 74. when drummers don't recognize someone; example: Nyohinilana Pakpɔŋ pointed out to drummers, who then praised her
- 75. people show themselves to the drummers
- 76. other people will tell the drummers about a person; this showing oneself is not like bluffing
- 77. gathering place: people get to know one another and their families
- 78. drummers also show the lower status of some people
- 79. drummers can show the high standing of a quiet or shy person
- 80. drummers show family relationships by using the same praises for different people
- 81. sometimes relatives didn't know their relationship unless drummers show them
Praising and sense
- 82. drummers find appropriate names for people
- 83. drummers use their knowledge to turn praise-drumming to dance beats
- 84. Naa Mahamadu's names
- 85. using a name for dancing; can dance to a forefather's name
- 86. drummers have a lot of sense
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Proverbs and Sayings
It is proverbs a person takes to do work.
If the river is dry, it is a shame to God.
“It doesn't matter”: it matters.
People are asking about you.
A proverb is not a straightforward talk.
If your house goat dies, it is not you who is going to skin it.
It is because of a live goat that they bury a dead goat.
It is because of a live hunchback that they bury a dead hunchback.
“How is your market” is not friendship.
“Welcome from the market” does not mean friendship.
When you are stealing somebody's back, you should look at your back.
If many of you gather to bury shea nuts, if you go to remove them, it is good that many of you go.
If you gather and bury shea nuts, it is good you gather again to remove them.
A proverb is one talk, but it has many talks.
A fool is not a blind person.
Don't bury me and leave the legs.
Proverbs make talk sweet.
Proverbs add sense to our talks.
Proverbs add to our way of living, and they add sense, and the give us long thoughts.
A person should think long thoughts and put them down for those behind.
Everybody wants long thoughts, and that is the way of proverbs.
Proverbs are for everybody, and proverbs are for the person who has sense.
A white horse is not an old horse.
If you see a person having a lot of sense, you should know that it is worry he has taken to get the sense.
What God has put down.
God has commanded and put something down, and what will you say? You will say, “It will do.”
If your neighbor buys something and it pains you, you should also go and buy yours; it's in the store.
If your friend buys something and it pains you, you should also buy it: it is in the store.
A fool doesn't know that things change.
A foolish person doesn't know that things change, but a sensible person knows that things change.
What a human being refuses, God will take it and make it well.
A fool has no one; beat him and you will see.
A rich man befriends a poor man; God gives a gift to one who does not have.
If they say you cannot do anything, something has not come to you.
They say you cannot do anything; anything has not come to you.
No matter how sweet soup is, if you don't take some salt and add it, the soup is going to be a useless soup.
A lizard hides, and the head is red.
If your fellow person is crying and you are laughing, tomorrow you too will cry.
If you come to cross a river where there are oyster shells, it is better to be careful how you walk in the water than to divert your way.
Your mouth talks too much, and so what is the use of you?
They hate me and told lies about me.
To fear trouble is better than to say, "What can they do to me?"
A broom is not in the house, and the compound is dirty.
What a cat sees and hides, if a dog sees it, everyone will hear of it.
What a cat will see and keep quiet, if a dog sees it, he will come and beat it outside.
Water that lies still is bad water.
Someone who has horns cannot enter a hole.
A tree that stands in mud doesn't fear water.
Believing in God is better than believing in somebody.
What can ants do to a stone?: only lick it.
Different talks spoil a town; gather-and-say will repair a town.
How a family is, it is like a tree standing outside with many branches.
Inside every commoner is the strength of chieftaincy, and the strength of chieftaincy is the commoner.
An ex-serviceman does not keep away from the barracks.
If we drummers were not in Dagbon here, by now the family would have been dead.
It is in chieftaincy that we drummers have strength, and it is in drumming that a chief has strength.
We drummers and the chiefs are just like a calabash and its lid.
It is at the gathering place you have to show yourself and people will know you.
If a woman has no buttocks but has beads, someone who has got buttocks cannot collect the beads from her.
The person who doesn't have life is the one who cannot do something.
Patience gets everything, but annoyance gets nothing.
They are late, and nothing is there.
Tomorrow is medicine.
