University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh AESTHETICS AND FUNCTIONS OF PRAISE POETRY: A CASE STUDY OF A DAGARA TRADITION BY JULIUS POGHYAAR-KUUTIERO A dissertation presented to the Department of Engli~h, University of Ghana, Legon, in partial ,fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Master of Philosophy in English. DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 4TH MAY, 1997. LEGON. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my wife, Mary To Lillian, Eunice and Dominic Vitus, Yvon and Renata. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I do solemnly declare that this thesis is the result of my own original research and that it has not been presented elsewhere for another degree. References to other works and quotations both written and oral have been acknowledged . STUDENT: .. . ~~. .......... . JULIUS POGHYAAR-KUUTIERO SUPERVISORS: . BEMILE MR. ALOYSIUS DENKABE II University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to acknowledge my great indebtedness to Dr. Sebastian K. Bemile who as my surpervisor assisted me enormously with his suggestions and advice. He also provided me with relevant reference books and tape recordings of praise songs which I found very useful. I am most grateful to him. I am also very grateful to Mr. Aloysius Denkabe who as one of my supervisors showed keen interest in the project. In spite of his heavy administrative duties as Head of the Department of English, he found time to offer me useful suggestions and comments. My deep appreciation also goes to Professor Kwesi Yankah and Mr. Gordon Adika who, despite their tight schedules, willingly read through some of the scripts and offered useful comments. Indeed, Professor Yankah and Professor Kofi Anyidoho first stimulated my interest in oral literature study while I was an undergraduate. That this thesis is on one of the genres of oral literature, is immensely due to their motivation and I am thankful for that . I am much obliged to Mrs. Kari Dako too, for her useful comments . I also wish to thank Rev . Dr . Yvon Yangyuoru most sincerely for his encouraging support during my course of study at Legon. I am also thankful to Rev . Dr . Gervase Angsotinge for his critical and useful comments. I am thankful too, to the many informants who assisted me during the research particularly the oral artists whose texts I have used. They include Messrs Bede Bongne, Ambrose DaayeIJ , Charlie Guy and Rev . Fr . vitalis Kogme . Others are Mesdames l1l University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh virginia MaanlasIE, Rose Donlr, NaaDmlnzUmE Kunwokole and Denisia Daab£. The rest are Messrs DOmEkuu, Thomas Ba-Innimaahe, DEbgur and Bernard WObrmf. My sincere thanks also go to the Director of the Language Centre, Legon, Professor Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu for allowing me the use of the Centre's computer to process this text. I am grateful to Mrs. Doris Adjei and Mr. Seth Nii Moi Allotey, both at the Language Centre, university of Ghana, Legon, for processing the text. Thanks to my colleague, Abaaduko Adazabra for helping in the editing of this dissertation. My sincere thanks also go to Mr.Alfred Dome for his material support in the penultimate stages of this dissertation. Finally, I am profoundly thankful to my dear wife Mary who showed unmatched interest in the progress of this work. Her patience, and support gave me much strength and encouragement to accomplish this task. I am however to blame for inadequacies in this thesis. JULIUS P. KUUTIERO, MAY, 1997. lV University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ~ ( ~ 1)-1 ~ ~, F '"l'j 0 0.J ~ 'l"\ ~ ~ <: v-, {\ -\ ~ "- <: 'b ~ ~ ~ ....... ('\ ,..,. ~ ~ '" ~ t:. t..O ~ I:> ~ ,., ~~ ! ~ ~~ ......., .:t1 ~ " ><=. ~ ~ . ~- ~l'I ~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~ ..... ~ ::: ':t. I) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT DanU is a popular art form among the Dagara. It is literally a praise song or chant performed to celebrate the exploits of an individual in the community. Its characteristics conveniently locate it within the realm of poetry despite its orality. Its poetic features which include figurative expressions, such as metaphors, similes and hyperboles generally elevate its language above the normal speech level. Formal and prosodic features like structural repetitiveness, parallelism and alliteration infuse it with rhythm that underscores its belongingness to poetry. As praise poetry, danu is dynamic and grows with time as events of the past are neatly interwoven with those of the present. It is one oral art form that has a long range and extends into other verbal art forms like the dirge and the grinding song. DanU is popular not only because of "its aesthetic value , but also because of its sociological and psychological functions among the people. For that reason the artists of this genre are accorded reverence in terms of the relev ance of their creative compositions and performances . University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION i DECLARATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii MA.P • • • • . . . . . v ABSTRACT vi TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . vii CHAPTER ONE . . . 1 1.00 INTRODUCTION · · · · 1 1.01 ORAL LITERATURE: A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW 1 1.02 REAPPRAISAL OF DEFINITION OF GENRE 11 1. 03 NEW TRENDS • • 15 1.04 COMPONENTS OF ORAL LITERATURE 21 1.05 METHODOLOGY 24 CHAPTER TWO . 27 2.00 THE DAGARA · · · · 27 2.01 IDENTITY 27 2.02 OCCUPATION AND SOCIAL LIFE . . . · · 29 2.03 CLAN SYSTEMS 40 2.04 RELIGIOUS WORLD-VIEW · · · · 47 2.05 ANCESTRAL VENERATION 55 2.06 NON-HUMAN RELATIVES · · · · 57 CHAPTER THREE . . . · · · · · 60 3.00 THE NATURE AND CONTENT OF DAGARA PRAISE POEMS 60 3.01 DAGARA PRAISE POEMS AS POETRY 78 3.02 STYLISTIC DEVICES • . 82 3.03 PERSONAL PRAISE POEMS · · · · 98 Vll University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FOUR 109 4.00 THE PRAISE POET • 109 4.01 TRAINING OF AN ORAL POET 109 4 . 02 PATRONAGE 117 4.03 THE COMPOSITION AND PERFORMANCE OF PRAISE POEMS 129 4.04 THE POSITION _OF THE PRAISE POET IN HIS COMMUNITY 139 CHAPTER FIVE 149 5.00 FUNCTIONS AND RELEVANCE OF DAGARA PRAISE POEMS 149 5.01 CELEBRATION OF PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS 149 5.02 ENTERTAINMENT AND RELAXATION 154 5.03 SELF-ASSERTION 156 5.04 RECORDING HISTORY 158 5.05 ARTISTIC EXPRESSION 159 CHAPTER SIX • . 162 CONCLUSION 162 APPENDIX:- 166 A.CLAN APPELLATIONS 166 B.PERSONAL PRAISE SONGS 176 C.GRINDING SONGS 198 D.LIBATION TEXT 214 E.DIRGES 217 BIBLIOGRAPHY 223 Vlll University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE ~ INTRODUCTION ~ ORAL LITERATURE: A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW This study is focused on praise poetry, danu, located in the oral literature tradition of the Dagara people. The Dagara (sing. and pl.) who also speak Dagara, are mainly an agrarian people and they occupy almost entirely the Upper West Region of the Republic of Ghana and the south-eastern corner of the Republic of Burkina Faso. More will be said of them in the next chapter but at this point, I would like to dwell on a historical overview of the development of African oral literature of which the Dagara praise poetry, danu is a constituent part. Courses on African folklore and oral literature can now be found in various universities in Africa and other parts of the world, especially in the united states of America (U.S). Apart from that, international conferences on African folklore and oral literature are organised and sponsored by various literary groups in Africa, Europe and the U.s. (c.f. Yankah 1985, p.1). with this current development in view, one may safely say that African oral literature is eventually being accorded its rightful place among the literary art forms. But this was unthinkable in the nineteenth century when Western view of the African was so negative that Europeans could not imagine that the African was capable of "actually thinking and feeling, his imagination proving creative, having a sense and appreciation of poetic form of rhythm and rhyme!" (seidel 1896, in Jahn 1968, p. 55). Since the African was not capable of thinking in Siedel's Western view, it was certainly not expected University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of him to have "literary pretensions" (Finnegan 1970 p. 27). Nevertheless by the middle of the century, the unfortunate "popular European image of Africa" (Finnegan op. cit p.27) began to undergo a slight change as a result of the emergence of the findings of linguistic studies of specialists and missionaries on African languages. This study of the African languages was prompted by the evangelising movement of the West in Africa, aimed at "pacifying" and "civilising" Africa. To facilitate effective communication between themselves and their target groups potential African converts, the missionaries had to learn the languages of the Africans. In the process of learning some of them came up with the grammars and vocabularies on them (cf. Finnegan 1970, p. 28). A case in point in the Dagara context is the development of "Dagaare-English Dictionary in 1953 by Rev . J.B. Duran, one of the pioneer Catholic Missionaries who introduced Christianity to the Dagara population in 1929. (cf. P.P. Dery 1979, p . 6). Others went further to collect proverbs, riddles and stories of the Africans. Again in the case of missionary movement among the Dagara, st. John Boscos' Press, Navrongo, published several Dagara Primers and Dagara short stories . Missionaries and linguists collaborated closely and made many great collections . The ultimate outcome of their collections was the publication of the grammars , folktales , proverbs and riddles that shocked Europeans at horne. In a remark on this surprised reaction of the Europeans Carl Meinhof said : "the African whom we hardly credit with any deep feelings, is infinitely rich in fairy-tales [ .... ] these are so like our own fairy tales" (Meinhof in 2 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Jahn 1968, p.55). If Meinhof's remark seems patronising Seidel's statement in the foreword to probably the first great anthology of African oral literature published in 1896 might be more embarrassing. It reads in part: "A wild African! A black beast! Fancy him actually thinking and feeling, his imagination proving creative! More than that, even, fancy him having a sense and appreciation of poetic form of rhythm and rhyme! It sounds quite incredible, yet it is true". (Op. cit Seidel 1896 in Jahn 1968, p.55) However, the resultant amazement arising from the realisation of this hitherto unknown world of the African, gave impetus to scholars of various philosophical schools to also research into African folklore in a bid to find the origin and characteristics of human culture and its development as was done in other parts of the world. (Okpewho 1992, p.5). In this search, it was the evolutionists who first entered the field. These were disciples of Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882) who believed "that all biological species have over a long period been undergoing various changes until they have reached the forms in which we find them today". (Ibid. p.5). Darwin's compatriots and followers, Edward B. Taylor and James G. Frazer, believed in the fundamental "principle that there is one human race and one human mind spread out across the face of the earth (Okpewho Ope cit. p.5). So, for them, the examination of two cultures at the same stage of development would reveal the qualitative similarities of their folklore. In view of this the evolutionists pursued a comparative study of various cultures in order to prove 3 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh their point that humanity is one. Thus, Frazer who had begun his "research into the origins of magical and religious rituals among a small tribe in Italy" eventually expanded his scope to cover various cultures of the world including Africa. He gathered a lot of research material from Africa through former students and some colleagues on colonial tour as administrators. Notable collaborators were Robert Rattray among the Akan in Ghana and Hausa of Nigeria, P. Amqury Talbot among the Ekoi of Nigeria and Rev. Henri Junod among the Tonga of South Africa. John Roscoe who worked among the Baganda of Uganda, and Andrew Dale who worked with Edwin smith along the Ila of Zambia, were other contributors to Frazer's formidable collections of African folklore in The Golden Bough (1911 - 1936). Encouraged by Frazer, Rattray and his colleagues also wrote books in which the various texts they had collected - folktales, songs, riddles, proverbs and other verbal art forms were examined. For instance , Rattray wrote several works which included Some Folklore, stories and Songs in chinyanja (1907) Hausa Folklore, Customs , Proverbs Etc . (1913); Ashanti Proverbs: The Primitive Ethics of a Savage People, (1916) ; Akan-Ashanti Folktales, (1930). Tablot also wrote In the Shadow of the Bush (1912), while Dale and smith jointly authored The Ila - speaking People of Northern Rhodesia , (1920) . Although the evolution oriented ethnologists collected a lot of verbal art forms texts of Africa, they failed to recognise their literary significance. This was due to their unfortunat e practice of selecting texts and e xamining them only to establish their primitivity of origin. They considered whatever folktales , 4 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh songs and their like as "survivals of earlier ones" (Okpewho 1992, p.6) handed down from generation to generation by mouth to this date. The evolutionists, further held that the texts were not even understood by their performers themselves since what they performed were fossils of the original ones authored in the dim past. It is clear from their operational practice that the individual performer's style and skills in performance, were played down and were never considered as creative or innovative. This unfortunate attitude to collected texts led to the erroneous conclusion that the texts were not works of art and could not be regarded as literature. Secondly, they contradicted themselves when they assumed that the texts had been transmitted word for word to the future generations and yet claimed that that the texts were communally owned. In other words, no individual could be cited as the author of any particular text. "These errors of judgement" Okpewho points out, "arose primarily because of the improper method of collecting and especially of recording the texts" (Ibid. p.7). A comparative approach to several versions of a text as Gordon Innes later adopted towards the Sundiata epic , would have revealed the creative skills of the individual performers. But concerned mainly with the concept of cultural development and origin of cultural ideas, the evolutionists failed to closely examine the texts and thus missed the chance of being credited with pioneering the study of oral literature in Africa. The diffusionists were another group of anthropologists who were interested in cultural historical development. These were University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh so named because of their belief that culture is diffused from one source to other parts of the world through contact and association. Contrary to the evolutionists who held that cultural change was vertical the diffusionists believed that change is horizontal. For instance, in their view, if two stories from two different cultures show similarities it is not because people all over the world think alike but because, at one time or the other, one culture must have borrowed the ideas of the other through contact. As it was generally believed by Western Scholars that the origins of various cultural forms would be found in India, a search was conducted to locate the lines or conduits of the flow of influence from the Indo-European culture to the other cultures. To facilitate effective search the world was demarcated into cultural zones where people were classified according to the similarities in the languages, belief systems, climate and so on (Ibid. p. 7) . In terms of their contribution to oral literature, the diffusionists mainly collected a lot of folktales from various cultures and published them especially under the influence of the German brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grim . In consonance with the arrogance and prejudice of their time the Grimms in their Household Tales expressed their view that African folktales that bear similarities with European ones must have been derived from the latter. This erroneous assumption about African tales was carried over from the generation of the Grimms to this modern era by the American diffusionist, stith Thompson. For Thompson, Africans borrowed European tales during the heinous slave trade 6 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh era, hence the similarities between some Africa stories and European ones. Later diffusionist scholars such as Richard Dorson, William Bascom and Alan Dundes have also succeeded in classifying tale- types or motifs but they could have done more for oral literature in Africa especially, had they not been obsessed with the quest for origin of folktales. But if like the evolutionists, the diffusionists did not do much for oral literature, the functionalists who later entered the field of cultural studies did make an impact. Bronislaw Malinowski and his notable contemporaries, Radcliffe Brown and Franz Boas infused scientific empiricism into anthropological investigations. Malinowski denounced the practice of assuming that people everywhere think alike and have the same pattern of behaviour before going into examine the folktales for instance, of a people for confirmation. For him the function of these folklores to a particular culture was what was relevant for better understanding of the culture in question. In view of this Malinowski stressed the need for sociologists to relate whatever is recorded to the "social context" (Ibid. p.10). This implies taking into consideration as Bascom stated: "(1) when and where the various forms of folklore are told; (2) who tells them, whether or not they are privately owned and who composes the audience; (3) dramatic devices employed by the narrator, such as gestures, facial expressions, pantomime, impersonation, or mimicry; (4) audience participation in the form of laughter, assent or other responses, 7 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh running criticism or encouragement of the narrator, singing or dancing or cutting out parts in the tale; (5) categories of folklore recognised by the people themselves; and (6) attitudes of the people toward these categories (Bascom 1965 in Okpewho 1992,p.10). While considering these functionalist guidelines as a breakthrough in the study of folklore and for that matter, oral literature, it may be said that the functionalists however failed to critically analyse the artistic components of the texts and performers. They thus recorded their texts in prose leaving out oral stylistic elements like repetition, idiophones, exclamations and the use of musical instruments and further neglected to indicate what the combined effect of all these elements was on the performance. The failure to highlight some of these features in folklore performances denied the earlier recognition of this art form as a literary genre. In spite of that shortcoming , it may still be said that the sociologists' appreciation of " the artistic quality of oral texts has led to the use of such terms as 'verbal art ' and ' oral art' in describing the literature" (ibid . p . 10) . The guidelines have also been employed by a few other scholars such as Daniel Biebuyck (1978) and with Mateene (1969 ) on Zairean folktales. Similarly, Dan Ben-Amos employed them i n his works (1971 and 1972) on the Bini of Nigeria . Apart from the foregoing approaches to the study of culture which used folklore as a means of reaching their goals , was the psycho-analytic approach based on the rivalling Freudian and Jungian theories. While Rattray (1930 ) and Herskovitz (1934) 8 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh reflect Freudian psycho-analytic theory, Radin (1952) reflects that of Jung (Finnegan 1970: 45). The structuralist approach encouraged by Emile Durkheim was also applied by Levi-strauss (Okpewho 1992, p.178 ff) in analysing myths. But all these approaches fell short of treating the various texts encountered as works of art. Thus, African verbal performances irrespective of their sophistication and quality, remained unrecognised as oral literature. However, the entry of the musicologists (c.f. Finnegan, 1970, p.42) into the African world of songs brought in its wake a ray of hope. Some sensitive musicologists observed poetry in the words they sometimes had to match with the music they had recorded. They were often struck by the poetic usages of the words. Their shift of emphasis from traditional to the new and topical (Ibid. p.42) was a welcome move as it showed the dynamic nature of African songs whether ephemeral or popular. The Johannesburg based African Music Society stimulated by the enthusiasm of Hugh Tracey in oral art and music made a lot of recordings of oral art forms and publicised the results of the scientific study conducted on them (Finnegan Op. cit. p.42). By their efforts the musicologists created the awareness that African art forms were inherently poetic. Finnegan's in-depth study of the Limba folktales enabled her to state emphatically in her Limba stories and story-Telling, (1967) that: "The story tellers (among the Limba of Sierra Leone) are all individuals', individuals who perform on specific individual occa:ions. There is no jOin~~~~'i :::> {Co *" LIBRp...~4 - University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh common 'folk' authorship or set form of performance dictated by blind tradition. The stories are naturally composed and enacted within the limits of the social background of Limba life and literary conventions; but each individual performer has his own idiosyncrasies and unique fund of experience, interest and skills." (Finnegan 1967, p.17) Taking such a firm stand on the contentious issue of individual authorship as against common authorship of African art forms which was the position of many scholars, was a bold step on her part. Since the "individual artistic skills" (Okpewho op. cit. 1992, p.16), "personal concerns and beliefs" (Angsotinge 1986, p.329) and setting can result in an entirely different performance or narrative event from what is supposedly communally owned, it is possible to talk of individual authorship of any of the art forms. Finnegan's second book Oral Literature in Africa, (1970) is even more comprehensive and impressive even though again, her controversial position that there is no epic tradition in Sub- Saharan Africa has been hotly disputed. Nevertheless, her contribution to oral literaure has been immense for she has two other books: Oral Poetry: Its Nature, significance and Social Context, (1977) and Oral Tradition and Verbal Arts (1992) to her credit apart from many other learned papers on the subject. Gordon Innes' contribution to the study of African verbal arts has been his approach to recording oral texts through his sunjata: Three Mandinka Versions, (1974) and two other books - Kaabu and Fuluda: Historical Narratives of the Gambia Mandinka (1976) and Kelefa Saane: His Career Recounted by Two Mandinka Bards (1978). 10 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh So if today African oral literature appears to have gained more grounds as a literary genre than before, it is because some researchers - Africans and non-Africans, who saw the literariness of the African verbal arts as synonymous to or as an oral variation of the written literature in vogue particularly in literate cul~ures, endeavoured to project it to world view. 1.02 REAPPRAISAL OF DEFINITION OF GENRE Having considered the views of the various schools of thought on oral arts of Africa from the early nineteenth century onwards to the point of entry of the African scholars, it may be appropriate to reappraise what contemporary scholars of oral literature say it is and what distinguishes it from written literature. Ruth Finnegan by way of definition says this about oral literature: "Oral literature is by definition dependent on a performer who formulates it in words on a specific occasion - there is no other way in which it can be realised as a literary product" (Finnegan 1970, p.2). Isidore Okpewho tersely defines the subject as: "literature delivered by mouth" (1992, p.3). On the other hand, Kwesi Yankah who prefers the term "aural literature" (Yankah 1985, P .114) defines the non-written literature in these words: "Non-written literature may be portrayed essentially as an acoustic phenomenon, the channel for whose transmission mayor may not be the oral medium. Aural literature encompasses oral forms of lore, but is also a reminder that the world of sound in which predominantly illiterate cultures live is not that of the spoken only, but also one in which word-bound 11 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh sound is traced to 'talking' instruments" (Ibid. pp. 114-115). While Finnegan and Okpewho lay stress on verbal performance of the artist, Yankah goes beyond that to include the acoustic perception from other media other than the human voice. But Nandwa and Bukenya see oral literature as: "those utterances, whether spoken recited or sung, whose composition and performance exhibit to an appreciable degree the artistic characteristics of accurate observation, vivid imagination and ingenious expressions." (Nandwa and Bukenya 1983, p.1) This definition is quite elaborate but like those of Finnegan and Okpewho and many others, it is silent on instrumentals such as drums, xylophones, and horns as channels or oral literature. These instruments effectively play out what could have been verbalised. They are thus competent surrogates of the human voice and Yankah (Ibid. p.122) describes them as "substitutive systems" while Theodore stern (1957, p.492) calls them "abridgment systems." The ability of these instruments to replace the human voice is because their tones are tuned to correspond with the tonal languages of the people who use them (c.f. Finnegan 1970, p.482j Okpewho 1992, p.255) and are therefore important aspects of the oral literary tradition of Africa especially. The concept of orality presupposes a binary opposition between it and writtenness. A written piece of work has physical tangibility and is easily perceived by sight and recognised as such, as its contents of verbal expressions are graphically represented on paper or any such surface. Since it is tangible 12 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh it is permanent and it can be distributed or transmitted by replication. Thus writtenness applied to literature which according to the Western canonical classification comprises prose, poetry and drama, implies that written literature has the features mentioned above. The genesis of written literature seems so remote to the modern generations of literate cultures that there is the tendency to think that all the poems, stories and songs encountered in books have always been written and have never ever been transmitted from generation to generation by way of mouth - a hallmark of oral tradition. Hence it is difficult for some people of the predominantly literate cultures to accept the notion of another aspect of literature that is oral. This rej ection however, does not make oral literature unreal. Its primordial quality as well as the fact that it is a precursor of written literature cannot be denied. Nor can the dynamism and vibrancy of oral literature among both the lettered and unlettered societies be ignored. But this is against the backdrop of its ephemeral nature since it lacks tangible and permanent physical presence. Because it has no "tangible existence" (Finnegan 1970, p.2) exact copies cannot be made of it for distribution and transmission like written literature, in spite of the current methods of recording. As Finnegan puts it, oral literature depends on "repeated performances II for existence. Without its oral realisation and direct rendition by singer or speaker, an unwritten literary piece cannot easily be said to have any continued or independent existence at all (Finnegan Ibid. p.2). 13 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Performance not only sustains unwritten literature, but facilitates its attainment of "true fulfilment" as a work of art for in oral performance: "expressiveness of tone,gesture, facial expression, dramatic use of pause, and rhythm, the interplay of passion, dignity or humour receptivity to the reactions of audience etc. [---) are not mere embellishments superadded to the already existent literary work [---) but as an intergral as well as flexible part of its full realisation as a work of art" (Ibid. p.3). Those who fail to take these histrionics as delineated above into consideration but depend on the words alone miss the opportunity of appreciating the essential elements of the oral literature performance and run the risk of making erroneous statements like J.L. Dohne who wrote of the Zulu poetry thus: " [---) nothing like poetry or song exists - no meter, no rhyme,nothing that interests or sooths the feelings or arrests the passion." (Dohne 1857 in O.R. Dathorne 1974, p.61) Of course, this notion has long been discredited as Dohne's conclusion had been based on not only ignorance but incorrect theoretical assumptions of his time which viewed "metre and rhyme as essential defining characteristics of poetical language" (Anyidoho, 1977, p.13). To talk of repeated performance invariably implies talking of repeated composition too since the two appear to have a siamese twins relationship. According to Milman Parry's and Albert B. Lord's oral formulaic theory , oral composition and performance are contemporaneous. This means that while performance is going on, composition is taking place simultaneously. As Lord succintly put in Singer of Tales, (1960) 14 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh "an oral poem is not composed for, but in performance." Meanwhile it is worthwhile noting that the term 'oral literature' has had many variants since the anthropologists began to probe into the history of human cultural development in the early nineteenth century. These variants include 'folklore' first used by William John Thoms in a letter to the 'Athenaeum" (Dundes 1965, p.4 in Okpewho 1992, p.4). But folklore may now be seen to be an umbrella term that covers both material and oral culture of society. 'Verbal art' came from William Bascom in 1949 while Utley suggested 'folk literature.' On the other hand Herskovitz oscillates between 'spoken art' and and 'oral art.' Greenway in 1964 had proposed the phrase 'literature among the primitives' but Ruth Finnegan coming after Wellek and Warren preferred 'oral literature'. She observed no conflict "in the juxtapositioning of 'oral and literature' since the equivalents of literature in such languages as German and Russian make no suggestion of the written word" (Yankah 1985, p.117). Kwesi Yankah's position on his use of the term 'aural literature' has been commented on above already. As expected, each proposer of these varied terms has a particular interest or emphasis in regard to this unwritten literature. While some coin pejorative terms in genuine response to the prejudice they harbour against it, others are more concerned with emphasising some aspects of the unwritten literature. However, one thing that is common to most is that they recognise the literariness of the oral performance that they so name. In that regard, the term 'oral literature' is quite appropriate in classifying all verbal art forms as well as what 15 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh emanates from instruments such as drums, xylophones and horns. But to eschew monotony in the use of the term, positive variants of oral literature will be resorted to in this study. 