University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TH I NFL UE NCE OF ISLAM ON THE DAGBAMBA I N THE TWENTIETH CENTURY BY SAL IFU ASDEL SEIDU A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS, UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE M.PHIL DEGREE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA LEGON. APRIL, 1989 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh \', . :, , ,", ", '. ;;, t ' ,", : .... , \I;" DEDICATED TO THE STRUGGLE OF THE PALESTINIANS FOR A HOMELAND. University of Ghana httipi:i/./ ugspace.ug.edu.gh Through o ut t he Len regions of Ghana, is in the NOI'thern Region where a very lcll'ge cor'ICf2ntl""tion of l'1usli.ms ~,re fo u nd a n d t his con centration is centred on the Dagbamba. t hough I slam reached Cagbon after crossing a vast stretch of land within Ghana where various tribes live, Islam did not make a n y serious impact on the people until it reached Dagbon. Islam has so much influenced the Dagbamba such that a majority of their cultural practices have been overshadowed by Islamic o n es. Living among the Dagbamba and making any meaningful impact on them depend on ones relations with them so far as the Islamic religion is concerned. They would not hesitate to eNpr~ss their heartfelt gratitude to whatever kindness that a non-Muslim would show them, but they would also lament that suc h kindness is coming from a non-Muslim. They believe that kindness of whatever form is the quality of Muslims. Dagbamba I'efer to all non-I'1uslim,~ ,3S "chefirnema" which is c" corrupted form of the Ar,,,bic word "Kafir" for' i~n infideL Th(~ typical traditionalist idenU. f ias hi.mself with Islam 6 1ven though h e might not observe the five daily prayers or some o ther rites of Islam. However, this is not to suggest that all Dagbamb a are Muslims but that Islam has taken the better part of t h e life of the majority of them. A MLIslim st.ranger ii, Dag b o n will find himself at home for there is always ready hosp i tality for him. t v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Though authors such as Levtzion, Fage, Wilks, Rattray, Hodgkin, Slaniland, Tamakloe, Oppong etc. have researched into the area and written about it, there has been little on it in recent limes especially the second half of the twentieth century (pos t independence era). There is much more on the advent of Islam in Dagbon and earlier spread than how Islam is lived in Dagbon today and its influence on the people as well as its encounter with the trends of modernisation in Ghana. Besides, in most of these writings the authors limit themselves to particular areas of Dagbon which do not give a true reflection of the whole of Dagbon. It is observed also that there have been several changes in the life of the people so far as Islam is concerned during the past two decades which have not been reFlected in these writings. There is theFeFore the need for these authors to ceme o~t with new editions of their books on the area in order to give readers a clearer view of the situation in this twentieth century. This thesis, therefore, attempts to address itself to the new developments, why and how Islam has made such strong impact on the Dagbamba and the prospects it holds for them. I must admit that went through difficult times in trying to get this work completed. One cannot successfully write about Dagbon today without consulting some noted opinion leaders in the area such as Ibrahim Mahamah, Ara Ajura, Lawyer Alhassan, Alhaji Yahaya Iddi and Alhaji Amadu Sana. found it very difficult to obta i n information from these opinion leaders University of Ghana httpv: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh between r'iay 1987 alld Jul.y, 1988 because they werr= '''I'' I''ested an d det ained on the orders of t he Northern Regional Sec ur· i t.y Counc i 1 for Hllegedly fanning t h e Vendi chieftaincy dispute had resul ted in th e loss of man y lives, especially in the clashes at Zokuga near Savelugu. It was not easy contacting these opinion l eaders in prison either, because the prison authorities kept on moving them from one prison to the other. Besides they were not a l l kept in one prison but in different ones scattered in the north such as GambHga, Wa, Tamale, Bole and then Nsawam Th~S8 oooinion leaders were so much distressed about their detention that it Il'Jas just not feHsible to bother them with interviews. To this end, this piece of work had to be delayed for over one year. On the 25til of Jul y, 1.988, the last two opinion leaders, Ibrahim r1ahamah and Amadu Sana were released, and after one month when was su re that they had settl.ed down completely, decided to continue with my interviews. also had to do a lot of travelling around Dagbon v isit i ng all the big towns and some villages which melt ter to me. had to carry kolanuts with me wherever went because in Dagbon one cannot visi t a chief or imam or o.n elder in th e soci ety without offering him kolanuts, and in some cases I was compelled to dispense with cash in order t.o obta.in illfol'mation fOI' Ulis wOI'k. However, some of these ct,iefs ~rnrpr i~t ~rl mv eff o rts and u rged me to work hard at i.t. They did not only encour a ge me but presented me with gifts such as Guinea fowls and yams for my meals. University of Ghana httpv:i/,/ ugspace.ug.edu.gh It wa s ho wever disgusting to note that some Dagbamba, especiall y in the Nayil-fong in Vendi refused to talk to me with th e excuse that the nature of the interview was such that ther e was the need to consult their elders first and also seek the ir permission. The irony of the whole thing was that such people who refused to talk to me were themselves elders. frustrations notwithstanding, was still determined to get the work comple'led, and Alhamdu lil-Iah (pr'aise be to God), it has g one through. I hope and pray that this piece of work will give its reader a clearer insight into the history of Islam in Dagbon and the in fluence the Islamic religion has had on them up to this twenti eth century. If I have succeeded in this task even to a small degree, I thank Allah (God) for His mercy. Data was collected through interviews with some prominent Islamic scholars, chiefs, educationists and traditionalists. took field trips, served questionnaires and collated the views together" Material gathered during my field trips contCl,ined in chapters three to six. published form. It is hoped that by pu t ting them to thesis, have supplemented in my own humble way literature on the histor y of I slam in Dagbon. Data was also col J.ect.erJ from second61,ry sources ( liter ature review in relat.ion to t. h e area) and those books University of Ghana htvtpi:i/ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh that I wo rked on arel Brief History of the Oagbamba People by TamakIoe, Muslims and Chiefs in West Africa by Levtzion, The Lions of Dagbon by Staniland, Growing up in Dagbon by Oppong, The Origins o f the Dagbamba of Greater Dagbon by Mahamah, Tri bes of the Ashanti Hinterland by Rattray and The Natives of t he Northern Terr i tories of the Gold Coast by Cardinal. University of Ghana hvttip. :i /i/ ug--space.ug.edu.gh Th e thesis is about The Influence of Islam in Dagbon in the Twent iet h Century. It has six chapte r s and a conclusion. Howeve l', at the end of every chapter there is a brief summary of the topics covered therein. For' ease" of refer"enc:(?~ all t.he paragrap h s in the main chapters have been numbered. Th e first chap ter deals wi th the historical origins of the Da gbamb a but it is not purely a discussion on the origins of the Dagbamba because expressed my opinion on the issue which does not agree especially with the contentions of both Ibrahim Mahamah and Tamakloe. The chapter also discusses the pre-Islamic traditions which give the reader a clear view of the typical traditions of the Dagb~mba before the advent of Islam in Da_,;)bon. In the second chapter, I p-ecap the history of t.he advent. of Islam in Dagbon. The act.ivities of both the Wangara and Hausa clerics are discussed with particular reference to the services they rendel'ed to chiefs" Na-Zangina feat.ures prominently in this context. The chapter also discusses the Muslim titles given to various groups of Muslims in Vendi and its envi rons a n d why Islam appealed to the Dagbamba. The i ntroduc t ion of Islamic education and how Islam got to other areas, especially the villages are also discussed. Besides~ the chapter deals with one of the main factors of conflict University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh a mong Muslims in Dagbon today which is the attitude of "fni}( l.l1g II that was encouraged by the early Muslim clerics who introduced Islam into Dagbon. is a system whereby Muslims practice traditional beliefs alongside the Islamic faith. Today in Dagbon some religious leaders are drawing the attention of Muslims to the unacceptability of JlmiN'ing" in Islam. EVE'!n thougl, it has not been easy, some headway has been made which is also a pointer to the fact that the problem could be solved by the end of the twentieth century. Finally, the chapter discusses the interaction of Muslims in Dagbon and the Asante f:ing" as an Aspect of Islam in Dagbon :1.44 , (;.:) Interaction Between Muslims in Dagbon and the Ashanti Kingdom 146 • (>: i ) Summar y 149 CHAPTER THREE ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES IN DAGBON TODAY (i) The Five Pillars of Islam 152 (ii) The Shah a da (Confession of Faith) 153 Ii i i) SaHit (ion to show that they were of Arab descent. According to this It is the indigenous name cor the area inhabited by Mamprusisc Both Mamprus;:! a.nnual festiv<'>.l of I;:!bamba elders who normally converge at a spot in Yer-"ji popuL;>I'ly calleel "MlJnqu tibilgbinill mee:1.ning under the small mango tree. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.11 The assertion by both Tamakioe and Ibrahim Mahamah that the Dagbamba originated from the Ad or some other Arab tribe is far felched. Tbe history of Dagbon has been preserved thf'ough the medium of drum chant which is solemrlly and liturgically recited from time to t1me but in none of these chants is it indicated that the Dagbamba are the progenitors of some '~rab tr ibe. The drum chant which is highly reliable among the Dagbamba rather traces the roots of the Dagbamba to Zamfara in the Sokoto State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where Toha-Zie, the Red Hunter is believed to have emerged. L 12 Secondly most of the words enumerated by Ibrahim Mahamah in his submission are words that are not common only to the Dagbamba, but to Mamprusis, Nanumbas~i Walc\s, Talensis and indeed all the tribes in Northern Ghana. 1 Some of these words also QCCU~ among most of 'lhe tribes of Muslim West Africa in their daily lives and this can only be attributed to Islamic influence .. According to the minutes of the Conference of Dagbamba chiefs held at Vendi ff'om the 21st to the 29th of November, 1930 to enquire into and record the Constitution of the State of Dagbon which was recorded by A. Duncan-Johnstone, the Commissioner of the Southern Province in 1931, observed Northern Ghana in this context means the whole of the northern part of Ghana comprising t.he l\Iol'thern, Uppel' East. and West regions. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.0 "It is int.el'estinIJ to note that t.he D''''~Jb"mba langu0ge is particularly full of Hauss words and t.he Hausa influence amongst t.he ruling dynast.y must at. one time have been very strong, in fact its influence irl mar)ner, dress Blld language can be seen to this day". The above quotation suggests that as a result of the presence of Hausa Muslims in the court of the Va-na's since Na-zanjina'sl period, the Hausa language which also has so many Arabic words, crept into Dagbani and as these words were constantly LJsed, they automaticall/ replaced the Dagbani words. The Da.gbamba did not have names for the days of the week but they ident.ified each day witt, the village that was observing its ma.r!·:et day .. From Sunday to Saturday each of the big t.owns and big villages observe its market day and the whole week is to in DagbCl.n i means lone market wee~:r~ Sometimes the words Q§~§ and ~§t~Qi are used to mean lone weekI t,ut the la.tter' is a Hauss word which is commonly used by the Dagbamba. The arrival of the Muslims who had nBmes for the clays of t.he week gradually influenced the Dagbsni language and today most Dagbamba use these Arabic names for the days of the week. It is also noticed that the words enumerated b'..,' '" 1.3 Ibl'ahi.m Malia.me>. form only a minute fraction of the t.otality of Dagbani words. Therefore, basing the argument on these Na-Zanjina was the first. Muslim to become Va-na and during his reign Muslj,ms enjoyed J,is support and confidenc8u 2 Da.-kulo is not commonly used especially in the urban in Dagbon. However in t.he rural areas it is common. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh few words will not be a sound and convincing one. l\Iati.onals of f'::enya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi speak Swahili, a language which has quite a considerable amount of AI'abic wOI'ds. HCJwever, these people do not trace their origin to the Arabs just because their language consists of several Arabic llJords" What is generally attributed to the existence of Arabic words in Swahili is the Muslim influence that the area has experienced for quite a long time. 1. 14 The Arabic words that are contained in Dagbani can be attributed to the fact that Muslims interacted with the quite a long period of time and the severity of interaction during this period caused the original Dagbani words used in place of the enumeraled Arabic words to die It is also noted that the Hausa Muslims who seltled in Dagbon interacted so much with the Dagbamba and even i.f Uley did not speak Arabic, Hausa contains many Arabic words which the Dagbamba picked up and have become part of Dagbani. The 1 b-s-.k-"-'J-o-i I already treated i.n Hausa words used in Dagbani taday~ 1. 15 The claim by Ibrahim Mahamah slaled in fair complexion of the aboriginal Dagbamba gives credence to the view that they were of A"ab complexion is far fetched. If the aboriginal Dagbamba were of Arab complexion as he claims, then the majority of Dagbamba would have f i:\ i I" in comple~:ion, which is rlCJt the casen So far as the drum history is concerned it is only the legendary leader, Toha-Zie who is University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 12 descri.bed as 'r ed I which refers to a fair complexioned pBr~on. Granted that th e aboriginal Dagbamba ward fair i.n campIe:-: ion and that. t.h~' y ki.lled ,,,II li,e Tincl~'mba and took contl'ol, j.t would stand to reaFJn thal Dagbon society would have been <:~attered wilh halfcaslss and many more fair complexioned ~eople, unless il can be proved that the colour of an Arab fades in tropical Africa with time. L 16 The contention by Ibrahim MaM .mah thal since the Dagbamb.:.:, observe the fire fest.iv~·~} (Bugum) \.\Jhich ernan(:\-L<:.~d f r C)(i) Noah and also that since bot.h :~he Ar,'lbs and DagbambC!. obser·vB the lunar calendar, Lh2n the D"gb~mba must be the c!i~scendant.s of the Ad 01' some olher· ~lr'ab tl'tbe is an ovel" simplirication .. Firstly, the origin of the fire fS'::3tj.val is a bit obSCLlre because whereas some people trdce it to Noah, others trace .t to an incident in Dagbon w~ere a chief's favourile son got missing and was found by torch bearing search party at night. The chieF therefore insti~uted this reslival lo commemorate the incident. it is generally agreed i, Dagbon thcl{ this festival existed among the Dagbamba before thE arrival of IVIu.sl im •• 1.. 17 Secondly, it is a fact that ~oth the Arabs and the Dagbamba observe the lunar calendar, but the names given to the various months by both groups differ. If some of the words See 4.76 for details on the fire restival. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh used by th e Arabs tally with those t h at lhe Dagbamba use, l h en a L least two or more of the names of the months in Arabic s h ould agree with those used by the Dagbamba. In any Celse t.he rames that lhe Dagbamba gave to lhe months are all rE~latec:J t.o Islam, which is a clear case of Islamic influence as indicat.ed in Table II below. l'1uharram Bugum Sa.f ar D';\mba-bL" RabT' A!"Ial Damba R.abi-Thanl Banda.chen i .Jumad-r-lwa 1 Gambclndah Jum a d--Than i I.11 impCl.ct of foreign I' ul E' was to systematically destroy the power of the Ya-na. Before· the advent of colonialism, the Ya-na was the Commander-in-chief of the Dagbon army, the power of final adjustment in all 1 eqa.l issues that arose within the state. Even thouqh this seemingly autocratic power of the Ya-na lay within the bonds allowed by Phylis Ferguson' r::.~tt~c..,?_ _ Qf... ___ ~'d<;;.<;;.~_'?_~tQQ. __t Q __l J.t9.0_ __ Qf...f...t<;;.~ __ tQ. Qst9.Q,!!t;J.~, pub 1 i. shed i. n 1'1. C,' owder Cl.nd I. Kione, West African Chiefs: Their changing status under colonial rule and indepedence, New York, 1970. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the conventional norms of the culture and tradition of the Dagbamba people, nevertheless, it did not obscure the fact that lhe Ya-na wielded immense power in the political system. With the advent of colonialism, the Ya-na was made complet.ely subservient to the British Chief Commissioner of the Northern Territories to the ext.ent that the Ya-na's power to appoint divisional chiefs and other subordinate chiefs had to be exercised with the tacit approval of the Chief Commissioner. This systematic reduction of the power of the Ya-na, and for that matter other divisional chiefs of Dagbon, was cleal'ly demonstrated in a statement by the Chief Commissioner, Morris to an assembly of chiefs in Tamale in 1901 that since the Ya-na was in German territQry~ he MorriS, was henceforth their head chief,1 1. 34 It is important to note that the imposition of fOI'eign ru.le had far reaching delibitating effects on the state of Dagbon. For the first time there was the existence of a superior power who could set. aside t.he decisions of the Ya-na and the traditional king makers. As soon as local litigants realised the ex ist.E::rice of such a power, they began to disrespect the decisions of the k ing makers and ha.ve 'l r i ed to e>'ploit t_h is si t_uation -1:.0 serve t.hei I' personal in'lerests. Regret.tably enough, this stat.e of affairs was allowed t.o Public Recor'd Office, Co.879/67, Afr'ican (West) 633 pa,ge 159: t1a,jol' MOI'ris to Colonial Secretary, July, 1901.. University of Ghana ht2tp6: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh cant i rlue after i. ndepenclence. Today an objective assessment of the systematic destruction of the Vendi skin witnessed in recent years should be seen against this background. 