A Drummer's Testament
<Home page>
<PDF file>
How Dagbamba farm groundnuts; the preparation and uses of shea butter and kpalgu (local seasoning); raising animals
<top of page>
Supplementary material
Images
<top of page>
Contents outline and links by paragraph
Introduction
- 1. this chapter joins several talks
Groundnuts
- 2. groundnut farming an old thing; not much until vegetable oil mills
- 3. can sow in batandali or mounds, or in its own place
- 4. harvesting the groundnuts
The work of groundnuts
- 5. eating boiled groundnuts
- 6. roasted groundnuts
- 7. mix into kpalgu
- 8. grind and add to soup
- 9. kulikuli; from Hausas; separating the oil
- 10. how Mossi and Hausa traders showed Dagbamba kulikuli in Alhaji Ibrahim's youth
- 11. government agriculture people introduced better groundnuts
- 12. much profit from groundnuts
- 13. farming groundnuts to sell to vegetable oil mills
Shea nuts
- 14. original cooking oil; also for lanterns
- 15. from shea tree; have to go to bush
- 16. how the shea nuts ripen on the tree
- 17. how women go in groups to gather shea nuts
- 18. separating the fresh from the overripe shea nuts
- 19. boiling the shea nuts; spreading them to dry
- 20. continuing collection, boiling drying through the season
- 21. dangers of collecting shea nuts; snakes, spirits
- 22. can sell nuts or make shea butter
Shea butter
- 23. pounding and breaking the shea nuts
- 24. cooking and grinding the nuts to separate the oil
- 25. women gather top help one another; stirring the nuts and adding water to separate shea butter
- 26. use remains (kpambirgu) to paint walls
- 27. finishing preparing the shea butter
- 28. selling the shea butter in the market
- 29. carrying shea butter to sell in Asante in olden days
- 30. how Mossi traders traded shea butter to the South
- 31. how shea butter is used in medicine
Kpalgu
- 32. the work of kpalgu in cooking
- 33. how the seed pods mature on the tree
- 34. ownership of the seed pods by chiefs
- 35. removing the seeds; uses of the pods (dasandi)
- 36. preparing and drying the seeds
- 37. boiling the seeds; uses of the boiling water (zilimbɔŋ)
- 38. further preparation of the seeds; pound, boil, let rot
- 39. preparation of the kpalgu
Raising animals
- 40. animals raised not just for eating; for purposes; cover the anus
- 41. cow and horse are most important to villagers
- 42. holding many animals shows a person who “eats and is satisfied”
- 43. cows used to perform funerals
- 44. people use profit from farming to get animals
- 45. others buy animals to keep for times of need
Fowls
- 46. keeping chickens inside the house
- 47. feeding the chickens with termites
- 48. caring for guinea fowls is similar to chickens
- 49. taking young fowls to the farm to eat insects
- 50. how the fowls become attached to their owner
Example: how Alhaji Mumuni cares for animals
- 51. how Alhaji Mumuni takes care of fowls in his area
- 52. how he raises goats
- 53. feeding goats
- 54. feeding sheep
- 55. how animals roam and eat; when they must be tied
- 56. how children care for sheep; where sheep sleep
Cows
- 57. taking cows to bush to eat; return at night
- 58. formerly children took care of cows; now Fulani are main cowherds
- 59. how the Fulani profit from cow's milk
- 60. in olden days, milk was easily available in villages
- 61. milk has become profitable; mistrust of Fulanis
- 62. Fulanis benefit from milk and from manure for farming
- 63. cows need care because can spoil someone's farm
- 64. issues of cows giving birth to males and females
- 65. example: how Alhaji Ibrahim acquired a cow
- 66. how Alhaji Ibrahim's cow gave birth
- 67. the Fulani cowherd's advice to Alhaji Ibrahim
- 68. how the cows were lost
Conclusion
- 69. transition to talk of markets
<top of page>
Proverbs and Sayings
The one who looks after animals is the one who eats and is satisfied.
A horse and a cow, these are what will be worrying every villager.
Someone who has money, nothing bad happens to him.
Everything is afraid of a money man.
<top of page>
Dagbani words and other search terms
- Titled persons
- Manguli Kukuo-Naa
- Wulshe-Naa
- Names
- Abdulai
- Ayishetu
- Mumuni
- Osmanu
- Sana
- Tahiru
- Tambo
- Miscellaneous terms
- aburikacha
- batandali
- bira
- cassava
- cedis
- Chimsi
- cocoyam
- cola
- dabisi
- dafaduka
- dasandi
- dawadawa
- dokul' zhim (dokul' ʒim)
- doo [Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) R Br. ex Don]
- doozaba
- doozim
- dori
- firla
- fula
- groundnut
- guinea corn
- harmattan
- kebabs
- kooshe
- kpaakulo
- kpalgu
- kpangmani (kpaŋmani)
- kpambirgu
- kpilinga, kpehi (kpiliŋga)
- kpopila
- kraal
- kulikuli
- laa
- maha
- Milo
- nagkparba (naɣkparba)
- naglua (naɣlua)
- napogu (napoɣu)
- noosali
- nosugu (nosuɣu)
- Ovaltine
- pong (pɔŋ)
- pesewa, pesewas
- pito
- plantain
- sagbegu (saɣbɛɣu)
- sagim (saɣim)
- samban' kawana
- shea nut
- simpuporgu
- sinzhee (sinʒee)
- taanga (taaŋa) [Vitellaria paradoxa]
- tankoro (taŋkoro) [Icacina senegalensis A. Juss. or I. oliviformis]
- tama
- waagasi
- waaka
- wolliga (wolliɣa)
- yogu, yogsi (yoɣu, yoɣsi)
- zilimbong (zilimbɔŋ)
- zuuna
- Towns and places
- Bulpiela
- Dagbon
- Fooshegu
- Manguli Kukuo
- Nanton
- Savelugu
- Tamale
- Yapei
- Yong
- Cultural groups
- Ashanti, Ashantis
- Bimobas
- Chekosis
- Chembas
- Dagartis
- Dagbamba
- Dagbana
- Fulani
- Fulanis
- Gonjas
- Gurunsis
- Kusasis
- Lobis
- Mamprusis
- Mossi, Mossis
- Nanumbas
- Walas