1.03 NEW TRENDS Notwithstanding what has been stated above it was really the direct involvement of the African Scholars researching into their own traditions that took the study of African oral literature to greater heights (Okpewho 1970, p.12). According to Okpewho, these Africans knew their language and were aware of the beautiful expressions in them even before they became aware of the beauty in expressions in other languages they learnt later. They were thus better equipped to perform better than the Europeans most of whom did not know the African languages well and depended on native translators in the task of recording African oral art. And as Angsotinge said of Melville J. and Frances s. Herskovits who worked among the Fon of Benin "recent studies seem to indicate that the Herskovitses did not do as much intensive fieldwork as had been thought. It would seem most of the fieldwork was done by their assistants" who collected stories in Fon and translated them into French for the Herskovitses to categorise on the basis of behavioural pattern of the narrator. (Angsotinge 1986, p.66). still on the difference in approach between the European scholars and their African counterparts in the recording of African verbal art Okpewho had this to say: "The difference between such scholars and their European 16 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh counterparts were inevitably strong. Whereas many Europeans treated African culture and everything that came from it as 'primitive' or inferior to their own, the African scholars approached this culture with a feeling of understanding and pride and whereas the foreigners saved much trouble by eliminating from the texts what they did not understand, the native scholar took the trouble to explain the meaning and effectiveness of various techniques in the original texts which give their artistic qualities" (Okpewho op.cit. p.42). What Okpewho has said of the African scholars recording of their oral art forms can be seen demonstrated in the works of even the pioneering works of Akagame of Rwanda, S. Adeboye Babalola of Nigeria, J.H.K. Nketia of Ghana and Daniel P. Kunene of South Africa. These pioneers have researched into aspects of their respective cultures and have written not only on their functions but on their aesthetics as well. Indeed Babalola's The Content and Form of Yoruba Ijala, (1966) could be said to have come in response to the call made by J. Berry (1961) to his African colleagues to make a more stylistic and analytic study of their languages. This call may be seen as a clear admission of failure by foreigners to effectively analyse the African art forms. The reasons for the failure were not remote. They were simply the prejudices the West had about the African and the insufficiency in the mastery of African languages and knowledge of the African world- view. Hence Babalola bereft of the limitations of the foreigner produced a work that has been acclaimed as very successful in bringing out the poetic artistry of the Ijala chants. In a similar vein , Kunene ' s book Heroic Poetry of the Basotho (1971) marked another milestone in the development of the study of African oral literature. Inspired firstly by Milman 17 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Parry and Albert B. Lord's research in the heroic poetics of Greece, The Iliad and The Odyssey and the Yugoslav songs, and secondly by the spirit of nationalism (Okpewho op. cit: 14), Kunene undertook a research into the Sotho heroic poetry that culminated in the pUblication of his book. The book among other things discusses the structure of the Sotho language, explains the Sotho concept of heroism and proceeds to analyse the praise - names which Kunene prefers to call 'eulogues'. It also deals with the issue of repetition in heroic poetry on the basis of Parry-Lord's oral formulaic theory and furthermore, examines how the heroic style in the oral tradition may influence a Sotho poet with Western education. In fact, much earlier than Babalola's and Kunene's publications was Nketia' s Funeral Dirges of the Akan People published in 1955. This book not only dealt with the form, content and function of the Akan dirges sung by unprofessional female chanters, but it also discussed the literary artistry inherent in them. Thus ever since the entry of Kagame, Nketia, Babalola, and Kunene in the field of oral literature, many more African Scholars have followed them. These include Kofi Awoonor of Ghana whose Guardians of the Sacred Word (1974) comprises a selection of oral poetry from notable traditional poet s of his Ewe culture, which he translated and edited. A formidable poet in his own right, Awoonor applied the richness of hi s creative experience to show the poetic aesthetics in the literature of his people in translation (Okpewho op. cit, p.14). J. P. Clark of The Ozidi Saga fame won acclaim in his 18 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh approach to African oral performance recording. Clark's book published in 1977, focuses on the performance aspect in the oral narrative event. Thus Okpewho is quite right in saying that "the usefulness of Clark's work is that it draws attention to the fact that oral narratives are produced in circumstances different from those in which, say, novels are written and must be judged in different terms" (Okpewho op. cit. p.15). Impressed with the performances of the pioneer African scholars in oral literature studies, an appreciable number of younger scholars have developed an interest for it and have entered the field researching into the literary forms of their people and others. In this connection mention may be made of the Malian A. Hampate Ba for his part in the translation of heroic tales of the Bambara into French, the Guinean D.T. Niane for making a classic translation of the Sundiata epic into French and Birago Diop of Senegal for also translating Wolof folklore into French. In a similar vein Mazisi Kunene, inspired by Thomas Mofolo's book on Shaka, came out with an epic narrative entitled Emperor Shaka The Great, (1979) to be followed by another epic narrative, Anthem of the Decades, (1981). But Kunene's works were preceded by Okot p'Bitek's Hare and Hornhill , (1978) , a translation of Ugandan folktales. Okot ' s earlier works such as Song of Lawino/Song of Dcol, (1966/67) and The Horn of My Love, (1974) are well grounded on Acholi oral song tradition . Apart from Nketia, Awoonor and Adali-Mortty, there is a younger generation of researchers in Ghana who have written their dissertations on various aspects of oral literature and have 19 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh continued to investigate and publish learned papers on the subject. Notable among these scholars are Kofi Anyidoho, Kwesi Yankah and Kofi Agovi who have been active in this field and have also taught courses on oral literature at the University of Ghana, Legon. Anyidoho who has established himself as one of the leading poets in Africa has several collections of poems rooted in the oral literary tradition especially of the Ewe. As regards Dagara oral literature especially, a lot of guided long essays have been written on various topics by students of the School of Ghana Languages, Ajumako, now a department in the newly created University College of Education at Winneba. I have written a similar essay on xylophone texts of the Dagara titled Dagaaba Gyilbie, (1984). Bob Dery and Mark Ali also have to their credit several volumes of poetry. The fact that all the aforesaid literature is written in Dagara, limits the readership to the few who are literate in the language. As a result, hardly anything is known of Dagara literature to the outside world beyond the Dagara land. Not even the Catholic Church's liturgy which has made so much use of the Dagara art forms like songs, proverbs and idiomatic expressions, has been able to project their literary qualities to popular view simply because of the language limitation. In recent times, however, some Dagara scholars such as Sebastian K. Bemile, Dannabang Kuwabong, and Gervase Angsotinge have brought into focus at least the nature of Dagara folktales. Both Bemile and Kuwabong came out with a collection of folktales each titled The Wisdom Which Surpasses That of the King, (1983) and Naa K:Jnga: A Collection of Dagaaba Folktales, (1992) 20 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh respectively. Angsotinge's work, The Wisdom of the Ancestors: An Analysis of the Oral Narratives of the Dagaaba of Northern Ghana, (1986) which is a doctoral dissertation is a comprehensive one that analyses in depth the Dagara folktale events as vehicles of knowledge, wisdom and morality among other human values. Jack Goody's work, The Myth of the Bagre, (1972), may be said to be an impressive work that relates to Dagara oral literature. The Bagre incantation is poetic in form even as Goody has appropriately written it and has moreover stated in his commentary that "the recitation is accompanied by a rhythmic beat ... " (Goody, Ope cit: 58) . The leader beats out the rhythm and those present do the same with stones or by tapping calabashes. It is little wonder indeed that sensitive Africans have recognised its poetic qualities and have anthologised a portion of it in A Selection of African Poetry , (1976) edited by Senanu and Vincent. But James Saanchi ' s Master's dissertation titled, The Dagaaba Dirge: A study of its structure and Style , (1992 ) has made a critical evaluation of the Dagara dirge tradition. Indeed, it is one study that has discussed at length the theme of praise - the subject of this t hesis . Saanchi ' s treatment of the theme of praise is however , confined t o the domain of the dirge tradition. Michel Strumph had in a similar t hesis, The Dramatic Elements of the LoDagaa Funeral , (1978) also dealt mainly with the dramatic nature of the Dagara funeral celebration as a way of reconciling the bereaved community to the loss of one of its members. 21 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.04 COMPONENTS OF ORAL LITERATURE Oral literature like the written counterpart is wide ranging and its numerous aspects are not easily categorised under the western canonical divisions of prose, poetry and drama. William Bascom who at first thought it was enough to categorise genres like myths, legends and folktales under prose narratives found later that he had to modify his classfication and alter his categories to two instead of three because the three categories did not appear to be distinct in other cultures. (Bascom 1965a, p.5 in Angsotinge 1986, pp.63-64). The Herskovitses who worked among the Fon of the Republic of Benin as well Daniel Biebuyck who worked among the Nyanga of Zaire, like many other researchers in African folklore encountered the problem of categorisation. When it comes to grouping the various verbal art forms under prose, poetry or drama, it even becomes more difficult for the main reason that they are fluid and tend to overlap . For instance within the structures of story-telling and oratory which Finnegan (1970) places under prose, are elements that belong to the realm of poetry or drama . For an effectiv e story to be told, dramatisation, mimicry and other histrionics have to be employed. It is this overlapping phenomenon that Lestrade observed in the Bantu oral literature and remarked : "The distinction between prose and v erse is a small one[ ---) the border -line between them is extremely difficult to ascertain and define. " (Lestrade 1937, p.306) The thin line of difference Lestrade found to be that: 22 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Prose ~ends to be less emotionally charged, less moving ln content and full-throated in expression than verse; and also - but only in the second place - less formal in structure, less rhythmical in movement, less metrically balanced." (Ibid. p. 306) Taking Lestrade's observation in view, one may go along with Finnegan's classifications - that put stories of various kinds, proverbs, riddles and oratory under prose and panegyric, or praise poetry, lament, religious poetry, work songs and children's play songs and others under poetry while consigning events such as masquerades and re-enactment of hunting experiences and other related performances to the field of drama. Under poetry, incantations, the epic and songs of all types can be classified. But the inclusion of songs under poetry sometiems creates doubts in some people's minds. Such people may have come from cultures that have broken with oral narrative tradition a long time ago for them to realise it even existed. But if they are Africans, the formal introduction to western literature in books might have convinced them that only those poems found in the printed page constitute poetry (Anyidoho 1977, p.15). However, a close look at ballads such as "Lord Randal" and "Fair Margaret and Sweet William", such scholars might have read, will show that these ballads belong to the oral tradition of the English and Scottish bards, sung by minstrels in the medieval times (Finnegan 1979, p.10). As Awoonor has said, "Poetry is part of the tradition of song" (Awoonor 1975, p.24) and are hardly separable thus "song as an art form in Africa may properly be regarded as a fusion of two basically distinct art forms: music and poetry." (Ibid. p.1S) 23 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh As poetry has always had a strong appeal to sensitive people, it is not surprising that oral poetry has had a lot of attention in recent times from various scholars since Milman Parry and Albert B. Lord formulated the much celebrated oral formulaic theory in the 1930's (Dandatti Abdul Kadir, 1981, p. 18). Researchers have looked at oral forms to see if they have "such features as . marked and repetitive rhythm, music, lineation, strophic form, metaphorical expressions, or local evaluation to decide whether to label any case as 'poetry' or as 'prose'" (Finnegan 1992, p. 140). Researchers have also been stimulated to research into the various aspects of African oral poetry and a significant corpus of works is now available on the subject. Among the popular genres in oral poetry affected by researchers is panegyric or heroic poetry also known as praise poetry in less aristocratic societies . Fascinated and inspired by the works of others, past and present in this field of research I have been made aware of the aesthetic appeal and cultural richness of the Dagara oral poetry. I am therefore urged by the inspiration I have had from others and the desire to contribute to the academic debate on the nature of African oral poetry from the perspective of the Dagara praise poetry. As a Dagara myself, I have grown up among my people and have been very familiar with the Dagara oral art forms. I have also actively participated in the performances of some of them especially in story-telling sessions . f, 1.05 METHODOLOGY In order to make a useful contribution to literature in this 24 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh study, I propose to make an investigation into the poetry of the Dagara to identify the praise elements from among them. This study thus involves investigating for the motivating factors that stimulate praise poetry composition. Along side that an enquiry is made on the mode of composition of this creative art. Associated with the mode of composition is the composer performer concept. The study therefore attempts to find out whether composition of praise poems is limited to a special class of people or whether it is open to everyone in the Dagara community to compose and perform at will. Furthermore, the conditions or situations that provide appropriate environment for the performance of praise poetry are also looked into. Similarly, the constitution of the audience and the audience rapport with the poet-performer, is also examined. A literary and stylistic analysis is made of the praise poems to validate their belongingness to the realm of poetry. In other words the natural beauty, the aesthetic appeal of these creative verbal compositions are examined to explicate the Dagara love for them. Apart from the aesthetic appeal that praise poetry has, what functional roles does it have for the society in which it t ! operates? What role has it had in the past and what are its prospects for the future? These questions are duly addressed in the study. Not much research work has been carried out on Dagara oral literature. The few comprehensive ones have been cited above already and I consider this study a modest attempt to throw light on the nature of the Dagara oral poetry. In view of this, praise 25 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh poems of various kinds have been collected from notable praise poets within the area of study for analysis. Some of the songs where recorded during live performances while others, particularly the clan appellations were either sung or chanted on request for recording. Interviews were also conducted with the poets to obtain more information about them and their art. other knowledgeable individuals in the community were consulted for their views on some aspects of the Dagara culture in relation to praise poetry. In collecting the material for this work various problems were encountered. The first of these was meeting the poets as they are engaged in live performances since it is during such occasions the artists strive to put up their best. This problem was solved through attending functions such as festivals, weddings and funerals which I believed the artists could not miss. Another problem was the reluctance of some respondents to freely provide relevant information on various aspects of the Dagara culture. Some often felt they were unnecessarily divulging cultural secrets to outsiders through this research. It often took a lot of persuasion to make them more helpful. Probably the greatest problem encountered has been to translate the various texts from Dagara into intelligible and impressive poetry in English. certain expressions defied translation and some appear to have lost their meaning to even the artists who use them. Despite these short-comings, it may be said that an effort has been made to make the translation meaningful. But before approaching the nature of the Dagara praise poetry it is 26 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh worthwhile to be acquainted with some background knowledge of the people's culture. 27 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO 2.00 THE DAGARA 2.01 IDENTITY The people on whom this investigation is focused are the Dagara who occupy the Lawra-Nandom District, part of the Jirapa- Lambusie District and part of the Tumu District, all in the Upper West Region of the Republic of Ghana. The investigation also covers the Dagara of the south-west corner of the Republic of Burkina Faso who are separated from their clansmen by an imposed international boundary. The Dagara are part of that ethnic group known as Dagaaba in Ghana. It is a member of the Mole-Dagbane linguistic group otherwise called 'Mabia' group of languages (Bodomo, 1993, p. 20). British colonial administrators such as captain Moutray Read, Duncan Johnstone and Eyre-smith including the Scholar, Jack Goody who toured parts of the area under study, had given various labels to the Dagara in an attempt to make a distinction between them and their immediate southern neighbours, the DEgabE. Using levels of matrilineal cleavages and inheritance systems among these groups, Goody particularly sought to show how distant the Dagara are from what he called 'Dagaba '. In the same vein, he tried to show how close the former are to the Lobi, an ethnic group in the Republic of La Cote d'Ivoire (c.f. Der 1989; Lentz 1995) • While the colonial administration began calling the Dagara "Lobi-Dagarti" from 1903, (Der Ope cit . p. 1) Goody introduced new labels like Lo-Dagaa, Lopiel, and Losaala for the Dagara 28 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (Goody, 1956 p. 21). Interestingly, even though he had said that he could not find a tribe calling itself "Lobi" (Ibid, p. 16) he felt the Dagara ~ere Lobi. So playing on the terms 'Lo' and 'dagaa', which he claimed are 'directional', Goody managed to associate the Dagara with the Lobi. He prefered to disregard the people's term of reference to themselves - 'Dagara' arguing that the term "was a r!3cent adoptation [---] taken over as a name of internal reference" (Ibid, p. 25). The oral traditions of the people show that the Dagara migrated from Dagbon to where they now occupy. Der after a thorough study has agreed with the claims of some clan elders that the Dagara might have migrated from Yendi Dabari in Dagbon between 1476 and 1500, the period during which Na Nyagse was consolidating the Dagbon Kingdom rather forcefully and thus creating "the condition which made the Dagara to breakaway" (Der Op • cit, p • 12). Having left Dagbon, they settled at various points in their north-westerly journey and by "the early decades of the sixteenth century, groups were settling [---] in the Wa district" or on its fringes like Nadoli , Sabuli and Bure" (Der Ibid. p.12 ). Pressure for more fertile lands as a result of population increase , compelled further migration up north and between 1660 and 1700, according to Der, the first Dagara settlers of Nandom-Zenuo , Piiru and Langmure had already established themselves there. Other Dagara groups had crossed the Black Volta at var i ous points into what is now the Republic of Burk ina Faso , and settled at many places including Dissin, Dano and Diebougou . Meanwhile some Dagara had remained around Wa, Nadoli and Jirapa . These , through 29 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh intermarriages and acculturation from other ethnic groups such as the Yeri and More from Yatenga who later settled among them, gave rise to a new breed of people now referred to as the Dagaaba (Oer Ope cit. p. 20). Gabriel Tyurey (1982) had in a contrary vein held that the Dagara of Nandom-Hamile-Dissin whom he called 'Lor-Dagaba' are Ita new breed of people who drew from both Lobi and Mole cultures" (Tuure, 1982; p. 33). By that he meant that the Dagara are products of a mixed union of Mole and Lobi. In that regard one is inclined to say that Tuurey had taken over the view of Goody. He had apparently ignored the migration history of the Dagara as well as the patrilineal relationship between what may be called Southern Dagara and the Northern Dagara, in his attempt at identifying the 'Mole-speaking communi ty' in the Upper West Reg ion of Ghana. It is not for nothing that up to date, the Iwaala, IkUola and ItUOla clans of the Southern Dagara see the Kusiele, GanE and BEkUonE clans of the Northern Dagara as their respective branches. They recognise that inspite of the variation in the dialects they speak, they belong to a common stock. The next section focuses on the socio- cultural practices of the Dagara whose praise-poetry is the major concern in this study. 2.02 OCCUPATION AND SOCIAL LIFE The Dagara land lies within the Savannah zone typical for its low grass, short and sparse trees and multiple cluster of shrubs. It is a region that experiences two climactic seasons: 30 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh wet and dry seasons. The wet season commences between the latter part of April and early May and ends between October and November. During this period most people are engaged in farming activities. As a typical agrarian community, the Dagara depend on land for their livelihood. For this reason, land is upheld as a sacred entity which must not be desecrated, say, by spilling human blood on it or by performing the sex act in the open. Perpetrators of such acts are punished and ritual cleansing performed on the land to appease the TeDgan (Earth Goddess) lest the entire community suffers for the indiscretion of the culprits. The TeDgan has a priest in the person of the TeDgan-sob who ministers to her. He is usually the first settler of that particular district or his successor. It is this individual who allocates portions of land to other family heads as they also come to settle in the district, to sustain their families through farming. The land is held in trust for the living and generations yet unborn. Following the death of the trustees of the land the land is referred to as ancestral land . This means that the land belongs to the dead, the living and posterity. For this reason, it is not sold but may be allocated to non-members of the community for temporary use. (C.f. Konings 1986 p. 145). Generally the Dagara are SUbsistence farmers and the use of simple hand tools such as the hoe is the rule . In recent times however, some farmers have been practising mechanised farming by the engagement of tractors on their land. To boost increase in produce by acre, fertilizers have often been relied upon. By this method of land CUltivation it is often possible to go beyond the 31 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh traditional sUbsistence farming level to a light commercial agricultural practice. Crops cultivated include millet, sorghum and maize. These cereals constitute the main crop among the Dagara as it is from them their popular 'saab (better known in urban areas by its Hausa name tuo-zaafi) is made. Daa, the local beer also known as 'pito' is brewed principally from sorghum. Other crops farmed on a relatively lower scale are groundnuts, beans, rice, bambara beans, yam, and sweet-potato. The degree of cUltivating these crops determine whether they are intended for house-hold consumption or whether they are meant for the market. occasionally however, sUbsistence crops are sold for some contingency reasons. Invariably, crop farming has been based on the old cultural practice known as shifting cultivation . In this system, the farmer moves to cUltivate a rested piece of land while abandoning the currently exhausted farm land to fallow ' for several years, to refertilise itself for farming next time around . Pressure on land these days does not allow for long periods of fallow though it is still a persist ent practice . suggestion from agricultural officers to adopt crop rotation instead of the former appears to 1. be slow in catching on with the people . Apart from crop farming , the Dagara rear animals and poultry. Cattle, sheep, and goats were the traditional livestock, the large holding of which enhanced the social status of the individual in the Dagara society and earned him praise songs from local bards. In recent times however , there has been a change of 32 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh attitude in the husbandry of cattle especially. Owing to frequent theft of cattle particularly during the dry season when they go far from home and unherded, in search of food and water, most cattle owners failing to get cow-herds for their cattle in the dry season prefer to sell off the animals and invest the proceeds in some commercial venture such as operating a grinding mill or building houses in the towns for renting. Consequently·, there has been a drop in the numerical strength of cattle, sheep and goats, but a significant increase in the number of pigs, the rearing of which has lately caught on favourably with most families. The rearing of poultry on the other hand, has not always been accorded the seriousness it deserves. It is rather treated as a pastime by most people who may own a number of hens and guinea-fowls. Ducks are not very common and may be found reared in a few houses in a village. In spite of the rather indifferent attitude towards poultry farming among the Dagara, rearing generally provides an economic support to the people. For instance, to have a lot of cows or sheep is to count oneself among the rich in the community and since wealth goes with prestige, one's social standing is correspondingly raised. That apart, the possession of livestock is very relevant for various cultural practices such as marriage and funeral rites. In terms of marriage, for instance, a maximum of three heads of young cattle, two hens and a guinea-fowl may form part of a bride wealth offered the family of the bride. similarly, various animals and fowls are featured at the Dagara funerals for various reasons (Naayule 1974, p.15). 33 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Again animals and hens are featured prominently in the traditional religion of the people. While a chicken or a hen may be ritually slaughtered initially to establish contact with the spirit world, a goat, sheep or a cow may be sacrificed either in thanks-giving or for propitiation. In this farming community every adult is expected to be involved in farming. That is why skills in this respect are instilled in the young by encouraging them to accompany the adults to the farm to learn from them practically. This enables the young not only to know the cUltivation of any crop but also to acquaint themselves with the farmlands their families own. Ignorance of one's ancestral land could bring about land dispute in future. Konings (1986) has said of the Builsa thus : "the seasonal nature of agricultural labour requirements and the uneven demands of the farming schedule have given rise to all sorts of special isms and secondary occupations that provide additional income during the agricultural off-season [---)" (Konings 1986, p. 152). So may one say of the Dagara. Some members among them have special knowledge in other fields which they give expression to along side farming. These include wobru (weaving), penu (carving), saan (smithing), gyil (xylophone playing) , laDnI (dirge singing), tff-Ib (herbal practice) bag-bug (divination), meb (building/pottery) and da-dUg (pito brewing) . Though in some of these special areas one may find both sexes involved, there are others that tend to be gender specific. These include smithing, carving and xylophone playing which are male specific specialities. pito brewing is one area that can be 34 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh said to be exclusively for female. Men are practically absent in this field though there has been the isolated case of a man brewing pito under the direction of a female cripple in Nandom. In the other special fields there are both sexes. For example men may weave straw hats, cotton cloths and cages for hens while women weave baskets, and sleeping mats. Women are also now exposed to cloth weaving through formal education and they appear to be doing better than the men both in numbers and in skills. Again both men and women are engaged in creating objects out of earth. The making of pots, jars and other earthen wares falls within the domain of women, while the building of houses and granaries is a skill some men are endowed with. There are some men and women who are very much endowed with the special knowledge of entertaining others with creative verbal expressions in singing, or chanting . They are the group this study is interested in and much will be said about them later . Suffice it to say that they are well respected people in the society who are not found wanting whenever a situation demands their performance . Much of the services rendered by these special i sts as Angsotinge has said, has not been commercialised by the Dagara . "Instead they use whatever skill they have to serve the community and in return ask for a smal l commission" (Angsot inge 1986, p. 31). The extended family system which makes e very member of the community a relative may have been the cause of members ' reluctance to commercialise their services to one another but to depend on 'commissions' and reciprocal services from the beneficiaries of their performance . In fact, rendering services 35 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh on the basis of reciprocity is very common in farming. For example, a number of people will go in a team at the mere invitation of another to work happily on the farm of the latter's in-law, or maternal uncle, without expecting any reward, other than a light refreshment at the end of the task, and the hope that each of them may one day also have a similar company to work on his or his relative's farm. It must however be said that there is the tendency to shift from that traditional good will gesture of delivering free services, among the younger generations who have been subjects of inculturation as a result of contacts with other cultures outside the Dagara land. For instance, several praise songs recorded for this study had to be paid for in cash either before or after the performance. As farming is the mainstay of the Dagara , most talented people seem inclined to play down their special talents commented on above and get absorbed in the all involving agriculture during the rainy season. It is therefore during the dry season that these special skills are given much expression. A traditional healer, a diviner, a xylophonist or a dirge singer may however not suspend his practice in the rainy season because of farming. This is simply because they deal with emergency situations. But one industry that thrives the whole year round is 'pito' brewing. This is so because as a refreshing drink, 'pito' is constantly in demand. During the farming season for instance, farmers who can afford it go with a quantity of it to the farm to supplement the drinking water they would take to refresh themselves mid-way during the work. After farm work they may go 36 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh to the source of the 'pito' to relax there with their colleagues drinking and discussing issues that interest them. If a man has friends to help him on his farm or roof a hut as the case may be, he may ask his wife to brew 'pi to' as refreshment for them. But apart from serving people who have been engaged in tiresome work, this drink also serves the purpose of other people who just wish to relax and enjoy talking and listening to people and learning a thing or two from them. For as the saying goes "d!! dioD lin y! zanU zie", a pito bar is a place of learning. So for this reason, one may go to buy a pot of 'pito' and join a group that has been there already. pito is also brewed for festive occasions such as weddings and anniversary celebrations. It may also be provided for mourners at a funeral celebration. Its availability in generous quantity at such occasions is usually very welcome. Luckily, almost every Dagara woman can brew it. Right from the early teens a girl begins to assist her adult group involved in brewing. So by the time she reaches adulthood she has learnt the processing of the drink. A woman can establish herself very well as a pito brewer depending on the quality of the drink she I produces. If the quality is up to the expectation of customers I she entices many more customers from other pito houses to hers I and could become very rich in the long run. I As many customers converge at good pito houses , those houses ! I with time become centres of interest for a student of oral poetry. This is so because among the cust omers are itinerant local bards who visit drinking bars to solicit money and 'pito' 37 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh through singing praises of people. I have had an opportunity of recording one such praise poem and will be analysing its contents later in this study. Apart from 'Pito' brewing which goes on normally throughout the seasons, market centres attract patronage weekly too. Attendance in the dry season is usually much greater as most people, free from the burdensome demands of their farms, find the markets, places of recuperation from exhaustion and places of social intercourse. with the lean season behind them, brisk buying and selling take place at this point of convergence of many people of different age groups. It is thus a unique place of social interaction and affords opportunities for courtships between potential couples. The height of such a social mix is the celebration of the market day in the form of bEwaa, bIne and nuru lob, cultural dances the third being exclusively a female choral performance. This situation provides opportunities for "the creative oral artists to give expression to new compositions on various societal issues including praise songs and songs of abuse. The nature of some of the praise songs will be examined later. Besides the weekly markets that bring people together in great numbers, there are other religious, and social occasions that are normally slated for the dry season apparently for greater participation and to avoid inconveniences such as rain disruption of the programme. Some of these occasions are the bagr festival when new members are initiated into the various stages of the bagr cult, (c.f. Goody , 1972) I the KabIne cultural festival of the Lawra traditional area and the Kakube festival 38 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of the Nandom traditional area. There are also Christian festivals such as priestly ordinations and anniversary celebrations which are organised during the dry season. Similarly, marriage feasts even though they occur quite often in the course of the calendar year, reach a peak from two to three months before the farming season begins. This is when most of the young men preparing to take wives return from the southern region of Ghana they have been to after the previous farming season ostensibly to earn money and prepare adequately for their intended marriages. All these occasions or celebrations usually attract people from far and near. They are occasions that naturally call for eUlogies too, and the oral artists are always present to enthral the audiences with their performances . Songs of praise or ~eulogues' (Kunene . 