1.35 The traditional religion of the Dagbamba is hinged on their p h ilosophy of life which is based on the belief that a good life consists of frequent sacrifices to the ancestors, honesty, generosi.ty, fr i.endl. i.ness and hard wOf'k. Dagbon traditional religion fits the classification adopted by some writers on African Traditional. Religion such as Geoffrey Parrinder, Bolaji Idowu, R.S. Rattray, Edwin Smith etc. for the purpose of the study of religion in society. There is t.he belief in God (Supr'eme Being), divinities, sp i r· its, ancestors and the practice of magi.c and medicine. The Dagbamba believe in the existence of a Supreme Being who t.ranscends everything. They refer to this Supreme Be i ng as i::!.£l.~'±'li mean i ng Ch i e f God. The l.-Jord is fnC'.de up of N§:. and Wuni, i::!.£l. meaning chief cmd ~1,lIJ.L meaning God. The generic name for deity in general is ~I"D"L and the I~£l. qualifies. it in order to distinguish the Supreme Being from the divinities. Their belief in the existence of God is manifested in the University of Ghana ht2tp7: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh chi. l dren are given a name that corresponds to this saying lhus, , ~1,l1J.Q.~.i.' • This name is quite popular witll t.he ·typically indigenous Dagbon societies. The Supreme Being is a.lso referred to as YiX.fl.::1EDE (owner of aut.hol'ity)" ~IEtitE!.!).::l§D'§ (the Sover ei gn) and JiD.9.kI.kI!!!§ (our Lorel) • To the Dagbamba t.hese names are not mere labels but are the experience they have aboul ~§k:I.kIDi, his nature and thei.r bel i.el" i.n him . 1. 37 One of the widely acknowledged functions of Dagbon society i.s that he prov ides the things t.hat make life possible. He provides needs such as rain, sunslline, children, (el'tl 1 ity and life which are so vital to the existence of man and the satisfaction of these needs have given f'ise to the names or at tr ibutes t.he Dagbamba gave to ~§b'.kIDi. The beli.E!f that it is ~E~.kIDi who sustains man is manifested in t.he say i.ng that who reeds man". ti~l1I,lIJ.i. does not only sLlst"'.in life but is thought of as one who created the world. To this end the 'King of creation l and it j.s firmly held that it is he who created the arena of man's existence. The Dagbamba also believe that i. f the Supreme Being can satisfy the needs of man, and can be an answer to some of the questions of man's interaction with the wOI'ld" then he must have certain characteristics e.g. that he must be powerful enough to satisfy the needs of ma.n~ and know all about man and his necessities. In a sense ~E~.kIDi mLlst be omniscent and this attribute of omn i scence is often expressed University of Ghana htt2p8:/ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh in vivid concrete terms like sight or hearing or knowledge or sometimes in proverbs and wise sayings. For eHample, if a faced with a problem and he is pessimistic about it and complains to others, he is consoled with the statement, 'Ql which means that "Everything is with God. " Similarly, if one is excited over some achievement or is fascinated by an incident, one ref er s to God as' .Yi19:::~IE\ ' meaning 'chief of a~lhority'. Sometimes people who are faced with diverse problems a.re consoled with tI,e sa.ying, "1i"'-'1,"'ll_'ll 1!L.f.tL19.99 " meaning~ "Goel wi 11 k :i.ll the problem." When a a trip elsewhere or is just moving from his home to another place and back, he is greeted with which literally means, "God will return you" and ·chat is the way the Oagbamba wish each other a safe trip to and fro. 1. 38 The Dagbamba are unab Ie to descr ibe what ~IE\~-'=\Di looks like but they are able to say that as a result of his omnipotence a.nd omnisCience, he mu.st be qualitatively and ontologically different from man. Very often the transcendence of in the idea that he is in the heavens whi ch is a concrete way of showing his otherness; sometimes too i. t. i s ei'~ pressed in spacio-temporal categor i.es such as tlE\~_,,\ni lives in a place beyond the reach of any human being; and at. other times it is eHpressed by associating him with t h e cosmic The word Dagbana refers to an individua.l, tha.t is the singu l ar form of Dagbamba. University of Ghana ht2tp9: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh : objec t s like t he sun and the moon. That is why many traditiona l Oagbamba could not bel ieve wlien it was reported in 1969 that the Americans had landed on the moon. 1. 39 the Oagbamba, the ".lOr Id and sustains it by providing man with his needs, then obviously he must be loving, compassionate and absolut.ely good. This idea. of loving kindness is often expressed in pl'ayers t.o him. The Oagbamba look on ~1£..tI.hIDi <3.5 one who is full of pit.y by calling hi.m '~£'.!I1j2.99.9::~£.' ,,,,hi.ch literally means 'chief of pity' • They also bel ieve that ~.9.t1.hIDi never wit.hdraws the good things he gives to man and t.hat even in aclv£:-Jr s i t.y is still good. The Da.gba.mba. bel ieve tha.t ~Sll~'=!.fli delegates powers and functions to a host of spirit.s. It is also strongly believed that. it is not. possible for t.hem to come into conta.ct with ~Sl~'=!.fl:L and tlie possibi.lity open to tliem to serve him are through the (a.ncest.or s) and 'l:.2..ld9.£l' (gods) . Generally the notion of I:iSl~t"mt in Dagbon society is t.hat he must not be limited in anyway and he must be pow.rful enough to satisfy the needs of man. As to whether ~.9.t1.h'Di i.s male or female, they are unable to say. b~l that since Dagbon tradition places woman in a subordinate position, thus making man super ior to her" ~.9.t1.hIDi must have male character 1st ics. 1 .40 In their' attempt to worship I:iSl~~.lfli indir'ectly, the Dagbamba dedicated places and object.s t.o him, and these University of Ghana ht3tp0: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh symt)o l ic r e p resentations they venerated as means of seeking When the Dagbamba are asked how they came by tl,is form of worship, their only explanation is that it was passed on to them by their ancestors. There are sacred groves or sacr·ed spots in some parts of Dagbon where worship is ca r ried out. The worship entail the performance of r it.e~~ which establish some communion with the spirit.ual re21.1m sLlch as prayer, the pout'i.ng of libat.ion and animal sacrifice. These elements are those that constitute the main ingredients i.n worship i.n trad i. t ional. Dagbon. The significance of this worship is that it helps to express certain social sen·l iments such as the needs of society and also the idea of dependence of t.he worshippers on their deity as a source of solution to some of their e}, i stent. i. a I needs. Therefore worship st.ands at. t.he heart of Dagbon traditional religion. L41 The sacred groves and spot.s are known as ~Y9ji and any worship here is meant. t.o benefit t.he t.raditional. area. The pr iest who oversees the Id.ldgJ .. i is ·lhe IilJ.9.§.IJ.§. who is the priest'. At. Vendi, the capital of the Dagbon traditional area, there are two sacred spots where the paramount dE~j.ties of the area are domiciled. The mor e power f ul 0 f these two is .E'.£..£..t?.9 who i. s be 1 i. t~ved to e,·, i st in the form of a hyena. It is also believed that people w~c go there to worship with a black goat and a black fowl are likely University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh t.o see ts>'S>.Q..Q.. 1 This deit.y has overall responsibilit.y for t.he protp~tion and prosperity of tt1e state of according to tradition, is a representation of the mother of ·lhe first YB.-na-.Who we.s a Konkonba. This deity is believed to eNisi:.. in stone form and it seeks the continuity of the state of Dagbon. It seems to me that which is the representation of the mot.her' of t.he fir'st Ya--na, is a deified ancestor. Anyway, by pr iests called 'I~9.r:..i:=.IJ. .S >.nl and f..Q.ll~-=lls>' respectively. The :Ls,::.QS>. normall y appoints these pr ies.ts who oversee ts>'S>.Q..Q. B.nd :LS>.Q".:.rl~Li and is he who provides the sacrificial animals when the need for sacrifice arises~ Normally something good or ev i 1 must happen to necessitate sacrifice, and in Dagbon societ y it is the soothsayers who are consulted on how t.o go about the sacrifice" officiate at ceremonies concerning t.he diety they oversee. They are not diviners just. as the diviner or soot.hsa, y er cannot be a priest to a deityn Thus the priest and the soot~lsayer are two different people who perform different functions. 1042 There are other deit.ies associated wit.h certaiJl areas in Dagbon such and its envir·ons, -IS>.9.Q..Q. for· Tolon and li~9..iS>.S>. for Kumbungu. What I gather here is that one does not see a live hyena but a symbolic representat.ion of it.. University of Ghana ht3tp2: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh These are indi vidually referred to bUD 11. •.1 made to th ese ~~g. by their various Tindamba in time of nm~rl and during festivals such as bugum (fire). The sacrifires mArip to these ~yg§ are known i.:\:'5 baovur i" 2 In baovl II"' i r'i"r FI~~ + hp I1D~~D§ and t h e elders of the area move to t.hp GArrprl nrnv~ nr spot with the items for sacrifice. which are normallv fowls numbering about a dozen. In very serious cases such sacrifices to the deity against drouqht 01' eDicl!=lmir~ rnwc:.. sheep and go~ts constitute the items for the sacrifire., ~--\rn,:.' 1 ": pots of pita called ~~=~~g. and similar pots filled with water are sent along because the IiQ~ana uses the pita to pour but not. all the pito is used as custom demands that some of it should be given to those involved in the sacrifice to dr· ink. The water is used for the cleaninq of hands and the sacrificial knife. 1.43 The IiQ~~Q. is also supposed to offer pravers for prosperity and long life for the people and this act of praver is premised on the assumption that the deity listens· t.o prayers~ he is moved by prayers and that he is caoable of meeting the demands of the people. The prayer' t.herefore t.akps the form of pleading, I'eques·l, int.ercession. ·lI-,ank=.qivi.nq and praise .. When the sacrificial animals are specifically ~~gli is the singular form for deity. ~~g~ is the plural for·rfj .. 2 ~§.g'L'dc:.i r·efers to any rit.e performed for t.he 'L.u=u~m., ~~gli or ti.~Qi. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh slaughtered for the 'consumption' of the deity which is known the animal so slaughtered is not to be eaten by anybody but left for ttle deity. On t.he ot.hel' hand if thE' sacrificial animal is not me"II,t for the I consumption 1 of t.he deity, those present are e:·'pected to eat it by prepal'inq f i I'~, and roasting it. No such meat is expected to go beyond the sacred grove or spot. 1. 44 In every village i.n t.raditional Dagbon, there is a sacred grove or spot nown as IiD9~~Dil which means , t.he earth'. This word has some close relationship with Tindana. Whereas the Tindana is t.he earth priest, 1iDgbani refers to t.he sacred grove or spot or shrine that is venerated. Normally It. is the chief who over·sees the tiCi.9.Q!!.l'li. because he is t.lle chief who must seek the welfare of his people and the land. However, if there is a IiD~§D§ in a village, the responsibility of overseeing the ti'lgQ~'li is given to him. The tiagQ§ai protects the inhabitants of the village, provide ·lhei r needs and in ret.urn receive the people's respect and confidence. It the village is afflicted with evil, epidemic or drought, it is to the iiD9~§Di that the people go. Even if an individual has a problem that he feels it is the ti'lg~~'li that can solve it, he consults the chief and if permission is granted, he goes to the 1iD9~§Di to offer sacrifice in order to achieve his aim. It is This word is also common to most of the tribes in the Northern part of Ghana. Sometimes children who are born as a result of sacr·iflc1=S made to Ii'l99.§.I.J..i al'e named I..l.I';!§.5:fl.l';!l in i·ls honoul'. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh n o t onl y i n cases of need that the people go lo lhe tinqbani bul al so wh en the people are salisFied wilh the I'Bins!, har'vests a nd the general we l l. being of the people. On such occasions pray er ta ke s t h e for m of than ksgiving and praises. 1. 4 5 The IiQ~~Q~~ are by all means important personalities i n Dagbon and they are considered very powerful people as a resu l l of the relationship between them and the deity. the burial of a dead hi1J.~~QS!." the cor pse is car r i ed shou 1 der' high and a spokesman addresses it requesting that it indicates wh o its SLlccessor' shoul.d be" IF the successor lives in that very town or village, the corpse will force its carriers to the ga t e of the house in which he can be found. On the other hand if the successor is a native of that town or village but is not. pr e sently resident in t.he place, the corpse is addressed to l ead t.he carriers t.owards the road leading t.o t.he place where the 1iD~§D§~§ successor can be traced . It. is believed t.he cor p se forces t.he carriers towards t.he road where t.he successor can be found!' and forces t.hem lo slop at. a point wher~ t.he spokesman addresses it requesting it to go back as soon as U,e name of its successor is mentioned. The spokesman t.hen beqins to ment.ion names of known indigenes of t.he area who are not resident thel'e bu.t elsewhere along the road. When the successor's name is mentioned, the corpse again forces them to r ush it back home for burial. Under no circumstances should a n o min a t. ed suc e ssor refuse to hold the post of tin~~Q~ because to d o so will be t.ant.amount. to sacri l ege and it. may cause lhe deat.r, of t.he affected person. The r efor'e, peop 1 e ""dl0 ar·e University of Ghana h3tt5p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh nominated as successors have no option but to take up the post. ].46 In every home in the traditional system there is a god wh o protects the house and all those who live in :i.L This god i s called ~YD~gi and since it is a family god the head of the fami l y serves as its priest. The ~~u~~i shrine is qu i te Asante. l\Iyam(·~ dua which is in the shape of a forked branch cut from a tree holds a brass or earthenware pot. Daily offerings are usually put into this pot in honour of the Supreme Being. Wunbe i on 'lhe other hand is modelled or represented by a pot which i.s nlaced on a wall (QQUil which separates one hut from the other. When people in a particular f am i :I. Y face problems, or Lher' e is a desire for a member to go into some verlture, or a me{nber is about getting married, or even to celebrate an achievement, receives sacrifices and pieces of cooked food are put on the QQUi in its honour. 1. 4·7 The idea of ~~u~~i is quite popular in all tradit.ional homes and the family priest. is expected t.o oversee it properly. When a problem crops up demanding consultation with Wunbei the family priest obtains a fowl and a calabash with water roi>:ed wit.h some little corn flour. The family priest has to ensure that he is spiritually clean (this is procured throuqh a bath especially after having coi.tus). Then squatting before the ~YD~gi, he introduces himself as a member of a particulal' clan as a prelude. This prelude dissociat.es the family priest from the profane world and consecrat.es him with effective communion University of Ghana h3tt6p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh with the deity. The process of invocation begins by addressinq the deity as father and other appelations just to seek its pleasure. It is believed that after this invocation an effeclive communion has been eslablished between the family priesl and the deity. Then lhe purpose of approaching the deity is staled e.g. 'I have called you because so and so is having inferlility problems'. Then the petition follows like Lhis. 'Help her to gel a child'. When a child is eventually born and is male, he is named ~YD~~i and if il is female she is After the petition, the family priest announces to the deity that he is offering il the sacrifice of a fowl in order that the desired goal is fulfilled and then he slaughters it and leaves it to struggle to die. 1.48 Apart from the ~YD~~i that seeks the welfare of the family members, every matured person is expected to own a ~uni (godl symbolised by an image that is kept at a safe place in When a young man attains the age of maturity. in any traditional home in Dagbon, it is the responsibility of his father to mould a ~~Qi for him. A girl is entitled to a ~~Qi when she gets married and it is the responsibility of her husband to secure one for her. In the acquisition of a wuni for either a son or wife~ the ~§g§ who is the diviner or soothsayer is contacted and it is he who intructs his client as to what procedures and items should be used for Whenever one is faced with a problem, one goes to ones wuni seeking solutions to it by offering prayers, pouring libation and offering a sacrifice. The blood of the sacrificial animal University of Ghana h3tt7p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh is usually allolA/ed -Lo spill over the til,\Q';\. and if it is a fowl. which is nOl'mally the case, some of its tiny feathers ar'e pasted on the t-J_IdIJ.i .. t.\lhen t.his 1··1 as be!en done ., thel'e is no doubt in the mind of the owner of t.he wuni t.hat the problem will be solved. People who are able to bear children throuoh the power of their ti~Q.l name t.heir children aft.er these oods and one such name is ~~QaiQi which literally means 'God's oift' For male children. 