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Dagbani words and other search terms
Chiefs and elders
- Yaa-Naas
- Naa Abdulai
- Naa Abila Bila
- Naa Alaasani
- Naa Andani Jengbarga (Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga)
- Naa Garba
- Naa Kulunku (Naa Ziblim Kulunku)
- Naa Luro
- Naa Mahama Kpema (Naa Mahama Kpɛma)
- Naa Mahamadu
- Naa Mahami
- Naa Ninmitooni (Naa Niŋmitooni)
- Naa Nyagsi (Naa Nyaɣsi)
- Naa Sigli (Naa Siɣli)
- Naa Simaani (Naa Simaani Zoli)
- Naa Tutugri (Naa Tutuɣri)
- Naa Yakuba
- Naa Zolgu (Naa Zɔlgu)
- Naa Zagli (Naa Zaɣli)
- Naa Zanjina
- Naa Ziblim Bandamda
- Naa Ziblim Kulunku (Naa Kulunku)
- Naa Zoli (Naa Simaani Zoli)
- Yaa-Naa
- Other titled persons
- Dalunlana Blemah
- Mamprugulana
- Nanton-Naa
- Nanton-Naa Alaasani
- Nyohinilana Pakpon (Nyohihilana Pakpɔŋ)
- Savelugu-Naa Alhassan
- Savelugu-Naa Bukari Kantampara
- Savelugu-Naa Mahami
- Singlana Aduna
- Tolon-Naa
- Tolon-Naa Yakubu
- Zoggolana
- Zoggolana Dasana
- Zugulana
- Zugulana Ali
Proverbs and names
A kpee yi da ka di bier' a feere ni (A kpee yi da ka di biɛr' a feere ni)
A kpee yi kumdi ka a lara a gba sa ni kum biegu (A kpee yi kumdi ka a lara a gba sa ni kum biɛɣu)
A noli yagiya a bukaata (A noli yaɣiya a bukaata)
Abura kafu beeshika laami
Be je ma mi nmo m-pa ma pa la simli a mi nyin' da di be feere ni (Bɛ jɛ ma mi ŋmo m-pa ma pa la simli a mi nyin' da di be feere ni)
Be yi ye' ni a ku nin sheli sheli m-bi paag'a (Bɛ yi yɛ' ni a ku niŋ shɛli shɛli m-bi paag'a)
Be yoli yelgu (Bɛ yoli yɛlgu)
Be yoli yelgu ka sheli kani (Bɛ yoli yɛlgu ka shɛli kani)
Bundana lagi nandan' zori Naawuni ti kalana pini (Bundana laɣi nandan' zori Naawuni ti kalana pini)
Jenkuno yi nya sheli ka zan sogi baa nun' yi nya li sokam wumdimi baa nun' yi nya o nmer moli (Jɛnkuno yi nya shɛli ka zaŋ sɔɣi baa ŋun' yi nya li sokam wumdimi baa ŋun' yi nya o ŋmɛr moli)
Jergu zhi ni yela tagra (Jɛrgu ʒi ni yɛla taɣra)
Jergu ka so nmen' o ka a nya (Jɛrgu ka so ŋmɛn' o ka a nya)
Kom do chichi ko' biegu m-bala (Kom dɔ chichi ko' biɛɣu m-bala)
N danwanka yi naa kuuka ka naa dalia goobe kee ma kaa kuuka
“N'a daa” pa la simli
Naawuni zalgu
Ninsal' nun kon yevili nun nku tooi nin sheli (Ninsal' ŋun kɔŋ yɛvili ŋun nku tooi nin shɛli)
Ninsal' ni zagsi sheli ka Naawuni pihi m-maanda (Ninsal' ni zaɣsi shɛli ka Naawuni pihi m-maanda)
Nyirkogulana m-mali o limli so bi deera (Nyirkɔɣulana m-mali o limli so bi deera)
Sogu ka yina ka dundon tari (Sɔɣu ka yiŋa ka dundɔŋ tari)
Suglo mal' nyori sul' ka sheli (Suɣlo mal' nyori sul' ka shɛli)
Yeda Allah yaafi yedan koowa (Yɛda Allah yaafi yɛdan koowa)
Yaayaa kuda kan yi da duusi shee laasa
Yitaache fadama bee sooro lua
Zom' yela n-gari be ni nin a bo (Zɔm' yɛla n-gari bɛ ni niŋ a bɔ)
Zama kulga
Zama kulga banmi sigibu n-gari logbu (Zama kulga baŋmi siɣibu n-gari loɣbu)
- Musical terms and drum chiefs
- Damba
- Bangumana (Baŋgumaŋa)
- Bizun (Bizuŋ)
- Lunzhegu (Lunʒɛɣu)
- lundaa
- Namo-Naa
- Namo-Naa Issahaku
- Taachi
- taake
- Names and people
- Alhassan
- Fusheni
- Ibrahim
- Kissmal
- Mumuni
- Yakubu
- Miscellaneous terms
- Alhaji
- calabash
- chieftaincy
- Dagban' sabli
- Dagbani
- Holy Prophet Muhammad
- housechildren
- Muslim, Muslims
- Naa Nyagsi bia (Naa Nyaɣsi bia)
- pakpon (pakpɔŋ)
- shea
- tindanas
- Towns and places
- Accra
- Dalun
- Dagbon
- Nanton
- Nyohini
- Savelugu
- Tolon
- Voggo
- Yendi
- Zoggo
- Zugu
- Cultural groups
- Dagbamba, Dagbana
- Hausa
- Gonja
- Mamprusi