1971 , p. xxii) are performed for deserving groups or individuals in the society. The purpose and nature of such songs will be considered in later discussions . So far all the social occasions that bring people together, as seen above may be said to be optional in regard t o individual participation . A member of the Dagara community could c hoose not to attend any of the social functions and may not breach any norm. However, one may be e xposing oneself t o criticism for failure to attend a funeral without good r e a son for the "death of any clansman conc·erns all [ - --] II (Goody 1956 , p . 75) . The Dagara have a saying that " a nlrsaalE I na me yOgUagbEra" , the human being is like a branch of the creeping pumpkin that extends to a far distance but remains part of the plant. This means that one's relatives are not just those in the 39 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh house or neighbourhood but also those beyond and who one may not even know. And since it is binding on everyone to attend the funerals of relatives, people are urged to attend funerals of members of the Dagara community generally though the deceased may not have been known to the individual mourners or sympathisers. For this and other allied reasons funerals are always well attended. As will be seen later in connection with patricIan and matriclan systems, a web of interrelationships is structured by them and no individual Dagara is left out unrelated to the other members of the community. The Dagara funeral celebration is a rite of passage appropriately performed to consign the deceased to the world of the ancestors. It normally begins at the occurrence of death. There is no deferment of rites performance but if it is necessitated by an epidemic such as cerebrum spinal menigitis (C.S.M.) which often breaks out in the region, the corpse is immediately interred and the normal rites performed when the dangers of the epidemic are no more. Rite of passage for the Dagara dead may be said to be a ceremonial drama and Strumpf Mitchel (1975) has ably delineated its various component parts and actors. Among these actors are the xylophone poets and the dirge singers . These are usually principal characters in this ceremonial drama and it is they who interest us most in this study . Though their roles as collective groups are well defined the individual xylophonist or eulogist will have to compete with other colleagues to get a chance to perform. In their performances there is always the deliberate attempt to soothe the pain of loss of the bereaved i n an 40 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh imaginative way and praises may be showered on the members of deceased's clans. These praises couched in poetic language will be examined later. But a brief attention may now be drawn on the clan systems of the Dagara which apparently are central to the praise poetry of the people. It often happens that whatever good or bad is said of anybody it is linked up with his family and clan. 2.03 CLAN SYSTEMS The Dagara have a dual clan system which includes Yiilu, patricIan and BEIU matriclan and since the Dagara society is more patrilocal in terms of inheritance and virilocal in terms of marriage, the patricIan system is dominant and it shall be discussed first. The term yiilu is a derivative of yir, which literally means the physical house which people may live. But yir has an extended meaning - that is, the community of individual members of a family. This is what Tengan (1994, p.4) calls "Social House" and may be seen, as Kuukure (1985, pp. 33-34) put it, at three levels - primary, secondary, and tertiary. These three levels of the "Social House" may be explained as follows: Looking at the three-tier structure of the yir, the first, the primary level, is constituted by a man and his wife and children or the man and his brothers and their wives and children as the case may be, living together in the physical house. The senior man is the yirsob, owner of the house and if this group of people happen to be the first to settle at the particular place the senior becomes the tengan-sob as well as yirsob. 41 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh As the eldest in the family he is considered the link between his living family members and the ancestors and thus makes sacrifices on behalf of his living family. He is also the custodian of the family lands and property such as cattle and further plays judicial roles in times of internal clash of interests. with time, overpopulation in the house makes it necessary for some leading members of the family to consider building their own houses. This they may do close by the first house and begin to exercise some of the functions of the founding father, as they are now also Yiedem, house owners. However, the founding father still remains the link between them and the ancestors and the custodian of the family property. As the population increases in both the first house and in the other fraternal houses, more homes are built, usually in close vicinity of those already there. with time, a large village develops, but the people, particularly the" male population, continue to regard one another as brothers who have descended from one ancestor. At this stage, it may be said the secondary level of the Yir has been attained. For if the founding father of the settlement is of the Kusiele clan and the other yiedem who no longer stay in his physical house identify themselves with him they are also Kusiele and so will their offspring be. The tertiary level is brought about by the dispersal of members of the clan to various parts of the region through migration. It is this phenomenon that brings about the concept of yiilu 42 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh I ! since at the secondary level members at one settlement may know I one another personally. At the tertiary stage however, time and I distance create the problem of members of an agnatic group ~ knowing one another as in the other two stages. Apart from that, ~ ! the numbers will have multiplied over the years thus making it I quite impossible for one to know every member of one's patrilineage or clan. I In terms of the number of clans among the Dagara, Tengan (1994, p.12) suggests that there were originally nine, namely: BEkUOnE, KpIElE, MEtUOlE, Bimbiile, NabEglE, GanE, Naayiile or TIEdeme, BlrfUOIE and Bataan£. But the number could have been less in view of the fact that Nab£glE and Naayiile are considered fissioned out branches of the TI£deme clan while M£tUOIE and GanE are also closely related clans. Debatable as their original number is, there however now exist twenty-four of them which can be conveniently put into seven groups thus: A KpIElE yirpaalE TI£deme ZagE Kusiele Puryiile Nab£glE Nayiile KUsElbE KUwErE DikpI£lE NakyI£IE .c D. E E ~ MEtuoIE BlrfUOlE BEkUOnE Bimbiile Hayore GanE BakaalE KpanyalJ BataanE GbaanE BEnyIInE BErWUOlE yon-yUOlE 43 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Some of these clans such as Kusiele and NabEgIE can be found among the Dagaaba to the south of the area of study, under quite different names as mentioned earlier. As an exogamous people, the Dagaara engage in inter-clan marriages. A man and a woman from the same patricIan cannot marry unless they look for their matches elsewhere beyond their own clan. This of course is because of the people's strong belief that members of a patricIan are "brothers" and "sisters". In what is well-known as a typical acephalous society - one wi thout a centralised government comparable to that of the Dagomba and the Asantes before the advent of the British colonial administration (Goody, 1956), the Yiilu system appears to have been a major political organisational structure of the people. The interrelationships among clans did not only create a brotherhood but evolved a joking relationship that acted as an effective emotional and social control mechanism among the people. The joking relationship known variously as LQnlV~V, tamp&l- l:Jb and dIE:nV (c. f. Tengan 1994 p . 40) may exist between two clans. For example, KpiEIE jokes with GbaanE , Kusiele jokes with Hayore while BEkUOnE has Bimbiile/KpanyaunE as its joking partner, just to mention a few. Apart from the joking relationship among the matriclans, are the joking partnership between a woman and her husband's clansmen and clanswomen, joking ties between or among villages and similarly, joking partnership between or among peer groups. In times of crisis. Inter-village tension may be diffused by this mechanism just as an emotional tension such as the loss of a dear one can be mitigated by a 44 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh tamp&l l~br&, (ash thrower) one who soothes another's emotional crisis by physically encountering the former with ash-symbolic of fire burnt cold. Though an important social control mechanism, joking relationship does not have that institutionalised coercive force that commands reverence and demands obedience from members of a particular community. Among the Dagara as among the Talensi (Fortes, 1932 ) the office of the te1]gan-sob, "the custodian of the Earth Shrine" (KuuKure 1985, p.38) comes in here. The te1]gan-sob who is also "the priest of the Earth Divinity" (Ibid. p.38) is normally the lineage head "that traditionally first occupied the land and on his death he is succeeded by the oldest surviving male of the lineage" (Ibid. p.38). In this respect, he wields power and exercises it over all clan heads within his "parish" (Goody 1956, p. 91) or settlement as a result of the common allegiance to the Earth Shrine. By the advent of the colonial intrusion, the office of the te1]gan-sob was fast becoming not only a religious one but a civil authority similar in some ways to a modern chiefdom, in spite of the egalitarian nature of the Dagara. A bit more will be said about the religious nature of the te1]gan-sob later. But to round off the discussion on clanship a little may be said of the matriclan system. The b&lU, matriclan system as Angsotinge (1986; p . 38) has rightly observed, exists among the Dagara occupying the stretch of land from the Lawra-Nandom District, parts of the Jirapa- Lambusie district and Sisala District of Tumu in Ghana, to Dano in the Republic of Burkina Faso. Members of a matriclan as Dery 45 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh haa put it are "peopl [ ... J born to group of moth r who tr c their descent to a common nc ntross" (O ry 1987, p. 5). Th Y r people with "a senso of somc remote conn ctions to some 1 9 nd ry ancestress" (Angsoting Op.cit. p.38). Like the Yiilu sys ern, anyone born of 0 9 r wom.n ( lIs within one of the sev n mo triline g s th t oxi,t within the system. These are S:lmE, MEu ' , SUnda, Kpogd , HIEn Dabir nd Kambire. Members of cach belu are supposed to be blood reI tion . But this claim is not only undermined by h f ct that th D gar society is more patrilin 1 th n m·trili n . 1 in terms of inheritance, though Teng n (1994, p.i) di8PU s i , but· Iso by the fact that endogamy is encouraged in i ~ system. For x mpl it is possible for a man and woman b longing to ono m tricl n to marry. Unlike yiilu which orms a kind of' political unit, betu apparently has no politic 1 9igni£ ic nco. It docs not form corporate body with a common property such ~ 1 nd that it c n exercise some particular rights over. It m y in a rel tiv ly limited way, exercise rights ovcr some move ble property such a live stock that is inherited through the maternal line. Again, members of a matrlclan have no specific geographical location as defineable as the patric]an's. Women members of a matriclan are scattered allover the r gion in which it operates and beyond because they m rry mcn from far nu nC ' r and theDe m~n may not even be Dagara. Even though bel u may not be as pol j tic ' 1] Y important as yiilu, they perform significant social functions such as diffusing tension among people through the joking relation system University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh as seen above, that exists among the matriclans. For example, the SOmE joke with the KpogdarI (Kpogda - singular). Apart from that, the individual finding himself among various clans where his is absent is able to exploit the matrilineage system to situate himself for security reasons and other privileges. Furthermore, in recent times, community leaders realizing the rather emotional attachment of people to the system, have exploited it by way of arousing that pride of belonging to a particular matriclan, to raise generous sums of money for either church or community development projects. It is also interesting to note that though one's b81u is not one's name, it was imposed as a surname on the Dagara of Burkina Faso by the French colonial administration even as the British colonial administrators and Jack Goody imposed the names Lobi and LoDagaa on the Dagara of Lawra and Nandom. Up to date, even the intellectual community of the Dagara of Burkina Faso still use their respective b81U as personal names. In conclusion it is proper to say that the dual clanship system among the Dagara leaves no one isolated in the social matrix. The Dagara society is an egalitarian community whose members are each his brother's keeper because of the lineage systems. And because members are proud of their various clan systems they celebrate them in praise poetry either by chant or by song. Some of these praise poems on the individual clans will be critically examined for both their aesthetic and functional values. 47 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.04 RELIGIOUS WORLD-VIEW The world-view of the Dagara can be summarised thus in the words of Kuukure: "The world is the creation of God, one with order, with life animation, source of fertility and survival for man. Man defines for himself a central position in the creation and does not hide his sentiment of belongingness to the universe. His world view is athropocentric, he sees the world in terms of man's benefit and destiny. It provides centres for means of communication with the invisible. His world affirmation therefore, is no reason for doubt in his interest in the invisible. In fact it is precisely the invisible that accentuates his interest in the world. In this view he is not much interested in what happens to the world as such, but what happens to man in the world." (Kuukure 1985, p . 56). The Dagara belief in NaaDmm, God, is central to all that they do or do not do and their profession of this belief is manifested in the following creation story from the" Black Bagre" supposedly recounted by one of the first two Dagara ancestors: "God told us, that the child and the man, he created them and the girl he created and the woman, he created them all" (Black Bagre 3520-28) (Goody 1972, p.268) God's creative prowess is further elaborated in "Black Bagre" 48 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4117-4126: "It was God that created man and the beings of the wild and the fowl and the leaves and the animals and all things and stones and guardians and deities" (Ibid pp. 275-276) The universality of God's creation is made clear in the proclamation above. He is not only the creator of man but the creator of every object, and the elements, and the spirits. God is also seen as providence, providing the needs of man and the other living creatures, while maintaining order in nature, such as the alternation of season , day and night , sun and moon - all for the good of man . The omnipotence of God is acknowledged in expressions like "NaaIJmln (IJmln) KpEIJ zaa sob", God possessor of all power , "IJrnIn nI naa", God is King. Theophoric names like IJrnInkpEIJ, God's power, or God's might (Kuukure 1985 ; p. 45) and IJmlnfaIJ , God ' s strength (ibid) further emphasise the omnipotence of God. Overwhelmed by God's creation names such as J)mIn tome, God's work, J)mIn ba1JfU, God's Knowledge, are given to children at birth. Though in stressful situations such as the loss of a dear 49 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh one it is normal to hear seemingly blasphemous expressions like HUmIn be Ka 1", there's no God, the Dagara is conscious of the constant presence of God in their lives even when he appears most remote. God is thus immanent and transcendent, in the perception of the Dagara. He is transcendent in so far as he is incomprehensible - no one can have full knowledge of him. This is succinctly expressed in a xylophone text by a renowned Dagara oral poet, BErgyIrE when he asked rhetorically "Aa paa baI] NaaI]mIn?", who by any chance knows God? He is a supreme invisible Spirit that cannot be seen though he may privilege a most favoured one to have a glimpse of a particular nature of his. For instance the Dagara believe that the privileged ancestor T~bile had the singular chance of seeing God as a wise old man reclining on a cow's hide:- "The old man was lying there, They saw him . On a cow's hide" (Black Bagre - 506-508, Goody 1972, p.230). Despite his invisibility his presence is felt in his creation giving rise to a theophoric name like Dmmbome, things of God. And since God's creation is everywhere manifested the attribute of omnipresence is added to his nature and expressed in a saying like "Bon za bE; IrE I]mIn puor' e," nothing happens behind God's back. Though the omnipresence of God is acknowledged, the Dagara 50 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh have no doubt that God has a specific home. One of God's attributes - Sazu-Dmm as Kuukure says suggests that God's abode is the heavens. The "Black Bagre" (477ff: Goody 1972, p.230) also r suggests the mythical meeting of God and TObile took place above I the earth. The myth recounts that TObile was assisted by a spider ! to climb the spider's web to the residence of God. Generally t speaking however, God is said to be in the abode of the Kp~&, I the ancestors, known as Kp~E:te1] or Dapar, " place almost the counterpart of this earth with similar social structures" (KuuKure op.cit.p. 47). The precise location of "Dapar" or "KplmEteIJ" is however, elusive. The God of the Dagara according to the "Black Bagre" account has a wife "a wise old woman" (Black Bagre 647 , p. 252) rather unlike the Christian Trinity God in that respect as they share virtually every attribute. In his wisdom, he chose to stay away from men in order to carryon his work (White Bagre 6052-6076 ; pp. 197- 198) but to keep man in line, he sent agents to assist him. These agents may also punish him when he strays from the norms of society established by God through tradition. Among these agents are Te1]gan , Earth Deity, Saa (-Dmlh) Rain Deity, KUla-/Baa(-Dmm) River Deity. Others are KDntQm& (Plural), "Being (s) of the wild" (Goody 1972, p. 5) SIgrI Guardian spirits and Kp~&, ancestors . Ironically, to these are shrines established with attendant priests and congregations, while there is no shrine anywhere specifically dedicated to Naa1]mlh. To a question why God has no shrine a respondent replied that God is everywhere and knows everything, so wherever and whenever anybody cries to him he listens and will help if he 51 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh wants. It is also a practice in the Dagara sacrifices that every praise, thanks giving or supplication due God is sent through the l)mImE, deities of the particular shrines. Attributes such as Sazu-l)mIn, God of the Sky, Naal]mIh Gandaa, Heroic God, Naal]mIn KpEl]Zaa-sob, Almighty God are often heard at various shrines of God's agents and it is generally assumed that he is the ultimate target audience of the sacrifice. Apart from that, decorum demands that whatever is said or offered by a subordinate passes through an intermediary to the senior personality intended. So to set up a shrine directly for the service of Naal]mIn would be down right effrontery (c. f . Kuukure 1985, p. 91). It is thus out of complete awe and submission and deep respect to God the Dagara prefer to approach him through intermediaries who they consider closer to God than mere men. The Dagara believe that God's intermediaries are vested with limited powers from God himself since they b~long to the spirit world. They can more easily approach God on their behalf than man himself. So the mUltiplicity of deities ' shrines which misled the Europeans into believing that the Dagara were polytheists were indeed channels of communication with God. Among the intermediaries the Teugan appears to be the most important - Teugan is female and the principal deity of the geographical location of every settlement. The apparent primacy of Teugan is based on the assumption that she is the deity of the physical environment - the earth on which man depends for his livelihood - food, home, wealth, security. It is also the land which he calls his tel] which may be viewed at various levels - 52 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh village, town, country, and universe. When he dies he will be interred in the earth crust. It is in view of this Kuukure says: "The world, the universe par excellence and in the concrete is, for the Dagaaba, the settlement a ritual area specified further by Tenggan (Earth Shrine) . The Dagao's settlement is therefore, his teng, his country is his teng unspecified" (Kuukure . 1985, p. 54). There is subsequently an emotional attachment to land especially as Teogan a motherly goddess is bounteous as long as their 'parishioners' keep her statutes. Acts of lawlessness including desecration of the land through spilling blood, sorcery and sex in the fields arouse the wrath of Teogan and she often resorts to retributive action on the community through drought or pestilence of some kind until the offenders are identified and punished accordingly by her priest, the teogan-sob. The teogan-sob usually the first settler or his successor as seen above erects a shrine for the Earth Deity in a "grove situated in a central part of the settlement where sacrifices are carried out" (Ibid. p.17). He deals with mainly spiritual matters though of course such matters often extend over other civil issues and depending on how he conducts his affairs could become the most influential personality in his community . Saa (Dmm), the Rain Deity is the male partner of Teogan. Saa fertilizes Teogan for continuity of life on earth as shown in this account of the "Black Bagre" (454-463). "Earth and rain the rain is male 53 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and the earth is female When the time comes see the rain; its penis rises and bursts forth. See the earth, a fully grown maiden who is about to bear" (Goody 1972, p. 229). So in union with Te1]gan, Saa sustains life on earth by constantly making it possible for people to cUltivate the land for food. At the request of his ~spouse' Saa can effect a drought in the event of a serious offence against her. Saa is also very i much feared for his instant killing of his offenders. A misdemeanour against Saa is punished with a lightning strike that i can result in death depending on the degree of the offence. That is why the Dagara say "Saa bE kUrE zagla E" , the rain does not kill for nothing. A victim of the Wrath of Saa must be left untouched where the incident occurs until the appropriate purification rites are carried out by a Saa-sob or Sadug-sob/ priest of the Rain Deity. Failure to observe this injunction exposes one to a fate similar to the victim's. Though Saa shrines may be found in several homes in a village, the KpIEIE patricIan members are generally recognised as the priests of Saa. They are proud to be associated with the Rain Deity and their identification with this vengeful god is complete when they say this in their appellation: 54 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh "Kys tIS a ler ka kyEb" One who strikes a tree and no axe dares strike. This simply means no one lays claim on what belongs to the rain without dire consequences. The Kusiele clan being the first off-shoot of the KpIEIS are wont to use the above expression too in their appellation as will be seen later. KUla-J)mIn or Baa J)mIn, the River Deity like the Te.l)gan and Saa, is generous in sustaining life by providing essentials like drinking water, fish and other edible water creatures. But he is also "an executing agent of God" (op . cit KuuKure , 1985; p . 63) when he disposes of offenders through drowning or through the sharp teeth of crocodiles or some other water body . Other supernatural agents are the TaD , hill deity , and the Ka.nt~&, beings of the wild. The Dagara believe their ancestors were taught most of the technology they have now by the Ka.nt~&. Some people are also alleged to have been abducted and possessed by beings of the wild who endowed them with spec i al s k ills such as of healing or of black-smithing to practise on their return home. On the other hand others are said too to hav e been made mad and unproductive . This implies there are good beings of the wild who teach man the skills of meaningful surv ival , a nd bad sp i rits who tend to plague man's life by being too e x acting i n their demands, driving him in the long run to destruction. Shri nes have often been set up for these possessive KDntQm& especially those 55 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh behind the possessed herbal practitioners. To remain sane and effective at their practice, the herbal practitioners must religiously observe the statutes established by their spiritual mentors. 2.05 ANCESTRAL VENERATION Ancestral veneration among the Dagara was viewed with suspicion by the early Christian missionaries who worked among them. Naturally, converts to Christianity were urged to stop the practice of what was thought to be an ancestral worship and to destroy the paraphenalia related to it. Some of the Dagara who like their fellow Africans elsewhere that embraced the new religion did abandon the traditional honouring of the KpIm8, the "living-dead" (Mbiti 1969; p. 74) and took to the new way of worship. But those who have up to date stuck to the traditional Dagara religion maintain that they do not worship but honour the ancestors who they do not regard as gods. They consider them as heroes who lived responsible and righteous lives before they went to KpIm8 teo, heaven, close to God. The deep respect they have for the ancestors is rooted in the Dagara natural reverence for elders. Though invisible the ancestors are considered close at hand and ought to be given the recogni tion and respect they deserve. More importantly, the Dagara believe that the ancestors are close to God and can use that proximity to him to gain favours for their earthly brethren in areas of good health, fecundity, bounteous harvest, wealth and peace. (C.f. Mbiti 1969, p.69). 56 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Related to the first two reasons is the reality of the individual Dagara's aspiration to being accorded a reciprocal qesture of honour from both the vUbC, (the living) and the KpDnC, (ancestors) when he too dies. Indeed, a man who disregards doing honour to his ancestors by failing to erect shrines for them and performing the necessary rites due them at the appropriate time, risks retributive action from the offended Kpnnc. To avoid earthly punishment and possible rejection from the community of ancestors in the hereafter, therefore, one has to show deference to them, who though dead physically, still live on the spiritual plane. The impact distinguished ancestors made in their life time on society, either as founding fathers of clans or war-lords is often celebrated in the clans praise poetry as will be seen later. But the question of ancestral veneration brings to mind the issue of LCbwaa, rebirth or reincarnation in the Dagara context. The Daqara believe in this concept and the circumstantial names like DEr, DErbIE, DErpOg, yvora, Kpantol prove the point in regard to infants. A successive loss of babies of the same sex is often assumed to be a case of reincarnation confronting the mother. In the case of the Akans and other ethnic groups in Ghana as Sarpong (1974, p. 39) says funny names are given such children to make it hard to return to the other world. It is also believed that an ancestor can be reborn. Such recycled ancestors are believed to be those who felt they did not complete their earthly missions before they were overtaken by events and thus seek a second mandate from God to finish them. Such an ancestor usually announces his return by persistent 57 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh crying so that a diviner may reveal his identity through consultation. It may also turn out that it is not a rebirth of an ancestor but that a particular ancestor insists on being the child's guardian spirit - SIgra. In either case the child is named after the putative ancestor. 