1.49 important personali-Ly so Far as Dagbon societ.y is concerned. It is he who understands the language as well as the needs of all the spirits. He is consulted on every conceivable occasion such as in cases of death to ascertain it.s cause and the sacrificial remedy~ at birth to ascertain which ancestor is returning and whet.her the child has a bright future; at. marriage to make sure that. both man and woman can make good partners; aFter dreams to make sure that one is not bew itched 01' haunted by evil spells; in undertaking a new en-Lerprise to make sure that the venture will yield fruitful dividends and many more. The baqa commands respect in the traditional systE~m and ht~ is considered a pO~Jer f ul person who cannot be intimidat.ed under any circums- In order t.o become a ~§g§ one has t.o underoo a niqht long rite involving the slaughter of a goat and Chicken numbering over two dozens in honour of the deity and also for This is the plural Form of ti~Qi in Dagbani. University of Ghana h3tt8p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh feasting. The face of t.he R§9§ unclel' t.raininq is I"'ubbed wit.h pepper so as to :eep him awake because if he s lee~ps he wi.ll not. be pot.ent. enough" In each village 01' ar'ea there is a bao-na 1 who is the chief soot.hsayer and when he is about. t.o die. he nominat.es one o( his men t.o succeed him. If the bao-na dies wit.hout. nominating a successor, a meetinq of all the tJaqs:i. 2 is convented (0 1' the elders among t.hem to divine and come out. with a SLlccessor" 1 .. 50 Normally women are not allowed to consult. a hRn~ because of her subordinate status in the traditional The man is the head o( the house and if there is any nrnhlem it rests on him t.o find solutions. A woman who consults A h~n~ considered one with wicked intentions and is watched closely . A man might divorce his I-\'ife if she is found to I,ave ronslIlh"ri Women in traditional Daqbon therefore stayed awav from Q.£9.?ic and even if they strongly (elt. tl,e need for one .. thev sent their male relatives to consult t.he baosi on their hehalf. women in Dagbon today consult baosi as a result nf the gradual changing process of the traditional system. Thic; r/(1PC; not mear. that t.hey do so openly and oet away with it. M.=lr,v husbands will not countenance such attitudes. This word consists of two Daqbani words. baaa (-: in lhe bush, pre-marital sex, adultery, slealinq and cheatinq. To break the law laid down by the ancestors amounts to disresnert for lhem. It is, hO~lever, important to note lhat lhe sphere of influence of the ancestors is limited to the clan or f ami 1. v and thal is lhe more reason why one who breaks lhe law is usuallv a worried persor, because one's life' is i II d~:\nc~er' q and unless there is some sacrifice to appease lhem, lhe danqerous contagion of taboo would linqer on. As a result of the devastating consequences lhat await one who breaks a laid down rule, people in Dagbon try as much as possible to stayawav from breaking one. People who normally break these laws do so inadvertently and the feeling of remorse becomes their lot. However' , it cannot be ruled out the possibility of some sceptics who break these laws lhe consequences nolwilhstandino. Such people might be described as lnsane. Il is worth notina that the imparlance of lhe ancestors in the family and lhe clan makes the altempl lo devaluate their role in life vel'v difficult, because Dagbon society cannot conceive of f 2\mi J.v University of Ghana htt4p4:/ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh or clan withoul ancestor. The mere facl that the consequence of a serious transgression will be passed on to family, clan nr even the whole Dagbon society make people tremble at break inn B law. 1.60 The Dagbamba have a slrong belief in witchcraft and it is believed bolh men and women practise it. bul qenerallv il is associated more with women than men. In Daqbon a witcl, is referred lo as §90Y.9 and its plural form is sonnem2\ .. The 'old woman' i s svnonl~mous with witches and so people are usually very cautious in the use of the word in reference to old women. Whereas the word (oldman) if used in reference to a man is not considered an offence, the word pagkurugu, if arbitrarily used can generale tension between lhe user and the affected woman. To be on the safer side it is always advisable. when referrin~ to an old woman to use the word mpriba (auntie) and for a man !Jb.@.bQ.@. (unc 1 e) • 1. 61 Witches (sonneroaJ are believed to be wicked women whose activities are nocturnal. They trayel at nioht harmine the soul of their enemies in the form of a red liqht that qlows E<;\9J"l,!L\'l9.\'l consists of two Dagbani words, paqa for woman and t:'df.:..'d9.'d fOf' old. 2 QQt:.'df.:..'d9.'d also consist,;. of two Dagbani wOI'ds, do for man anel t:.'df.:..'dg'd for olel. Some people are named Dokuruqu and others have it as nicknames. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh as they mov e along. It is also believed that witches are able to turn themselves i n t o owls, bats or black cats at niq h t t o rio e v il. When a n y such animal is killed it is believed that t.he real bod y of t h e witch dies at the same time. It is also bel ieved that these witches meet in croups on too of aiant l r ees s u ch as baobab and kapock, and lhere are other Limes when they o peral e i ndividually. think t h at. witchcraft. no mat.·~.er wh a t lhe sceplics say, is a reality in Dacbon. It is one phenomenon that se r iously frightens people as a result of the u n e x p lained manner witches operate. The belief that wilches a tt ack t h e spirits of livinq human beinqs which seems imp ossible is enough to frighten even the stronq hearted man. 1.62 The Dagbamba believe that witchcraft can be acquireri in two ways. Firstly, it is inherited, and normally the witch passes o n her witchcraft prowess inadvertent Iv to her niece. As a r esu l l of the close family ties in Daabon society. vounq gir ls fro m t h e age of six are ta~en to live with their aunls who b r ing lh e m up i n lo womanhood and also see to it that thev get married. Such girls become so attached to their aunts as a r e su lt of the long period of living together, and the inti lllBCV b et we e n aunts and nieces become tiqhter than their real parenls . The r efore, a witch who is about lo die sees lhe niece a s th e b e s t person who should inherit her and thus she passes her pr o wess o n to her. In mosl cases lhese younq nieces are unaware of what has befallen them until l ater in life. Second ly, i l i s acqulred by buying it from witchcraft University of Ghana ht4tp6: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh practioners who take the customer through several rites. It. is believed that before a woman is finally fully accepted into thE? 'league of witches', she should have presented the spirit of a close family I'elation for devourinq. This presentation is a clear man i f es·lat i on of the f act that if one i.s full v commissioned into the 'league', one would be prepared to take active par·l in all activities of witches notwithstandinq the degree of harm to be inflicted. 1. 63 People in Dagbon are so conscious of the activities of witches so much so that they do not want to enqaqe themsel ves in the exchange of harsh words with old women especially, bec-F-I.use i f such women reel seriously hurt by the exchanqes, they could cause harm such as si.ckness or even death to the affected people. However, in this contemporary world of ours, some people succeed in exchanging words with old women and qet away with it by saying, {~kuto nwubma" wh i. ch· I i·leral J. y means, "t1ay God am ahead of vou" Ynlf cannot eat 1 meu" These statements siqnify that one is on ones guard and that if the old woman is a witch, she cannot caltsp any harm. Normally when such statements are made to an olrl woman who is actually a witch, she qets sc:ared because first place she is suspected of being a witch snd secondlv iF In Dagbon society when one dies out of witchcraft. one is considered to have been eaten. It is held that the witches actually eat up the soul of the victim and that is why the word 'kill' is inappropriate in describinq death b v witchcr·aFt. University of Ghana ht4t7p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh she decides to cause harm in whatever form. it will be easilv attributed to her. Witchcraft and all its attendant havocs are shroL,cied in secrecy and so there is no witch who would openly. without cause, admit that she is a witch. They usually do not want to be found out. 1. 64 When the need for a witch to strike arises. but the timing not appropriate or to the int.erest of the wit.ch, she decides to exercise restraint and gives it up at least for the time being. This means that when t.here has been some confrontation between a witch and anot.her person and t.he witch feels hurt and wants t.o cause harm, she has to t.hink seriously as to whether she could save herself t.he agony of beinq found out as a witch and having to go through st.ringent ordeals. especially when the confrontation took place in the full qlare of spectators. If she feels strongly that a case will be made against her if she went on to harm her victim, that means the timing is inappropriate and in order to save herself fl'om any emb2t.r- r' assment, she gives up the whole idea of havoc. However. there are some daring witches who would damn the consequences and go on to harm their victims, but of course such darino ones are not easily found. 1. 65 Witchcraft is so much detested in Daqbon societv such that whatevel' a person does that is likely to cause death is associated with it. from this "tttitucle t.hat. witchcraft is not always psychic because poisonino, hittinc someone so hard that injury or pain is caused or even mere University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 48 unfriendl y a tt i t ude are all associated wit h it. F'eool(:o? arp th e refore c a ution e d against such p r actices bv elders in ever'v Dagbon soci e ty. Si n ce no Dagbana en ~ oys b einq label l ed a wi.tch, one tries as much as possible t o refrain from acts such as bi ting a n other p erson in a fight, hitti n g hard an oDDonent. in fl i ct in g cuts on another person Dr any other attitude that is a s s oc iated with sadism. These are all pointers to the fact th a t the Dagb amb a abhor witchcraft in all its ramifications. 1. 66 When a person dies in mysterious circumstances, it is often traced to witchcraft and almost immediately susDects srp sought by members of the deceased's family. When a woman is s trong ly suspected of havinq 'eaten up' the deceased. she is quickly rounded up by people in the community and taken to the ch ief's house. If the suspect is rounded UP late in the eveninD. t he chi e f hands her oyer to one of his elders considered verv powerful and who can render ineffective any witchcraft powers. This powerful elder keeps the suspect overniqht and under s tri c t vigilance so as to counteract any diabolical move bv h er-. 1 Early the next mor-ning the powerful elder Dresents hFr a t t h e chief's house to be tried. On the other hand i f 'l'hF s u s p e c t is rounded up during the day time she is taken to the h ave b een infor'med of an incident at choqo. Cl. Sllhllrh n( Ta mal e wh ere a suspected Witch was keot in an plMFr. hnmF for t h e n ig h t. At midnight this elder rushed to thp rhipf~ house t o i.n fo r m him t.hat. the witch was t.oo Dowerflll fnr him an d t he suspect was transferred to another elder's home who wa s abl e t o con t ain her. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 49 c h ief's house amidst booing and cat calls and even demnn~trA- tion s calling for the death of 'lhe suspect. Samet. i me~ '1' hp suspect confesses having caused the death of t.he deceased and even me l,.l i 01, a=omplices who c~re also rounded uP. ti me s 'loo the suspect den i es the accusat ion "md ClO(;?S th r ouoh some kind of 'l l'ial by ordeal where she is made t.o drink concoct i ons. If she vomit.s after drinkinq the cococtions thpn she is guilty but i f she does not vomit, she is not fOllnrl guilt.y and thus acquitted. Invariably, all such susoects ~re found guilty through the trial by ordeal. If the susDect confesses that she actually 'ate up' her victim or the trial bv ordeal e>~ poses her- guilt, she is exiled from the communitv. town 01' vi llage. 1. 67 Banishment as a means o'f riddinq the societv nf witches is used in Dagbon and it continues UP to this dav. The witch is normally escorted to her house and made to Dack her clothing and carry them while people, mostly children hoot at her. She is then led all the way to the outskirts of t.hE' 'lown or village and asked to go wherever she wants but dares not retur-n .. Elders and many other people interviewed all. over Dagbon share the view that banishment is qood enouqh because in the first place if a witch is found out in the communitv where she lives, she sl...tf fers a lot of d isqr'ace. Secondlv bv banishment, she severs relationship with her roots which CAn hp p ai n ful. Normally relatives of the witch can do nothina tn p revent such an ordeal but have to accept it bv ioininn ·~hp University of Ghana htt5p0: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh large r' community in e>:pressing relief at the hani~hmpnt nf '" wicked resident. 1. 68 In the Vendi district there is a villaof? caller! Nn",,,,ni where all suspected witches are e>:iled to. of this village dates back to the pre-colonial ppriorl r:lnrl i .~ was established by the Eastern Daqbon Tradit.iDnal A,d·hnl'Hv fnr women ostracised by their communities and families on c;IIc;n·ir·inr. of witchcraft. . The home is sUPDorted oart i~llv hv thp Department of Social Welfare and donations organisations, but the outcasts al'e enoaoed in Vl=l.l"inllC:; collective activities to take care of themselves. ilnder ·t h<" guidance of a wardress employed by the Department nf Snrir:!l Welfare the outcasts farm, make soapq process shea butter. gather firewood and pick sheanuts t6 earn moneY. Some oenol", wonder whether intimate interclction with these ou·lcasts wnloJr! not cause one some harm or even death. that before the witch gets to Ngaani. she Does throuoh certAin rites that remove the witchcraft powers from her thus r' ender .j nn her vir·lually ineffective. The chief of Nqaani is a witrh doctor who renders the witches :lneffective with hi. "< nf)w(;;:.rs~ AboL!t 90% of the population of Ngaani is ma.de UP of women "'nr! t.he vel'y old ones are allowed to bri.na alono thpir nrrlnri children or nieces to take care of them. Over· t.he years these children have int.er-married and the size of the viI lane h",s gro~Jn . There are presently about. t.wo thousand seven hunrirpri people in t.he vi.llage. There is no school at Nqaan; anri ";Pf:~I' ienL.e.~; is flot d'~ active as be(or'e University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh bv the Hen .. 'E:.' '( rill .J i I, ( 'yt:-.' , (J:I"I _ . ' n(l ft)t,.-\ 1 1.'1 u ,r U(::;,· f 'c n t •. I { 11"1: i nc\te I I' ] t'nci of :ds 75 Gener-tllly IJlT("' cr"'r+ IS dtt"ICJrt:;:;!d J.r, Jac,bon clf1d c\ .l.S r.:upl", • bDth ·yaUriO Elnd () 1 d CJ)me rnupd to find out wl·lel ~.;l J.S ~'Iost of The time ar'e surpl'ised wi.tches al"'e because bf? f ()r E' c.heir d i "'cover· y thev we .... e consider'ed innocer,t and qood 100hino [ip("'w. lp in the society and not su;:;·pec..-L j 1"lC! that thev hl~ dangerous. That is Dagoon socIet.y does not hesj·t~tp in institute drastic measures against them Besides'! the OanbJ:\rnhri ar'e very conscious of their' e:·{ istence and Lhe harm thev can cau.se and that is most. of them are al'med wlth the statement,! nIIllUbrT!~" (see 1" 6 1) an d t his statement. is even made to the which is assocfated with witches. 1. 76 The DagbC'.mba refer to magic as tim and it is also used for any form of medicine be it orthodo>: or tradit.i.onal. The refer to medicine as ti~ snd so some people tend to see some relation between two as a r'esul t of the Islamic influence It is mere coincidence that the two University of Ghana ht5tp6: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh words look allke bul definitely one is not derived from the otller. 1. 77 Magic endows its enthusiasts with superhuman qualities or powers which are used for protective as well a« destructive purposes. There is hardly any lypical Daqbon family thal does nol indulge in magic in one way or the olher. To the typical Dagbana, magic is essential because without it one cannol qO through a very successful life. Therefore lo be a man in the real sense, one musl go in for some form of maqic in order to keep body and soul together. 1. 78 There are several lypes of magic in Daabon societv but it will be worthwhile discussing the very imporlant ones. One of the most imporlant ones is lhe lilgu,· the vanishinq power magic already discussed 1. 72. L. i I qu is used lo orolecl oneself from accidenls and sudden altacks. The main!"' of lhe Da.gbamba is farming and since farms are ouitp rBm8verl from setlled communities, it is possible for one to be attacked by a wild animal or an enemy. With powers of lilau one can vanish from the scene of attack and reappear elsewhere. It can also make one disappear f o.r inland when one is involved in a mot.or accident" 1. 79 Ther·e is also the "bullel proof" maqic known as This type of magic is sewn into a special tvpe of smock called Q~AQQQ which repel any bullets lhal ar'e shot at. University of Ghana ht5tp]: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh user' . It can also repel arrows and other clanqer(~us weapons. There is yet another form of Kosalqu which consists of a pot.ion of herbs (:\nd some pellet.s of a bullet ~hich are eaten. It is believed that. when such concoctions are eaten. goes to toughen the skin and the bones such that no amount of bullets f rom a gun can penetrate it. This type of maqic is not easil y obtainable, but i f one is lucky to come int.o contact with the medicinemen who control it, one has to qO throuqh certain rites involving the sacrifice of cats and fowls to the deity responsible for such powers. 1.80 bi19!o' and L92.919!o' are protective types of maqic used in Dagbon but there are also some types used mainly to harm other people. This type of magic has been described by Geoffrey Parrinder as b ad med i c.i n~? or ublack maqic ll 11 II .. 1 The most popular of this type is called Samba. It is a collection of poisonous herbs which is buried in places where an enemy walks or sits. Before burying the herbs the name of the enemy one int.ends harming is mentioned and when he tramples over the concealed §~m~Q. he falls sick and dies. It is also believed that walking bare-footed is dangerous because ones enemy could collect the foot prints on lhe ground in sand form and use it. to cause harm. §~m~Q can also be administered in food. water and pita. It is believed that when this has been done by ones Geoffrey Parrinder: i!:!.~g;hJH. . c..i~~Q_(l~U. . giQIJ.,. . _f:\ .... ?.th'dy a r the !::!.~li~£.?.._ .... a.nd practices of Akan. Ewe., ygryba, Ibo and Kindered Peoples, London Epworth Press, 197:':;, pp. 16~2" University of Ghana ht5tp8: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh enemy, insects or even snakes grow in the stomach of t.he enemv and eventually eat up ·lhe :i.ntestineso This harmful maqic is poisoni.ngo As a result. of the great fear of poisoninq oeoole do not leave theil' nails, hai r 'I washinq sponqes. towels and clothing about. . These are intimat.ely connected with the body and any wicked person who lays hand on any of these can use it to harm his enemy. That is why in Dagbon society people are not encoul' aged to walk bare footed and also not to eat. food and drink water in houses of strange and unfriendly people. 1. 81 There are some medicine men who claim to possess the power of curing poisoned people or counteractinq the effects 0f hal'mful magic. Normally such medicine men use local. herllS which are either drunk or rubbed on the skin to remove worms or hidden charms. These medicine men keep items such as needl,,~s. pieces of smock materiEIl, pieces of charcoal, thread and even insects which they have been able to remove from the stomachs of poisoned people. 1 Most. people in Daqbon live up to the saying tho.t Hprevention is better than cure 'l bv pr'otect ina themselves with cho.rms against all possible harmful maoico This is so because invariably people who are poisoned do not survive and even where they survive, they deteriorate seriouslv because the effects of poisoning are st.ill visibleo contacted a medicineman at Ny~nkpala who showed me a needle and a small piece of smock material which a victim vomitted out of his stomach. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 59 1.82 The Dagbamba also have a type of charm known 25 literally meaning 'love medicine'. There are several forms of it and they could be obtained in liquid form with a little or~t poured into water. food or drink for the victim. Sometimes it is in the form of a concoction made up of several herbs mixed with shea butter and honey. Kolanut is dipped into this concoction and given to the victim. When a girl takes any of these she falls in love and it is believed nothing can stop her from experiencinq the effect of the charm. It can, on the other hand be administered by women to men to keep them hypnotised and fanatically fall in love with the women who charm them. The men who suffer under the effect of this charm do all that the women command and especially with regard to the release of money to them, and in effect their power as men wielding authority in the home are sacrificed on the alter of love. In order not to fall easy prey or victim to such dangerous machinations of women, the men try as much as possible to be on their guard for the Daqbamba believe that to fall a victim to such wicked machinations of a woman is musiiba (disaster) . ~LI~~_Q[_ta~~~~~ __ LU_QB~~QU ~L~l~ 1.83 Traditional Dagbamba perform elaborate reliqious rites on the occasion of a woman's first pregnancy. This staqe is considered an anXlOUS moment in the life of the woman because it marks a transformation or mode of existence from one staqe to the other. That is why this stage is marked by reliqious University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 60 rit.es. This rite is called pirigibu which liter'allv means 'undressing' .. This ceremony is t.he official declaration of a pregnancy. Before t.he performance of this ceremony no one is permItted to refer to the pregnancy of a woman. 1. 84 When i:\ woman is pr'egnant for about three or four months, her husband infol'ms his in-laws of their dauqhter's conception and a da'Le is fixed for t.he ceremony. ~\ 5i.stel' of t.he husband is normally invited t.o officiat.e in the ceremony. Where 'Lhere is no sister, any female affine of the husband is eligible t.o perform t.he ceremony. She comes t.o t.he house with a calC>.bash in her hand and opens t.he ceremony in the preqnant woman's room by giving her a knock on the head or shouleler saying, "You were a child, but now you are an aelult'. This knock is supposed to transform her 'f I' am a CI i \' I woman ready to bear all t.he impendinq IJe.ins of Duel'ner tum. The cloth that. is tied to her waist is t.hen untied and she st~nMs naked with the sign of preqnancy vi.sible as a result. of the protrusion of t.he belly. A special meal is then oreDared ~ith chicken presented by t.he husband for t.he ceremanv. This meal is prepared by t.he officiating woman or under her supervision .. Then U,e ancestral spirits ar'e invoked to protect the woman t.hroughout her labouring period and also t.o ensure a smooth del ivery. To round off the ceremony. a soothsayer is contacteel to determine the ancestor after whom the child should be named when it is born and usually a fowl is slauqhtered in memory of such ancest.or-. From then an the woman can be referred to as University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 60 rites. This rite is called pirigibu which liter'allv means lundressing l .. This ceremony is the official declaration of a prE~gnancy. Before the performance of this ceremony no one i,s permItted to refer- to the pregnancy of a woman. 1.84 When ," woman is pr'egnant for about three or four months, her husband informs his in-laws of their dauqhter's conception and is fixed for the ceremony. A si.s'lel' of the husband is normally invited to officiate in the ceremony. Where 'lhere is no Sister, any female affine of the husband is eligible to perform the ceremony. She comes t,o lhe house wi, th a calC',bash in her hand and opens the ceremony in the preonant woman's room by giving her a knock on the head or shoulder saying, ~Yau were a child~ but now YOU are an adult'. This knock is supposed to transform her from a qirl into a hrave woman ready to bear a 11 the impend inq I~"', ins 0 f ouer ner illm. The cloth that is tied to her waist is then untied and she stanris naked with the sign of preqnancy vi.sible as a result of the protrusion of the belly. A special meal is then preoared with chicken presented by the husband for the ceremonv. This meal is prepared by the officiating woman or under her supervision" Then the ancestral spir i'la ar'e invoked lo PI'otecl the woman throughout her labouring period and also to ensure a smooth delivery. To round off the ceremony, a soothsayer is contacted to determine the ancestor after whom the child should be named is born and usually a fowl is slauqhtered in memorv of such ances"lor·. From then on the woman can be referred to as University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 01 1. 85 At child birth, lhere is always a traditional birth attendanl. usually an old lady who is experienced in c\ssistinq young women -lo accomplish a safe deliver'y" 1 The umbilical cord is cut and buried-within lhe house or _iusl outside it. The disposal of lhis cord shows thal the child has died from the world of pregnancy and is alive in the new slate of birlh. Meanwhile the safe delivery of the child is heralded bv loud ululation by the women present during lhe process. When is a baby boy the women ululate thrice and if a airl. four times. It appears that no special reason is qiven for the use of the numbers thl'ee (3) and four (4) for men and women resDecti.velv. It has been an old practice which the Dagbamba have not Daused to find its significance. People who are usuallv around when the women ululate pay particular atlention to the number of times it is done at one time because parents who wlsh to have a girl from that family betrothed to a son in theirs would want to take that opportunity with minimum delay. (.)ny de 1 ay can bring about disappointment as clnother interested party would have taken the lead. 1. 86 The child is usually bathed with warm water lwice daily during the mornings and evenings either by the birth The Government of Ghana has noted the immense role these traditional birth attendants play in rural areas. To this end the Ministry of Heallh has been charged with the responsibility of running courses for them. Such courses are usually run lo updale the parlicipant's knowledqe in family planning methods, immunisation, child delivery methods and general firsl aid practices. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh attendant or any other experienced woman in the family. A nUI'sing mother is refer'red to as H.§9.§999 SD • 1 This is tD indicate to the public that she has recently given birth lo a ch i 1 d. A woman &Quid conti.nue bearing such a name up to over lhree months after giving birth. A newly born baby boy is usually called §£IJ.9.Q_~ \Ihethel' she is betrothed to someone or not. If she is not, then marriaqe arrangemenls are sel in motion. I t must howev,,?r befor·e mar·riage al'r·angements begin; both parents consult soolhsayers to find out whether sLlch a marriaqe will be a su.ccessful one _!> wheUler lhere will be benefits in the form of children and whether their children are not qoinq into a famil.y characterised by awefu.l diseases which are hidden. When the soothsayerls findings are positive in both cases, then mal'r i aqe is certain between the two of them. 1. '18 vJhen the young man is ready to get married, he sends a pot of pito, an empty gourd and a fowl to the girl's parents. University of Ghana h7tt0p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh This ceremony is a c 1 eal' indicator that the woman will leave the family soon. Then the young man buys a mukuru which is c:\ kind of skir'l made from smock material which the woman wears when she is taken_ _ .!-o the moln' shame. The woman gets to her husbands home either by the arrangement that requires sandaani as discussed in 1.94 or the arrangement discussed in 1.97. 1. 99 Polygamy is an accepted practice in Dagbon and to this end men can marry as many women as they wish. Normally a man with one wife is still considered a bachelor because when his wife gives birth it is the custom that she qoes to stay with her parents after the naming ceremony. Weaning the child takes up to a litt.le over a year and so the man will be without. a woman during this long period of separation, and is considered as having reverted to his bachelor st.at.us. Howevel', if the man has more than one wife, and one is away, the ott1er or others should be with him. Polygamy is encouraqed because of the manv children that are likely to be produced from it to work on the farms clnd it is a prestige to be identified with the ti~le , f a.ther of mE\ny childr-en 1 .. Having many chi ldr'en, most important.ly, enhances the growth of society which pleases the ancestors. 1. :l00 The Dagbamba believe in death as a fact of Like many other Africans the Dagbamba do not readily accept the finality of death. They look cIt deatll as the most dreaded University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 71 aspect of man even though they see it as inevitable. i'ieverthe- less, the Dagbamba try to resist lhe idea of ceasinq to e>:ist and this t"'esislance is expressed in almost an heroic struqqle fOI' i mmortality. - For t.his ['eason -lhere i_s always an <3ttemot to show that though man ceases to exist. physically at death. hp continues t.o live in one form or the other in t.he c;.n·j f" i t 11..=:11 world. 1. 10 1 is generally believed that death does not h~nnpn hv chance for there must always be an external sp i r- its, witches!! wi z ards e-lc. For this reason when a man rlip~ in Dagbon society, a necromancer (~~ga) is consulted about the cause of the death, thF separation of the deceased from the physical world to the world of spirits commences~ 1.102 When a man dies, the gQgC.i kpE?ma (f ami ly head) sends other- members of the family to places far and near to inform other relatives and sympathisers. It is normallv exoected that all member-s of the family would assemble before burial takes place. Those who are sent to break the news of the deat.h to other-s a_roe e;-(pected to tell them, "I have bec~n s'i'nt to inform you that so and so is ~,bsent". Dagbon custom does not Dermit.. announcing the death of a person bluntly because it.. miqht. be construed to mean hatred for On arrival the L~~ili (funeral home), mourners go t.o see t.he doqrikpema because it is he who presides over t.he burial and any other funeral University of Ghana ht7tp2: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh It is to him that mourners express their condolences. Women do not mix with men at the funeral home and so thev croup themselves either in the widows hut or just sit in the compound of the house. J::!.o I'eason is assi.qned to this sort of seoaration except that it is connected with the subordinate position of woman to man in the traditional system. No mourninq cloths are prescribed for such occasions and so people wear anylh irKI to a funeral home. 1.103 Immediately a man dies, lhe old women in the house provide some warm water in an old larqe calabash for use in giving the dead its fil'st bath. It is the doqrikoema with the assistance of other family members who do the bathino. Aftel' this fir' st bath the Q.Qg.c..ilQ.~!!lSl. consults a soothsayer to divine choosing a suitable site for the grave to be duq. No special place is exclusively reserved as a cemetry because some peDDle are buried in their rooms, other·s in the compound of thei.I' homes and others too just behind their homes. Special orave diggers known as LSl.§iqc..i~Sl. do the digging of graves and when this is over they are rewarded. The deceased is qiven a serand bath after which the corpse is carried shoulder hioh to (hi=' grave for bur- ial. Before the introduction of cloth in Dacbon. corpses were buried wlth larqe leaves such as those of leak ·lr·ees. These leaves ar·e known as Kornamqbandi. Such ]eaves are large and so were found suitable for buri.al our Doses. When weaving was latel' in'lroduced into Dagbon. smock material replaced the use of leaves. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.104 Women and children al'e not allowed to watch burial ceremonies. They are considered as people with wea~ hearts and might break down or get frightened for a lona lime after seE')i.nq the dead. Before the corpse is lowered into the crave, the .dqgc!1p~'!!).", addresses it saying, "In YOL.lI' life t.ime some lmcle. brother or sister might have offended you. Today is the dav to forgive them all. If any grand child said some offensive word to you, this is the time to forgive them." It is believed thAt it IS very disastrous for a deceased to 00 and ;t"Ji.n ancestors with ill-will towal'ds a livinq member because th- anger of lhe deceased will ret.ard proqress of the soc 'l ",,+ v. After the bLlr ial mourners reassemble at. the Kuvili where t.he in diverse WaVS mourned with them. He also announces t.he dale fOI' the Kubaqri 1 and the this announcement mourners retire to t.heir various homes leaving those who come from far places because they would have t.o say back until after the t.hi l'd dav I' unel' a I rites . 1.105 Very ear·ly on day which is normallv the third day after burial of the deceased, the doqrikpema consl.i1t",. a soothsayer under a tree just around the vicinitv. 8efol'e the This Dagbani term refers to the consultation of the sooth- sayer on the third day after burial of a deceased person to find out the cause of the death. 2 Dabaata literally means three days, but in this context it ;;i;;;-to the funeral celebrations (rites) of the dead three days after burial. University of Ghana ht7tp4: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh pr o cess s t a r ls lhe ~9g£i1Q.m§ offers lhe soolhsaver three kola- nut s i f th e d eceased i s male and four kolanuls i f female" Thf= n u mber s and 4 featul'e here also as already noted in 1.85. After t h e divination the soothsayer informs the doqrikpema the cause of lh e deat h and what should be done t o avert future occurences of such death. He further may precribe sacrifice of sheep ~ goa t or fowl. to the ancestors and this is done wil h minimum delay. Drumming and dancing also features prominentlv th i s day in honour of the dead. Food is also prepared for mourners who come round. This third day ceremony ends the service for the dead in traditional Daqbon society. Ii-!hen this is accomplished, the ~gg~it~~m~ and the other elders of the family congratulate themselves for havinq qiven the deceased a fittIng burial and funeral rites thus pavinq the way for it. to join the ancestors and guide lhe living. They also qo round to thank well WIshers who mourned with lhem durinq their period of gr lef . 1. 106 Children who die withoul attaininq the aqe of maturitv are nol given such burial riles as indicated in the oreCeedlnq paragr-a.ph. This is so because children cannol ~oin the realm of ancestors as they have not attained maturity. They also have not married in order to produce children for the qrowth of In traditional Dagbon society when a family loses one of its members, mourners send food items and animals to the bereaved family to prepare food for the larqe number of mourners who would normally come for the third dav funeral rit.es. University of Ghana h7tt5p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh society and generally they have not .=:Irlv+hinn beneficial to society. \iBW!;:§ 1. 107 In traditional Dagbon society acts such as stealino, adul tel'y, disrespect for elders, lyinq, cheatinq, murder. raoe. Incest, witchcraft, arrogance, neglect of aqeinq parents and socery are regarded ethically wronq. All these orohibitions are acts connected with human relations in society. In ef fect can be said that the values behind these prohibitions are values which will work for stability in the society, that is to say the rules are basically meanl to produce harmony in societv. 1.108 It is believed that there is a thunder qod known as §~f!~.o.! who e>:poses thieves by strikinq them dead with the stolen articles on them. The vigilance of this qod may be responsible for the absence of thieves in t I' ad it i. on a I Daqbon because it is common place to find far~ produce stored safelv in farms far away in the bush. If one needs food, one has iust to ask for it and it will be supplied so why qo to steal and be exposed? This augurs well for the well beinq of soc i.ety. This emphasis on the well toeing of society brings into focus the Importance attached to co-operati.ve life. In this sense. therefore, can be said that the idea of communalily plays a prominent role in determining what is I'igh-l:. and wl'onq" Even where these codes as enumeraled in 1.107 are obeyed because of sanctions of the spiritual beings, one can conveniently say University of Ghana ht7tp6: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh that the spiritual beings intervene to punish people in order that the equilibrium in society will not be disturbed. 