2.06 NON-HUMAN RELATIVES Earlier on in this chapter mention was made of the role of domestic animals in the socio-economic life of the Dagara. If they provided some economic and social security to their owners, some wild animals, birds and water denizens for some reasons are personified and elevated to the level of blood relatives. In this vein they tend to rise above their natural state and become symbols of the clans that have totemic relations with them. (Ibid 62) • Reasons for such relationship are usually salvific and are located in the migration histories of the various clans that have established such 'fraternal' linkages with beasts of the wild. As Tengan has observed: "strongly suggested in these foundation stories is the experience of salvation. In most of the cases the non- human relative of the social house plays a very significant role as saviour of some human members of it." (Tengan, Ope cit. p.29). In other words, lithe choice of totemic object is supposed to be based on some historic event linking the forefather of the totemic group with the totem" (Sarpong, op.cit p. 63) • It is in this light we may see the various clans such as Kusiele, Gbaane, BEku~nE and Tiele in relation to their non-human 58 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh relatives - python, antelope, well fish, and monkey respectively. They have been recognised as members of the respective clans and therefore may not be harmed or eaten by their clan's men. The importance of the totems known as dume or sIgrI is further shown in the clan appellations. Clan members ascribe appealing qualities of their sIgrI to themselves in praise songs. In the analysis of praise songs we shall deal with them in depth. But one thing that the phenomenon of man and non-human relationship has shown is "the harmony that is sought with nature through this attempt to stretch the boundaries of the social house beyond the human realm to the physical cosmos. (Tengan Ope cit. p.30) In conclusion it may be said that the worldview of the Dagara extends beyond the domain of personal relationship with one another. They identify themselves with God and with his agents, - the Earth deity, Rain deity and other spiritual forces such as both the friendly beings of the wild and the malevolent ones. The spirits of trees and other objects are also recognised as forces that can either make or mar t heir lives. Furthermore, the Dagara identify with their ancestors in a very profound way manifested in their devotion to them. This devotion is not limited to just ritual performances but how responsive lineage members are to one another ' s needs. An ancestor may feel dishonoured and becomes vindictive if socio- economic responsibilities among lineage members are flouted. And from the lineage ties examined already, it is difficult to tell who is not a relative that one has responsibility towards. As Tengan has said "due to the intermershing of relationships that 59 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh can be estabished by the male and female principles of the yir and b&lu respectively, it is very rare that a Dagara finds I I I himself or herself unrelated to another" (Tengan op. cit. p. 45). L The various aspects of the Dagara - their history, social and occupational life, religion and world view that have been discussed above, are reflected in their praise poems and hopefully with this knowledge of the cultural background of the people, one can better appreciate their praise poems as one encounters them. The next chapter deals with the nature and content of the Dagara praise poems. 60 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER THREE 3.00 THE NATURE AND CONTENT OF DAGARA PRAISE POEMS The Dagara as a people, have their own tradition of praise poetry. It may not be as formal as the panegyrics of aristocratic communities like the Zulu and the Akan known respectively as ~izibongo' and ~apae', but it plays an equally significant role among the people. In later discussions, the roles and functions of the Dagara praise poems known as danU, will be examined, but for the moment, their general nature and characteristics and as works of art, will be highlighted. DanUwhich means 'praise' or 'praises' is derived from the verb danI, to praise. As a work of art, a danU may be chanted as in the case of performing a clan appellation, or be sung in the case of a personal praise poem. When it is chanted, it is done in an assertive voice that rises above the normal speech level and at fast pace. (C.f. Yankah 1983, p. 387). The poet as he does so, focuses his gaze directly on the object of praise, with occasional glances at the audience to solicit approval of his performance. Clan appellations are well known, and as the praised may have heard them many times it is often necessary for the poet to indulge in some acting to make his performance impressive. DanU must have an individual as an object of adulation or admiration, usually based on the individual 's supposed personal achievements or contribution to his society's development. In a way, it tends to have a theme similar to a love song which may, however, focus more on the physical beauty of the lover being praised. Indeed in some praise songs the physical comeliness of the individual is lauded in addition to his exploits. An example 61 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh is this piece by Charlie Guy in honour of Lucio Kuutiero: I lA. Nadoli Lucio Bibil baala mE pErU wU~ a t Bibigbili mE daa yuor'a ah! ZIn-Ka-vIE:l\J-kU-s~br-bie GanI-ganu-wul-nlbE-ganu. lB. Lucio NadUli Slim like the sheep-skin bag Calm like a pot of 'pito' Son-of-the-handsome-one-whose charm -strikes-the-witches-dead One-whose-graceful-steps-inspire-others to-walk-with-dignity. The thrust of danU, however, is to show admiration for the achievements or exploits of the praised in whichever sphere of endeavour. Since danU performance is premised on the element of admiration and appreciation, it must be performed by the admirer. This admirer essentially is the poet - a wordsmith and one with the gift of song. He usually sees things worthy of praise where the ordinary people may see nothing. But there are times when an individual Dagara does not wait for an admirer to sing his praises. Such a situation could be on the farm where the individual is able to defeat his colleagues in a farming contest. He would indulge in self-praise to impress upon his colleagues 62 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and other passers-by that he is a great farmer and a worthy son of his patricIan. Another situation could be a funeral ground where a laokone, dirgist, would praise himself as he introduces himself to the mourners. In fact, this particular practice is so common and is actually normal for a eUlogist in such a setting. A eUlogist often has to compete with others to get a chance to perform at a funeral. Such a competition may demand high credentials to get an advantage over others. The phenomenon of self-praise is definitely not peculiar to the Dagara alone but is practised in many cultures also. It is common among some Southern African ethnic groups. As Finnegan said, "Self-praises by boys at initiation as among the Sotho or the Galla, are an important aspect of the claim to adulthood". (Finnegan 1970, p. 119). The Bahima of Ankole in Uganda are also noted for self praise. As Okpewho said: "a man composes and performs praises of himself after a successful battle with an enemy, especially in a cattle raid". (Okpewho 1992, p. 142) . I The Igbos of eastern Nigeria are also well known for self-praising during the taking of titles (Ibid. p.142 ). However, as Okpewho pointed out, praise of others is more common and even more rewarding in material terms. For instance, if the object of praise is satisfied with the poet's performance, he rewards him according to his means and degree of satisfaction. Much as human beings are often the objects of praise songs, 63 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh non-humans also get praised. In this respect, cattle appear to enjoy this privilege more than other animals especially among cattle rearing communities in eastern and Southern Africa. Praise songs are composed for cattle and a typical one among the Sothos is the long praise poem in honour of the bull named 'Maphatshew. (Kunene 1971, p. 133 ff). In a similar vein the Dagara herdboys have praise songs for each of their fighting cattle. This runs contrary to Jack Goody's view that there is "little emphasis on cattle song" [ ... J (Goody 1956, p. 30) among the Dagara whom he labelled Lo-dagaa (Goody op. cit. p. 21). The first thing herdboys do when they meet with their cattle is to arrange a fight between some of their leading fighting cattle. As the cattle fight each cowboy sings the praise of his cow or bull to encourage it to win the fight. After the fight, the cowboys also engage in a wrestling contest which they call nii gbCC pagfu, "covering the hoof prints of the cows" . The following is one such praise songs of a cow called NaDnale: 2.A. NaDnale, NaDnale NU Ob taakErE dem baarl A 1£ bE wa sEgE U wob 1£rDmaarE kpIEr ' I tugr . Tuure tuure tuure KpE kaagyElE pUO lag yi FU saa dOg fE na A vIElU yele bE Ka bei? NakIIynE ben mUO pUO Viire yUOr saa pObr U 64 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh YiZlnE ZIn' yir I Dm~Dm~l~ nU~r kUrE suur M~baa pU~ zfEle woo Kpakyog pU~ zfEle woo PIED PIED PEID . 2B. NaDnale NaDnale Ate up someone's sheanuts Not contented with that She marched into the thicket with broken axes Marching through the thicket She walked into guinea-fowl eggs Were you born beautiful in vain? The cowherd is drenched by rain In the field The naughty, idle boy sits at home Provoking anger Red one of the m6.baa Red one of Kpakyog Conquer, conquer, conquer. In this praise song the cowherd portrays the cow as a powerful beast that is not easily satisfied and would use its power to overcome obstacles in its way. The song also points out one of the problems of cowherding - the cowherd often gets drenched by rain in the fields. Apart from the praise songs of fighting cows are praise poems of totemic beasts earlier on referred to as non-human 65 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh relatives. The GbaanE clan says this of its totemic animal, the antelope. 2A. Walpiel nyotuon Zagrl yir kpE mu5 Walpiel lIE gagaa Zagrl lIE tuo daar WEpUla baD gaanU TlsOg nadEr ku dO pOgo 2B. stripe-nosed Antelope One who abandons home to live in the bush Antelope of the protruding horns One who would rather bear wood than horns The grey bush that glides with majesty The night bull that would not be exchanged for a wife. The GbaanE claim they are children of an antelope that had transformed itself into a beautiful woman and got married to a womanizer. By some stroke of luck its true identity was uncovered and it became permanently human even though it still loved the woods. Its offspring, being so unusual, were scorned by their half brothers and they thus drew closer to their mother resulting in the creation of their own clan out of their father's BErwo clan. Hence, in the above praise poem the GbaanE clan identifies itself with the antelope. The members of the clan praise the physical beauty of the beast. They praise the way it runs and see its 66 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh wandering in the woods as a virtue. These so-called virtues of the animal, they bestow upon themselves as human kindred of the antelope. One other feature of the praise poems is the elevated , language usually employed in them. Generally, praise poems are . couched in a lofty language embellished with proverbs, metaphors, exaggerations, symbolisms and other figurative forms. stylistic devices such as paralellism, repetition and archaism are also found in the Dagara praise poems. The loftiness of the language is usually intended to impress the object of praise and the audience with the view to getting as much reward as possible. As such, words, images and other verbal and non-verbal ingredients such as gestures, are deliberately chosen in their composition and performance. The following praise song of Rt. Rev. Bemile composed and performed by Charlie Guy of whom more will be said in the next chapter, is an example of a praise song in exalted language. 3A. Paulii E BEm11E YOwaarma BEm11E Lomaalzie B£m1l£ DiD diD diD tI mine ten TanI tIE a l£r bE ka kyEb £ TanI ka E a san b£sogre i. 3.B Paul also called Bemile Bemile Mother of showers Bemile the transformer 67 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh You whose diD diD diD voice is heard While you shower in distant lands You who thunder at a tree And no axe dares strike You whose thunder defies any query. The patron in this respect is a member of the KpIElE clan which claims filial relationship with Saa, the Rain Deity. As a son of Saa, the attributes of rain, thunder and lightning, fecundity, growth and peace are conferred on him. By his elevation to the bishopric, he has proved himself a worthy son of the deity, who when he lays his hands on anything, claims it I for his own. It is only his children who can have a share of such a thing claimed by Saa. Thus, when lightning strikes a tree, it is assumed that Saa has claimed it and it is only a member of the KpIElE clan that can make use of its wood without any retributive action from the Rain Deity . The supposed vengef·ulness of Saa has already been mentioned . No one questions his actions as the eighth line says: "You whose thunder defies any query". Apart from the colourful use of language, the poet makes historical references in his praise poems. In this respect, great deeds accomplished by the patron's forbears are recounted. The names of the distinguished and heroic ancestors are mentioned. As has been said already the effect of such glorification of the past heroes is to make the praised elated with the knowledge that 68 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh he is a scion of such great ancestors. The praise poems often as Finnegan (1970, p.142) points out, serve to consolidate values such as status and birth where they are important in an aristocracy. They establish in the case of royal leadership, the leader's right to office as his roots are declaimed in public. In the following praise song the poet, Virginia MaanIasIE sought to show that the object of praise Naa Puoure of Nandom was legitimate ruler of his people: 4A. Ali mInE nEbE dal] dI naalU Kaa nIbE zie? BEkU~nE nEbE dal] dI naalU Kaa nIbE zie DanyE nI al]a dal] dI naalU Kaa a nIbE zie Kyiir'u dal] dI naalU Kaa nIbE zie B~r~ yi woo, dI naalU Kaa nIbE zie UurbaalE KonKuu woo, dI' naalU Kaa nIbE zie A vurbaalE Moro nU dI a naalU Kaa nIbE zie P~lKuu woo, dI a naalU Kaa nIbE zie Puoure woo dI a naalU Kaa nIbE zie 69 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh OI a naalu kaa nlbE zie 4B. Who in their royal reign Cared for the people? The BEkUOnE in their reign Cared for the people It was OanyE who reigned And cared for the people Kyiir had reigned And cared for the people. BOrO came to reign And cared for the people KOkuu the UurbaalE Reigned and cared for the people MorO the UurbaalE ruled And cared for the people POIKuu reigned from the chair And cared for the people Puoure reign now And care for the people Reign and care for the people. Apparently, besides the theme of admiration is also the voice of appeal to the incumbent chief to emulate his noble predecessors in addressing the welfare concerns of the people. Among the Oagara, the elder is esteemed because he is concerned about members of his household. But his respect and authority could be undermined if he is found to be selfish and uninterested 70 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh in them hence the subtle warning to be alive to his responsibilities towards his sUbjects. If the forbears of the praised were noted for the possession of some particular feat such as esoteric powers, they will be recounted by the poet if he has grasp of the ancestry of the . praised. Members of the Kusiele clan in the past were noted for their mystical power. Thus, in their praise songs one is wont to hear expressions such as: SA. Kusiele gbeU Nadole nI bE bOudaar Dakyin-migr-ganE KU=lo-sole DOpure-waar-sEvIEII Masuur-zIE-na-sau-pOg-bE Dibaall di-yiE-KpIErbE KpE-dioUIEb-yi-tul BE-nyE-KyogrE-na-kyogrI-KGG SB. Kusiele the lion Nadole of the war arrows He who strides majestically on walls In contempt of beaten paths . He who is resplendent in In dawa-dawa robes The red fungus, the scare of women Hero of the narrow room and of the anteroom He who would leave a room walking backwards 71 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh He who men imitate At their own peril. The 'Kusiele' is here metaphorically associated with the physically powerful lion, because of his supposed physical . strength and daring into perilous adventures. The Kusiele bQ~daar were said to be very poisonous arrows that pursued their targets when shot, until they hit them. They never left the bow in vain, it was claimed for they were 'extraordinary' arrows. The Kusiele mystical power also made it possible, it was alledged, for one to vanish from sight to any destination while striding on a wall. The same power could transform the ordinary dawa-dawa leaves into charming robes of deception. The Kusiele thus saw themselves as epitome of physical and esoteric powers as symbolised by the lion and the mystical acts they performed. One other feature of the Dagara praise poetry is that it spills over into other verbal art forms. As Yankah has noted: "it is indeed yet to be known if there is a restricted genre in any African culture which is locally acknowledged to hold a monopoly over 'praise '." (Yankah 1983, p.390) In fact, it is particularly true of the Dagara oral art for praise poetry can be found pervading the various forms especially dirges and marriage songs. The following is part of a dirge chanted by Ambrose DaayeD an accomplished dirge and xylophone poet of Nandom, Goziir. The piece is replete with praises to a deceased man: 72 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6A. BUrDmaa woo woo BUrDmaa woo woo A yir baar'a woo DOO-KUora-KU-Dmaa-gyIl woo De-mE-niD woo Wul-mE-a-vuo-I-tOl yee Nldaar-kaD woo BIEl '-mE-sOr woo DOO-kuora-KU-Dmaa-gyIl woo A puo faa nI muo aa! 6B. Crown-bird alas, alas Crown-bird alas, alas The house has fallen alas The distinguished farmer who surmounts obstacles, alas Blazer of the path, alas Blazer of the path, alas Show me the way to go, alas The future is lost , alas Supportive companion of my journey , alas Distinguished farmer who surmounts obstacles, alas Weeds have seized the farm. The crown-bird is viewed with awe among the Dagara , so for the deceased to have been called crown-bird implies that he was a powerful and accomplished man in his community at least. A hardworking and prosperous farmer, he was also a benevolent leader of his people. Now that he has died , the problems of the 73 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh community will overwhelm them as the last line euphemistically puts it - "weeds have seized the farm". While funerals give birth to dirges, marriages are festive and hilarious occasions that are celebrated with songs of joy and merry dancing. One of such songs I recorded at a wedding reads as follows: 7A. Nadole bOD daarI, 00 NI maal ' tEr a bie, 00 Nadole SEUI£li biiri NI maal ' tEr a bie 00 Walpiel baD-ganu nyIEn nU TI bie Da bE baD k5 E. 7B. Nadole of the war arrows Take good care of the child Nadole children of the charming robes Take good care of the child She is an off-shoot of the majestic antelope This our child knows no hunger. In this song the entire Kusiele clan of the bridegroom is called upon to take proper care of the bride who has never experienced hardships in her antelope clan - GbaanE home. While at it, the singers however subtly appealed to the Kusiele sense of pride by the appelation: "Nadole of the war arrows 74 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Nadole, children of the charming robes". The groom's family as well as the general audience are reminded of the dignified roots of the bride where there is no want. The underlying nuance of the song is that the Kusiele are . lucky to be proud husbands of such a lady of high birth . But one indirection that may also be discerned from the piece is that the Kusiele, from the point of view of the singers, are not particularly keen about caring for their wives. It is a mild criticism of the groom's clan which ironically may induce its r members to offer 'gifts' to the singers to stop them from making any more unfavourable comments on the clan . In the context of mystical or ritual performances, it is common to find epithets of praise to God , deities and ancestors . In the performance of libation , for instance , it is normal to invoke the pantheon of Gods in the Dagara cosmology as well as the ancestral spirits at the centre of celebration. This invocatory part of a libation ritual performed by a teDgan-sob DEbgor , to request r ain in the wak e of a pro l onged drought is one such e xample . SA. i saa NaaDmlnI BUmbuUrE za DmlnI Tendaa za DmlnI Saazu DmlnI Naabile DmlnI laD-mhaarU DmlnI laD-tUlU DmlnI 75 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ku5 mhaaru nI aDa A fU bie bErE kUrE fU Sag UU wa de NandOm BarU A TanbErE nI a Tanli NI wa na? KUO nI aDa NI de mhaa kOkOr f saakUm ZEnUO NI a yEbr za Nlm nlm a daparE za NI na saga nI bie bUOlU E sag wa de kUO mhaarU aB. God my Father God of creation God of the universe God of the sky God of men God of peace God of adversity This is cold water Your child is offering You Please, accept. TeDgan (Earth Goddess) of Nandom The BarU (River Gods) of Nandom The Gods of the Hills Have you come? 76 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh This is cold water May it quench your thirst My grands ire ZEnUO And his brothers You and all the host of heaven Please, kindly respond to your child's plea And accept this cold water. The attributes to God in this text are quite obvious as they are the usual conventional appellations accorded Him across cultures. God is acknowledged the source of all creation and, therefore, He is automatically the father of all. His supremacy over everything is unequivocably expressed in the appellative epithets given. And since in comparison to Him the other deities and ancestors are subordinates, it is significant to note that no appellations have been accorded them. In Christian worship, too, praise is central to the liturgy. In this part of a preface of the Catholic Mass sung by Rev. vitalis Kogme are lines of praise to God: 9A. TeIJzu Naal]mlnI FU barka yaga TeIJvvla pUO Naal]mlnI FU barka yaga BUn-iri zaa Naal]mlnI FU barka yaga FU kpEnU na gal] a TI nyE maa I U dla. 77 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh BUn-IagrI NaaDmlnI FU barka yaga BUn-Kyeni NaaDmlnI FU barka yaga BUnvur i NaaDmlnI FU barka yaga FU kpEnU na gaD a TI nyE maalU dla f yEbrI f ire nI a NaaDmln yuor f dannE nI a NaaDmln yuor f kyaarE nI a NaaDmin yuor U na I a Sonuu Sonuu zaa sob A yiele ... 9B. God of the universe Many thanks God of Heaven Many thanks God of creation Many thanks For your might We stand blessed to day God of all that fly Many thanks 78 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh God of all that walk Many thanks God of all that crawl Many thanks For your might We stand blessed today. Brethren, I am extolling God's name I am praising God's name I am proclaiming God's name As He is Holiness The Father of Holiness Singing ... It is interesting to note that this Preface of Fr. Kogme is so much like the libation piece before it, both in content and in structure. That Fr. Kogme's piece is heavily influenced by the Dagara libation pouring tradition cannot be denied. Looking back at the nature of Dagara praise poetry it is appropriate to place it in the milieu of the better known praise poetry of other cultures. There is hardly any departure from the rest in terms of general characteristic features . 3.01 DAGARA PRAISE POEMS AS POETRY In the early part of the chapter the general characteristics of the praise poems were highlighted. This section will appreciate the major types of praise songs or chants of the 79 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Dagara. Among these are Yir danU (clan appellations) danu, (personal praise songs) nI&r danu (grinding songs) IannI (dirges) and detaa yieIu, (marriage songs). As said already, aspects of praise poems tend to extend into other art forms. None of the art forms seems to be free from this influence, particularly the clan appellation, with exception of folktales which deal with the world of fantasy, and their close allies - riddles and proverbs. Even in ordinary discourse it is normal to hear an individual digress or plunge into either self praise or praising another for one reason or another. It must be mentioned at this point that Dagara praise songs and chants are generally not controlled by any rhyme scheme. Lines are not necessarily patterned in such a manner that the last words rhyme as used to be one of the norms for judging good literary poetry. As Zurmi said of the Hausa oral praise song. "The end of lines do not necessarily rhyme and not have regular length, and even along the lines there is no established order or regularity in the metre". ( Zurmi 1981, p.96). This holds true for the form of Dagara praise songs. But one can talk of internal rhyme along the lines which is further accentuated by repetitions and in some cases by musical accompaniment, for example, from a drum, xylophone or p&.n&, raft zither. These appear to be the metrical requirements a singer needs to structure his song. They could not be much more different from the songs of the Mande of which Charles Bird made this observation: 80 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh liThe essential metrical requirement is that the singer keeps in rhythm with his instrumental accompaniment. He may therefore form lines of one syllable or fifty syllables, depending very much on his virtuosity in rapid speech and his subtlety in weaving the rhythm of his language around those of his instruments". (Bird, in Dorson 1972, p.283) . Praise poems have the qualities that set them apart from prose. As poetry they have greater richness and concentration, they are also more evocative and emotive and hence memorable (c.f. Cope 1968, p. 38) But one thing that brings about the achievement of these qualities is the use of imagery in various forms , further reinforced by repetitions of various types. These stylistic devices are namely, rhyme, rhythm , alliteration and parallelism. But as pointed out elsewhere, rhyme and metre are only incidental and not consciously aimed at in Dagara poetry . Dagara praise poems however abound in images as may be seen in the following Kusiele clan appellation : lOA. Kusiele gbeD daa Nadole nI bE b~Ddaar Dakyin migr dannE KU 10 sole D~pure Uaar sEvIElI Masuur-zIE na saD pU~ Dibaall diyI£ kpIErb£ KpE dioD lEb yi tul Be nyE Ky~grE na Na ky~grI kuu . 81 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh lOB. Kusiele the lion Nadole of the war arrows He who strides majestically on walls In contempt of beaten paths He who is resplendently dressed In dawa-dawa leaves The red fungus, scare of women Hero of the narrow room and the anteroom He who exits walking backwards He whom men imitate At their own peril. Take also the following appellation of the KpIEIE clan, one from which the Kusiele clan fissioned out. This praise poem is replete with images of various types, too. llA. Y~rwaar na ky~g laar Sabir been 10 maalI zie NabU~ ulu 10 gaD saa Zilige saa kyOg danI DI kU naab sabie warmE TanI tIE a l£r ka kyEb TanI a san bE sogre DiD diD diD tI mine taten BEllI Kone tI mine taten Kyug pUla na maalI zie Salom pUla Kylnkyln gaD sIErE WEgya pUla wEgya kyUOrE sIErE 82 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Yipaal kpIErbE kG kpE dabuo PeE pUO saab Dmaa kone llB. The sudden rain that may be collected in bowls One rain drop that transforms the land The Nabuo dew that surpasses rain fall Dawn rain whose collection evokes praise He who thunders at a tree And no axe dares strike again He whose thunder defies any query DiD diD diD while raining elsewhere Deceptively rumbling while raining elsewhere White sky, wearer of the KyInkyIn cloth Wearer of the white as well as the striped cloth He whose residence is eternally new He who eats saab from a basket to his regret. 3.02 STYLISTIC DEVICES The BEkUOnE clan appellation also offers us a whole lot of images which we will be examining presently. But here is the Dagara version and its translation: 12A. Vurbaa 10 laar TOrn Vurbaa bayE1U TlntIra nyE paal baa Tlntlra baa nyE ku gbaall Kyakyapula nyE paal baa KyakyapUla nyE saD baa 83 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Zag yEIU nyom~~ BayElu m~m~~ Zakorikori za DmEr laar BayElu bule zUm ku Ob BulbIE zUm kU Ob BayEIU bule zUmbOI ku tEr kObr. 12B. The Vur river that occupied TOm Vur river the (BayEIU) sprawling river A river overflowing with the tlntlra fish A river of tlntlra fish that defies harvest A river overflowing with egret droppings A river defiled by egret droppings A vast court of children BayElu crawling with children The snatching crowd that shatters the food bowl BayEIU well fish that will not be eaten The mysterious well fish that will not be eaten BayEIU the well of fat, boneless fish. certainly, the commonest imagery employed in the praise poems is the metaphor. The clan appellations like the Southern Bantu praise poems are a concatenation of "praise names and praise verses" (Finnegan 1970,p. 128) couched in metaphors. Take for instance the following lines from the Kusiele praise poem: "Kusiele, the lion The red fungus, scare of women". 84 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The association with the lion stems from the so called bravery and physical strength of the members of the Kusiele clan. These qualities of the Kusiele are synonymous with those qualities that make the lion the 'King of the beasts'. Mansuur, fungus which is often a growth on a tree emits smoke which is alleged to be dangerous to pregnant women. The smoke could cause a miscarriage and may further endanger the life of the woman. The 'Kusiele' is thus seen as this kind of growth that is a danger to weaker men. Similarly, a member of the KpI£l£ clan is saluted as YOrwaar na Kyog laar or Sabir been 10 maali zie. The sudden rain that may be collected in bowls or One rain drop that transforms the land. Elsewhere the relationship between the KpI£IE clan and the Rain Deity, Saa, has been explained, suffice it to say that all the attributes of rain are accorded the members of this clan, especially those who distinguish themselves . Metaphorical addresses such as 13A. Walpie nyOtuOn W£pUlabaIJ gaanu TlnsOg nad£r. 85 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 13B. Stripe-nosed antelope Majestic-walking greywood Night-bull. are accorded members of the antelope clan, the GbaanE. So are . terms like: 14A. Vurbaa kpElaar T~m BayElu BUrl]maa K~k~r UIEI kG Ial] bal] 14B. Vur river that has occupied T~m BayEIU (wide river) The Crown-bird whose Pretty neck needs wear no band. And as the MEtU~lE clan members are addresed as 15A. Tal]Zu-gbelizIIr Mangarka M5baagyimur 15B. Redbells of the hill (a fetish) crocodile Dragon fly the DikpIEIE clan members who regard the monkey as their totemic animal affect being referred to as 86 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 16A. BEsobon-E-dI-gaD-a-sob, Nyanyubaalu-sa pEDfU SogzIE-wa-wU: 16B. One who (eats) takes more than the owner; Better-to-steal-than-borrow Red locusts that invade the farm. It is interesting that these attributes that allude to the negative behaviour of the monkey are proudly accepted by the DikpIElE and the Tiele clans as laudatory epithets. But the reason they give for that is that, they consider the monkey as a non-human relative who saved their clans from total annihilation from the hands of slave raiders. Other metaphorical praise names are: 17A. Tamb~g tuo gaD Kone Tlntlra baa. 17B. The perilous pond one crosses with dire consequences TIntra fish river. Apparently by use of the metaphors "the hero is figuratively transformed into a series of entities that are perfect , embodiments of the traits highlighted in the hero" as Yankah has , said. "This may be a particular species of bird, snake , tree, or other relevant objects and phenomena" (Yankah 1983, p.39). As we 87 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh lave seen the BEkUOnE make allusions to the awesomeness of 'BUTg.maa', the crown-bird while the Kusiele associate their power rith that of the lion. But the KpIElE who believe they are lescendants of the Rain deity, Saa, lay claims to the rain lttributes. Along with metaphors are hyperboles that further exaggerate :he deeds of heroes. In the Kusiele praise poem are the following ,raise lines: l8A. Dakyinmigr ganE KU 10 sole DOpurevaar sEviEli l8B. He who strides majestically on walls in contempt of beaten paths He who is resplendent in dawa-dawa leaves. It is certainly impossible for one to ' reach places by ralking constantly on walls nor are dawa-dawa leaves anything to 10 by in terms of clothes to make one gorgeous i n. Leaves are :ertainly not clothes to wear , let alone to look r esp l endent in ,hem. The expressions have meanings that may be found elsewhere . 19A. Kyakyapula nyE paal baa 19B. "A river overflowing with egr et dropp ings " s also hyperbolically used i n the BEkUOnE appel l ati on a n d so are he following expressions in the KpIE1E praise poem : 88 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20A. Sabir been 10 MaalI teD NabUO ulu 10 gaD saa 20B. One rain drop that transforms the land Nabuo mist that surpasses rain fall. The praise poems are also replete with personifications. For instance, the monkey is given a human voice to say as the DiKplele appellations have it: 21A. Be so bon E dI gaD a sob Nyanyubaalu sa pEDfU sogZIE wa wIE. 21B. He who (eats) takes more than the owner stealing is better than borrowing Red locusts that invade the farm. Similarly, rain is spoken of in the KpIelE appellation in human terms. For instance expressions that allude to it such as: 22A. Kye tIE a Hr ka kyEb Wegya pUla wEgya kyuOre sIErE. 22B. He who strikes a tree and no axe dares strike again. Wearer of the white and striped cloth. 