1. 109 Underlying thlS passionate concern of the well IJeino of society is a great respect for the life of the individual. Individual life is regarded as somethinq sacred i~nd it is a serious crime against SOCiety, the gods and the ancestors of Dagbon for life to be destroyed. In a sense. anythinq that serves to diminish life is regarded as evil. That is whv witchcraft and socery are regarded as evil acts aqainst ethical 1 i f e. 1. 110 Respect for elders is highly cherished in Daobon. When a child or even a young man meets an elder he has to oreet hIm by squatting or by bowing. A woman an~werino to the ~All of her husband or an elderly person should kneel before them. Every person is required to observe it so that some d .3V CinE' will also be accorded s·imi l.ar I'sspect. Daqbon societv cannnt Imagine a child either arguing with an elder or even insul t.;nC1 him. It will indeed be sacrileqious to do that. 1. 111 There are many values that the Daqbamba cherish but Lhey cannot all be enumerated here. However. the f E~lt4 d:L scussed above ar·e very impol'tant because any Dagbana. male or female who conslders himself or herself ng§,gban-yanqa (qr'andchi ld of a Dagbana) must of necessity respect and pr'actise these v,dl"~"'" University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 77 §YM~eBY The Dagbamba are located in Northern Ghana and thev form lhe most populous single ethnic croup in t h e area. The area inhabited by the Dagbamba is known as Daobon and the language they speak is Dagbani. This lanquaoe is related to Nanumba, Mamprusi and Moshi. The traditional capital is Vendi where the Y§=D§, the paramount chlef of the Daobon traditional area resides. The state of Dagbon is divided distrlcts and other important towns and villaqes located in Dagbon are: Tamale, Savelugu, Tolon, Kumbunqu. Gusheou. Karaoa. Diare and Nyankpala. The origin of the Dagbamba is a bit abscure but the most common origin is centred on a leqendarv leader known as Toha-Zie (Red hunter) who emerged from Zamfara in the Sokoto state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The earliest writer on Dagbon, Tamakloe and Ibrahim Mahamah, a Tamale based lawyer and politician believe that the Dagbamba originated from some Arab tribe. They based their arguments on some similarities between the Arabs and the Dagbamba relating to culture and language which are considered far fetched. The history of Dagbon has been preserved through the medium of drum chant and is through this medium that Toha-lie (Red hunter) is mentioned as a progenitor of the Daqbamba. Toha-lie is believed to have saved the inhabitants of a villaqe in the Mali emplre from dying of thirst by killinq a bush cow that prevent ed them from drawing water from a pool which was their University of Ghana h7tt8p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh only source of wat.er. He assist.ed t.he Chief of Mali in his wars against. his enemies and as a result CI f Toha-Zie's wonderful feat.s, t.he chief offered him one of his dauqhters as a wi fe. This woman, according t.o t.he drum draut is Paqwoblqa which means lame woman. Toha-zie is said to have left Mali but his son fouqht for the chief of Mali after his death. This son was known as ~pugnumbu who settled at Biung and married Sisabiqi. the maiden daughter of the Tindana. Kpugnumbu succeeded in becominq Tindana but lost Sisabigi after she had qiven birth to Nyarigil.i which means "the melting". ::puqnumbu a 1 so fouqht f [.:I)' Abdul-Rahman, the chief of Grumah and subdued all his enemies. In admiration of this feat, Abdul-Rahman offel'ed him his daughter known as Suhuyini which means "one heart". It is this woman who gave birth to Na-Gbewa, the most revered chief of Dagbon. He is also the great ancestor of the Moshi. Nanumba. MamprLlsi and Kusel.si' s. After Na-Gbewa's death ·lhere ~,as confusion among his children as to the succession to the nam (chiefship) and this caused a '5P 1 it in the f ami 1 y. Si.tobu moved out and founded the state of Dagbon, the only dauqhter of Na-Gbewa, Katchiogo or Yantaure founded the state of Moshi and Tohugu established the Mampr·usi state. That is why all these tribes speak related languages and share common jokes. The Dagbamba later settled at Yan-Dabar i., a villaqe noV', in I'uins. During the reign of Na-Luoro. the twelfth chief University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 79 of Dagbon, the Dagbamba had to move out of this olace as a ['esult of the setbacks they experienced in their wars aqainst lhe Gonjas who were led by their ql'eat chief Sumai.la Ndewuf'a Jakpa. They settled at Vendi which is the capital of the state of Dagbon today. The Dagbamba believe in the existence of a Supreme Bei.ng refer I' ed which means 'chief God'. Sacred groves and spots dolled allover Daqbon have been lhe Supreme Being, and they also represent places of worship for the benefit of the tradilional area known as bugl i. Every village has a place of worship called Tincbani and so also is every house wilh a spot or ob~ect referred to as Wunbp i ~ Thr-o Individual loo has a deily referred lo as Wuni. Thr=o nMnhrlmh., believe that all lhese deiti.es aT'e sllhnrd"\n"tp 'fn I\Ir"1Wl HI i because they obtain lheir power from him. e;:istence of a Supreme Being is man if es·t pri in the savina" The Dagbamba believe that God is qood and t.hat he punishes the evil and qood people. Wit.h qood people he blesses them with good children, good farm yields and pl'osper ity; but wilh lhe evil ones he punishes them wi.lh disease such as leprosy, madness and blindness. It is also believed t.hal it. is he who brings rain~ wind and sustenance to man and that he lives up in the skies. University of Ghana h8t0tp ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ancestor veneration forms the dominant theme of the traditional reI ig ion of Dead parents or qrand- parenls are considered as ancestors and it is the belief even lhough lhey are dead, they participate actively in the daily life of the people. The Dagbamba sometimes attribute some evenls to the activities of lhe ancestors. especially in areas of misfortune. They are very concious of the aclivilies of lhe anceslors and so they constantly offer se\cr i. f ices especially to appease them when soothsayers or diviners inform lhem that the ancestors are angry. They also offer sacrifices of cows, sheep, goats and fowls when they are happy with the rains, farm yields and years that are free from calamities. Be lief in witchcraft is strong ",monq Lhe Daqbamba. Both men and women practise it but qen~ally. is associated with women more than men. A witch is referred to as '?2DY§ but. t.he Dagban i wor cI E§9E'.t"II \"lgU (0 I d "lOman) is also used in reference t.o a wit.ch. Their act.ivities are danoerous anri clandestine and are almost always involved in psychic killings. Wlt.chcraft can either be boughl or inhel'it.t.ed. "Jilll cases of inher'iting witchcr·aft. witches are believed t.o DeiSS on the; r witchcraft prowess to thelr nieces because in Daabon sn~jRtVa nieces normally live with their aunties, and they are verv much attached to t.hem. When a witch is identified. she is exiled 10 anolher place. I n the Vend i. district of Daqbon. there is a village called Ngaani where all exiled witches are sent. Ther'E.~ is also a witch doctor in the village who removes all traces of witchcraft on the exiled witches. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 81 Some Dagbamba practise maqic which i. s I"'r:fel"'f'(~d tro There bot.h prot.ecti. ve and i1iH'Il,ful l ypes of mdqie.. Tnose that come under protect.ive magic 2\f'e lilqu ane for harmful magi c, i", quIt. . '" [JoIJI.ll.ar. Lilou is the vanlshing power maglc enabl(<2s one "ani.sil I I C)fT! the se ene of an or 10 or .l J lP~JE: -.:;1 I 1 ram llar to it.s llser L' ",19=-, lrI I, 1:';:1 1<:\1 e, r 'a1 I .,L ... 1 '.;:1 1 ,,\l J. E'L III J C, C.c e 0 ,"C L. 1,c de. .1 J to oJ Uy I J f t::.IC; t 1 f r e a~ ~Jl C.d " lLS ot e re h iaq ~ ,31 J ea.th ... Ch,,, ).J<'.,ubail',ba fJr) have LJ b':? ·t -' i + ec::. f:l' women .. hr(?e 0'" o r m nt s .l"t ;S (CJIlSlderel the ,'r·egn-".n {-") (' er emon officially declare the womAn pregnant. i n.::l"[ 1 v Dives birth and the rhi.ld is male. he is referred to AS <:;§1J9gw (male visitor) and if a female., she is I'eferred '1-0 as (female visitor). These names last until the official naming ceremony on the eigl-,tt-, day. The nUf'sinCI 'rnothel' also carpies a ne"'l name as E'~9£.999.29 ""hich li.ter'ally mean "woman "Iho delivers someone II " On the eight.h day the na..mino cel"'emonv child" is held. Local names such as r~z indow:; Napodow. Neindow. BUDIl et.c. are given to ma.les and n~.mes such as i'-leena, Neenpaqa" Jinwarpaga, Amama, Sanka etc. are given to females. University of Ghana hft:tJp2 ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Marriage is consicJered a very important phenomenon in Dagbon societ.y. Every young man and woman who at.tains t_he ~"'Cle of mat.urit.y is expected to get married. and t.o lhis end parenls make every effort lo see t.hat. theil' sons I:\nd married. It is believed thal by refuslnq to marrv. lhe individual thwart.s the growlh of society. Since the Daqbamba believe in reincarnation using ancestors as an e:-:ample. it is considered an offence t.o t.he ancestors t.o remain either bachelor or a spinst.er all ones life. Baby girls are sometimes betrot.hed t.o young men, but parent.s could still look fOI' wives for t.heir sons when they are matured. Marriage in traditl.CJIlal Dagbon society is quite a simple mat.t.er depending on t.he trus-l of both parlies. Some parent.s easily give their daught.ers away in-marriaqe to sons of friends as a means of strengt.hening the bonds of friendship bet.ween them. Sometimes marriage is carried an between familv members in or-der to keep the family unit. toqether. not very close !"'elations arE? involved in this farm of mar-r iage. Sans do nat. normally contribut.e money to the dowrv because t.he father does everything. However, they have to work on farms of t.he i r- in-laws du.ring plantinq and harvestino. Besides, i f their in-laws are enqaqed i.n any activity that demand ou.tside assistance, t.hey have to 00 and assist. t.hem. Polygamy is an accepted phenomenon in Daqhon" A man wit.h one wife is still referred to as a bachelor. The ra-lionCl_le University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8 -~-·' behind such ridicule is that when the woman qives birth she has to leave her matrimonial home after the naminq ceremonv to go and live with her parents. She is expected to wean the etllld in her parerU,s home fOf' one year Of' more. Thel'eforf~. une has one wife, one reverts to ones fOI'mer status as a bache 1 01' • The Dagbamba believe in death as a fact of life but invariably, it is not accepted as final. It IS considered a transition to the realm of ancestors. It is also considered a dreaded fact and that there is hardly any death without a cause .. Therefore, when a per-son dies. the he.3d of the deceased's f ami I y consults a soothsayer (baaa' to know the cause of the death. This is normallv done on the third day after bur ial. The soothsayer may prescribe annual sacrifice to the ancestors in order to prevent such deaths in the family. There ar·e quite many values that the Dacbamba cherish. The elders demand absolute respect from the younceI' ones and women are expected to r-espect their husbands and should be submissive to them. These" accordinq to pODular belief augu.rs "'leI 1 for a harmonious livinq in the societ. v. Acls such as stealing, adulter-y. pre--mar ital se>: " lying, cheating, ince~,t are considel'ed ant j, --soc i a 1 aclivities and are abhof'ed in Daqbon society. These anti- social activities are virtu.ally non existent in tl'aci:ltional University of Ghana h8t4tp ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Dagbon societies because to indulge in them has wide and serious repercussIons. Generally the foreaoina may be said to be a brief summary of the traditions, reliaious and social life of the people of Dagbon prior to the advent of Islam. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO c:. 0 1 There we.p.e two main waves of lhe IslamisalJ.on of Ddgbon. Firstly Islam was int.roduced inlo Daqbon by Wanqara Mdslims of Mande origin through lhe north-west and secondlv by Lhe Hausas of presenl day Northern Niqer'ia throuqh the nurlh-east. The interaction of t.hese two is well illustrated from the history of Dagbon at the time of Muhammad Zc:\n i ina~ in the parts played in the consolidation of Islam with the state by t.he Wangara Community of Sc:,bar~ i " headed bv Yamusa al-Wangari, and by the Hausa community of Kamshequ. headed bv 1"1uhammad al-f:ashnawi. 2 .. 02 tCls a r eSLI I t of the trans-Saharan trade, !"Iusl ims of North Africa interacled with Sudanese traders of Mande slock who brought gold from the int.erior. Under the influence of t.hese Nor·th Africans, the Mande speak ina DeoDle adoDted Islam which paved the way for their acceptance into Islamic commun i-' t.les which developed alonq the trade routes. Th(.~refor'(2'1 a new social gr'oup, distinguished by trade and Isl.am emeroed throughout the SLldan. These Mande sDeakino trarlers Doerated within a vast area stretching from the Sahel to the frinqes of t.he forest in the sout.h and from the Atlantic ocean in the west. t.o Hausaland in the east. They const.ituted without .3nv doubt. t.he most. influent.ial elements in the Western Sudan. Amono tl,em are such large tribes as the Dyula, Kasonke, Bambara q Ji::i.llonke" t1al inke, SDninke and Vei. l1enel'ally i.n West Afr i.ca University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 86 today and in Arabic sour'ces" these people are referred to as the Wangara, and the best known among them is the Dyula, a name which became a synonym for 'a trader'. 1 Wangara is the generic name of the contempotary Arabic and Portuguese sources for all the Mande-sceakinq traders" 'JUt.. as these traders dispersed and became associated with trade in distinct sections of the Sudan. livinq amonq different DeoDles" each group became known under its own particular name. According to Mahmud Kali's Tarikh (19J.3) • , If you ask what difference there is between Malinke and Wanqara', he wrote: 'Know that the Wangara and the Malinke are of the same origin, but that Malinke is used to mean the warribrs, whereas Wanqara serves to describe the merchants who trade from country to country. ,2 2 .. 04 The Wangara traders, enterprising as they were, carried both their trade and Islam into the interior as they searched for new and richer sources of gold and marketinq centres. Thev were particularly i.nterested in the qold trade because there was a growing demand for African gold both in the Muslim world and in Europe 3 and determined as they were, they 2 "Iahmud Kat i: ed. Houdas and Delafose. 1913, p,,6~j. 3 Wi 1 ks I VOI"': Ill@:_.NQc..i:JJ.~LQ. Factor' in Ashanti History, Leqon. 1 ';;61" p. 56. University of Ghana h1t'1t,p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh t III ~ '1.1 III 111111\1 III l hi f \ II I Ii III III,' j,HII'i."I'11l.i1 «(ldul'Y tlll.'v 11'<11111'<1 1111' (,I ..III 111 III 11111 II' IIUI' t tl""II' d; 1~'"'1I11i11i11 (III,' 1,,11[1 .. , I,.,ILI) 1111,.1 luLl' fI'lv('II'l' (Ivr'l Y lUdl Llj Ih"y llli.II.II' I ClI" ," L of III,' lli.ly, liH'Y but II up II' Hk! w.III! 11,.111 ,<.\1<1 111\ I u UII' ,',I I" I f" till' W"IIHjdI'LI 11,.111 d II'J"I " vI'1I1111 I,d 1"'Y(lII[1 III" 1'" I I I II" I t run L 1 t:~ ,,,~) of E.lmp" r' L~l 1.1 11(11,\ ·d 111<.\1 I 111' t.,\\{ III' II III I hi' t I t.lde I tiLl LU fl whJ t h WI"'II ql.t~ \I' l.lnl ('lId by III II \1'\ II I,d ,llll cUrl1,I'IIJLd.I'd :t mm\::~11 'Ll 1 y 1.0 till.' "'Il Lt. '!, ,p [If 1 h,' i I I I ,\(11 " I ('m IIf dl'\. \ ~ I'h.' I" n,r.\( 11-> "III" ,11<1 1.1 II I , ~ I lilt 1 Lhl' Mu 1m "illllli ill l'llf' 11111 I 11111 1',1" t.11I ' 1:.1111.,\ 1)1 I t 11111 III II, I' dl1r:J I 0111 f lu Ih'" quid fl 1.,1 CHI t..h, ' f I J I )(]I~' I.'f Lh' (.)~.'lfl fnll.">1 1.\ ~. ,"I" 111'1 of Llil" 1 r ddt'. Til, • fi ' um ,11.1111(,' tu (..,,,,'("1 IfJlljrj'\ 1,)i-;\4' IIll1 l:',oul,hF'Ir',', CJutpu~:~'l. nf 1'll~1 IrJ!'~'I'(:J,.'I'd IJ\I'_\i.ll\t(~1j I III 1111 cill 1"111' I, II nd II11:ILIII ' If1d f'",p ,,1I1,11'It:II'U ,'I '11 lilidf),.\" 1'1-1(--11'( I iHTlI ~~ f'hr'l'.'t;! t..r 'J.br·H fornl Ihp l"'I(II~\ Vrlflht:'II:1 tll'f.)UP~ Ittl'!l'! ,'Il·~_' tll" t10"111 ~jho II >le III Hui'l':ill'.' [1.",:'-' \'Ilth till,il' Ir;o.elillllll,,1 Cdp,td.l ,,'", UIF,.q<.lc\UIIIIUII, 1.111' j)".qbHrnl),. whu .\i/l' ill l"l"r'I. hHII Uhilll;;1 w!'l'.h It.'l1dl ,~., 1.111.'" I I'.!di.f.lI,.!I]"J, fdJl 1965, D. 89. It is also not.ed in the minut.es of the Conference of Daobon Chiefs held at Vendi in 1930 t.o enquire into and record the Constitution of the State of Dagbon. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 104 visitor which was done. In Dagbon today it is the practice for landlords to keep a room solely meant for vi~sitorsA These rooms are called meaning 'visitors room'. The Hausas~ according to the tradition, were not too happy with the way they were scattered in different homes all Vend i" They therefore requested tha"L the Y.=~. should give them a piece of land on which they could settle toaether as a community. Na-Zanjina acceded to the request and settled them at Kamshegu. about six miles east of Vendi on the old caravan route to Hausaland by way of the Sabali crossina of the Gtj r-iver. This settlement is therefore reqarded Hausa foundation within Dagbon. The request for a sett.lement for the H,. . "",,,, rnmrnllnHv might have been necessit.at.ed b y the inability of the Of' nlln easily assemble for the five daily pravers . the desire by some of the Hausas who belnn n e d to a common family to live "logether but the way thpv were accommodated in Vendi put them apar-t. Whateve r might. have been the reasons for" seeking a new settlement, t.he request is a clear manifestation uf the views held by Professor Fisher, F'rofessor Adu Boah e n, Spencel' Trimingham and other writers on Islam in West Afr i ca, that Muslims who arrived in a town, chose their own set.t.lement quite removed fl'om the the local people. These set.tlements ar-e what Professor Adu Boahen Lo as Zonaos as indicated in paragraph 2.05. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 105 From the above traditions some conclusions can be Since it is generally agreed that the Wangara Muslims 'If I ived in Dagbon first that Na-Zanjina became a Muslim [)efore his acces.';;ion to the 1J.~.m. of Vend i, we can safelY c.or>clude that the conversion of 1\la-Zanj ina to Islam is attributable to the Wangara Muslims. The drum chants mention f' amshe-na oi the Hausa group as a follower of Sabali Yar-na b~cause the latter was considered as the Chief of the Muslims ~lth the title of As to whether Yar-na refers to the Wanqaras or to the Hausas, wish to qLlot e L.evt zion who has done some work on Muslims and ctliefs. He WI' ot.e, "The l"Iande-- speaking readers who settled in the Moshi-Daqomba group of states in the country between Jenne and the Ashanti forest In another ar'ea he wr·ote. "The l j-\- 1 p which occurs also in Wa Elnd '1"loshi (Var'-naba) is t.voic.=ll! Ill' III" 1',1 11'11 t~1111 lin' 11!'lltH \,III\? III",' 1"1·'1'1' 1\·1\11" ~-·,i II 11" -:; I' I ~J,J,!\~ rlu I <.,,1 r, ~ (.,q I lUI I II 1,111 tti , 1111111 (::11'1 i' I, ,~ I I hi.' 1,1,'111(;1 ' I ito; t'lu ,'1 :Im l1ihl'I f , I" liar' ! II! d III ""~JI)I III ~!' ,! I 11"'1'1 ,,,I ",11,·,1 ),'1111 1·'dl\'H! II, 1,," j lI'l \ 1t1'!l11 I j"J !',~ ~h .11 I I,I' I ',II \ l ( 'I; !:-j/ j 1.111 11\1' I , \i;IIIt: I I II'" I I I / e " (,f' '~d I '\ '/ l- 'I 't' ·))t' If II I"f' ,Ji I Iii" I'll lil 1,1 D,',j , ""I l'lh III ~.\ • \ ~rntl ~ (1:1 . ," 111 1,'.1 ' III (,'\ (lJ '11(;)1,,1' :I , II \II),I!:;j 1,"1 I"lll ,Ii "I,'j t h,t! '., lilt. ",1)1'1 "~I II I" I .111\1 J I VJ(14 "II II;,/',d "n I h 111'1 I '~"'IIIII'ff~i Id J II I III I 11111r1l1 II'" 11:111 'Ilil UII' 1,'11'1,11 LI,'IJI"'II~d 1)11 1,1,,, I,Hllll ,t',;),,',,J,:m,U,,,~,;i;\,ti,l' "1/'1 1 1 IV 11' '!Hhlj~L hm,{lj\ ill'\) ,'I,If1IA:Jnr"d '111.1.; I''''~l ,;\ "~YI!II.I(I/ University of Ghana 1h2tt0p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ie.!ib.s. __ HI !j\d§blt!_bs.'}!2r:J3.§_e.~Q._n:!s.IELIIlb(§ ------------------------------------------------_._---------------- IllkS Tshe 1 i Yar --na Muslim elder who moved from Western Dagbon to settle in Vendi. Sabali Yar-na Chief o( the Wangara Muslims who was regarded as the Senior Muslim in Dagbon. Yidan-Kafa A member of Sabali Yar-na's family who ~as selected to be in charge of circumcision. _a' ban-Na A follower of Sabali Yar-na and chief of La'bangs near Nakpali. Vidan f1 I 111[11 W I, I 1'1 1111 111111 ' " I "1 "I ,I " n ( 11I1I, lilt· Y' '1.,11\ ,II ,1 III" 1'1,1 II j In ',(lI • II f 'II' I "I 11 ,1, ,II ,I 11 1,1 '/' I , i rI\ in vJIl( ,I 11111 1(' ,(I I III 'j I '11 11,' "1'1 I \I ~ lIt! I I I" I I )11\1 IIr III t' I 1"111111111 "I " 11111 III /1 \II 1 11M II 1111 II' III 1'1 11 1'1 tI, ilHIl I (I 1'1 11" Ifl It ('f I 1,1 ' 11 1\ "" 1111 t.r , ' 1'1, cI III! 1'/ 'J ;J'1.1 II I" 1111 1"" III III' • ') J J If ~ , t 'I II " 'I II! 1111' ,'" 1 i!' I1,I II \ , I Iii 11/ 1111,11111111 1,1 ,j1\1' "I "'11111"11' f"11 1\ III' Ifni f I 'Jm i ! II/If (1) VJl f I I r'lI ! t I 1\1 II I It II II , If ] ,I PI,. ,I II, i rill ITI f 111'1111 I '" liJ, I 11', ~ I I J / 'If! III ,( I' 1 • I " III 1\1111(1111 rlr ( II I III ,I IIf"lll University of Ghana ht•t p://ugspace.ug.edu.gh1. c,:~. -/ loudest. of all becduse of the praises he showers on Prophet Muhammaci, the Muslim leaders and even chiefs. He nOI'rn,,1lly Normally the ~§~§b§=D§ and his followers are gifted with sweet ~ices and when they sing the praises of people, they are rewarded with money. 2 .. 50 As noted in paragraph 2.40 another Muslim group arrived in Dagbon from Burkina Faso. They settled at ~Qli=Yi~i which s now abandoned but the title of Yi~§D=~gll given to their leader still exists in Yendi. It was he who introduced the Q~m~~ festival into Dagbon as was noted i~ paragraph 2.41. The ~i~~a=mQli gets the rice for the Q~m~~ festival ready and on t~e 9th of the month of QAm~~ (Rablyul-Awwal.l which is the day preceeding the I'eal .Q~mQ§ festival,l he brings out the rice which is spread on a mat for the ~~slims to pick out slones and other foreign bodiesn This exer'cise is done to get the rice ready for the preparation of the evening meal the next day. It r loor for the Q§m~~ dance, Followed by the Y~=~~ and then other chiefs. Apart. from the part he plays in the Q~m~~ festival, features prominently during the final funeral rit~s of a y~=~~ as master' of ceremoniesp Tradit.ions also have it that Yi~§D- mgli sent his younger brot.her to stay with t.he Y§=~§ in the The Damba festival starts on the 10th of the month of Damba 'Nith the fil'st pal"l 1':no~Jn ,';IS Soma-D"1mb,,,0 The s~?cllnd par·t known as Nas Damba follcws on the 17th of the same month. University of Ghana1 .h28tt p://ugspace.ug.edu.gh brother was housed in the cl-def' s ompound and honoured with the title of ~~~=mQli. Today he acts as D.e~.iQ (deputy) Othel' l"Iusl1m The former grows lhe D§mb§ rice near Savelugu and the latter carries it fl'om Savelugu to Yl~§D=mgli in Vendi. Another Muslim title is that of Yi~§D=~blm whose duty is to roast the sacrificial meat Of i~yl=B~b§ for the Y§=~§. The word 'chim' in Dagbani means to fry and most pl'obably as a result of the practice by Muslims of frying the sacrificial meat, it was found appropriate to honour him with lhis tille. to pray for t~e y~=~~. As a result of the Quranic injunct.ion forbidding Muslims from eating slaughtered animals over which any other name than that of all~n has been invoked, MLAslims are always particular about eating n~l~ll meat and hence the presence of many Muslim butchers in Dagbon to satisfy this demand. The chief butcher i.n Vendi Elsewhere in Dagbon he is Tr'aditions say that a Hausa Muslim butcher called Baba arrived in Vendi The word ~~l~l is Arabic which means la).Alful, Liter-ally it. means Ithat which is loosed!, and its opposit.e is ~~~~ffi (illegal) , University of Ghana1 h2t9tp ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and assisted the butchers in the chief's house. He lat~lI' married into the chiefly family and subsequently the office of the chief butcher was given to his descendants with the title They are to ensure that meat that is publicly sold is fit for the consumption of Muslims. ~,,53 Lastly there is the title of Yi~§D=l§m§ who can best be descl'ibed as an attendant to the 1m§m. His duty is to accompany the 1mSl!!) wherever he goes but especially to functions. Whatever presents that are given to the iffi~m such as foodstuffs, chicken, gown, sheep or goat etc. are handed to the Y1dSlO=1§m§ who in turn sends them to the !m§m at home. normally gets a share in the presents. 2" 54· It is noted in paragraph 2.46 that there was a gradual shift of Muslim leadership in Dagbon from Sabali to Kamshegu and then to Vendi, thus relegating the §~~~!i __ Y~~=Q~ and the to the background. HoweV8 r ~ on rare ceremonial occasions such as the inslallatioll of a new y~=~~, they call at moreso when custom demands that at the installation ceremony, wi th a gOl-'~n ~ In Vendi today the Muslim leadershil in order of seniority is as follows: These post.s are very important t.o every Y~=~~ because each Muslim Chief has a part to play in the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh spiritua l realm of the Ya-Na. 1 WhalevE'!r process was used by Muslims to gain c~onverts and sympathisers, there is no doubt that Islam had made great impact on the life of the Dagbamba. It is observed that this ach i evement "'las made possi.ble because t.hcolf'e are some similarities bet.ween the Islamic wo"ld view and th3t. of the Dagbamba. 2.56 There is every indication that Islam hcl.d not been carried by force, but by peaceful traders. Thi.s unobtrusivf.? manner Islam was introduced to the Dagbamba was seen as a friendly people introducing a friendly religion. Islam did not force their converts to lose t~eif cherished customs and values The importance of the Muslim ChieFs to the Ya-Na is manifested in the existence in Vendi today of two each of the posts given to Muslims. This has come about as a result of the chieftaincy dispute that en~ulfed Dagbon between the Andani and Abudu gates since the late 19th Century. The recognised Ya-Na today is Yakubu Andani II of the Andani gate, but members and supporters of the Abudu gate a~so claim that the rightful Ya-Na was the late Mahamadu Abdulai IV who was Ya-Na between 1969 and 1974. He was deskinned ir 1974 because the procedure adopted in declaring him Ya-Na was not in conformity with Dagbon custom, and that the purported deskinment of his predecessor Ya-Na (.\ndB.ni was unjustifi.ed. He clied on 15th Octo!J~,r" 1988" The present Ya-Na lives in the palace of the Ya-Na's but the deskinned Mahamadu Abdulai l~ved in a different house rec ognised by his supporters as the chief's palace. Both chiefs have their mUslim elders and very interestingly enough the chieftaincy dispute has also divided the various Muslim families into Andani and Abudu gates. Before 1969 the Muslim chiefs were not divided !Jut when the chieftaincy dispute assumed very alarming proportic)ns, aJ1d a settlement far fj~cJa\ sight, division set in, but it is hoped that with the death of Ya-Na Mahammadu Abdulai IV some peace will prevail. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and as a result Islam was able to accommodate the Dagbamba way of life without any attempt to change it. 1 The Wangera and Hausa Muslims felt it was enough for one to embrace Islam and go back t.o tradTtional pract.ices" Inspite of the monolit.hic nature of Islam it. tolerat.ed differences and t.his fact. made it. possible for Islam t.o t.olerate a lot of traditional practices in West Africa. 2 Furt.hermore Is13m was taught t.o the Dagbamba as somet.hlng t.hat. should be lived wit.h rather than somet.hing that. should be concept.ualised. What att.ract.ed t.he Dagbamba most were Islamic myths because this sought. to explain and give justification to rituals and social practices~ 2 .. 57 Before t.he advent of Islam into Dagbon the Dagbamba sacrificed animals such as cows, sheep,. goat.s and fowls t.o their gods and ancestors. When the Muslims came to settle in Dagbon t.he Dagbamba observed t.hat. they sacrificed rams during the 1~Yl=0~b§ festival, and the Dagbamba easily equated it t.o their sacrifices. As the ~~slims engaged in divination and This point is supported by Spencer Trimingham when writing under. The Process of Religious Change he stated: 'Islam does "no violert uprooting but offers immediate value without displacing t.he old' in his book 1§1~m __ iD __ ~§§1 __ BiIi£§, O:dord, 1976, p.33-4. I This t.olerance, laxity on t.he part of Muslims and Corrupt.ion led to the rise of .jil,adisl movements such as that of IJthman dan Fodio, Hajj Umar, Sheku Ahmadu, Amadu Alra Musa etc. in ~jes t A f ric a. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh .'gmed they could fortell the future of their customer~, they ~~.ociltej It with the soothscl/ing that h Muslim diviners also prepared amulets, talismans and charms f-:3" c.'defs and othel' people \Alho patl'c.mi 0E.,d tll8m ,,\\lei the!!;e th€~ ~agbamba did not hesitate lo equate to the activitis0 of the lradi~ional meelicineman. It is also observed that Muslims believe in a host of spirits called jinns both good and evil ~nd these are believed to be intermediaries bEtween man and rod. On the other hand the 0~11 ones are unbelieving jinns who belong to Satan or The Dagbamba found this belief a familiar category lhat corresponds to their own belief that Jinns are extraordinary creatures that could harm people who stay away late at night or those who go into the thicl c;..-,lone .. When the i'1us 1 i ms i nd:l caled lhat G.od had f opt, i .jelen U t m from eating ca.rl'ion and pori .. , the Dagbamb fOUT,rj it rEl 1 :i.stic to accept that indulgence i, +he wrath of God. 0c ~~'f somp Dagbamba ate cdrrion but there V't' If. ot.hers such as medjcinemell, chiefs and some elders who ere not allowed to eat carrion because it was believed it could diminish lhe powers of the medicinemen if laken, and in the case or a chief, he might fall easy prey Lo his enemies. The pi. g was not common in Dagbon soc: i. et y but it. v' 3S known and ItJc.S not ea.t.en .. however" concocted a stOI'Y tllat. ~ad no basis in either the QYL~D or the ~§~iih to explain why Muslims are forbidden from ealing pork. ;'2 58 According to the story, Muhammad, during his prophethood wenl on an expedition with his Companions and on their way back University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh home, t h ey felt t h irsty and got tired too. Su.-JeIen I Y ,. cont.inued t. ll l? story, they saw a wet guinea fowl which was an indication ~9t wa t er was around. The Prophet lhen askeel the guinea fowl show them where water could be found but it snobbed them and ran fast in t o t he bush. Muhammad and his companions con t inued their journey back home and suddenly they came across a wet pig and when ML~ammad asked it to show them where they could fi.ncl it led them lo a pool where they drJnk to their full. Therefore as a mark of respect for the pig, it should not be aten and as for the guinea fowl lhe Dagbamba created a festival. whi p ped and slaughtered for eating. The story of the pig and th e g uinea fowl is so widespread in West Africa. 2.59 The Dagbamba practice polygany and considered it tll(~ d u ty of every responsible man. Even where a man has or,e wife he is stil.l considered a bachelor for the Simple re~son that when the wife gives birth ShE moves to stay with her pacants after the naming ceremony for almost a year or more before re'urning to her matrimonial ,ome ihe young man goes back to his bachelor lire and this life, the Dagbamba conSider, is not good enough (or a responsible man and '.I'l.d IIUt. I.ill -, ~Qh\L, ._o.! ..... lr,:i'!:...L!ilOid, <, 'I.III.'Y CjI..I:i I I·,; 1'1 IN .1,1',/1 ~.llu t.ill""\) il:i.lTI:lli,,'I" :I,t j,(JlIIi\ h",II"WI"!I.'I·1 :1' \,11 J ,,,lin lill"ld f.1 '/. .I. " 1'1'I1\n:\ rli!d r"omm:lt.l,f.),t:i tr'i"H/ i.'i; :t,m,..\:/, I,bi. lUi r.11I11 f'jiJl,.lld 111.,\\(1, ncrl,/"I :1,1'')1") ttl C/U __ ~ ___ '_' _____ '" •• w ____ _- University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ,·th Islam. Such people, "hould state, Wl'?I'E! ver'y few and were not prominent in Dagbon society. People who mattered :i.n Dlgbon society during the early days of Islam had something to d~ with Muslims because lhe chiefs and elders even though ustodi~ns of the culture and values of Dagbon had to accepl 13m nominally in order nol Lo allienale lhemselvea from lh(?i.1"' r ler i.shed customs. Pel-haps it will not be out of place to ~·ate that those who remained committed to tradilionalism were people who lived in t.he very r'lH'al areas and did l10t E'c,sily -ome into contact with Muslims. When Islam came, :i'L began as a religion for chiefs, then it. became that of the urban populace, dnd when the Hauss intensified proselytisation the result was that a majprity of Dagbsmba in the towns and a sizeable minori.ty in the villages profe~sed Islam. With the coming of learned Muslims referred to as Yl~mQ, Tslam in Dagbon w~s c nstantly renewed and reinvigorated. :::' 61 When all the Muslim groups had sGttled in their various sreas in Dagbon, i't. became necessary to es't.ablish Qurarlj.c Schools t.o leach MusL.11l chi Idr'en hO~1 t.o re,O\cI 2.nd wr ita Ar'.3bic" least as much as would enable them to read the Qur'an. The basic aim of such Qur'anic education was to compel the child to learn off by heart. some chapters of the Our'an for use in offering the five diily prayers and to bring up t.he child to appreciate the Muslim way of life. Pe~~le who were converted to Islam had, to send their children to these Qur'anic schools for Muslim education. Most of these schools University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ~ere established by the Hausa ffi§ll§ill§ and they were popularly c~l ed m§L§£§Dt§, a term that is still popular today. 2.62 The ffi§ll§ffi§ used the entrance-huts to their compounds called ~~~~~ in hausa and ~QQg in Dagbani as classrooms whe!~e they taught these children. On very hot days the children had their lessons under trees or where there was enough shade. The children did not use tables and chairs but sat on mats made of gui nea cor n st.,;' J.1,:s or 01' the sk in 0 f ~\IO i. mi~ I s such as cows Bnd s"'eep. The first thing that the children were taught were the thirty Arabic alphabets which they were expected to identify and learn off by heart in their proper order. The childr'en did not use exercise books but slates hence such schools were called I slale--school t = used the whipping method to get the children to learn The whi.p used is t.er'med Q!Jl§10 in Ha.LlSi~ and Q0£.2D;';.b!ffi i.n DagbanL Ha~sa was used as the medium of i~strLjclionn 2.63 When the children have memorised all the letters of the A~abic alphabet. in their proper order and have mastered all the they were then t.aught lhe first chapter of the Qur'sn which is very important to every practising Muslim. The significc\liCe of this aspec·t of Islamic education was to prepare the children for higher studies in Islam bGcause learning the f.!ur ! C.n 0 f f by he...a.r t It"}-Ei.S not. an end in i t~:·e 1 f but a means to an end .. The chi.ldren e"'pect.ed tCi cont.inue i r1 is a 'law school' or a school for higher University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh studies which embraces the teaching of delails about the five pi llal's of b§~itbl and figb 2 and sometimes the study of R book of law such as the Gi~§l§ of Ibn Abi Zaid or Al=BLbdDIi.3 Since leaching w~s not a p f' 0 f HS,S ion of other occupations, the mQll~m§ handed the beginners over lo older pLpils and relired into their chambers to engage in amulet or ·alisman making and divination. This divination is termed ~y~§ ~n Hauss and 1ibby in Daghani. The lalter has already been n~ted in paragraph 2.08. 2.64 The unfortunate aspect. of t~\e Qur'anic Schools was :Lhal they never encouraged girls to be brought to their schools. The m~ll@m§ argued that Islam does not allow girls to be mi~ed up with boys because this sort of interaction promiscLlj.ty. furlher that a boy or girl who casls B lewd glance at the olher and allows himself or herself to be att.ract.ed likewi.se, t.hey bolh meet lhe displeasure of God. To diminish this temptatiol1, d i seoul c\.ged the unsuper'vised meetings between the young people of t.he opposite if they are not close rela·l~.ves~ ·nfluenced the people or Dagbol~ so much ttlat it. has aCCOlJllted (or t~e low rate of female liter~tes in the area~ I:::!Si9.!.ttl is the s~cond ~50urce of Islclmi.c lOll". ThE'y t.he sayings~ actions and silerlt approvals of th(~ F'J'ophet" i.s B.n aspect of Islam that deals with Islamic doctrine and jurispr'udencea 3 6!