89 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh give it human personality. It is ' spoken of as literally striking a tree with an implement as a man would. It is also said to be arrayed in cloths as if it were a woman. But indeed, the cloth refers to the clouds in the sky. A grey sky is a 'white cloth' for instance. It is interesting that while metaphorical expressions accord the heroes praised, qualities of animals and sometimes phenomena, personification transforms beasts and other things into human f beings. One other stylistic device that features prominently in Dagara praise poems is parallelism. This structural device is a type of repetition in which an element is altered while the syntactic structure remains similar for instance: 23A. KyakyapUla nyE paal baa. Kyakyapula nyE saD baa. 23B. A river overflowing with egret droppings A river defiled by egret droppings And also: 24A. BayE1U bule zUm kG Ob BulbIE zUm kG Ob 24B. BayE1U well fish that will not be eaten Mysterious well fish that will not be eaten . In these examples which come from the BEkUOnE clan appellations, the second line in each case tends to expand and deepen the 90 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh understanding of the first line. As in the latter pair, "mysterious well" throws more light on the nature of "BayEIU well" that makes the fish in it inaccessible for consumption. The praise songs of Charlie Guy have numerous parallel constructions as may be seen in the following: 25A. TaDzuule gbelzlir'U IErE Lb zUDmaa gbelzur'u IErE M~baa gyimur'u IErE TanI man K'U d~IE TanI gbor K'U d~IE KpE a gbor wa de nIbE Umaa a gbor wa faa nlbE M~baa taa wa s~glE I Gyimur taa wa s~glE I 25B. Red-bells of the Hills speaks Red-bells of the short-tailed crocodile speaks Dragonfly of the riverside speaks Command the river to stretch out Command the canoe to stretch out Board the canoe and convey people steer the canoe to save people 91 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh River-side, do not shy away Dragonfly, do not shy away. with the exception of the first three lines which are of one set the rest are in pairs as may be observed. There is syntactic as well as rhythmic balancing of one line against the other in each pair just as there is that agreement among the first three lines. Apparently the stanza is thus structured, through a conscious effort to achieve the musical effect it has attained by skillfully varying some key-words in either the triplet or the couplets. For example in the couplet - "KpS a gbor wa de nlbE" "IJmaa a gbor wa faa nlbE" J]maa and faa stand in alternation to KpE and de and their semantic function has been to throw more light on the actions , stipulated in the first line by carrying them fUrther "steer the boat to save people". One type of repetition that is common in the Dagara maiden songs and has been extended to personal praise songs is the refrain. The lead singer sings the verse while the chorus takes up the refrain. This is amply demonstrated by Madam Rose D~nlr in her praise song dedicated to Rt. Rev. Bemile of Wa Catholic Diocese. The following are a few verses with their attendant refrains. 26A. YaanI yee, yaanI yee Bisob Paul woo yee 92 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Waa yaanI. Refrain: YaanI yee Bisob Paul woe yee waa yaanI. Kokoguule Kandeme bie LOb a NaaDmln yelbir LaarI a teDdaa za. Refrain: U mUOlE, LOb a NaaDmln yelbir LaarI a teDdaa yee. 26B. Welcome, welcome Bishop Paul Welcome. Refrain: Welcome Bishop Paul Welcome. Son of Kandeme of Kokoligu Broadcast the word of God Throughout the world. Refrain: He should announce , Broadcast the word of God 93 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Throughout the world. It is quite clear from these lines that the refrain appropriates almost entirely what the verses say. Much of the difference between the verse and the refrain may be found in the first line of the verse which always goes a step further than the preceding one in the movement of the praise song. However, there are instances when a refrain may vary completely in structure and rhythmic movement from the verses as may be seen in Bede Bongne's farewell song to Rt. Rev. Kpiebaya on apostolic transfer from Wa to Tamale . Though a praise song, its slow movement and rather sombre tone evokes sadness as a dirge is wont to do. The following is the twelveth stanza of the song and its accompanying refrain: 27A. Faara-mInE, BradamInE si tamInE, e e A ti nakyIIn-kara BE ir'u na £ tI I IJmln na? Refrain: Aa hii, aa! A dE IrE nlmbaalU Aa hil, aa! A dE IrE nlmbaalU. 27B. (Rev.) Fathers, Brothers (Rev.) Sisters 94 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Our chief cow-herd He has been taken away And what shall we do? Refrain: Aa hii, aa! It's so pathetic Aa hii, aa! It's so pathetic. "Aa hii, aa!" is an expression of lament over the loss of some one dear and is often heard on funeral grounds. Its use here shows the sense of loss felt by the poet and those he speaks for under the circumstance. The repetition in the refrain itself further emphasises the point. An inescapable feature of the Dagara praise poem is the complex compounding of words to weave laudatory epithets. Lawrence A. Boadi who observed this phenomenon in the Akan oral poetry too had remarked that: "the high-sounding words so common a feature of the poems are the product of a technique of stringing words together probably involving a process peculiar to the strategy of oral poetry in the Akan" (Boadi 1989,p. 189). This observation may not only be true of the Akan oral art but it also holds for the oral poetry of Africa in general as examples from its various regions portray. The apparent similarities in strings of words that constitute praise names of 95 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh heroes and heroines in various African praise poems suggest a common technique in creating laudatory epithets. Reduced to writing such strings of words that make up a name could take up half a line or more on a foolscap sheet of paper. Take the following GbaanE epithets for example: 29A. GboDgbor-daa-k0-s~r-zUmE WE-s~g-nadEr-k0-d~-p~g. 29B. The-hyena-who-will-not-subject himself-to-abuse. The-bull-of-the-forest-who-will-not be-exchanged-for-a-wife. ; ~ Also consider the following praise names of the Bimbiile clan: I ! 30A. (i) ZagrI-daar-m5 gbaglE (ii) Zagri-z~-m~-tff (iii) P~gsIrkura-d~g-bIErE 30B. (i) He-who-would-make-fire-with-bones rather-than-wood (ii) He-who-would-cook-charcoal-rather than-flour (iii) He-whose-birth-put-the-spinster-to-bed. other laudatory names created through the process of 96 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh nominalisation of various word classes s tr'ln ge d up l. nc 1 u d e: 31A. (i) BUrIJmaa-kOkOr-UIEl-kO-IaIJ-baIJ (ii) IJmantuo-saab-kyIlnI-kone (iii) Zazul-kOblu-no-b£r-yoIJ (iv) Zum-been-IJma-da-yI£rm£ 31B. (i) The crown-bird whose-elegant-neck needs-wear-no-band (ii) Meal-of-the-bitter-calabash-that-one eats-to-one's-consternation (iii) One-who-caterpiller-like-sloughs-off-his-skin (iv) One-fish-that-is-sold-to-acquire-garments. The complex nature of the word compounding is manifested in the lexical units that link up to form a praise phrase. Some epithets for instance are created from a combination of nouns, and verbs, or nouns, adjectives and verbs and so on. For example: II zagre-z5 mO tIl" is literally a verb + noun + verb + noun combination as a surface structure. But analysed at the level of its deep structure as attempted in the translation [ 30B (ii)] the combination would show to be more complex. In Kyug-pUla- tamtr&.r&, (ace archer of the moon-lit night), the combination is that of noun + adjective + noun. tamtr&r&, (ace archer), a noun derived from the compounding of tam (bow) a noun and tr&r& (shooter) another noun which is itself a derivative of the verb t& (to shoot). Similiar combinations also constitute the following Kusiele 97 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh praise phrases: 31A. (i) PIE-pUO-saab-Dmaa-kone (ii) Taa-kpEE-lar-wft 31B. (i) He-who-eats-"saab"-from-a-basket to-his-regret (ii) The-great-shea-tree-that-overshadows the-forest. While the first phrase is a noun + preposition + noun + verb + verb combination, the other has a combination of noun + adjective + verb + noun. Besides the syntactic structures such as phrases and clauses that these multiple compounds create, they also "function as units of metrical pattern" (Boadi, Ibid., p.189)i within them, internal rhyming can be discerned. The above is true of the Dagara original text but not apparent in the English translation. 3.03 PERSONAL PRAISE POEMS Our discussion in the main, has centred on clan appellations which are generally stereo-typical among the people. Their composition dates back to the distant past and it is impossible to identify their composers. Their transmission to this generation has been through repeated performances by bards of past generations and their continuity into the next generations depends largely on the performers of the art today. Clan appellations have actually become communal property and 98 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh modern oral poets exploit elements from this communal holding to garnish their own creations. Like the bards before them, the contemporary oral poets such as Bede Bongne and Charlie Guy weave songs of praise for members of the community, particularly those who have distinguished themselves one way or the other. The refreshing thing about the modern poets and their works is that it is possible to identify the individual oral poet behind the composition of a particular praise poem in honour of an individual patron. This is because they introduce themselves , in their songs as they perform and as they mention the names of 1 l the patrons they honour, these praise songs are made more personal than the clan appellations which deal with the clan members collectively. That is in spite of the fact that exploits of one's ancestors as found in the clan appellations, are usually mentioned in the personal praise poems. But the reason is that the Dagara believe that one's achievements cannot be divorced from those of one's forbears. It is the past that inspires the present to attain worthwhile success. Thus in Madam Rose D~nlr's praise song to Rt. Rev. Bemile, she alludes to the inspiration of the patron's clan totem-Rain and other ancestral spirits as I the sources of the bishop's success in these lines : t 32A. (a) Salom gar] ky\)~rE bie (b) TanI tIE a lEr ka kyEb bie ( c) Kokoguule Kandeme bie (d VurbaalE, DuolaarI nyIEna 32B. (a) Son of the striped-cloth Sky 99 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (b) Son of one who thunders at a tree and no axe dares strike again (c) Son of Kandeme of Kokoligu (d) Upshoot of Vurbaa Duolaar. References are also made to living role models that the poet believes were inspirational to the patron in the following stanzas: 33A. (i) Tl puori aabisob DEr Na to a tome Tl wEI'l guo a. (ii) Bisob Kpiebaya Ml to a tome Tl ar' I saazu 33B. (i) We greet Archbishop Dery Who worked zealously Till his retirement I l ( ! .I (ii) Bishop Kpiebaya i Too has worked hard 1, And earned promotion. In a similar vein, another female oral poet Konwokole said this of Naa Puoure of Nandom in his praise song: 100 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 34A. (i) Zukpuole biirgaD-a=naa Gal]-a-yuor lE (ii) I waa bile bile KYE f wag la ba yuor YEIE (iii) BayEIE yir puo Bambaala ku dr tuo togtog. 34B. (i) The children of Zukpor are great princes of high renown. (ii) While a child I heard of the greatness of their name (iii) In the house of BayElu The poor is free from suffering. Zukpor and BayElu are typical praise names of members of the BEkUOnE clan. The point the poet seems to be making by referring to them is that Naa Puoure could not have been so successful if he were not a member of the BEkUOnE clan. Personal praise poems of course, celebrate the achievements of the targeted patrons. For instance, in praising Rt. Rev. Bemile, the poet Bede Bongne paid tribute to his patron's abundant patience, intelligence and tenacity in undertaking difficult tasks, in these words: 101 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3SA. DErbaa nEn kanyir sob mI ~b BaD-a-zaa-kU-baDgu-bie Kpaar ml mii na a fu dl bUn kaa To-tabe nl a dl-tabe yoo! 3SB. The patient one eats the rat (meat) Child of the wise one to whom nothing is hidden To eat oily food the occiput must be sore Consumption level is determined by industry. Rose D~nlr in her praise of the same personality paid tribute to the bishop's high level of education and choice of vocation. 36A. FU vuole nl a gan pU~ FU vuole na Wa yi NaaDmln tome zu. 36B. You studied the book You studied Until you came upon God's vineyard. In the regime of the dirge which is chosely related to praise poems because of the theme of praise inherent in it, tribute is also paid to the deceased for his industry and achievements while alive. It is in this light that Ambrose DaayeD sang this dirge at the funeral of Andrina Beyuo of Goziir: 102 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 37A. Woo, woo BUlmhaaru woo Woo, bul-kinyu-yee I kOkOr ko na yee DOOkUOra p8g woo A puo man nI vaara vab yee POg kG bEr uto bie yee POg na lEn 'uto bile yee POg kG da kal woo POg kG la fhf yee POg na baI] d80 been kul'a 37B. Alas! alas! eternal fount, alas! Alas, one whose spring water sustains me My throat is dry alas. Worthy spouse of a distinguished farmer It's time to clear the farm of debris A mother of the other's child A mother who would lick the other's young-clean A woman who would buy no dawa-dawa A woman who would deride none A wife who would know one man only Has gone home. The dead woman's dedication to running a good home, respect to all and fidelity to her husband are all lauded in the dirge. Similarly, Bernard W8rbmE, a versatile xylophonist and dirgist who is currently attached to the Ghana Dance Ensemble said this of his late friend Kobom who had also worked as a xylophone instructor at the University of Ghana, Legon, before 103 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh him: 38A. woo, WOO, tl mUUr gUba bie U kul Woo, woo, kombE, nl mUUr 1]mlErE bie U kul Woo, a taakEr na pOr 10 Aa da1] tOo a U nuu tome t-o?. AnkaalE NandomE woo Aa na lE kyo gyili KU nl nl lag? 38B. Alas, alas, praise the expert's son as he goes home Alas, alas eulogists, praise the expert's son as he goes home Alas this unripe shea-fruit that has fallen Who could compete with him in his field? Nandom citizens in Accra Who will enthral you with xylophone music To dance? The theme of praise extends to the domain of marriage songs. In marriage songs the singer makes sure that there are sufficient songs of praise to last the day. Most of them are usually focused on the bride, extolling her virtues. These songs usually coming from the bride's female relatives, it is not surprising that they are intended to enhance the personal image of the lady and her entire clan. For instance, the following song tells of the magnetic attraction of the belle - the bride that held the groom spell-bound at their first encounter. 104 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 39A. Kurema (Valeria) kyen na tOl BEkUOnE dEble nyE yee Kyen gu DmEII kaa, 010 DmEII kaa naa 10, yee BaD gu tIE SIE bEl£ gbegbe. 39B. As Kurema (Valeria) walked past The BEkUOnE youth saw her And kept glancing back Kept glancing back and would have fallen And so stood akimbo gazing at her. But as if to pooh-pooh the idea of marriage, as a result of the so- called inadequacies of husbands, songs like this are also sung: "OA. IErEDa sIrbE bE kyaa tEr kulu e YEdEbr tI sag BE nyogr nUUr laD tI guole. 40B. Nowadays marriage is hopeless Were brothers to agree We should be rearing poultry for them. Such songs may be seen in the context of, danU as criticism of the domineering males in the Dagara community . A song such as the one just cited is an attack on all men rather than the bridegroom and his clan's men only. It calls for male self-appraisal in 105 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh terms of their socio-economic relations with their female counterparts; an appraisal that would put both sexes at par. It is important to point out that the stylistic features that operate in the clan appellations equally feature in the other types of praise songs. Imagery, allusion, metaphors, personification, repetition and parallelism including other stylistic forms are found in them. For example, in text 37A. we find a metaphor in the word 'bulmhaaru' where the deceased woman is given the qualities of an eternal spring of life. The dryness of the throat as expressed in line three of the text which runs: "I kOkOr ko na, yee!" is a symbol of the cessation of services she used to render to her neighbours. Similarly, puo (farm) also symbolises the services she rendered when alive. Again, while line seven runs anti-thetically to line six, lines eight and nine are also in parallel relations. It can also be observed that the second half of the text dlsplays repetition of the word 'pOg' at sentence initial. Though 'pOg' literally means 'woman' it is apparently used here as a pun meaning 'mother', 'woman' and 'wife' as shown in the translation in 37B. A conspicuous feature in this text is the interjection 'woo' and 'yee' which have appeared in almost all the lines are interjections that express grief and since t h e y e xpress an "idea in sound" (Okpewho 1992, 92) they could be seen as i deophones. Their presence in this text does not only portray the gri ef of the dirgist but also establishes a rhyme scheme that enchances the text's musicality. 106 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In text 39A., the third and fourth lines which run thus: "Kyen gu DmEli kaa alo (lmEli kaa naa 10 yee ll are an example of a type of parallelism called chiasmus. This is a situation in which "the first half of one line corresponds to the second half of another and vice versa" (Schapera 1965, p.19). Such stylistic features are generally common to all types of praise songs or poems. However, personal praise poems tend to have what could be called a formal structure. A personal praise poem may open with a salutation to the audience which should normally include the object of praise. Then follows a declaration of intent; who does the poet want to praise and why the praise? The poem proceeds with self introduction of the poet. In introducing himself the poet may mention his name and fallon his clan appellations for credentials. The function of these credentials is to advise the audience on the pedigree of the poet. What comes next comprises the compliments he has to pay to the object of praise. This may be considered the body of the text. No matter what is said in this section of the poem, the conclusion may carry a message of caution against complacency or over zealousness, or an appeal for support of the praised and a plea for divine blessings on the patron . The structure outlined here is definitely not the format all the praise poets stick to. There are minor variations in the individual's approach to the performance which has to do with the individual's style and the euphoria of the moment. But the elements that constitute the framework of the poem however are 107 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh present though they may have been arranged in a different order during performance. The differences in approach rather than being a weakness in this art form, are its forte because they infuse variety, creativity and originality into praise poetry composition and performance. sticking to a specific format has the tendency of stifling initiative and imagination which are relevant qualities of an oral poet to say the least. Among the Dagara, an oral poet is almost necessarily a praise poet. As said elsewhere above, there is hardly any oral art form that is not permeated by the element of praise. with the exception of folk-tales, proverbs and riddles, the rest are I11l related to praise poems. In the next chapter, our discussion will I, j centre on the author and performer of the praise poetry among the I I i Dagara. Among other things that will be touched on will be the I i i role and relevance of the praise poet in the community. t i i \ ! I I.l i I. I I i I I 108 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FOUR 4.00 THE PRAISE POET The Dagara oral poet invariably is a praise poet as far as praise poetry, danU, runs through most of the oral genres such as dirges or songs of lament, grinding chants, xylophone texts and maiden songs he may perform. Such a person usually has as Okpewho says "a more than average sense of what is beautiful and exciting a high capacity for expressing oneself with effective idioms and images, and a deep interest in practising a particular type of art" (Okpewho 1992, p.20)i these set him apart from other members of the community. These sensibilities, I believe, are further sharpened by years of training even though some Dagara artists tend to think they just grew up knowing a particular art without years of apprenticeship. 4.01 TRAINING OF AN ORAL POET Though the Dagara often speak of an accomplished poet such as a xylophonist as being "born with" special knowledge of xylophone playing, one still believes that it is necessary for even such a gifted individual to undergo a period of apprenticeship to smoothen the rough edges so that he may be a refined poet of much accomplishment. A course of training for an oral poet, and for that matter a praise poet, is informal. That is to say he is not trained in any systematic and organised institution such as a school set up for that purpose. One is trained by observing, listening and practising what one has seen accomplished performers do in one's 109 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh cultural environment. As Okpewho puts it: "Informal training entails a kind of loose attachment whereby the fut,ure artist happens to live or move in an enV1ronment 1n which a particular kind of oral art is pratised and simply absorbs the skill in it as time goes on." (Okpewho, op. cit. p. 21). Various artists interviewed on their course of training have confessed to having gone through this system of training. None went through a systematic training programme laid down by any art specialist for the benefit of future oral poets. But one thing common to most of them was that they came from families with a tradition of one art form or the other. The late BErgylrE of Nandom Puffien, who was a renowned xylophonist and dirge cantor, was one example. He emerged from a family of xylophonists and dirge cantors to become the greatest of them all in the area. BErgylrE was not only a great poet but also an excellent xylophone maker and a diviner. But he was best known for his extraordinary skills in xylophone playing beautifully accompanied with songs. His performances were so spectacular that he was invited to funerals and feasts and even to private homes to perform. It is thus not surprising that vdrious versions of his xylophone texts and accompanying songs are available on aUdio-tapes. Another artist who is making a name as a composer and singer is Bede MaanlaSI& Bongne, a blind man of about forty years of age. Bede comes from Kukya, a village lying to the east of Ko near Nandom. He too belongs to a family of musicians and apart from composing, stirring church songs and playing the xylophone, Bede composes and sings praise songs and other related songs on various themes. Seeing how well his songs particularly of social 110 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh comments have gone down with his audiences, he has taken a bold step to have them recorded in a musical studio and sold out to the public. Yeldaa Vincent de Paul, better known as Charlie Guy is one other oral performer with a musical family background. He learnt to play the xylophone at an early age and before long was performing for moonlit night dances in the village square in Ko. He however soon discovered that praise singing was his real vocation and thus took to that. Charlie Guy is the itinerant type that would go in search of patrons rather than wait to be invited by them as Bede does. Among the popular female oral artists I contacted were Rose DOnIr and Virginia MaanIasIE: who compose and sing songs of various types. For instance, they both sing grinding songs, praise songs, dirges, and songs on current topical issues such as AIDS, teenage pregnancy and bush burning. Like their male ~ounterparts these ladies come from homes whose members are quite familiar with performing in public. Indeed Virginia had this to say in one of her grinding songs: lA. A baD fV Da I na wule I saayir a yi A baDfV Da I na wule I mayir a yi I saa mInE:, yee DaD danI nIbE: dUrnyE: pUO I mamInE: dannE: danbie durnyE: pUO Maa mI na yi yee 111 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh I danE ni a danbie d\)rny~'" pv"0 • lB. The talent I now display Is from my father's house This talent I now display Is from my mother's house My fathers yee Sang songs of praise at gatherings My mothers have sung songs of praise at gatherings I on my part I am singing songs of praise at gatherings. This obviously is an acknowledgement of the sources of the singer's poetic talents displayed during performances. Though one may have been born into a family of performers one may not necessarily become a performer without first being interested in the art. It is the interest that will dispose a person with the latent talents of the art practised around him to endeavour to develop it. A person wishing to develop his talents in a chosen art must use his eyes and ears in observing closely and retaining the relevant details of what he has absorbed in his memory. And as Nketia (1973, p.88) puts it he must acquire his own technique of learning. "Imagination to select relevant materials from the large amount available" as Okpewho says," will make a praise singer increase his store of knowledge" with time (Okpewho Op. 112 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh cit. p.22). The account of a Xhosa 'imbongi' on the subject of oral artist training in the Xhosa tradition as recorded by Scheub, is very relevant here, for it corresponds with the training of the Dandan& (praiser) in the Oagara tradition: "There's n~ pI~~e.to learn 'izibongo' except to hear someone saYlng lzlbongo', and then you learn one word there and then you hear somebody again at a certain place saying 'izibongo' and you [---) become an 'imbongi' because of your interest when hearing the people saying these th~ngs. And then you begin to wish to do as they do [---)~ (Scheub 1975, p.22). My investigation has shown that most people tend to take the period of training for granted simply because of the informal manner by which a poet goes through his preparation. There are some oral artists who would say they just began to sing dirges, praise songs or play the xylophone without prior preparation. In a question to Charlie Guy as to how he came to know the various clan appellations so well, he responded that they came to him naturally as he performed. He did not remember when he ever sat down trying to memorise any clan appellation. "God feeds me with the right words as I sing", he said. In a similar vein a cousin of late B£rgylr£ who grew up with him in response to a question as to how and for how long BErgylrE learnt to play the xylophone so well had this to say: "BErgylrE was born with the xylophone. He did not have to learn it. He only needed to be old enough to play at funerals. Even as a child he had begun making his own xylophone and would sit playing it for a long time. When he was old enough to make real xylophones, they were so good that everybody wanted to buy a 113 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xylophone from him." BErgylrE himself in an interview with one of his early patrons Rev. G. Sentu said this about his poetic vocation: "What God has given me is the xylophone. I don't do anything except play it. But when people who have other professions come into xylophone playing, I consider that it is my job they want to seize". Of course, for those who knew him, BErgylrE did not consider xylophone playing merely as a vocation but a profession and even though he practised farming and doubled as a diviner and a herbalist he tended to depend on the xylophone for his livelihood. Though he has not said anything about his training as an oral artist one can deduce from his cousin's words quoted above that he trained strenuously to become the most revered and sought after xylophonist among his people - the Dagara. Bede Bongne who went into singing when he lost his sight during his seventh year of schooling, also said like Charlie Guy that, singing came naturally to him through God's grace. Apparently, this phenomenon of so called divine inspiration claimed by these oral poets is not peculiar to them alone. Finnegan (1977 p. 170ff) reported of a similar claim by oral poets among the Fij ians, Eskimos and the Yugoslavs. Anyidoho (1983 p.179) too observed it among the Ewe practitioners of the art. However, Thomas Ba-Innimaaeh, who read Sociology at the University of Ghana, Legon and is now a District Administrator, 114 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh in an interview with me conceded that he had a long time informal preparation at home towards his vocation of singing. Thomas' older brother according to him, was a singer who entertained his community with scintillating songs accompanied by the 'Koni' - a locally made string musical instrument similar to the 'gogyi '. Thomas became fond of this i nstrument and would secretly practise p l aying and singing wi th i t i n the absence of h i s brother . The brother eventually found him out a n d fearing hat Thomas might spoil his 'Koni' scolded h im and forbade him using it aga in. But the eager novice fi nding himelf so much attached to the ' Koni' kept br ing i ng it out f rom its hidd en place to play until the owne r got f e d up and left Thomas a l one . Now that h e wa s free to us e t he instrument he s p e nt much o f his leisure time p ractising pla y i ng and singing. He e v e ntually became very g ood at s i nging with the 'Koni' and was often invite d by young men to accompany them on their communal f a rming trips to play for them a s they work. He also accompanied them when they went on courtship. Of course his role was to keep the group merry with good music. His brother got t o realise that Thomas sang and played the 'Koni' better than he, a nd thus often referred to him a s ' master' and allowed him to take his place in the Takpo village square to entertain the community. Though now an administrator, Thomas still finds time to entertain the public with his many compositions accompanied by the ' Koni'. Eve n t hough he has acquired modern musical gadgets any modern music-maker will be proud to own, he still plays the ' Koni' especially for the rural popUlation. 115 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh May be, Thomas' level of formal education made it possible for him to easily accept that before he graduated into giving public performances he had had to train adequately. But even though some of the Dagara oral artist believe their gift of song came directly from divine sources, the fact remains that there has been self training no matter how minimal, before they became masters of their art. As Saanchi said of the Dagaaba dirgist: "The ability to perform dirges may also be acquired through constant practice [---] though without some innate poetic endowment, one may never become a great dirger". (Saanchi 1992, p.35) Before a young xylophonist can make his debut at a funeral, he must have mastered the art of playing the xylophone. Not only that, but he must also be able to play the instrument in harmony with the dirge singers and the drummer. Discord on the part of any of the three parties will ruin the particular funeral session and it is incumbent upon the xylophonist to make the session a success as the leader of the three performers. I nability of a xylophonist to do this implies that he is half baked and is not recognised as a gUba, an expert. The Dagara funeral is complex and rich in rituals. As a rite of passage performed for the beloved depart ed , i t draws many people together and among them are usually the best oral artists such as the xylophone poets and the dirgists . As such the funeral ground offers the ideal place for these top oral artists to show their class by distinguishing themselves in their performances. And so it is also the most appropriate place for the apprentice xylophonist to graduate into a full fledged xylophone poet . He 116 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh may not be expected to mark his 'graduation' with his own compositon as the Sotho youth is enjoined to do at his initiation (Finnegan 1970, p.140), but he will be expected to greatly impress his audience - the mourners, to be worthy of the title 'gUba', expert or specialist. Dirge singers making their debut in funeral setting are usually surrounded by their relatives and friends to give him support to come out well in their performances. The response of the supporters gives a graduating dirgist more confidence and self-assurance in whatever he says. A poor response from the mourners easily erodes the confidence of the nervous novice and exposes him to ridicule from more accomplished dirgists who may emerge to humiliate him by pointing out his weaknesses. The impression a performer makes on his audience in his first public performance determines the category to which he may be classified. An excellent performance gives .one a place among the 'g~br', experts, while an uninspired performance consigns one to the class of mediocre poets that does not pull any crowd. 