=6ltl9.S!c!. has been corrupted to J'ead b~tllg~!. in Dagbon. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh this situation did not continue throughout because some m~11§m§ gradually allowed in strict. and effective supervision when t.hey were mixed with t.he boys. Same other mAllAm§ separated them from the boys. 2.65 ell i.ldren who attended these Quranic schools spent many years with the m§ll§m§ before completing thei I' st.uclies Df the Qur 'an. They were e~pected to learn the one hundred and r::Jurteen chapters of the Qur'an but the process was slow because the mAllAm was alone and the children Wr it ing the chapters of the Qur1an on slates took a long time and since the children learning each according to his talent!' not much attention was given to them. FUI'thermor,~, Islamic magic which the Dagbamba appreciated often made the m§.llAm§ much in demand at the court of chiefs and in the area generally. Consequently, the mAllAm§ sometimes left the children to learn on thEdl' o I. ...! !! whi 1e they took t.r· ips to seve!"' 8.1 places in Dagbon. Ott-,er !!.i.§ll~m§ g:lve the children long hc.11 idaY,3 (::\nc! on t.heil' rf:?tur n;! f i}( a. da.te for the cDmmencement of classes .. On thE! C1.VEH'ag f,:? children had to spend ten years at school. :;:'.66 The m£ll~m§ did not receive any r emuner .::t.t ion from parents for the s:.ervices rendered to the children, but occasionally pal'Emt"3 sent gi.fts in t.h;;, form of food items and even cash .. Tea.d1ing at that. time was regarded as a voluntary . . p ious work which , EL_l2,S·g I LL_ _ Bllflb ' , an Arabi.c t.erm me2\11 :i.ng , r=or the sake of God', University of Ghana1 h3t9tp ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh '-e_at' y sat' sf ied with the respect ,,\rid honour- 0.ccor'ded them in ,gbon. At the end of the Arabic school course the m§ll§m§ letain one or two good ones to assist in tearhing the beg i nnE!I' ~5 , 1"'8 the rest go on to do further studies if they so desired. IlwJe el', while those I'etained by Lhe m~ll§m§ were engaged in 'act ng, they received special lessons on higher studies from h l~ various mAl!~m~. A graduatlon ceremony known s .Isuall.y held for the children at the end of their Qur'anic At this ceremony the graduants dress in ,·"hit.e gowns .tll white turbans and are made to recit.e in unison the second the Cow) has 286 verses and the longest. of all t.he chapt.ers. te" this the mAllAffi concerned preaches to the gathering and 'h~rts the graduands to put their talent at the service of God. The ceremony ends with feast.ing with well wishel'S:1 ~ ",rents and guadians showering praises on the graduands while c:ome women ululate to show thei I' appreciat.iDn for t.he., -hildren's performance :.67 In the Quar'anic school system, the school week began on Saturday and ended on Wednesday. The children were expected to est on Thursday and Friday. As a mat'Ler of fact ~here was ormally no rest for them because they had to go round vi.llages ',pggi.ng for 2.1ms. These young children are called ~l=~~ii~i ·J/-lich comes rr-om mE.~ian i ng an i. t i.ner,'\rIt Qur 'anic student. is observed that people who go t.o consult ~.S\l.l~m~ [or- spiritLIBI sel-·.!i.ces d.re usually r·€?quest.ed t.o make 140 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh §.1~g.1 which is also known as §.~. in Dagbani. iven in the form of food items, money, clothing and especially ,:hicken. The diviners specifically ask their customers to make ound begging they are heavily patronised. When the .1:.:::m..iic. .i f~, ::?1.L .... n from these begging trips whatever was obtained are shown tC1 the m..l1..ffi 1"11,0 'lakes a shal'e and thc~ rest takt'?n t.o theil' "rious homes. When the children are many t.he m§1.1§m get.s sufficient food for his household. In some cases the children farm for the m.ll.m. and do a host of domest.ic duties such as washing and cleaning, fetching water from the riverside, going to t.he bush for firewood, grinding corn etc. It. does no"t seem an exaggerat.ion to suggest that these children were made to work like slaves. 2 No child could dare complain and no parent had t.he gut.s to oppose this system and so i~ lingered on for long t.ime. 2.68 In 1901 Northern Ghana became a protectorate of the British and in 1909, the Chief Commissioner Ltd. Watherson inaugurat.ed formal education in Tamale. The Vendi This is an Arabic term for voluntary alms giving. 2 This assertion is corroborated by a Hausamall l s experience with his mallam in J. Spencer Trimingham's I§1~m __ 1D __ ~~~t Bi£i£§, Oxford 1976 p.160. He stated that besides learning they were forced to perform hard tasks which wer2 so burdensome t,hat~ it me-,de t.hem st.upid wi.t·h t.ir'eC:"ess. The mallam made them spin his wife's cotton, grind cern, fetch water etc. also sur:ered the same fate while studying under one Mallam M~,amah in Tamale betwween 1957 and 1962. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 141 • nior Trade School was established in 1922. in sending their children to these English Rchools because the Muslims did not approve of what they ~onsidered as essentially Christian institutions. Additionally, I ey considered that Western education corrupts the child and n there were Qur1anic school.s to cat.er for the educational 2~ds of their children, they did not want the white man's -'100 1. Most of cd I they if the children were , 'owed to at.t.end t.hese English schools, tl"lere w,".s thE~ i lihood of the children recanting their ("Ii.th i.n Islam and ,"]'1 ~ ing the whi.te marl's religion. ~ 69 Some pa"ents however sent their children or wards to hese English Schools. They were reluctantly compelled or persuaded by the colonial administrators because of the.; i r unique role as chiefs and elders~ This att.tude notwith- standing bot.h governmen·t and missiorls fOLlght relerltlessly to p omo~e secL!lar edLlcatiol' s\lch that by 1935 there were only eighl schools i.r the whole of the Norlhern Territories whereas there were over fifty Qur'anic sctl001s scattered allover areas such as Tamale, Vendi, Salaga and Save].ugun ') 70 Tamale is the largest of all lhe towns in Dagbon and it 5 situated sixty m:iles west of Yendi~ When the Muslims ~rrived in Tamale it was a small village with the Q~LQ§m~ as t.he o~mer of t.he lando Levt.zion translates Dakpema as 'the old University of Ghana hiltlt?p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh f"\ of + I,e mar I"et' 1 1-111 ich is a wf'ong tl'~"\nslat ion. I t.·3 \Iis'at.ic>n is 'the head of the market' and he fW1ctions as a Q!~UA (eart~ priest) rather than as a ~~ (chief), i.s hy the title ~. is not attached to his title. The Chipf of T m ' e is known as the §\dltl2.~::~ls.. The Mu~lim~ ~ho :,elU,E tI i.n J. ' wel'e H;:?,Ltsas and ., (? -y :\'11 i I \\J 'I'llt t I'll l f t.,., £0 tel. r, ",,;- -1'\ ,J I~ 'I' '·1 f- c:: ) I J) d c.~ f -. ~ I '.'l j ~ ~ ,.:I I', Jr- ,. L th ~ _.fly " m Ji:.::\ '" I n L , , " f rI, 7 II 7"' 'Jt', I ,J ~nd Nyanlpala wero The first mosq~e at Kumbungu was '. Li a Wangclra Mus'~m ca'led ~lhaji Ishaq. l>Jhen he a.r,-.ived Levtz ion: i'1I.51 i ms and eh LQf..fLj"CL\'!Q§'!:,,_8.£.LL~@. A Study _ ;;'f-i;;;J.;;;;;;"-j,-;:;-Che IvlieldIe Volta Basin in the Pre'--CoIonial Period" O:-:forcl" 1<768, p.120. The first Hause imam of Savelugu was one Shu'aib Ture. University of Ghana h1t4tp3: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh at Kumbungu he saw a large number of Muslims without a mosque1, nd through his initiative, one was built. Talon on tho other ~ served as a resting place for Wangara traders who went to ~ boya to buy salt. As a result of these periodic r&sts, a small ~ lim Community sprang there and today majorily of the people are The chief who reigned longest in Tolan went on pilgrimage a lakkah and he ~as Alhaji Yakubu Tolon-Na. He died in 1986. is ten miles west of Tamale has a large Muslim mmunity as a result of their long interaclion with Wangara ders. Gushegu is another town that had Islamic influence not long af~er Yendi had. It is situaled aboul forly miles norlh of Vendi. In lhis lawn a Muslim holds the title of Yi~§Q=[§ti. He 1 ves with the chief of the town, prays for him and slaughters his The im~m of Gushegu has a messenger called Yi~§Q=~§QQ~ h~ ~ashes the dead bodies of chiefs and other Muslims. Karaga, s' ty miles nor·th Of Yerldi is all0t!ler lown where Muslims abound~ ts reported that the {_rst Muslim to arrive there was one Tahir Si~se, a Wangara Muslim. His son was appointed the first Y§I=D~. 7ab~ugu and ~(pabia which were on the trade routes from Salaga to ~~ salard were also resting paints for caravans ar\d gradually they ~ ew into big Muslim communities as Dupuis noted, IWabia, a capit.al There was actually a mosque but not in the form of a building. Alhaji Ishaq oni y noticed that the Muslims had arranged stones in an open area where they gathered for prayers. University of Ghana h1tt4p4: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh Between paragraphs 2.55 and 2.60, an attempt was made to -, w why the Oagbamba accepted Islam" It was noted that the o gbamba saw 50 many similarities between their traditional system Islam. They therefore concluded that Islam and their ~-' lional system were one~ It should be pointed out that as a - It of the desire by lhe early Muslims to convert the Dagbamba r -j Jet themselves inftsecl into the socio-political system of they tolerated many things which later gave rise to the • ~pnce of jihadist movements such as that of Ulhman dan Fodio" is noted that when Chri5tiani"ly came into DBgbon and ~ven other' in ~est Africa, its adt1erents were discouraged from 'tlgin<;J in some traditional practices and this made the Africans esis~ evangel~sation from the Christian missionaries 'or ''1n;; time. ..., 75 The Wangaras who arrived in Dagbon first interacted with h& Dagbamba on purely trading lines, but gradually they exhibited lne spiritual powers which the people appreciated. Some of them ndulged in soothsaying by which they informed their customers ~ta~ t~e future ~eld They also prepared all sorts of _nr~ctions for their customers either to drink or bath with. T an came the Hausa$ with similar ideas~ They allowed their Nehemia Levtzion: t1hl2.:Liffi§' __ €Xl9. __ r;;:tll~L§. __ i(L~~2LIjLc __ i£:_S\. A Stud y of Islam in the Middle Volta Basin in t~e F'1'E?-Coloni..3.1 F'eriocL Ch-(ford" 1968, po :1.19. University of Ghana h1t4tp5: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh ~nverts to sacrifice to their gods and ancestors. nimals slaughtered in !iL1rlOUr' their gods and ancest.or's, 11 y bougl1t aml,\ 'I et. s ,. talismans and charms from the Hauss Muslims • ws~ed t.hat such things had pONer to save them (rom evil and , ~, wi~ked machinations of their enemies. The Hsusas also wrote r - : verses on ~lates, and sometimes what they wrote on slates p e taker from otr'er sources These writings were then washed ept. i.n bottles for' thej,r custOfTIE'f'S. They ~tro.-luc2d the severt.1I and fortieth day funeral celebrations, and they found Islamic explanations to a host of practices that were r valent in Dagbon In summary it is noted that Islam ~owed a lot of flexibility in practice wit.h regard to t.he cu.st.oms Jf t~e Dagbamba which led to its immobility and rigid opposition c~ange when subject.ed to pressures of reform from outside. The a~ly Muslim evangelist.s had ma.de gr ie'·-/ious mistal:es for unort.hodo}: lr'acti~es of Is l2.rfI in somF~ 1, slims dtffi,cLllt to 'otl1p. However, it js noted tha'l t.here e some villages if' D2l.gbon Is 1 a.m ill form t11"l8V .:. .1i" S as a result Of t.heir· frequent contacts with' the Such villages are Mbana-vi1i vJhich is eight mi lee, nerth or Tamale, Ngar'in which is si~ miles also north Of T~male~ '~'.:Jgni, eleven mIles nOI,t.h of Ti~mi.'\le" fga i. nst the i. r' f oc-.?s ~ they had to be in -en lInieation ~"ith the ML\slim leaders in the hinterland to get r blessings for the Ashanti King. is noted that the 11,sl.ms in Kumasi contact.ed t.hose in Gonjaland, Mamprusi area n' Dagbon but my main concern here is the communication ·t I en Ashanti and Dagbon. The most import.ant Muslim in Kumasi during this period a. Jne ~uhammad al-Ghamba, ~ommonly referred to as Saba and ~t~ son of a Gambaga im§ffi As both Gonja and Dagbon were .", to~ies to Ashant i!l wet-'e regarded as the two as described by Dupuis when he rato::.::, 'The Moslems of Dagomba and Ghanja, headed by the Abu--Becr, Cantoma and Shoumo, came in a body to return t"arks in the name of their sovereign, the King of Vandy , 1 Saba therefore served as a representative of Dagbon in Asha.nt i hence his membership of the :ingls Council" He r E~ce i vee! "-structions for charms to be made for the Ving of Ashanti as well as assurF.l.rlce that. he pI'2.yed for the :lng5 he",J.th ancl ·lh2.t ( his Kingdom. The following letter illustrates an aspect of NEhemia Levtzion: in t.he Pre-'Colorlial Period, 0:·: ford, 1968, p.182. University of Ghana h1tt4p8: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh Baba's duties in the Ashanti court: From Abu-Bakr, Sultan Kamshegu to Baba. son of Imam Gambaga. Extend our greetings· lo lhe Sultan of ,~shant i" Take f lve trees; p la.nt one of them 1n t.he m:lddle of the hCII ..t sE', tL'gether with four scraps of paper in a cow'~ clutch. As for the other four trees, plant them in the east, west, south and north of your town. As a medicine for headache, take three small scraps of paper and hang them on your arm. Wash your body at sunset and rub it with a small quantity of powder in the morning, then al evening lime wash the body in water, wilhout medicine. Do all these everyday. Baba tell the Sultan that I pray to Allah, but ~e has to give as present ~ a male slave, dressed in a red gown with a mitb~§ll in hi~ pocket, lhree guns, seven golden ~iy§l~.~ Sultan Vendi Andani lhanks Allah, and thanks the Sultan of Ashanli. The Sullan of Kamshegu prays for you, Baba, lhal you will come back to your land in good health. 3 This lett.er in Dagbon t.o the King of Ashant.i lhrough Baba, and it. i=':, noted services to the king of Asl'0nti~ Bowdich has yet anot~lel~ of 'lhe interaction between Dagbon and Ashanti as follows: Mithqal is a measure of weighl used for gold dusl, ling 1/8lh Dunce Dr 4 lo 5 grammes. 2 ~~iyal , c; a 5i Iver coi.n but tClda.y it is the n,'l.mt'e of the CUI"' r'" ency 0 f 1.":1.l8 Rc.1\jal fU.ngdom of Sa.Ltd i Arabia, 3 Nehemia LevtziCln" Early 19th Centuf'Y Ar,3.bic i"lanuscr·ipts from .(umasi in I~~O§Q£ti9D§ ____ Qi_._!b§ tJ.i2:U].cj£E~1.. __ §9f:lf!lY_ _ .9.L ____ §b.2.D.S\, Vo 1 " V I I J 19{:;5;J p" 1 0;;':-<::'" University of Ghana h1t4tp9: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh The Ving (of Ash",nL l) IJ"'VE~ t he I 1 ng of D'''~lwllmbd" fat' the fel J eh 01' war co:;t of Apoloo. tile vdlwe of thirty slaves; for Odumsta's twenly; for A~impontea's nine~ and for those of greater captains in propor~ion. 1 The influence that the Muslims wielded in the court of lhe Ashanti Ving was due mainly lo the religious services they I'endel'ed the :ing who bel i.1?ved in the pt"Jwer of t.h,," I"ILml im~;. Literate as lhey were, Ashanti bureaucracy for they too~ part in negoti.ations wilh outsiders such as the British jn 1820 and they were found more articulate hence t.heir easy friendliness with people who come into conlact. wilh them. Wilen Islam first came into Dagbon, it. was a religion solely for the chiefs who were in dire need of spirilual power from the Muslims. Gradually the influence of this spirllual power got to the grassroots of Cagbon societ.y and many more people looked at Islam as a link between peoples who formerly had little to prepare them lo live harmoniously together as evidenced through the sharing of common religious practices such as the five daily prayers and the festivals. Wi.th the acceptance of the new faith, a new form of sane'lions and changed behaviour characterised the life of the Dagbamba. On the whole prac\i.cal ethics was influenced by legal Islamic max ims but it c~houJ.rJ be nDt.eel th'.lt in th€~ rl9al 1 :i. f~~ of thE.' Ibid" p.103" University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ~ndividual, he was ruled by a combination of Is;lf.Hnic and rLlles. Islam had no doubt influenced the life of the Dagbamba and the credit goes to Na-Zanjina for making the Muslims his clossest associat.es, a tradition w~ich chiefs who came after him mainl.ained. Some of the Muslims who arrived l.at.~~r· to f incl t~at their counterparts hacl got themselves firmly entrenchecl in the court of the chiefs found consolation in moving out of Vencli to live with other chiefs in smaller villages where they also made their mark. In time the whole Dagbon society became clDsely int.er't.wined !f..li th communal Ii fe but IHi thOLli:.. disintegrating its basic structure. However, there were many villages which were rar from big towns ancl neither were they on the main caravan routesb Residents bf such places only heard of Islam when they had the opportunity to come to the big toV'~ns" People in such are~s WGre completely isolated fr'om the activities of Muslims and they considered Islam as a class religion because of the high esteem accorded the Muslims. These people staye~ in their villages and prided themselves in their traditions, but as a result of t.t18 j,nteraction between ~he chiefs whom they respected and the Muslims, 'L~e~' had to see Is121m as a force that should not be underestimated. The Hau.sa Muslims particularly int'~aJIJced into Dagbon some aspects of thei.r cu.lture {.