4.02 PATRONAGE Related to the training and preparation of the praise poet is the issue of patronge. Apparently the type of praise poet available in the community is suggestive of the kind of patronage he will have. For example, a woman that has specialised in grinding songs may have her household mainly as her patrons, while a dirge singer will have mourners as his patrons. Similarly the general practitioner of praise poetry will have the general 117 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh public as well as selected individuals to minister to. Some types of praise songs have a limited scope and a typical example is the grinding song as it is limited to domestic issues. A woman grinding grain may sing in praise of her husband and if he is satisfied with her performance may reward her with a guinea fowl struck against the mill-stone or present her some other kind of gift. A specialist in this art does not go from house to house grinding grain and showering praises on people for the sake of rewards. Grinding itself is a tedious task whenever there is a domestic or commercial need for flour. Therefore, to lighten the burden and even make it pleasureable, women who have the gift of song usually burst into a praise song in honour of their husbands and other respectable members of their households. Enoch Mvula writing on Tumbuka pounding songs observed that "[---] the song medium gives the women artistic license to freely express their attitudes and apprehensions [---J." (Mvula 1985,p.98) It is true of the Dagara women who perform the grinding songs, to pour their hearts out on domestic issues. The tendency however is to praise individuals who they feel deserve to be so honoured with the hope of earning a reward. Unfortunately, grinding songs in spite of their creativeness are not one art form that can bring much remuneration to their performers because of their basically domestic nature. Interestingly, in the wake of the proliferation of modern grinding mills which have threatened to kill this soul stirring 118 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh art form, traditional authorities have encouraged housewives with exceptional skills of the art, to mount makeshift grinding stones to perform in public, during the annual Nandom Kakube festival. In v iew of this art form becoming pUblic, its hitherto narrow thematic scope has tended to broaden in relation to its wider audience . Themes now extend from comments on domestic issues to embrace o t her social issues like chieftaincy. By widening its scope, t he patronage is also enlarged as the following extracts from Ma da m KUnwokole' s song show . I n her opening lines she addresses h e r self to the Nandom Naa t hus : 2A. I Naa nU zIna K' a f wa k' a wa bEl NyE A D~mE Puoure Naa ' to bUo l mE a ka bII? A k a kube t i g r i na Ka f wa ka f wa bEl nyE. 2B. It's my chief I've come today to s e e Was it not DOmE Pu oure Who sent for me? Is it not the Kakube f estival I've come to attend? By that opening address, Madam Konwokole has adopted Naa P uoure as h er p a tron bu t , she furt her stretches out for patronage from the entire BEkU~nE clan of whic h Naa Puoure is a member , by 119 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh praising the clan in these words : 3A. BayElu yir puo na Kia Da mr kpE dioD kyE kuli Zukpuole biiri gaD-a-naa-gaD yuorr lE I waa bile kyE I wOD l'a ba yuor yElE BayElE yir puo Bambaala kG dr tuo togtogi 3B. Itls in the BayElE's house The stranger finds solace The children of Zukpor are peerless royals of renown Even as a child I heard the greatness of their name In the house of BayElE The poor suffer not at all. In subsequent verses the poet solicits the patronage of the rest of the audience by commending them in advance for their generally generous nature. Of course , the audience responded appreciatively like the other before them by offering various sums of money to the performer. Apparently it is only in situation such as this that an artist of this speciality may make a little money from her creative performances. Patronage for poets that perform praise songs among the Dagara is public. strictly speaking, there are no privately owned 120 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh praise singers as may be said of the 'Kwadwumfo' of the Akan courts in Southern Ghana, the MarUka of Northern Nigeria who sing for the royal emir. There are no royal praise singers like i mbongi of the Xhosa and Zulu Courts of Southern Africa or the Umu s izi of Rwanda. The Kwadwumfo, like the imbongi performs on state occasions for the King who is the ultimate patron and provider of his economic needs . The case where Mandinka - speaking griots of the western Sudanese state such as Mali , Guinea , Senegal and Gambia who were t raditionally attached to royal families is well known. Probably the most celebrated of these gri ots h as been Balla Fasseka Kouyate , t he personal gr iot o f the Ma lia n Ki ng Sundiata (Niane 1965, p.1). Cour t p oet s o f his kind a re what Okpewho described as being "owned " by their mentors s i nc e they must say the 'right' thing to mainta i n both t hei r s oc i a l and polit i cal positions at c ourt. The Dagara praise poet cannot lay claims to be ing a private performer for a ny royalty. Chie ftainy is a relative ly new institution, crea ted in the wake of c o lonial rule in their p art of the world. The farthest one can g o is to claim " s emi - private patronage" (Okpewho 1992, p.27) when a praise poet i s specifically invited to grace particular occasions such as initiation rite s, and weddings. In such situation the poet ~howers praises on the hosts in a bid to claim much gifts from them. The privilege o f e njoying semi -private patronage of course, goes with noted impress ive performances . Thus the more accomplished 121 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh praise poets such as Bede Bongne, get such patronage. Bede has been invited to various festive occasions to do honour to the subjects of the feasts with song. He wins presents for his performances and though they may not be exactly princely they are usually much richer than what a lowly placed poet would get. So apart from the incident of semi-private patronage, it is public patronage that holds sway among the Dagara as mentioned already. That means the praise poets generally operate on free- lance basis. They are more active during festive occasions such as the Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter and also during other church festive occasions like priestly ordinations and jubilee celebrations. They also turn up at marriage feasts and bagr, an esoteric cult initiation ceremony. At such occasions the praise poets' ultimate hope would be to catch the eye of the hosts and/or the guests of honour to sing their praises. such personalities are expeqted to be more generous under circumstances like these . Other prominent members of the community at the feast are usually targets of adulation for the purpose of making money. Like the Hausa itinerant maroka, a free-lance praise singer would approach any group of revellers at the feast either on their invitat ion or of his own volition, to praise them for a fee. Where the members of the group are well known to him, he would proceed to sing their individual praises in turns, and they are expected to show their appreciation by dishing out money to the singer. On the other hand, if the purported audience are strangers, the poet might request that they identify themselves by name, village of origin and clan. These aspects of one's identity are enough for the virtuouso to 122 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh weave long and impressive praise songs for his subjects of praise. Market places and 'pito' drinking bars are also locations where wandering praise poets often visit for the purpose of performing for audiences, to be remunerated in either cash or kind. Generally, drinking groups are the major targets of such itinerant singers; they more than those making sales in the market, are better predisposed to listen to songs by bards. So it was that Charlie Guy wandered into a drinking house one afternoon and my younger brother who acted as my research assistant became his subject of praise. I reproduce a portion of the praise song Charlie sang in honour of him: .tA. NI bau maa bE bVnE I£r£ I MI kyEl£ f yelbie vVla f yelbie Naaum£n n'V kV m~ Maa wa ny~ f na tV~na yel PIE pvo-saab-umaa-zOr£-ma YelmIua E Lucio BOudaarma Lucio Kandem ma Lucio Nadoli Lucio Bibil-baala m£ p£rU wV~ a Bibi gbili m£ daa-yuor a aha! ZIn-ka-vI£lV-kv-s~br-bie GanI-ganv-wul nIb£ ganV FV saamInE bE z~rE d5 I YelmIu a nyuur tEgr'a kyE 123 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Maa wa nyE f na t00na ye I . 4B. You know I don't speak in vain Listen to my words well God gives me my words When I see it (the truth) I say it Mother of he who mourns over basket-saab meal Truly, Lucio Lucio, mother of the war-arrows Lucio, mother of Kandeme Lucio, Nadoli Slim like the sheep-skin bag Calm like a 'pot of Pito Son-of-the-handsome-one-whose-beauty-strikes the-witches-dead one-whose-graceful-steps-inspire-others- to-walk-with-dignity Your sires fear no foe Truly, it's only envy people harbour When I see it (the truth) I say it. The funeral ground is one other place where dirge singers - 1 a Dkonb&, who may be classified as praise poets have mourners and sympathizers as patrons. Elegiac poetry in Dagara is closely related to praise songs in content as we have already noted. The praises in laDne, dirges, are directed to the deceased, his ancestors and the bereaved as well. In DaayeIJ' s dirge to a Kusiele dead, he not only pays tribute to the deceased but also 124 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh expresses sympathy for the bereaved family and the clan. For satisfactory performance a dirge singer ought to have good knowledge of the family background of the deceased. The family background here is in its wider sense. It involves not only the immediate family but also the whole clan of the deceased. This enables him to sing of the greatness of the bereaved family and also to display pathos which is most critical at this stage, in his utterances. The laokone's, dirgists ability to do this effectively yields him monetary reward from the mourners and sympathisers through a leading bereaved member of the deceased family present at place of performance. The usual place of dirge singing is the front of the catafalque where the corpse is seated in state. Animated by two xylophonists and a drummer the dirge singers - who normally perform in pairs, stand in the front line of the circle formed round the instrumentalists and chant their elegies. It must however be said that money given this way is divided among the two eulogists, sometimes, among the group of mourners on whose behalf they performed. Indeed any male group of mourners that attends a funeral is supposed to chant elegies but since most people do not have that gift of poetry , the dirge singer performs on their behalf, hence the sharing of the proceeds of the performance. But in another vein when a bereaved is so much touched by the utterances of a singer he may offer the particular eulogist a sum of money. This money offered so pointedly belongs to that individual eulogist and he does not share it even with his co-eulogist. So depending on a dirgist's virtuousity, he stands a chance of making a handsome fortune at a funeral through 125 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the patronage of the bereaved family and the rest of the mourners and sympathizers. The class of dirge poets discussed so far is the male category who together with the xylophonists and drummers keep the funeral goi ng . They are paid as we have seen for their services. But the r e is also the female dirgist whose mournful chants invariably summon all the women on the funer a l ground to encircle the cata f a l que to mourn. This usually h appens when there i s an interlude marking the absence of new male arrivals at the funeral or when it i s apparent that all sympathizers around have had the usual three sess i o n s of mour ning . As the female chanter lea ds in h e r e l e gy in a soft and mournful voice the rest r epeat the t ear prov oking refra in. Take for example this i nvita tion t o mourn by Deni sia DaabE: SA. Saabiir i woo , nI lOb gOO yee Mabiiri woo, nI mIl gUO y e e Hii BUnU yelu mOO a yi tI zu yee A t aak ErE za a pOrE l or e ? Hii, hii. SB. Alas! my father's childre n form a circle Alas ! my mother's childre n form a thick circle Hi i What mi s fortune has befallen us, Tha t makes the raw shea fruits to fall? 126 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Hii hii. Though such chants often move most people to shed tears, the chanter is not offered anything for her poetic performance. In other words, she enjoys no patronage in terms of money and other material gifts. But if the female dirgists do not receive any recompense for their performances, their counterparts who perform at marriage feasts do. They accompany brides to their grooms' homes with , songs that are usually praises to the brides, but sometimes ! i condemnatory and critical of the grooms' clans. The following is • a song that is purported to warn the bride of the frustration and insecurity she would face in her new home: 6A. Wa a yir be ta sere E lane luge PI£pU~-saab-Dmaa-kone ma FU kyiir'i l£brU? Wa a yir b£ ta sere E lane luge I D~pure vaar-s£UI£lIma t ! ~ FU kyiir'i l£brU? 6B. You have hardly reached home Yet seeking comfort from roof props Oh mother of one who laments over basket-saab meal Why don't you go back? You have hardly reached home 127 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Yet seeking comfort from roof props Oh mother-of the-resplendent-in-dawa-dawa robes Why don't you go back? The groom's family is expected to patronise the lead singer and her team who may announce their arrival with this song: 7A. BEkuOnE biiri, tI wana TI wa na yee, tI wana VurbaalE biiri, tI wana TI wa na yee, tI wana BUrumaa biiri, ti wana TI wa na yee tI wana, yaa NYudEE kUOrbE kokolikoo TI wa na. 7B. Children of BEkuonE , we have come We have come, Yes we have come Children of Vurbaa, we have come We have come, Yes, we have come Children of the Crown-bird, we have come We have come, Yes, we have come Renowned farmers of the prize-yam We have come. By this appellation it is clear that the groom comes from the BEkUOnE clan and that the particular family is noted for cultivating prize-yams. In other words the family belongs to a 128 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh class of great farmers and a lot is expected from it on this great day that a bride is brought to it. However, when praises of this type fail to yield the desired results of gifts such as money, food and good drink, the singer often plunges into insults and criticism. (c.f. Finnegan 1977, p.191i Okpewho 1992, p.28ff). To prevent the singer from further exposing the weaknesses of the groom's family, money or some other gift is given out by the groom's family amidst ululations from the bridesmaids, ususally made up of paternal relatives and friends. As Furniss and Gunner have said of a similar situation among the Somali, "the payment is seen as being both reward and a means of silencing the performer" (Furniss and Gunner 1995, p.12). In conclusion, we may say that there is nothing like court patronage of praise poets among the Dagara ruling houses. There is however what Okpewho calls semi-private patronage of praise poets, but in the main, they generally perform publicly and any individual that is moved by their praises may show appreciation by offering cash or kind to them. 4.03 THE COMPOSITION AND PERFORMANCE OF PRAISE POEMS Composition in oral literature has generated a lot of interest among scholars ever since Milman Parry and Albert B. Lord's oral formulaic theory came to light. First introduced by Parry in his pioneering work in 1930 titled "The Studies in Epic Technique of Oral Verse Making. "I" ; Homer and Homeric Style", the theory sought to show that there are significant differences between an oral poet and a literary poet in their methods of composition. J29 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Where an oral poet composes a piece of some length there must be a way of fitting his words in a fixed pattern of his verse. This contrasts with a literary poet who sits down and takes time to write out his lines or dictates them. The oral poet, Parry points out "cannot think without hurry his next word, nor change when he has made, before going on to read over what he has just written" (Parry 1930, p.77). Thus, what enables the oral poet to keep performing without pausing to select appropriate words and phrases is the formula which Parry defines as "a group of words which is regularly employed under the same metric condition s to express a given essential idea" (Parry 1930, p.80). The groups of words are stock words, building blocks which may be repeated at appropriate intervals while considering the n ext words or ideas to express in continuous strain. These formu las to Lord, function to make oral composition easier during the rapid pace of performance. Lord's own investigation with the composition of oral singers in Yugoslavia confirmed Parry's theory of the formula and further brought to light the thematic inconsistencies that exist in the Homeric and the Yugoslavian epic poems. contrary to the view of other scholars in regard to these thematic variations, Lord held that they were the result of "the thematic and formulaic structure of the oral epic poetry" (Abdulkadir 1981, p.19) not an outcome of bringing together "shorter Lays". In his The Singer of Tales (1960) he further stressed the significance of themes "maintaining that they are as necessary as the formulas in building the structure and content of a song" (Ibid. p.20). Apart from analysing the themes , Lord considered the 130 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh "ornamentation" process employed by the poet to enlarge his piece by the addition of other elements like episodes, metaphors and epithets . But probably the most contentious point he made was that "an oral poem is not composed for but in performance". In other words, an oral poet composes his poems during the event of the performance. This view has been criticised by some scholars including Ruth Finnegan on the grounds of over generalisation. Finnegan argued that "much of the composition may well take place before the moment of performance (Finnegan 1974, p.27). In the case of Dagara oral poetry some of the theoretical concepts of Parry and Lord raised here are quite applicable. But it must be said that the notion of lineal progression according to metric pattern is not wholly true of most African oral poems and for that matter, Dagara oral poems. Really, one cannot talk of Dagara metre and what Gbadamos i and Beier said of Yoruba is also true of Dagara: "There is neither an important difference in length of vowels nor a marked difference between stressed and unstressed syllables on which metre could be based". (Gbadamosi and Beier 1958, p. 8). Though the praise poetry i s much more shorter than an epic the poet employs ornamentation, as well as the formula system to build it. In the praise songs of Charlie Guy, several stocks of formulas can be identified. These he uses as stalling devices to keep the performance going on while he considers what to say next. In a praise song to Lucio which runs into 182 lines for instance, Charlie repeated "Maa wa nyE f na tOona yell! - (I will say it as it is) eleven times and referred to the Bible four 131 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh times in these words: Baabvl IV IErE Its the Bible speaking Aza ben a BaabVI gamE pVO It is in the Bible. The singer also began fifteen lines with "YelmIIJa" - truly. In another praise song to Emeritus Archbishop P.P. Dery at my request the poet opened thirteen lines with YelmIIJa in the 133 lined song. He also made use of the rhetorical question: NI nyE V (a) na? Have y ou seen him (it)? seventeen times! Both songs were composed on the spur of the moment and considering the various themes he covered, he needed such building blocks to bridge the gap in between the themes. When a poet goes solo but with the accompaniment of a musical instrument, he may be at much leisure to pause and recall or select words and phrases to proceed with the performance. But for one such as Charlie Guy who sings with neither an instrument nor a helper, it can be quite a strain even if he has learned his piece by rote. It is thus necessary that he relies heavily on the tormula he has fashioned out himself to perform with credit. Bede Bongne in a twenty-five-versed praise song to Most Rev. G.E. Kpiebaya that runs into 113 lines, however appears to have used full verse as building blocks . The blind poet first repeated verse 15 as v erse 18 and then repeated the 21st and concluded with the seventh verse as the twenty-fifth. Much as they may be considered as stocks of formula, they can also be seen as placing emphasis on the major concerns of the poet. Indeed, he was at 132 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh tha t point of performance speaking for the entire congregation gathered at the Wa Catholic Cathedral to bid their out-going bishop good-bye to his new appointment at Tamale. The three repeated verses are as follows: SA. NaaDmln na ku fu nI graSlf: NaaDmln na ku fU no kanyiri A fu to tI ta a baarU A nyf: fU san-ya za A NaaDmln zie. TI mI kyaa na kYIH £ tI na nyf: nI bisob A DaDnf: na ton U VUUru SOD U sig wa kaa iru mI kU tr. Wa Daosi biir za kone na Bisob Kplf:baya iru laD Wa Daosi biir za kone na Bf: de nI a tI bIsob BEr Tamale. Verse: 15 and 18: SB. God will grant you grace God will grant you patience To labour to the end And receive your reward 133 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh From God. Verse: 21 and 22: We are still hopeful That we shall get our bishop The Lord will send His Holy Spirit To descend and appoint him for us. Verse: 7 and 25: The Diocese of Wa laments Over the departure of Bishop Kpiebaya The Diocese of Wa laments That our bishop has been sent to Tamale. This technique of Bongne demonstrates that the use of repetition in oral performance does not only provide a breathing space for the poet to recollect and select aspects of a text but to also stress important points he wishes to convey to the audience. This may not be seen in isolation but in relation to even the technique of Charlie Guy and most oral performers who use stocks of formulas. The r epetitions stress key points of interest. I have mentioned the contentious nature of Lord's classic statement that "an oral poem is not composed for but in performance". Much ink has been spilt on it. While some scholars such as Magoun, F.P. Jr., Arant and Larry D. Benson supported the theory (AbdulKadir 1981, p. 29), Finnegan (1977, p.73) AbdulKadir (1981 p. 22) and Okpewho (1992 p. 68) believe there is an element of over generalisation. As Okpewho pointed out "in the Udje 134 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh poetry of the Urhodo the orUrile (composer) and the Obuole (singer) are normally different people. And among the Somali oral poets would take care to point out that the poem they were about to recite was composed by someone else". (Okpewho Op. cit. 68). Also (Finnegan Op. cit.p. 74ff) Lord might have overstated his case for composition in performance by making what operates in the Homeric epics and the Yugoslavian epics universal law. But the possibility of composing an oral poem during performance cannot be dismissed outright even in African oral poetry as Finnegan has had to accept , when she said "much (though not necessarily all) of the composing may take place before the moment of performance" (Op. cit., p. 78). An experience I had with one of my informants may be relevant here, I bel ieve, in showing the great possibility of composition in performance. At my request, Madam Virginia MaanlasI~, a leader of a female singing group that had been invited to perform at a Kakube festival, agreed to sing for me a grinding song she was to sing to the general audience at the function . I recorded this private performance and later recorded the one she performed in public. When after the function I played back both recordings to her we both realised the two performances were markedly different in terms of organisation, themes, words, phrases and length. Asked why she did not repeat exactly what she had sung to me at first, she laughed and said she thought she had said all tha t was sung in the first song but quickly added that as she stood before the 135 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh chiefs and other dignitaries she felt there was the need to salute them and to praise the Nandom Naa. The extracts from the two texts show an example of the differences in them as far as the words and phrases as well as the general structure go: 9A. First Text: DOpure vaar s£IJI£lI K£ f rna yiri a be GGG Nadole yir plJO no IJ bOD daar K£ f rna y ir'u IJIJIJ IJIJIJ PIE plJO saab ir vlJ l a Dma a dOnE f rna yi r 'u GGG . 9B. The r esplende n t in d awa-dawa leaves That' s supposedly my mother's house Nadol e 's house of the war arrows That' s suppose dly my moth e r's house GGG GGG The cla n that must care fully remov e saab from the baske t to eat That' s my mother's house . lOA. Second Text: A bie Da na nI£ ar I£r£ A yi r buor dem arb£ n'lJ? 136 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 000 A Kusiele yir pu~ nI U Nadoli daar f ma yir'i a be yee ZaabElE yir pu~ nI U BEky~g f ma yir'r a be A pIE pu~ saab iru Dmaa bErU f ma yir'i a be 000 f ma yir'u 000 000 lOB. But this child that is talking Whose niece is she? 000 The Kusiele clan of the Nadoli-war-arrows That's my mother's house ZaabElE's house of BEky~g That's my mother's house The clan that-will-eat-no-saab from-a-basket That's my mother's house 000 That's my mother's house 000 000. While in the first text the singer appears to doubt what her mother's clan is, she is more confident of it in the second text and begins her self-identification with a question and proceeds to answer it. 137 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh As mentioned above Laoni of the Dagara is closely related to praise songs. In expressing sympathy to the bereaved praises are chanted for the dead as well as the ancestors of the deceased and the bereaved. It is one oral art form that may be said to be composed i n performance. Indeed, some details about the deceased - for example , his clan, family background and occupation need to be known by the dirge-cantor and he will on the spur o f the moment compose a dirge jointly with h is co-performer. Of c ou rse , not every verbal art c omposit i on is done that way. Charlie Guy composes pra i se songs at short notice , in fact in performance but others suc h as Be d e Bongne s pend time to compose and r e h ear se it with a chorus before the a c tua l performance. Bede in an interview with me s aid he usually t ook s ome time to compose s ongs o f various type s. When inspired t o d o s o, he might withdraw from members of his house-hold ·for long hours. In withdrawing h e would either confine himself in his bedroom or seek. seclusion under a distant shady tree. This was done to prevent disturbances from people. But any time he returned to his people from such cre ative reverie s, he always had a nice song to teach and rehears e with his "N8mhaa Choral Group" a small band of male and f e male singers, before the performance. Bede further claimed he composed some songs while he worked or rested. There have been times he had woken up from sleep with a new song to t e ach his little band. Bede believed that his compositions we re spiritually inspired. As a religiously-inclined individual, h e has praise songs for some religious dignitaries in his diocese . Some of these praise songs can be found in the 138 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh appendix. Most of the marriage songs sung in praise of the bride especially are usually composed and rehearsed before they are performed on the occasion of the marriage . Of course, some praise songs - both adulatory and derogatory can be composed during performance depending on the mood of the poet and the atmosphere in which she operates . 4.04 THE POSITION OF THE PRAISE POET I N HIS COMMUNITY Like t he literary poet and other poets of t he oral t r adition elsewhere, t he position o f t he Dagara pr a i se poet depends on the quality and volume o f h is output. Added to thes e are h i s pe r sonal charisma and econ omic s olve n cy. He should b e chari s matic i n t he way he says a nd does t h i ngs during performanc e. Hi s word s a nd gestures should be such t hat t hey c a rry the a udience along with him. The quality of the poet's work should reflect the cultural norms of his soc iet y and should put him in a position of one who gives hope and j oy in the midst of adversity and despair. He is thus seen as a seer, a chronicle r, an entertainer and a praiser. As a s eer, the poet pla y s a prophetic role in society by raising its members' hopes for the future through praise singing. Through this me dium he encourages the object of praise to strive harder to achie ve whatever nobl e goals he has set for himself. The praise p oet s u c c e eds as a seer if he is able to make his patrons see wi th h im a bright future . Aware of the expectation o f t h e patrons he encounters, the praise poet ma k es c opious refe r e nces to the success stories of 139 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh their heroic ancestors as proof of the inevitable success that must come the patrons' way if they would just strive a little harder. In the following lines for instance, Bede Bongne in his praise song to Rt. Rev. Bemile on the occasion of his episcopal ordination, encourages the bishop to take up the challenge of leadership fearlessly: llA. Faara Paul nI a tI bisob A NaaDmln wa kaa ir kVtI KpIElE-yir pv~ zimpir-y~r-waar A nlkpEEmV paa bE tab bI!. Sabir-been-lo-maal taa' tIErE BSII-kone-tI-mine-taten Gandaa-tanI-a-lEr-ka-kyEb Ta z~rE dEbiE togtog e Biyaga-guole taa' bVnE I Blnaaba-Sabie-warmE D~pure-vaar-sEvIElI, pIE-pv~-saab-Dmaa-gar DmIn na kVb nI a kanyir. llB. Father Paul is our bishop Whom God has chosen for us KpISIE'S child, the cumulus - of-sudden-rain Authority now rests with you. Transforming-rain-drop worry not 140 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh YOU-who-thunder-near-by, but rains-in- distant-lands The valiant-that strike s and render all axes redundant. Fear not. Succour-of numerous children, bear no doubt Countless-raindrops of Binaaba Resplendent-wearer-of dawa-dawa-robes, detester of saab-in-basket God will give you courage. The object of praise has powerful super-human mentors and is exhorted to look up to them for support. But apart from offering words of inspiration and encouragement the poet also warns against dangers ahead and attempts to suggest ways of avoiding or resolving them. In a praise song to Lucio, the praise poet Charlie Guy warned him against the flattery and lying tongues of his would-be enemies in these words: 12A. IErE Da nlsaal sEbla FU na nyE zukObr sEbla YelmIDa nyE a bE nEE a NyE bE nEE a YelmIDa mE sIEla pUO kG5 E kyE a pUO kpE lhere vUG A bE puur kp£ sEbl£ zuo 141 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh KyIr kylr mE pat oro kOo a FU baD, maa bE: bUnE: IE:rE: I MI kyE:lI f yelbie vUla i yelbie, NaaDmln ku mE: Maa wa nyE: f nat05na yel 12B. People of today People of today as you have seen Truly, mark their words Mark their words Truly, salty-sweet like clayey water But their insides are flaming fire Their bellies are very black But inflammable like petrol You know I don't speak in vain Listen to my words carefully My words come from God When I see it (the truth) I say it. In the last four lines Charlie Guy does not mince words in respect to the source of his knowledge. God is the source and He has commissioned Charlie to tell the truth a nd Lucio must have to take him seriously. The poet's role as a seer and an interpreter of the divine word is put in clear perspective in Charlie's claim. Another role of the praise poet in the view of the Dagara is that of a Chronicler. The praise poet with his more than ordinary gift of memory may be the custodian of the history of 142 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh h is society. This enables him to sing of heroic deeds of his patrons' ancestors as well as personal exploits of these patrons. His grasp of the biographies of the people around him are also important for impressive and effective performances. A poet's display o f indepth historical knowledge of a patron's ancestry in glowing language could win him a gene r ous present and a projection of his image as a poet . While he gives an impr essive h istor i c a l account in h is appellations , the poet is greet ed with rapturous acclamat i on s in the form of e a r-splitting u l ulations especia l ly f r om the f emale members of the audienc e. Such a resp onse u s ually r e a ssures the poet that he i s p laying his rol e creditably. Reasons for people's affection for glamorous clan or family appellations are not hard to find. Firstly, the Da g a ra are nostalgic about the so-cal l ed glories of the past. Faced with harsh economic and social realities of life ·which tend to blur their focus on a better future, an ornamented painting of the past evokes plea surable feelings for the past generations. A second and perhaps more important reason for the love of appellations is that they give one a sense of pride to know and have it known by others that one has noble roots of ancestry. Mindful of this fact praise singers exploit the situation and paint exaggerated portraits of the forbears of their patrons. The purpose obviously is to please the patrons and claim more generous gifts while they are bes i de themselves with joy. Ambrose DaayeD of Nandom, Goziir who a i s notable xylophonist and dirge singer told me how he was a proud winner of a goat prize staked at a funeral of a hunter. By giving a picturesque declamation of 143 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the ancestry of the deceased, DaayeD did not only win the prize but had various sums of money proffered him as he sang his dirge. So where a poet is able to meet this social and artistic demand of his community his image as a social commentator is enhanced and he is revered for his intellectual capacity to hold all that information in his mind and to bring it out at appropriate moments. As people of great humour the Dagara like a good entertainer. Among the various oral art practitioners, the praise poet deals more directly with the individual and more often than not says the things the one would like to hear. He e xploits the vanity of the individual to his own advantage by exaggerating the nobility or greatness of one. Though the object of praise usually knows that the poet has the tendency to exaggerate he is thrilled all the same by what he hears from the singer and may show his appreciation by offering the singer a gift. ' So apart from the fact that the public see him as a seer and a chronicler, they also hold the praise poet as a great entertainer who has the gift of colourful language, Indeed a praise singer should be able to use language very imaginatively and artistically. Imaginative and artistic use of language involves a heightened language amply emhanced by stylistic devices such as proverbs, metaphors, similies and imagery. structural repetitiveness in lines and refrains coupled with prosodic features like alliteration and parallelism combined with the other devices, set the poet I s language apart from everyday language and situate it in the realm of poetry. This poetic use of language appeals strongly to the aesthetic sentiments of the 144 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh hearers . Most praise chants tend to be in song ; because of that it is poss i ble to wrongly assume that the Dagara lov e fo r praise songs i s mainly hinged on its musicality. My investigation has shown that most people consider the music as being only a vehicle that trans ports the contents of the piece wov en i n an imaginative language. The more intricate the artistry t he s tronger t he a p peal of the song. As Bede Bongne s aid : 13A. "A bE: I mE nO:) yo n a U na nU mE: I, Ek yE a VIEl' a kE: a yele t Ibr E, a yelbie wob nyOg t aa IrE tI nO:) E KUrE tI tIEru". 13B. It should n o t merely b e melodious but it should be weighty in content The words interwoven such that they evoke pleasure and thought. Bede's statement epi.tomises the view of many Dagara in regard to the a e sthetic nature of a praise song . In the following praise verse he has given an example of a thought provoking praise song deeply grounded on proverbs: 14A. DE:rbaanEn kanyir sob mI Ob Ba D-aza -ku-baDgu-bie kpaa r mI mlf a fU dI bUnkaa 145 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh To-ta-be nI dI-ta-be yoo. 14B. It's the patient one who eats the rat (meat) Child of the-wise-one-to-whom-nothing-is-hidden To eat oily meal, the occiput must be sore Production level determines consumption rate. Apart from the second line which is a praise name created from the process of nominalisation, the rest of the lines are proverbs. While the first and third lines exhort the object of praise to espouse the virtues of patience and endurance the fourth line reminds him that one's ultimate achievement is dependent on one's determination to succeed . .. 1 So for the praise poet to satisfy the aesthetic appetite of I~ i his community he must have an ingenious mind to create scenes and events vividly with his gift of words for the people to 'see'. It is not enough for one to be recognised as a poet with one or two compositions. That would be considered a flash in a pan. The volume of oral compositions is a demonstration of a praise poet's devotion to his vocation. In spite of the foregoing, praise poets in the Dagara community enjoy no court or royal patronage nor do they depend on any individual's patronage for their livelihood. They are generally public performers but not professionals in the strict sense of the word. They "are professional artists only in the sense of the seriousness with which they devote themselves to their careers as artists. For their living, they each turn to any 146 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of the occupations open to members of their community-farming [ __ -]" (Anyidoho 1995; p. 249). They may frequently be celebrated and even envied for their gift of song (Anyidoho, op. cit. p. 248) but "in a society where leaders are men of measurable success" as Awoonor points out, "poet-cantors even though they may be respected are never among the aristocracy of leaders". (Awoonor 1974, p.19). In this respect, one could cite the late B£rgylr£ as a typical example. This man was respected for the ingenuity he exhibited in xylophone playing and xylophone making as well. He was invited to many homes to entertain hi s hosts with performances that drew large crowds. But his constant roving among villages and even across international borders of Ghana and Burkina Faso left him little chance to organise a decent family life. Though he was said to have had four women with whom he bore four children, by the time of his death in Burkina Faso in 1991 , they had all d eserted him to find more serious men to marry. BErgylrE, compared to most of oral poets in the area, was indeed more professional as he tended to depend on his art for his livelihood. But of course, it is unlikely that such a person could have been given a position of trust or leadership in his community. There are some poets who play leadership roles in their communities but not because they are artists. such people have attained an appreciable level of success in farming or some other field of endeavour. Ambrose DanyeD is one such person who is a village head-man. This therefore means that much as society appreciates the artistic role of the praise poet, his place in 147 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh t he community is rather ambivalent and it is left to him to conduct both his social and economic life in such a way that he is accorded a position of trust and greater reverence even when he is not performing his art. 148 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FIVE 5.00 FUNCTIONS AND RELEVANCE OF DAGARA PRAISE POEMS In discussing the role of the praise poet in the previous chapter, it was pointed out that his relevance in the Dagara community is premised on his ability to effectively serve their various needs through his art of danu performance. These needs are basically sociological, psychological and aesthetic. It is appropriate at this stage to examine the functions of danU that make them relevant in the life of the Dagara. 5.01 CELEBRATION OF PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS The desire to achieve a particular goal that is honourable and creditable in society, often is the driving force that propels individuals to undertake various tasks. The effort spent in achieving the objective may be such that it is not missed by the community, because of its magnitude or gracefulness and thus calls for public acclamation in the form of a praise song. One function of the dan U in this respect then is to acknowledge the effort and ultimate achievement of the hero, and to project him as an object of admiration worthy of emUlation. The Dagara believe that no notable achievement can be realised without dedication and hard work. Diligence is a virtue to them while sloth is scorned at and never rewarded. The negative attitude towards laziness encourages all to strive hard for themselves and for their community; for the community because they belong to a communalistic society and they all recognise that the actions of each of its members reflect on their entire 149 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh communi ty. If the action is commendable the whole community s tands commended but if on the other hand, the action is dis graceful, the community suffers the indictment too. The communal philosophy of the Dagara encourages danlJ performance for achievers. Bearing in mind that success is not won f or the benefit of the individual hero a l one but also for his people, danlJ to them is a celebration of a collective success of the whole group . This is manifested in the na t ure of the danlJ • While t he i ndividual achievements of t he immediate hero are lauded, t hose of past heroes of the community ar e also celebrated in the same praise s ong . Take for instance t h is piece by Charlie Guy in honour of Archbishop Dery: lA. YelmIIJa E: G:::>z am nU IErE GOzam na t aa wa s :::>glE I Umakurna a nU futuo na w6? BUg bagr wa faa nlbE POrlkuu, n1 nyoIJ na? Bisob DEr, Usaa yuor i IE POr ikuu taa wa s:::>glE: I UIE nI IJa bug bagE: sIrE N1 nyoIJ na? Bisob DEr U piil'a UIE: n1 IJa IJmarE a nUUr Z11 IaIJnE: a kp1mE: IaIJ· lB. Truly, that's G:::>z am spe aking GOzam don't shy away 150 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh It's Dmakurnaa , have you heard of him? He divined to save people porikuu, have you seen him? That's Bishop Dery's father's name porikuu, don't shy away He confounded people with his divination Have you seen him? He has begun Here he is pouring the sacrificial blood of hens For the ancestral spirits . In this text, the poet is informing his audience of his impression about Archbishop Dery. The Archbishop to him is an embodiment of the spirits of POrlkuu his father and Dmankurnaa his uncle, both of whom he served as an acolyte. The Archbishop had served his uncle as an assistant when he ministered to people as a diviner. He however forsook Dmakurnaa to follow his father, when POrrkuu was converted to Catholicism. Dery was to rise to become an archbishop well known in Ghana and abroad. It is in the light of this, that the poet sees him as a great priest performing ritual sacrifices (Masses) on behalf of his congregations. And while he praises Dery, he does not leave out those who first taught him about God to whom he is now a chief- priest. Similarly, in a praise song to another prelate, Rt. Rev. Bemile the poet virginia Maanlas I£ made references to both the hero's patril ineal clan's forbears and his matrilineal clan's heroes. 151 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2A. PIEpUO-saab-Qmaa-kone bie BEkUOnE nazag bie nu U sokyir paal'a nI nOmu AlE so NaaDmln kaa ir'u. 2B. Son of he-who laments-over-saab-in-basket Son of the B£kUOn£ kraal His heart is full of love That's why God chose him. "PIE-pUO-saab-Dmaa-kone" is a ' deverbati ve eulogue" (Kunene 1971, p. 13- ) of the bishop's clan - KpI£IE while B£kUOnE is his mother's clan. By saying he is a "son of the B£kUon£ kraal," the poet who is also of that clan implies that the bishop is a true member of the B£kuon£ clan. So from this danU all members of the two clans are expected to be proud that one of them has risen to the rank of a bishop. Another function of the danu is that it motivates people to distinguish themselves in heroic deeds that can bestow honour, fame and prosperity on them and the rest of the communi ty . Farmers, hunters, blacksmiths and other traditional professions have often found themselves stimulated by danU. Commendation or praise, no matter how mild, has the tendency to please even the most modest of people and make him eager to earn ~ l another through harder work. That precisely is the function of 1 danu. DanU touches on the vanity of man and makes him feel proud of himself. This pride in him further stimulates him to perform similar feats or more spectacular ones to remain in the lime 152 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh light. But as the individual is thus motivated to perform tasks that are of communal interest the community benefits from them too. Being such an exciting and pleasing performance, danU encourages slumbering members of the Dagara community to rouse themselves up to do things that not only bring them joy but also bring honour to their people. The greater the number of people roused into action, in this manner, the more the community stands to benefit from their achievements. Apparently, the real hero is the community that breeds and grooms those that bring honour to it. The danU themselves in this context may be likened to Olympic medals that are kept by their individual winners while the honour goes to the nation that groomed the winners. The Dagara realising the potency of danU in both individual and group development, never let an event worth celebrating in song, go by unnoticed. It is the responsibility of the praise poet, however, to perform the duty of praising on behalf of the larger society. It is thus in performance of such a duty that Rose DOnlr called on the Nandom Catholic community to celebrate Rt. Rev. Bemile's election as Bishop of Wa in these words: 3A. NandOmE LaDyirbiir NI DmE kuryii Ka laD \), laD kyrrE. 3B. Church of Nandom, Acclaim with ululations To stimulate him. 153 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh such an acclaim not only shows happ1'ness bu tal s o expresses the people's solidarity with the hero. 5.02 ENTERTAINMENT AND RELAXATION A praise poem may function as a medium of motivating people into profitable activities, but it also has a function of relaxing the mind and body through entertainment. As Okpewho has said, 1I0ne major usefulness of any form of literature is that it offers delight and so relieves us of various pressures and tensions both physically and mentally. II (Okpewho 1992, p.106). One way a danu relaxes the body and mind is through the melody of the music. Incidentally, all personal praise poems are sung rather than chanted as is the case is with clan appellations. It has been argued in the previous chapter that the Dagara affection for danU is not merely because of the music that tends to be an inherent component of it, but more importantly, because of the message that it conveys. While still holding on to that rgument, it may also be said that the power of music in danU has the effect of rousing soothing emotions that relieve tension in the mind, relax the body and IIcreate a cheerful and happy attitude II (Ludin 1967, p.291). The flowery language that is applied to the composition and performance of danU gives a lot of satisfaction to the audience. This colourful language of course involves a lot of exaggeration on the part of the poet. Various figures of expression and stylistic devices as seen earlier are combined in the compostion 154 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and performance of the danu. The effect l'S that a heightened language which has an aesthetic appeal to the people ' lS created. Such a language also normally projects the praised as a super human being as there is the tendency to ignore or conv e niently suppress his human weaknesses in the praise song. The very idea of being such a personage as the poet wants to impress upon him and the audience is generally pleasing to the object of praise particularly , and t h e members of his family or clan. This is so because of the general wi s h of people to be seen in good light. It is thus pleasurable and entertaining to be showered with accolades that proj ect one's image before the public. It is also entertaining on the part of the audience who may not believe some of the nice things and heroic deeds ascribed to the praised. They are entertained by the seeming gullibility of the praised who manifests his acceptance of the flattery through dancing to the danU or offering g ifts to the praiser. In a funeral situation howev er, mourners and sympathizers accept flattery to the bereaved and the deceased in good faith. This is so because , such colourful attributes in a dirge are intended to soothe the sorrow of the bereaved and also to mellow their melancholic temperament. The praise in this context has a "cathartic function [---] in relieving social tension or in alleviating overwhelming sorrow" (Finnegan 1992, p.129) during such traumatic periods of loss. The entertainment function of danU may be said to favour the community too. Entertainment creates hilarious moments for the people. There is happiness and harmony among them as against 155 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh animosity and strife. A happy . communlty has peace that fosters growth in various ways. The entertainment function of danU may thus be considered as a harmonious and stablising in the Dagara community. S.03 SELF-ASSERTION Praise poems also play an important role in enabling people to assert themselves. They further create opportunities for people of one clan to identify one another. When a person's danU is performed, it is not only his achievements alone that are recounted but also those of his heroic ancestors as has been observed already. In this wise, he is identified with great men of the past and allows him room to assert himself as a distinguished personage of a noble family or clan. This is particularly important for chiefs who are usually eager to prove their royal parentage in the face of succession rivalry. In such a situation, the following lines by Virginia MaanIasIE constitute a typical example of a danU that can assist one to assert himself: 4a. Aa mIn8 n£b£ dalJ dI a naalU Kaa anlb8 zie? B£kU~n£ dalJ dI a naalU Kaa a nlb8 z ie Dany8 nI alJa, dal] dI a naalU Kaa a nlb8 zie Kyiir'U dal] dI a naalU Kaa a nlb£ zie 156 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh BOrO yi Woo, dI a naalu Kaa a nlbE zie VurbaalE Moro nu dI a naalu Kaa a nlbE zie VurbaalE KonkQQ woo , dI a naalu Kaa a nlbE zie Puoure woo, dI a naalu Kaa a nlbE z i e 4B. Who in their royal reign have Cared for the peop l e ? The BEkuOnE in the ir r e ign Have cared f or the people It was DanyE who fir s t reigned And cared f or the people Kyiir had r e igned And had c ared for the people BOrO's turn came, woo to reign And h e cared for the people Moro t he VurbaalE, woo reigned And cared for the peop le Konkuu t he VurbaalE, woo reigned And cared for the people Puoure woo, reign And car e for the people. The verse has traced the royal ancestry of Naa Puoure back to many generations and acknowledges him as the rightful tradit ional 157 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ruler of Nandom though there is a slight error in the order of succession. Traditionally, Kyiir was the first defacto ruler of Nandom and was succeeded by DanyE on his demise. Through the praise songs, members of the various clans are able to recognise and identify with one another as belongi ng to their respective agnactic groups. Th e s h ared ancestral h istory and totems mentioned in the danu o f a hero , pr ov ide c l ues for people to identify their hitherto unknown 'brothers I of the t ertiary level as discussed i n Chapter Two . I t does not only give pleasure to know that one shares origin wi t h many ot her notables as the case may be, but it also makes one fe e l s afe and s ecure to know there are dependable relatives around in case of adversity. 5. 04 RECORDING HISTORY I~ Events of the past have us ually come to later generations in pre-literate soceities mos tly through oral tradition (c.f. Vansina 1985, p.27ff) which comprises legends, myths, epic and of course, praise s ongs. The role classical epics like Homer's Iliad and Odyssey played in r ecording part of Greek history - the Trojan War, is quite phenomenal. Similarly, the Sundiata epic has t old the story of the rise of the Mali empire in the Western Sudan. In regard t o the Dagara, the bagr myth (c.f. Goody 1972, Tbe Myth of the Bagr e ) has told the story of man's creation and his relation with God in the search for peace. DanUon their part have recounted the exploits of people of various cultures . Among the Dagara, danU have celebrated notable events of the dist ant past and contemporary times. The notable 158 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh events that past clan patriarchs and their successors caused to happen, serve as history to the people of thl'S generation who now hear it from the accounts of the praise poets. The ~great' deeds recounted evoke the feeling of pride among members of the clan. They are proud to have had such great men as ancestors who performed such feats. Knowledge of the ~glorious' past inspires the present generation to either strive to surpass the achievements of the past heroes or to at least equal them. Heroic acts of contemporary men are also celebrated in songs and hence, recorded for the education and inspiration of future generations . For instance the various praise songs of the three bishops and the Nandom Naa seen earlier , will pass not only as pralse songs but also as historical accounts of these personages. In the light of this the functional relevance of danu as a recording of history cannot be over-emphasized. It has often been said that it is necessary for a people to know their past in order to know who they are. DanU offer the Dagara an opportunity to know who they are and what they can do. 5.05 ARTISTIC EXPRESSION Praise poetry is one outlet of artistic expression for one gifted with the talent of composing and performing. It offers the poet a stage to express himself artistically, using words and music such that his audience is both entertained and stimulated into action. A praise poet is a "master of the art of speech" and "the art of speech bas no secret for" him, to use Djeli Mamadou Kouyate's words (c.f. Niane 1960, p.9), One with such mastery of words would be inclined to exhibit 159 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh it for several reasons. Firstly he would like to display this rich gift of communication for his own aesthetic satisfaction; art for art sake. The pleasure he derives from this practice may urge him on to indulge in it as often as possible and this could eventually bring him into public recognition as one who has the gif t of song. Secondly, corollary to the public recogn ition of h is special talent of praise singing, he would be encouraged by t h e m to perform for their delight. As Charlie Guy s aid i n an interview: SA. A f danU yielu IaD, maa wa kyere nIb£ mI bU:)lf: mf: n a k f: f wa danI wu l bf: s aakumu i f: bf:lf: wa WQ a f yielu a , f: bf: Ian mI mhaa na. SB. Because of my prai s e songs, people invite me as I go by, a nd urge me to sing praise and tea ch them tradition. The y c l a im my songs delight them. 2/6/95 At Nandom, Ko. As the poet l,m presses hl' S audience with his performances they show their appreciation by offering hl,m gl' fts 0 f all sorts. Such a concrete d e monstration of appreciatl,o n, W'l th tlme becomes the third reason for performing danU for people, While he would be enjoying himsel f displaying his poetic skills and entertaining people, he would be alert and eager to receive gifts from them. 160 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh For the various functional values that praise poems have for the Dagara then, it is apparent that praise poetry will continue to thrive indefinitely especially as the youth, from Charlie Guy's account, are greatly interested in it. DanU will continue to be performed in honour of members of the community who have distinguished themselves in various fields of endeavour. It certainly is a vibrant oral art among the Dagara that engages the attention of not just the individual praised, but all those present at its performance. 161 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSION In this thesis I have sought to study the praise chants and songs of the Dagara called danu. Danu , the study has rev ealed, is a popular and vibrant art form which may be composed at an earlier time before performance or contemporaneously done. Whichever way it is done, t he purpose is usually to praise some one for either his personal achievement or a contribution he has made to society. The study has also shown that danU may not be who l l y praise but could be laced with subtle critici s ms most covertly. A criticism may be made by convenient ly keeping quiet about well known weaknesses o f t he hero. I t may also be done by c autioning him on certain attitudes or tendencies which the poet as spokesman for the publ ic, considers negative to bot h t he praised I I and society as a whole. Such a caution may be given humorously I I but in spite of that, it is not expected to be lost on the I praised. 1 It is also observed that t hough danU can be performed by t most individuals , there are specialists in the art who are quite distinguished a nd are in a class of their own. They are the people sought a fter to perform at public places and even at private homes . They are the poets with abundant gifts of words that are engaged for their qualitative richness. Among this group of people may be found both sexes. Praise performance is open to both sexes. It is the setting that may 162 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh impose a limitation to one gender or the other. For instance, in the performance of bridal or grinding songs, female oral poets hold sway there, even though male singers may also avail themselves at weddings to sing praises of various personalities present. In a funeral situation where dirges, so closely related to praise chants are performed, it is mainly the male poets - laokonbe, who perform. Occasionally, female dirgists may perform when the male ones are in recess . I Ii Training of these oral poets is informal. The individual i I; I strives to distinguish himself as a respectable artist through i i- his interest in the art and the desire to develop his latent I poetic talents as much as possible. Taking advantage of whatever I ~ i material is useful in that direction in hi s locality, the II individual addresses himself to the task of self-training ,\ assidiously to achieve his dream. Praise poets among the Dagara have the general public as potential patrons. They do not have private patrons to minister to as their counterparts in aristocratic societies like the Akan, Dagomba, Yoruba a nd Zulu have. Their popularity however, hinges on their performances and how they conduct themselves in both private and public live s. In examining the Dagara danU, what Finnegan said in regard to elements that could help determine a poem was found very useful. She had said that: "What we must look for is not one absolute criterion but a range of stylistic and formal attributes - features like heightened l anguage and metaphorical expressions , musical form or accompaniment, struct~ral repetitiveness (like the ,recurrence of st~nzas, llnes and refrains) prosodlc features llke metre, alliteration even perhaps parallelism." (Finnegan 163 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1970, p.25). It has been found that the c h aracter1" st1cs of the danU show evidnece of the stylistic features Finnegan has listed. A feature, such as heightened language through the employment of metaphors, hyperboles and other figures of speech, runs through the various praise songs encountered. Incidently, praises are either sung or chanted, and this makes them musical. For rhythm, the song or chant may be accompanied by hand clapping or raft zither, and in the case of a dirge xylophone and drum give the most appropriate musical accompaniments. structural repetitiveness, such as the recurrence of stanzas, lines and refrains also feature prominently in the body of the various praise songs. Lines and stanzas of oral performance have often posed a problem in terms of discernment. In resolving the problem of , I,' I l determining a poetic line scholars have found the 'pause' in 1'\ ; utterance very relevant. For instance , a stretch of utterance in 1 between pauses may constitute a line (c.f. Anyidoho 1977, p.21). This stretch of utterance is also referred to as a "breath group" (Ibid. p.21) implying that all that is said in linear order in between pauses is uttered under one breath. In determining the line in the Dagaaba dirge Saanchi observed that: "Any line demarcation WOUld, have to take in~o consideration the pauses the d1rger observes, for 1t is precisely at these pauses that his compa~io~ or the chorus may come in. In th~t se~se, the llne ~ay be said to have a 'pausal' 1dent1ty and may cons 1St of only one word or a whole sentence (Saanchi 1992, p. 164 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 78) • The line in Dagara praise song corresponds with that of the dirge as Saanchi has rightly demonstrated it . The line is bounded on both ends by pauses, and could be a full sentence or just a phrase. The stanza on the other hand is rela tively easier to determine especially in songs that are a c companied by choruses or . refrains. The chorus mark s the end o f a stan za which incidently, usually carries a separate theme from the ot her s . The end of the chorus or refrain may initia te another stanza i n the sequence. Where there is no chorus , the main ideas or t h emes dealt with tend to d etermine t he v e rses . with regard to the foregoing features of the danU, it can be determined t hat t he danU is structure d wi t h those characteristics that avai l able literature on oral poet ry vi e w a s necessary features of t h e genre. As an art form, danU h a s c ome a long way and its s ur vival in ge ne rations yet to come is n o t i n doubt. This is so because of i ts functional relevance to the Dagara community. It does not only satisfy the aesthetic needs of the people but i t also serves as a source of entertainment and inspiration to r i se above one's difficulties in life. As an oral historical 'docume ntary' it is didactic particularly to the youth. 165 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDIX A. CLAN APPELLATIONS I KUSIELE DAN\) Kusiele gbe!]daa Nadole nI bE bO!]daar Dakyin-migr ganE KG 10 sole, DOpure-vaar sEVIEII Masuur-zIE na sa!] pOg-bE Dibaall diyf £ kpIErbE KpE dio!] lEb yi tul BEnyE kyOgr E na kyogrI kuu DIlampvo kG uu dOmE KyE tIE a H r ka ky£b Sabir been 10 maalI z ie Bilsaa nI V d£bzI£ DEbzIE kG maa 1I bUO PIE pVO saab !]maa kone Taakp££ l arwI£ Piideme nlbE Dog-mG5 NaI!]mInE nI b£ KatUr zIE Kokoguule nI b£ Kandeme BaH!] be en la!] dlrb£ DogVIElI !]m£lI kul taa. TRANSLATION 166 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Kusiele the lion Nadole of the war arrows He who strides majestically on walls in contempt of beaten paths He who is resplendently dressed in dawa-dawa robes The red fungus, the scare of women Hero of the narrow ante-room He who makes an e xit, walking backwards He whom men imitate At their own peril The plain that offers the foe no cover He who strikes a tree and No axe dare strike again One rain drop that transforms the land Bilsaa , heroic custodian of D£bzI£-the valiant, The valiant who is not pacified with a goat He who eats Saab from a basket to his regret The great shea-tree that overshadows the farm DOgmuO , great-sire of the Piiri settlers KatUr ZI£, great-sire of NaIDmIn£ Kandeme, great-sire of the Kokoguule Partakers of a common meal Comely endogamous progeny. 167 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh II BeKUONe DAN\) Vurbaa 10 laar TOm Vurbaa bay£lU TIntIna nye paal baa TIntIra baa nye kG gbaal KyakyapUla nyE paal baa KyakyapUla nyE sau baa Zag-yelu nyomE:E: Bayelu mE:mE:E: Zakorikori za umErlaar BayEIU bule zUm kG Ob BulbIE ZUm kG Ob BayElu bule zUmbOl kG tEr kObr Tambog tuo gau kane BayElu baa kG umaa SOg BUrumaa baa ku umaa sOg BUrumaa kOkOr ku Oau bau BUrumaa KO sau zie. TRANSLATION Vurbaa, the rolling river that over r an TOm Vurbaa, the wide river A river over flowing with the tIntIra fish A river of tmtIra fish that defies poaching A river over flowing with egret droppings A river defiled by egret droppings A large court of wet-noses 168 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh BayE1U, the wide river of numerous children The snatching crowd that shatters the food bowls The wide river whose well fish will not be eaten The wide river, well of fat, boneless fish The perilous pond one crosses with dire consequences The wide river that defies bridging The river of the crown-bird that defies bridging The beautiful neck of the crown-bird that will wear no chain The crown-bird whose cry evokes fear. III KPI£LE DANU YOrwaar, na kyog laar Sabirbeen 10maalI zie NabUO ulu 10 gaD saa zilige saa kyOg danI Ky£ tn; a l£r ka ky£b; TanI a san b£ sogre i; DiD diD diD tI mine tateD; B£l! k one tI mine tateD; Kyug pUla na maalI zie; Salom pUla kyIkyIn gaDsI£r£; W£gya pu la w£gya kyuorE sI£r£ ; Yipaal kpI£rb£ kG kp£ dabuo; PIE puo saab Dmaa k one. 169 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TRANSLATION The sudden rain that is collected in bowls; One rain drop that transforms the land; Nabua dew that surpasses rainfall; The dawn rain whose collection evokes praise; He who strikes a tree and renders, the axe redundant; He whose thunder defies any query; DiD diD diD while raining elsewhere; Deceptively rumbling while raining elsewhere Bright moon that transforms the night; The Ky.&y.rn - cloth-wearing white sky; You dress in white and striped cloth; You whose dwelling is eternally new; He who eats saab from a basket to his regret. IV GBAANE DAN\) Walpiel nyotU:m, Zagrl yir kpE mu5 Walpiel lIE gagaa, Walpiel lIE gUO daar, Zagrl lIE tuo daar; WEpUla baD gaanU; WEsOg nadEr kU dO pog; 170 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Tug bErE kpIErbE; Gbagbala DmIErbE; Zanzul kOblU, no bEr YOD. TRANSLATION stripe-nosed Antelope, One who abandons home to live in the bush; Antelope with the protruding horns; Antelope whose horn bends, branches low; One who would rather bear wood than horns; The grey bush that glides with majesty; Bull of the deep wild that would not be bartered for a wife; One who resides in great thickets; Antelope family, whose number makes a clearing in the bush. One who caterpillar-like Sloughs off his skin. v BERWUOLE DANU BErwO nOD zEbr kG bO yele SansaalU salE kG lOb baa BEra dIrE kG Dmaa kur BEDdaa sObIgr kG sE Dman TaayaalE kaa zEE 171 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DmaamE nazugbulu KamasEI dagol, kyE kG pEgl! BErwO baa kUm TRANSLATION Peaceful but battle-loving BErw5; The steady dog that defies slippery grounds; The metal on which the sharp-edged razor has no effect; The calabash that would not be mended with bast fibre; Peaceful residents of the shea bush; The non-aggressive hornless bull, that resides in peaceful locations; The thorny KamasEl cudgel , burdensome to handle; BErwO who once provoked would fight to death. VI MET\)~LE DANU ME t::> mani Mangar kai IbzUumaa mU::> valli Tauzu gbelizIIri M::>baa gyimur. Dul dul dugre baa kU ny::>g, 172 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TRANSLATION He whose house extends to the great river (the Black Volta); He whose length spans the Black Volta; The tail-less crocodile that fetches fire; The redbells of the hill; The dragonfly of the river bank; Confident swimmer, fearless of marine dangers. VII DIKPIELE DANU B8sobon-E dI gaD a sob; Nyanyubaalu-sa-p8DfU; SogzIE wa WI8; Do tIE lEb sig tul; DODmInE B8gyln8; ZEnu~, baUI-m8teD; GaamU~ nI U Dmlnpu~; NaagyIE nI U kabir; D8bozIE nI U TaaH.: . TRANSLATION One who takes more than the owner; One who prefers to usurp than to borrow; 173 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Red-locust that invade the farm; The climber who descends face down; Great BEgYlm: of DOl]mln ZEnuo, hunter-founder of a town (Nandom) GaamUO and his illustrous DmlnpuO Naagym and his Tel]gan DEboZIE and his son TaalE. VIII NABEGLE DAN\) ZEndaa lale VIEl kO bal] mIErE Bayol] nI U wurpUla WurpUla kO Ial] bal] Saal sOrU l]ma zuru £wEr pUO ir bie Kyug pU la tam tIErE TIE puorI Hb tul Kpel]kpere l]maa yuor Zu maar l]maa to daa £ kO bE nInE Ial] s idun DOl]mln nI U BEgylnE Tel]kp~~ teDyElU. TRANSLATION ZEnda a owner of the attractive bowl by a mysterious maker; BayoD with his white horse 174 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The white horse that wears no collar He who sharpened matchets to behead foes And cut open a belly to remove a child; Ace archer of the moon-lit night; One who transforms himself Behind a tree He who slashed off a foe's penis He who planted severed heads on sticks While killing people to feed the vultures Great BEgylnE of DOD mIn A big, large settlement. 175 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh B. PERSONAL PRAISE SONGS I Praise song in honour of Rt. Rev. Paul Bemile. First sung on the Bishop's visit to Ko Parish and performed again on 2/6/95 at my request at the poet's home in Kukya. Poet: Bede Bongne Refrain: ZIna bibir Ko paalU ka PUpIElU nI nu::> tEgr' U TI daar tI kone nI tI bisob IaIJ PampanaIJa tI nuu kpE na. Bisobmine, faara mInE ee BUradarI sIstamlnE NI a saamE za nI a teIJdeme PUpIE:lU yelkp££ IaIJ na tI wa. IaIJ tI yU::>r' I a faaramlnE TI na bE tEr a bisob 'a A Wa DaaEsi Kiristabiiri Yaga lEbr nUUrE a puoru IaIJ . Ka tI puore zEIE NaaIJmln ~ NaaIJmln sOIJ tI nyE bisob NaaIJmln maalI a tI tIErU kU tI NI v£ k'a ti puoru barka. 176 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh NaaDmln tome yels~gla nU wE TeDzu tl nlsaalbE zie Tl tr tagrl taa a tl bisob laD MaaDmln yo baD U nlr ira N~mhaa yelbaDguura nU wE A VUUru sOD to ku tl Saazu pii nl a NaaDmln tonkpEI] Tl nlsaa lbE ku tvo baI] E wE. Faara Paul nl a tl bisob a NaaDmln wa kaa ir ku tI KpIElE-yir-bie-Zimpir-y~rwaarI A nlkpEEnU paa bE tab bn. Sabirbeen-lo-maal taa' tlErE BEII-kone-tI-mine-taten Gandaa-tanI-k ' a-lEr-ka-kyIEbU Ta z~rE dabIE togtog. BayElu mamlnE nI kyaarE Korikori Za-I]mEr-laar-mlnE Zukpor mamlnE za nI puore KUrE a bie U nyE aruzie. Biyaga-guole taa'bUnE I Blnaaba-sabie-warmE D~purewaar-sEVIEl-pIE-puo-saab-Dmaa-gar 177 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DmIn na kUb nI a kanyiri. FU mamlnE za pap arIa kUb BEkUOnE VurbaalE-kpE-laar-Tom KyakyapUla-nyE-saD-kUO nyIEna woo-e Bon za bE pigr tu sOrE. DErbaa nEn kanyir sob mI Ob BaD-a-za-kO baDgu bie Kpaar mI mii na a tu dI bunkaa Totabe nI dltabe yoo. NakpaanE bie bE zOrE WEdUD za E FU saa nyog nI wEdUn gaarI laD Dmln sOr pUO, bE za puore Bisob B£mIIE woo, tu nyognI gbeg gbEr. Ansolomin nyovur tori na V karakyisi tome za pUo V dog tu nI a bidaD, a de ku Dmln Katerina bE dIEnI puoru e. Tone 1£ a LaDnI sOD na wul a Yezu kpin yelmIDa kuu Sulu puo nUO nI a teDzu nOrU Dapar bome na vI£1 sEg nI bob 178 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Bisob OEr ton NaaDmln tome tI bal VIE nu zo kYEn baDmE puo Tuura U gbEE kyOgrE a U Ib FU san-ya ben daparI pUO. NaaDmln na faa nu kaa ir fU a A VUUru SOD na tIE fU V na kUb'I kanyir gIrasIE A Kirista dagara tuofU laD. TI mI de fU na nI tI pUO za TI saa Bisob Paul woo TI na tIE fu na a tome Da pUO Wa OaaEsI za maalU laD . NI v£ tI mI I klrIsta bimInI SIrI zagra sitaana bEl8 Bag-bUgr8 yir pUO na puoru wa ga? KU-kyen-be b8 gaD be NaaDmln tEr' I amIsI8r8 NI DmE ky81 danI NaaDmln KplEH yirbie Bisob Paul laD na Tl wa laDtaa NaaDmln danU laD. TRANSLATION Refrain: For us today in KO f 179 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh It is only joy and happiness, For we were yearning for our bishop, Now is our desire fulfilled. Bishops, (Rev.) Fathers ee , (Rev.) Brothers (Rev.) Sisters , Our guests and fellow citizens, We have gathered here to celebrate this great joy. Morale had fallen among the priests, And backsliding had set in, Among the Wa Diocesan faithful There being no bishop. We prayed, pleading with God. That we be given a bishop . God has fulfilled our desire, Let's give Him thanks. God's ways are mysterious In the eyes of men While we disputed over personalities, God knew his anointed one. What an amazingly wonderful thing The Holy Spirit has done! God's wonders come like a descending arrow 180 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh We humans cannot comprehend them. Father Paul is our bishop God has chosen him for us KpI€l€'s child, the-cumulus-of-sudden rain, Authority now rests with you. Transforming-rain-drops, worry not Cunning thunder that rains in distant lands The valiant whose command renders all axes redundant Fear not. Shout for joy, children of Bay€lV All you-that-shatter-the-food bowl-in-a-rush, All you children of Zukpor, pray For the greatness of this off-spring. Succour-of-numerous-children Countless-rain-drops-of ZInaabV Resplendent-wearer-of-dawa-dawa robes, Detester-of--saab'-in-basket God will grant you courage . You enjoy the support of all your mothers B€kV8n€, Vurbaa that has occup ied T8m Blood-of-the-egret- that-defiles-the-river- with-its-droppings 181 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh God has chosen you so, The Holy Spirit will be your support He will endow you with the gift of courage To bear the cross of Christ. We accept you with our whole heart Oh! Our father, Bishop Bemile We shall support you in this task of yours For the development of Wa Diocese May we all be good Christians By truly denouncing satan's evil The sooth-sayer's home has become the house of prayer The reluctant one has performed beyond expectation. All glory be to God Shout in praise of His name For the sake of KpIEIE'S son, Bishop Paul We have gathered to praise God. 183 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh No obstacle lies in your way. It is the patient one that eats the rat Child of the-wise- one-to-whom-nothing- is-hidden To eat oily meal , the nape must be sore Production level determines con s umption rate . The hunter ' s child fears n o beast Your father tamed many wild bea sts To worship God Bishop Bemi le , y ou h ave c a ught a lion by t he leg . Anselmn has live d virtuously All his li fe as a catechist And offered you the fir s t b orn child to God Cather i na is a devout worshipper. Go according to the church's teachings Jesus died for the t r u t h, The pleas ures o f t hi s world are only a drop in a ladle It ' s only the heavenly treasure that is d esirable. Bi s hop Dery worked tirelessly for God And is n ow rated among the greats Follow his footsteps, emulate him Your reward is in heaven. 182 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh God has chosen you so, The Holy Spirit will be your support He will endow you with the gift of courage To bear the cross of Christ. We accept you with our whole heart Oh! Our father, Bishop Bemile We shall support you in this task of yours For the development of Wa Diocese May we all be good Christians By truly denouncing satan's evil The sooth-sayer 's home has become the house of prayer The reluctant one has performed beyond e xpectation . All glory be to God Shout in praise of His name For the sake of KpIEIE's son, Bishop Paul We have gathered to praise God. 183 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh II A Praise Song in honour of Archbishop (Emeritus) of Tamale, Archbishop Peter P. Dery, composed and performed by Charlie Guy at the request of the present writer on 2 June, 1995 at Ko. Lal] zImE I na mana yoo Bisob mIl] a , a DEr'U waar f na daI] na puori Bisob DEr , E fOO nu dE tarE FU de fU tome ZEg nI Tome lige mE saa mI a Bisob DEr, NaaI]mln nU I£rE A DEr IU ZI NyE, a DEr I U ZI NyI bu~lE k£ aak-bisob ~rE l]a, a fu yuor la NyE a fu yuor'a NI bal] na kE NaaI]mln nu ku u? Naal]mln nu kU U Nasanaa baI]nI U na Ut~rza TeI]gan bie a YlmII]a, £ w£b£r£ bie nU KE 1£ I a nazagr bie a YelmIl]a, a D£r I U zI. 184 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Aak-bisob, a DmIn nU mag A gOsUpUl'u yel YelmlDa, E NaaDmln nu ku fU YelmIDa, de a yuor ku fu De a yuor kUb ~de a faD ku fU YelmlDa, DEr, taa wa sOglE I Taa wa sOglE I MOsInyaa, a DmIn nU IErE YelmIDa nyE Aak-bisob FU wone nI a yelbie a FU na ZI a teDkp8£ pUO a FU tob na sIrE na. Dmakurnaa, bE bE bUOH I? FOO nI DanI bUg bagE sIrE A na I a NaaDmIn tome a FU na In DmIn bEr!? Bisob DEr, NaaDmIn nU kU U U mIDa nyE, bug bagE sIrE De a lili Dma kpImE pUO ~ IE lIEbE a Dmln sIrE NaaDmIn wa ir fU a FU na In DmIn tI tuo bEr? KEkEkE, fU na kyaa na de . NyE a NaaDmln nU kU U 185 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ale be I a Naal]mln fal] a Bisob Der kO to:) IIebI e A Naal]mln nu I£r£ V kO tOo lI£bI a faara £ Wa yi do wa kp£ a bisob yi be wa be a aak-bisob, k£keke. NI nyol] na VI£ nI I]a de a nUO l]mar£ IJmar£ IaI]n a kplm£ IaI] NI na ny£ a IJmln bUn-ira NI ny£ Una? Maa b£ bUn£ I£r£ f na I£r£ IJmln magr I a f na I£r£ IJmln s£br I a GOzam-ma, nI nyol] na? f na yela, nI nyog na? Gozam-ma, nI nyog na? Nayir-ma m£ nI nyOI] na? Aa! kOntOmb£r£ bie KOntOmb£r£ b i e Bug a bag£ wul nlb£ sIre BUg a bag£ wul nlbe wul u V bug bagr kU nlb£ sIrE Bug a bagr tI faa nI nlb£ V In a bag-bUg-kyur bie 186 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Aa! bag-kyur WUO NyE bag-kyur bie. ZIna bio nI nyOD na? V In a NaaDmIn bie ElS I a TeDgan bie YeImID a TeDgan kp££ bie nU V In a TeDgan torza KE IE I a TeDgan tOr NI nyoD na? YeImIDa GOzam nu IErE: GOzam na taa wa sOglE: Dmakurma fU tuo na wo? BUg bagr wa faa nIbE POrIkuu, nI nyoD na Bisob dEr, U saa yuori IE POri kuu taa wa sOglE I POrlkuu taa wa gure VIE nI Da bUgr bagE: sIrE NI nyoD na? Bisob DE:r, U piil'a VlE; nl Da Dma a nUUr zff IaDnE: a kplmE: laD Nl nyE ana? 187 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ZIna bio U na tOo na I Maa bE nu baD E VIE nI Da, a IJmln bie nu Klrlsta, nI nyoD na . TRJu"lSLATION Neighbours, I will say it Here Bishop Dery himself comes Greetings, Bishop Dery As you approach Devotion to duty has elevated you In a vocation as mysterious as rain Bishop Dery, God is speaking It's Dery seated See, it's Dery seated You call him Archbishop Do you know it's God's gift? It's God's gift Even the white ruler is aware of him. He is himself, child of TeDgan As child of TeDgan Truly, he is a child of great lands And also a child of great Kraals Indeed, that's Dery. Archbishop, God has ordained it The gospel has said it 188 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Truly, God has blessed you Truly, He has blessed your name And given you power Truly, Dery, don't shy away Don't shy away Monsignor, i t's God speak i ng Truly, Archbish op Are you listening to the words? Resident i n a me t ropolis Your hearing could be i mpa ired . Dmak urnaa, y ou a re ha iled You h a ve conducte d critical divination s That be ing t h e will of God How c a n y ou abandon it? That being the will o f God, God h as e ntrusted it to Bishop Dery He is a great divine r Wh o s acrifices the chickens to the ancestors He is becoming godly himself If you are God appointed How can you ignore his will? No , you can't God has blessed him I f it were not by God's power Dery c ould not have been a priest Ris ing high to be b i shop And climbing higher to be Archbishop. 189 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh There he is, Sacrificing the fowls Sacrificing them to the ancestors As for God's annointed Have you seen him? I don't speak in vain God notes down whatever I say God notes down whatever I say GOzam-ma, have you seen him? Naayirma, have you seen him? Aa! son of great beings of the wild Son of great beings of the wild Confounded people with your divination Your divination showed people the way He divined for the people indeed He divined and saved the afflicted He's the son of the chief-diviner Aa! the skin-bag of the chief-diviner Behold the son of the chief-diviner . Behold him this day He is God's son As he is also son of TeDgan Truly he is the son of great TeDgan He is TeDgan herself He is indeed TeDgan Have you seen him? 190 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Truly, that's GOzam speaking GOzam, don't mince words Dmakurnaa, have you heard of him? He divined to save people POrlkuu, have you seen him? That's Bishop Dery's father's name POrlkuu don't relax He confounds people with his divination Have you seen him? Bishop Dery has begun Offering the sacrificial blood of the fowls To the ancestors Have you seen that? Today he is very able This knowledge does not come from me But here he is, the son of God Christ-like , behold him. 191 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh III A praise song in honour of Rt. Rev. Paul Bemile of Wa, sung by Rose DOnIr on 11th June, 1995 during the bishop's first pastoral visit to the Nandom Parish. YaanI yee, yaanI yee Bisob Paul woo e Waa yaanI Refrain: YaanI yee Bisob Paul woo e Waa yaanI TI puori a Aak-bisob D£r Na to a tome TI w£lI gUOnI a Refrain: YaanI yee --- Bisob Kpiebaya mI wa To a tome TI arI saazu Refrain: YaanI yee --- Bisob B£mIl£ wa de kyog U mI bobra k£ U arI saaielJ 192 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Refrain: YaanI yee __ _ MUOIE a NaaUmI yele LOb a Naaumln yelbir Laara teudaa za Refrain: U muoIE LOb a NaaumI yelbir Laar a teudaa za Kokoguule Kandeme bie LOb a Naaumrn yelbir Laar a teudaa yee Refrain: U mUOlE --- Salom, gaukyUOrE bie LOb a Naaumrn yelbir Laar a teudaa yee PIEpUO-saab-umaa-kone bie Lob a NaaumIn yelbir Laar a teudaa yee Refrain: U mUolE --- TanI-tIE-a-lEr-bE-ka-kyEb bie LOb a NaaumIn ye lbir Laar a teudaa yee 193 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Refrain: U rnUOIE TanI-tIE a-san-b£-ka-sogru LIb a NaaI]rnln yelbir Laar a teI]daa yee Refrain: U rnUOIE --- Vurbaal£ duolaar£ nyI£na nU LOb a NaaI]rnln yelbir Laar a teI]daa yee Refrain: U rnUOl£ --- TI bUOl£ nI a fU yuori Zinabio faa ny£ FU yuor b£ yi ga Refrain: U rnUOl£ --- FU vuole nI a gan pUo FU vuule na Wa yi NaaI]rnln tome zu Refrain: U rnuOl£ --- NandOrn£ laI]yirbiir NI I]rn£ kury i i ka IaI] U IaI] kylr£ 194 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Refrain: UmUole - __ MUOle a NaaDmln yele LOb a NaaDmIn yele Laar a teDdaa Refrain: U mUOle --- TRANSLATION Welcome, welcome Bishop Paul, Welcome Refrain: Welcome, Bishop Paul Welcome We salute Archbishop Dery Who worked zealously Till his retirement Refrain: Welcome --- Bishop Kpiebaya Too has worked hard And earned promotion 195 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Refrain: Welcome - __ Bishop Bemile has come to continue He aims at Reaching the top Refrain: Welcome --- Proclaim Broadcast the word of God Throughout the world Refrain: Proclaim --- Son of Kandeme of Kokoligu Broadcast the word of God Throughout the world Refrain: Proclaim --- Son of the striped-sky Broadcast the word of God Throughout the world Refrain: Proclaim --- Son of he-who-eats-saab-from a basket only to lament 196 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Broadcast the word of God Throughout the world Refrain: Proclaim __ _ He-who-thunders-at-a tree-and-renders all-axes-redundant Broadcast the word of God Throughout the world. Refrain: Proclaim --- He whose-thunder-defies-any-query Broadcast the word of God Throughout the world Refrain: Proclaim --- Scion of Vurbaa whose offspring gather in joyous harmony Broadcast the word of God Throughout the world Refrain: Proclaim --- We are celebrating your name From now onwards You hav e become renowned 197 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Refrain: Proclaim You looked through the books You looked through Until you discovered God's vineyard Refrain: Proclaim __ _ Faithful of the church of Nandom Applaud him with ululat i on To stimulate him Refrain : Proc l aim --- Procla i m God Broadcas t t he word of God Through out the world Refrain : Proclaim - - - c. GRINDING SONGS I A Grinding Song in praise of Naa Imoru Puoure of Na ndom, sung during the Ka kube Festival of Nandom on 27th November, 1994 by Madam NaaDIDIn z um£ KUnwokole, of Tuop£r. HI hII, hI hI hI, hII . f naa nU zIna K'a f wa k'a f wa b£l ny£ 198 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh HU hGG, hI hI! A dOmE Puoure Naa to bUOlm£ a ky£ bI!? DOm£-bab£lI-kU m naa To bUOl m£ a ka bI!? HI hI hI, hI! A kakube tigri na Ka f wa ka f wa bEl ny£? HI hI! AIJ yuor la IJa GaIJ yuor mInE HI hI hI, hI! Bay£l£ yir puo naa Ka IJa mI kp£ dio ky£ kuli HI hI! Zukpuole biir gaIJ-a-naa GaIJ-a yuor 1£ HI hI hI , hI! I waa bile bile Ky£ f WOIJ la ba yuor y£l£ HI hI! Bay£1£ yIrpuo Bambaala kG di tuo tog togi HI hI hI, hI! Y£n' deme la nyOg InzI£ KyE 51 ir bile? HI! BayEl£ maIJ nyog la 199 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Gbel]ZIe 51 ir 5:::>:::>r HI hI!, hI! ZIna na ta yee Kia naalUl] na sIl]taa HI hI! AndUne na ta kaara NasapUla libie yele HI hI hI, hI! A bid:::>:::> l]a yee U di la a kukur l]a naa HI hI! A wabaana na ba bal] Kye ZI tIE: klu yelu HI hI hI, hI! Ba m:::>:::> watI£r Ka nasapUla naa1Ul] tuma 1£? A kukur l] a mI 1££ U saakUmine dal] kp£ U HI hI hI, hI! Al] la ky£ ba bal] f saa KyE tI£r k I U sUUr bal]? HI hrr Z:::>l]anylra z:::>lJa ny£ I saa yuor l'a 1£ HI hrr I saamine mal] w:::>:::>£ Bikpieb lal] nI nakyrrn£ 200 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh HI hI hI! Naayiile maD W~~~ POgkU~rI laDnI bUnguuro HI! hI hI, hI! Bibilsanani f rna yuor la l~ P~mp~n-nug~~rI f rna yuor la l~ HI hI! y~ bU~lI bnI kone tI mI teDe nyI~nI y~ bU~I! sabIrbeen 10 maalI zIe nyI~nI HI hI hI, hI! TRANSLATION HI hI!, hI hI hI hI! It's my chief I have come to see today HU hUU, hI hI! Was it not D~m~ Puoure Who sent for me? HI hI hI, hI! Was it not D~m~-ba-b~lIkU Who sent for me? HI hI hI, hI! Is it not the Kakube Festival I have come to attend? HI hI! Whose name is it That is above other names? HI hI hI, hI! 201 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh It is in the BayEIE's house The stranger finds solace HI hI! The children of Zukpor are peerless royals Are a name unequalled. HI hI hI, hII Even as a child I heard the greatness of their name HI hI! In the house of the BayEIE The poor suffer not at all HI hI hI, hII Who cut through red flesh To deliver a child? HI! It's the BayElE Who tear out the liver from the live lion HI hI hI, hI! Is it today Royalty is comparable? HI hII That the world may ignore The money affairs of the whiteman HI hI hI, hII This royal son Has been the king of the hoe HI hI! Yet the ignorant 202 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Are bent on criticism HI hI hI, hI! Do they think his power Came from the whiteman? HI hI! In this business of governance His grands ires come first HI hI hI, hI! Who is here That wants to know my father? HI hI! ZOuanyIra ZOuany£ is my father. HI hI hI, hI! My fathers provide For the orpha n and the destitute HI hI! Naayiile provide For the widow and t he farm-hand HI hI hI, hI! BibilsananI is my mother's name P£mp£n-nugOorI is my mother's name HI hI!, Scion of he-who thunders here but rains elsewhere Scion of that one rain-drop that transforms the land HI hI hI, hI! . 203 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh II A Grinding Song by Virginia MaanlasI~ performed by her during the Kakube Festival at Nandom on 26th November, 1994. Vurbaa e e I puore nI a NaalJmln yaanI w~ B~kUOn~ yir pUO nI U duo-laar ma I puore nI a NaalJmIn yaanI Tlntlra baa ny~-dul-kpaa-ma I puore nI a TelJgan yaanI A zakorikori-za-lJm~r-laar-ma I puore nI a gyama yaanI A namIn~ za na kpaa duo dIlJ dIlJ dIlJ I puore nI a nI gb~~ yaanI A gyama zaa yi yee A Kakube lJa tI na wa SaakUmU na tI wule ye e 000 A Kakube lJa tI na dlr~ SaakUmU na tI wule ye e o 0 0 hOOO A bie lJa na nI~ ar alJa I~r~ Yirbuor dem bie nU? A Vurbaal~ yir pUO, na kp~ laarI TOm B~ yir bie nU ye e 204 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh T1nt1ra yir pu n1 U ny~ paal baa I saa yir'i a be Vurbaa dem t1 Z1 a TOm K~ f yir'i a be A zakori kori-za-Dm~r-laar KE f yir'u GGG hGGG A bie Da na nI8 a Ir8 A yir buor dem arb~ nU? GGG A Kusiele yir pUO nI U Nadoli bOD daar I ma yir'i a be, ye e Zaab818 yir pUO n1 U B8ky Og I ma yir'i a be A pI8-pUO saab iru Dmaa-b8rU I ma yir ' i a be . GGG I ma y ir IU . GGG A baDfU Da f na I8rI I saa yir pUO k'a yi yee I saamIn8 yee DaD danI danbie dUrny8 puo I mamIn8 daD danI danbie dUn8 puo 205 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Maa mI na yi yee I dan£ nI a danbie dUrny£ pu~ 000 h000 A p~g I]a na nI£ ar I£r£ A yirdem buor p~g nU? 000 Miminy£r£ dem kyaalI B£ kyaala wa ir mE mur, yee Walpele yirdem II gyalI korkor KyaalI b£ kyaala wa ir m£ mUra 000 B£I]daa biiri, yee KyaalI b£ kyaala wa ir m£ mur a 000 Walpele biiri yee TI kyaali b£ tamp£lu Wa ir maa 000 h000 Aa mInE nEbE daI] dI a naalU Kaa nlbE zie? 000 BEkU~nE nEb£ daI] dI a naalU Kaa nlbE zie DanyE nI a I]a daI] dI a naalU Kaa a nlbE zie Kyiir'u daI] dI a naalu 206 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Kaa nlbe zie BOro yi woo, dI a naalu Kaa nlbe zie CWO hOOO A Vurbaale Mora nU dI a naalu Kaa nlbe zie Vurbaale k Okuu woo, nI a naalu Kaa nUbe zie 000 Puore woo, d I a naalU Kaa nlbe zie 000 Dr a naa lU Kaa nIbe zie 000 hOOO DaD daD € k oro daar € pog rnI guo l a bie eee € d Bb wa bObr a bie e pog rnI gb€nI zI€r TI g uol a bie POg nI a Da I r g b€nI zI€r TI guol a bie pog nI Da, ir gb€nI zI€r TI guo l a bie A IBr€ IBrB Da a l ib i e na wa yi a ~ pog- bB b€ kyaa gb€n€ I 207 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 000 hOOO A dla bio na wa yi a A pOg-be be kyaa gbene I 000 A dla puoru na wa yi a A pOg-be be kyaa gbene yee 000 hOO0 TRANSLATION Vurbaa e e I salute God, Mother of the merry crowd of the Bekuone clan, I salute God. Mother of the tlntilra fish I salute Te1]gan. Mother of many that shatter the meal bowl I salute great crowd here. All the royals gathered here I welcome you All the people gathered here Congratulations for coming We have come to Kakube To celebrate our culture yee 000 We are celebrating this Kakube To display our culture yee 000 h000 But this child who is talking, 208 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Which clan's child is she? My father's clan is the tlntlra clan The fish that confounds with its number, The Vurbaa clan that occupies TOm That is my clan 000 The snatching crowd that shatters the food bowl That is my father's clan 000 000. This child who is talking Who is her uncle? The Kusiele clan of the Nandoli war arrows That is my mother's clan yee ZaabElE clan and its BEkyog That is my mother's clan The clan that will not eat 'saab' from a basket That is my mother's clan 000 That is my mother's clan 000 000 The talent I display now It is from my father's house This talent I display now It is from my mother's house My fathers, yee Sang songs of praise at gatherings My mothers have sung songs of praise at gatherings 209 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh I on my part I am singing songs of praise at gatherings 000 000 This woman talking To which house is she married? 000 Some double sighted people focused In their mirrors and picked her like a reed The antelope clan of the branch-like antlers Focused in their mirror and picked like a reed The antelope children The B£Ddaa children Focused in their mirror and picked like a reed The antelope children yee Focused on their ashes and picked like a reed 000 000. Who in their royal reign Cared for the people? The B£kUOn£ in their reign have Cared for the people It was Dany£ who first reigned And cared for the people Kyiir had reigned And cared for the people BOrO came to rule And cared for the people 210 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 000 000 Moro the VurbaalE woo Reigned and cared for the people KOkuu the VurbaalE, he reigned And cared for the people Puoure woo, reign And care for the people Reign and care for the people 000 000 At first in the distant past It was the woman that nurtured the child If the man wanted a child The woman picked vegetables To feed the child This was a woman who Rose, plucked vegetables And fed the child This is a woman who Rose, plucked vegetables And fed the child. In the world of money nowadays Women do not pluck vegetables Nowadays Women do not pluck vegetables Since the advent of the new religion 211 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Women do not pluck vegetables 000 000 212 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh D LIBATION TEXT f saa NaaDmlnl BUmbUUrE: za Dmlnl Tendaa za DmlnI Saazu Dmlnl Naabile Dmlnl laD -mhaaru Dmlnl laD-tUlu Dmlnl KGo mhaaru nl aDa A fU bie bE:rE: kUrE: fU Sag GG wa de Nand:Jm TeDganl A Nand:Jm BarU A TanbE:rE: nl a Tanli Nl wa na? KG:) nl a Tanli Nl de mhaa k:Jk:Jr f saakUm zE:nUO Nl a yE:br za Nlm nl a daparE: za Nl na sag a nl bie bU:JlU E: sag wa de kG:) mhaarU AlE na tl bErE: kUrE nl Bon za bE: nu E: 8 kyE yelbaDguura kaD nU A zie kabr na nyuur A kUO dIrE: naD A bagbE:E: kon' welwel mE piir'a 213 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh A ku II SIr sIrItItI A kG5 nyuur kpI£r a biir A kG5 nyuur kUrE: a pOg-b£ A dUn nI a bImpIg£ za nylrI nylmE: BUwOmE: nI bUnyIE:rI za ko na ar NI b£r sabir U 10 teI] A bon I]a nu tI ZE:lE: AlE: na ku a nlbE: TIgr nI IaI] -mhaaru AlE: na VE:I] tI yE:lI A bibiir z£n tamp£lU wa don nI NI vOl suur E: pnr bE: bE:r NI vB IaI]-mhaaru be a nlbE: zie £ saI]na za wa be be NI tIE: wul tI maall f saa NaaI]mInI A TeI]gan A saa A BarU nI a Tan A daparE: za f bE: tE:r nUOrE: A nI bibiir kon-nUOr I I aI]a TRANSLATION God my Father God of Creation God of the Universe 214 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh God of the Sky God of men God of Peace God of adversity This is coldwater Your child is offering you Please, accept it TeDgan (Earth Goddess) The Baru (River Gods) The Tan (Hill Gods) Have you come? This is cold water May it quench your thirst My grands ire Z£nU~ And his brothers You and all the host of heaven Please, kindly respond to your child's plea And accept this cold water Which we offer you. It is not anything But a mysterious crisis has affected us There is extreme drought And water is scarce The water courses have become hard rocks The wells are completely dry And the children are thirsty And the women are equally so Animals and birds are in pain 215 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Fruits and root crops have shrivelled Grant us one drop of rain This is what we humbly request from you That would give the people food and peace That would enable us multiply in number That would mak e the peopl e honour you Your children have smeared ashes before you Forgive and cleanse them And grant them p eace But if there is any evi l done Kindly point that out for pac i ficat i on God my Father Te Dgan Saa, t he Ra i n God The Rivers a nd t h e Hi l l s The Heave nly h ost I h a ve nothing to s ay But this is what your child has to say . E . DIRGES DIRGE I A dirge chanted by Bernard W~brm~ at the funeral of K~bom i n Ac c r a. Woo, woo s~grb~ NI s~g m~ a zaanU8r yaanI 216 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Woo, woo konb8 NI sOg mE a zaanUOr yaanl Woo, woo, tl mUUr gUba bie U kul Woo, woo, konb8 tl mUUr IJml8rE U kul Woo, a bie IJa na b8r vuo Aa na tOo a U nuu tome to? AnkaalE NandOmE woo Aa na IE kyo gyill laIJ nl nl laIJ? B8-so-bon-8-dl gaIJ-a-sob bie, woo BEwaa dem bU018 na e fU yi dam gyil a bE sEb Woo kObom woo Legon biir tlrI gan e fU wa wul b8 gyil k£ b£ IJm£ FU wo ana? E fU wa Wul bE b£waa bE sEb Nasamlne woo, NI wule nuru IJma na U ga RObom, nasateIJ baIJn£ woo Ir wul m8 a sOr f kyen Ruu woo, kuu I fU saIJ m£ nI tl£rU Ruu woo, kuu fu saIJ mE nl yele BaIJ-IJmI£rE bie kul'i nI U baIJfU RonbE woo nl na ko aIJa a baar Ruu woo kQQ bOO fU mhaa mE nUOr l£? 217 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TRANSLATION Alas, alas, mourners Respond to my evening greetings Alas, alas, eUlogists Respond to my evening greetings Alas, alas, let's praise the expert's, son as he goes home Alas, the vacuum that has been created Who can fill? Nandom citizens in Accra Who will enthral you with his xylophone music to dance? Son of he-who-takes-more-than-the-owner BBWaa dancers are calling on you To play for them to dance Alas K8bom, Legonites have invited You to teach them the xylophone Have you heard me? That you shou ld come And teach them how to dance bBWaa Alas, whitemen, your instructor Has lost the p ower of his hands Alas, k8bom, you who know the whiteman's country wel l . Arise and show me the way Alas death, death, you have squashed my hopes. Alas death, death, you have destroyed my plans. The experts son has gone with his expertise Alas, dirgists, chant his final praises. 218 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Alas, death, death why have you shocked me so? 219 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh II A dirge chanted by Ambrose DaayeD at the funeral of Emiliana Beyuo, in GOZIIr. Woo, woo BulmhaarU woo Woo bul-kI-nyu yee f kOkOr ko na yee DOOkUOra pOg woo A puomanI vaara valo yee POg kG b£r U to bie yee POg na len' U to bie yee POg kG da kal woo POg kG la Ihf yee POg na baD doo been kul'a TRANSLATION Alas, alas eternal fount alas Alas, one whose spring water sustains me My throat is dry alas Worthy spouse of a distinguished farmer It's time to clear the farm of debris A mother of the other's child A mother who would lick the other ' s young clean A woman who would buy no dawa-dawa A woman who would deride none A wife who would know one man only has gone home. 220 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh BIBLIOGRAPHY Abdulkadir, D., 1981 - IIOral Composit i on: A Historical Appraisal ll in Qral Poetry in Nigeria Abalogu et aI , (eds) Nigeria Magazine). Anqsotinqe, G.T., 1986 - Wisdom of the Ancestors : An Analysis of the Oral Narratives of the Dagaaba of Northern Ghana, Doctoral Thesis, University of cali f ornia, Los Angeles. 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