·Jhich have gained gr'ounds and the H21.usa langua.ge gradual'y became a second language to the people of DagbonQ University of Ghana h1tt5p1: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh It is however sad to note that even though the Hausa Musl i ms are credited with their efforts at proselytisation, th is effort was tainted with economlC pursuits. They travelled t o v i llages nearer the big towns with the view to bringing the messag e of I slam to the people, but in the long run, under Lhe guise of do i ng God ' s work, they succeeded in exploiting the ignoran t villagers. Instead of teaching the people the real values of Islam, they allowed them to have their own way which has given rise to the poor performance of Muslims in the villages in Dagbon. To these early Muslims, idenlifying oneself with Islam and observing the five daily prayers was sufficient to gain ones salvation. This attitude of the Hausas ~as strongly convinced me to believe that t~\ese groups of Hausas belonged to the community that did not find favour with the jihadist moves of Ulhman dan Fodio and so had to move out of Ha usaland into areas where they could continue practising I slam in its unort~odoK form. However, it is noted that some villages i n Dagbon l,ave associ,sled themselves with the ~y£bi~g and have consequently adopted Islam in its ort.hodox form. It is hoped t h at more villages would follow suit and gradually the mixing atti t udes of the Dagbamba would be red!Jced considerab]. y~ University of GChHaAnPaT EhRtt pT:/H/ru~gEsEp ace.ug.edu.gh If2b0ttlrLJ3S:hl§lQlJ1:LQ~f2fBVAi'JCES I i'J DAGBON TODAY Il:!S; _[1Y.S;_f:'lkhBB§=9[~~:1§i:B8------------- 3 0 j Islam is built on five pillars and every Muslim in DaglJon is aware of these pillars and tries to observe them as far as he can. Children who attend Arabic schools are taught these pillars and adults who embrace Islam do not only have to know them but also to practise them. Laxi,ty in the observance of these pillars is tolerated on the part of children who have not attained the age of maturity but not with adults. Apart from the first pillar which is the ~~~~~~~~ (confession of faith), the others which are; (ritual prayer); (compulsory almsgiving); anel jj~ii (pi.lgrimage to the hol.y pl.,,\ces in Saucli Arabi,;), ,;)re observeel practically anel their periods are known because even the traditionalists base their Dn some of these pi 1Iar·s. 3,,02 The bases for observing these pillars of Islcun are firstly from tilE Prophet. I"iuhammacl's own PI'~~ctj.c:es and sE'condly, from an ~A~it~ recorded as follows: On the authority of Ibn al-I~t.y-·five (65) • In t.hose days j.f" a young man wanted to go on pilgrimage to Makl.ah and made his intention known~ it. Lr-Jas common t.o hear remarks sLlch as IIHe j.~. t.oC) young to go!!:; !lHow can he go while his fat.her and mot.h'~f\ have not. yet. gone on thf2 tL9J.j?1l This att.it.ude was the /"'esult. of the large number of elderly people who made the trip which ga.ve the Dagbamba the impression t.hat pilgrimage was the exclusive preserve of the elderly peoplen that con~ributed to this al'litude in Dagbon was that l't was not common to find a young man with wealth because no Y(Jung man lived and took decisions on his own. Those who had attained the ;;\ge5 I::)(;!llr.!een fOf'ty (40) 2nd fOf't.y five ([1·5 ) ce:'L\lci not. (~CJ on pilgrimage without first ensurirlg 'that. both ·their fathel~s and mothers t,ad gone on l~le tripn University of Ghana 1h<:t;'t0p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ~ 't··' Today ir Dagbon, the reversp of what happened as of s \ 10) • 'r the trp but when , ugllter nr ralativc to go with him or her. Th.l·' i"J to ~~sure that lhs"e is SOmSQrle t~ J. ~I'e good care of h i.m 01' her. . , has ho~~eve' ~een noted that t is not common lo ind ,Dung girls going or ~ilgrimage. Th i.l is S\J becau~:?e 3. l:~p nst.el" is not normally encouraged to md~C the trip. Yount] hlOffiE rl WllO ar'c married and ha~e the means could make the trip. girls do not tlave the f'esourC8C -lo go on t.he trip" The' your1ehold cl-\or es.- ~he understanding here is t~lat every woman producing childrer\ and so Dagbon society demarlds that women should go to congrat~j].ate other WOITlSn WllO give birt~l so lhat Jh~n it comes ·to their turrl~ they wculd also receive SUC~\ kind ge=.tures" TO disassociate oneself from t.his jOy t~\erefore I" r esupposes for the \~oman who has giv()n birU,,, cases of w~lich are rare~ 1 02 Betv~e(~n the firs·t de\y of t.he ci";ld'~· bir'th and t.h(~ naming ceremony on the eight da/, the chi.ld's father has to fi,d University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 197 limE' to _sll ~he ~~~~nl in~o the right ear of the child, and the !g~m~~2 in~o ~he lef~ one. This practice is considered a tradition of the Prophet of Islam which is highly recommended to Muslims .. This practice is popular with people in the urban -entres in Dagbon as a result of the frequent ~~£y§ ~hey attend. A grea~er population of the Muslims in the rural areas have no Ldea about this practice because of the lack of effective Islamic education in those areas~ 4.03 Before the second half of the 20th cen~ury, 1t was not rommon for hu-sba.nd and ,,1)]. Fe to come togelhE!f' to choose " It was mos~ly the duty of the husbandls father and in some cases t.he llmQID of the area to '~oose the name~ This is so because ~nce a young man gets married and continL~es to live in ttle same campoLJnd with his father, the father still has authority over hi. m and takes crucial decisions fo' him. This is a tradj.tional practice which some Muslims maint.ai!l because it is the belief of such parents that so far as they continue to li ve , they should offer useful guida.neE.' to their childr'(?n" The name that is chosen for The adhan is the MtAslim call tc prayer which is as follows: Al lah 1.S Great (2), I tesU. fy t.h2,t. ther-e i.s no god but. ,~llah (2) ; I test i fy that Muha.rnmad is t.he me':::·senger' of Alli:\h (2); Come to prayer (2), Come to Prosper :i.ty (2), AJ. J.ah i.s gl'eat (2); There is no god bLlt Allah4 2 Iqamah means the call for the commencement of praye~. It's wording is more or less the same as t.hat of §~b§D. One more st6.'\tement is B.c!ci(-:0d tD the iq{':\mah l.AJhich i~S~1 llF'r'aYE~r' has star-ted II EI.ft.r3!r' II Come to F·r'o~.}per· ityll in ~.g.lJ.§!J. " University of Ghana h1t9tRp ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the child is kept secret until the eighth day when the naming ce r emony takes plac8n HOL~ever , in the course of time some learned Muslims such as Afe Ajura, i"1,,\l.lam Basha, lo.te Alhaji Issa Bello and {\lhaji Umal' of Nyohirli, all in diffE~I'E)nt. surburbs of Tamale municipalit.y, preached against the practice ~hereby parents chose names for their grand children. Today in Dagbon the responsibility of choosing a name fOI' a ch i 1 d is of the father 8.nd mother" However, lhel~e are still many ,0ung men who find it appropriate to discuss with their fathers tt1e names they choose for their children either as a sign of respect for t~em or that they desire the blessings of for the rtsmes they choose~ -1. O~· As a f'esult of the intensity of . Islam in the u.r'ban centres, parents cl,oose purely Arab names f CI r' t.hi:?i I' children" Some of such names l,A.lhich cH'(= termed 1 modern 1 Islamic rlc'\mes especially by women i.n t.he urban ar,= difficult t.o pronounce by people in the pur'al areas and so they conte~d t.hemselves 1.'Jith the very simp].E ones~ Popular na.mes that. Muslims give 'lo male children ill t.he urban centres are, Pbclul-Ga.f ar, Abdul-Bi.'\·"it., Abdu.l-Hanan, Abclul-Qudu5, Abdul-Aziz, Abclul.-Fazak, Abelu l-.. Scunac:l, etc, the chi.ldren following nB.mes are popular" (4i5h,,\, UmuJ.--I~ c i. s i on commendabl.e The 8i§A!A is a book which is widely used in West Africa and in DagbCJrl in part icular', pupils WllO complete studying the Qur'an are introduced to it. relate stories to indicate t.hat circumcj.sion is obligatory and one such story that has gained much popularity is that the Prophet of Islam was born circumcised. There seem t.o be rIo proof about this but many Ml(slims in Dagbon strongly believe i.t. -rhat is why when even old people embrace Islam~ compelled to go through the pain of circumcision if they had not been already circumcised. The Islamic teaching on this subject. is that for adult converts, circumclsiCJrl is r,lot obligatory3 but Muslims in Dagbon have made a lot of f us:::· a.bou.t. . people who are ~ot circumcised, so that people in sw:h category (eel very uncom(ortable~ When it is known that a particular This word is an Islamic term for jurisprudence" 2 J. Spencer Trimingham: !§!~m __ iQ ___ ~~§t ___ e[~i~A, Oxford Univ(~rsi'ly F're'::.s, 1.976, p .. 162~ 3 Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah: IIJ:h~Qg'd!;.ti'~IJ. _____ hg. _____ l'2!S!m, Ernest Klett Printers, Stuttgart., Welst Germany, 1977" p .. 218 .. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh person is not circ{~mcj.sed, he to ridicule and taunts to the effect that his Islam is nol perfect, lhal he cannot lead a congregational prayer and generally such a person loses respect in the sociely which he lives. Generally it appears circumcision has been given a prominent place irl a Muslim's life in Dagbon so that one who is nol circumcised is considered a second rale Muslim. 4.09 On lhe seventh day after a child is born~ invitations are sent out to relatives, friends and well wishers to altend lhe naming ceremony lhe next day. The invilation t.al\,tho h ..~. ve pi' ob 1 (~ms, those present at the ceremony, those who have been unable to come to the ceremony for one reason or another, for bachelors to gel Sometimes a child is named aft~r one of lhe Prophets mentioned in the Qurar, and the madaha puts the child in t.he position of that Prophet and praises him according to what he (the Prophet.) did during his lifet.ime. 2 Most of the people who abtlor drumming and danCing at such ceremonies are the Ahlul Sunnah and they are mostly supporters of Afa Ajura. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh I',) ( tli('1 t'UL.\rll.l'l.", <:\I"L'! Pilil1li toc'd ~H"IUI')(I rClI" \II"mhe'!""I 1'1"'1); \·'nl. tei "',d,, Til;'", er,H'("I\1CJJ'\Y (' dfl 'l'hc',f'",'fcli"\1 I.H' dlc\ll~\:,I'j,b("\1 \\,IIIU \Iii ki.1I11 uf \31"1,::1.,,\'1 l.1'1 t, lci"",'nl \If llpl 1,;1,"1 h,)I'ltI:1 (I,d hy ,:\1'\'( P C,I 1" ;Itll'l '''''Ipm, ,i, ,'d :I. 'r' f I" ;;::clusive preserve of the father~ It was what the father desired that the son endorsed wi~hoLlt questionn around the early 1970's some of t.he aL~n~m~ like Afa Ajura of t.he Sakasaka mosque, Hajj Umar of Nyohini and Mallam Basha of the Nuriya Eclucation Unit, started to draw the attention of Muslims in Dagbon to the principle of offer and acceptance in ma.rria.ge" It is noted however that some families were already aware of this principle and stuck to it. but. a majority of t.he Dagbamba were deep rooted in the tradit.ional system of Cll00sing "'Jives for One of t.he main reasons why t.he t.raditional system did not. recognise the principle of offer and acceptance in Islam is the fact that most of the fnar'riages are cons i der' ed family matters where the need for a man to reject a woman and vice vel~sa does not arisen As for the ef§O§ffi~ they fell that it was their dllty to draw the att.erltion of Muslims to Islamic prinCiples in whatever sphere of activity they are enge.ged" Most. of all t.he alarming rat.e at which the principle University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 21A of of fer and acceptance were being flouted gave rise to this concern by the B!§D§ID§. 1 The choice of a partner by a Muslim girl is sutl.j~?ct to the overriding power of ijb~£ granted to her father or guardian under the Maliki School of Law which in WeeSt. According to this school of thought ii~~t is a safety measure which is in the interest. of t.he girl. If the father or guardian of the girl. finds that i.n her immat.urit.y or over zealousness t.he girl is going to marry a man with a bad chal" act.er or a man who lac~~s the means to cater for her', he may restrain her from marl~ying the manu Parents do acknowledge the importance of marriage but they believe that if the r igl,t c~oice of a part.ner is not made, disastrous consequences are bound to occur. therefore, llse this ii~~~ method under the Maliki School of Law 'lo continue to choose part.ners for their daughters. This Maliki School of Law is applied in various spheres of activity in Dagbon and it was introduced into Dagbon by the Hausa Muslims. The Bi§~!~ of Ibn Abi Zaid which has already been referr'ed to ifl 4a08 is based on the Maliki School of Law which is used by all the e[§Q~m~ in Dagbon. 2 The only person given the power to make proposals upon the proposal of a suitor is the guardian, who has been vested with the power of ijbar where ~)e forsees SOfne detrimental effects resulting from the marriage. The use of this privilege to satisfy an int.eresl makes the marriage void~ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.24 In some cases young girls refuse to accept the choice of their parents while such parents also insist on their choic:(.~" l>ilian a gi.rl refuses to give in to the demands of her parents, an ultimatum is issued to the effect ~-5he e:\CC:f=pts I~he choice or leave the house and be considered an outcasln ThiS attitude by some parents is a gross violation of the principle of of fer and accept.i::1.nce in contracting marriage between two people~ One mi,ghl argue that such parents use the iii2.§.c.. method which be to tIle advantage of 'lhe girl, but the quest.ion i=:. how S:.ure are we t.hat the fa.t.h(-:?r IS cl..hoice is !lOt. a means of satisfying his whifns and caprices? There are some parents in Dagbon who do not wish to fOf'ce th,~if' mal'ry men of t.heir choice inst.ead~ they allow them to make their choice" HOl-\le\./er ~ attains the age of eighteen and above and she does not introduce a man of her choice to her parents, such parents get disturbed. Samet. i mEe~; the father issues an ultimatum that. he wants t.o see the girl come for'ward a m2'l.rl she wishes to marry within a cert~iJl period ranging between three and six th:i.s is not. done eit.her t.he gir'l leaves the house or be forced to marry a mEl.n of their choice" One conception in Dagbon cqnCf:~r II i ng unmarried matured girls who st.ill live with parent.s is that, it is a sin that a father commits each day an IJrlnlarried matured girl continues to live with her par' {!2nt. . su I:;dditiolv",lly, such a father dies ~,ile t.he girl cont.inues to live as a sp inst.er, then the gir'l's llnfnarried l:i.f EO: wil)' Ilave t(J be University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 216 accow,ted for by the father on the Day of Judgement. 1 This accounts for the desire of parents to rush young girls into marriage when they experience their fi~st menstrual flow. Before the advent of Islam in Dagbon it was the duty of a father to look for a wife for his son" It. was consj.dered sacrilegious for a son to wish to choose a wife for himself. With the advent of Islam this practice still continued and the main reason for this continuity is the desire by some Muslims to maintain certain traditional trends even though they are at variance with Islama The other reason is igr10rance because many people. inherited Islam without knowing its det.ails and others too got converted because it was the order of the day. Today in Dagbon the practice of c~oosing a wife for a son has reduced considerably but some rural dwellers still cherish it. In the urban centres, the situation has been aggravated by t.he emergence of sectarian arld chieftaincy disputes dlAI~ing the second half of this century. Parents do not want their sons t.o marry women who belong to different sects and chieftairlcy gates and vice versa. These conflicts would be discussed in chapter five under the emergence of sects and political life of Muslims in Dagbon. This view which is being constantly echoed by the Afanema Lo the Muslim public is not found in the Duran but I think it is a way of getting Muslims to let their daughters get married 1n good time in order to check promiscuity. University of Ghana 2h1t7tp ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.26 When parents agree to the choice of their son or their son agrees to marry a woman of their choice, the father' contacts a respectable 0!§ or prominent figure in the community Lo lead a delegation to see the girl's parents. The deleg""t.i.on is normally made up of bet.ween three and five men, but when t.he woman comes from a very prominent. home, t.he delegation is larger. Women do not normally go on such de"'!l ~~g 2.t. ions. TrCl.ditionally it is the men who init.iate all act.ivit.ies connected with marriage and from the point of view of Isl€:\m~ women are not allowed to mix freely with men. ThE?Se r'eaSc)rl~5 might have contributed to limiting members of such delegation 'lo men C\.lone~ A day is also fixed for visit.ing the girl1s father but without prior notice. 4.27 On the fixed day the delegation goes to see the girl's father and inform him of its mission .. The leader of the delegation then presents him with hundred pieces of kolanuts and some mDney~ Tllere is no fixed amouill for' t.his II f ir's-c. greet.ingll and so it depends on wtlat the delegation deems fit depending mostly on the popularity of the girl's family. On the other hand the delegat.ion has to make a v er'y gODd impression on ttle girl's family which cOl~ld ur'ge them to accept U-,e pr-oposal. In it.s bid to make a very good impression, not less than one ll,ousand cedis is given to the gj,rl's father. There is also a short prayer by the e[~ in the dele~atic)n which normally centres on the SUC~GSS of j.·I:_~S rnission,. Befor\~~ t.he delegation leaves, thp girl's father informs them that what.ever University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ·~ecision that is arrived at by the family would be communicated t D the leadel', When the delegation leavE.ls;, the father calls his wife 1 to discuss the mission of the delegation. The girl is t.hen invited by the parents and qtJ8stioned as to who t.heir would be son-in-law is and whether she accepts the offer. If she is positive on this issue, word is sent to the leader of the delegation to come for the "sE~cond greeting". Ifthegil'l does not accept the offer, which is quite rare, the clel.s(]ation is still invited (or a second meeting where it is informed that the girl has turned down the offer~ Before the delegation comes fOI' the "second gr'0=et.ing 'J after' th(~ girl !"la.s €:\ccepted the orfer, the parents woulcl have consulted all other members of their extended family. 4.28 In some homes in Dagbon when a delegation of this nature has come and gone, tile girl.'s father consults eit.her a ~§g§ or B!§ __ il~c19Y to find out whether the marriage, if contracted, will be a successful or\e~ When tile findings are posit.ive it is quite IJleasing to the parents, but somet.imes t.hese soothsayers inform the girl's father that there would be a mishap in thte marriage blll that if some §~d~~§b is made, it will avert that mish2\p" It is the soot~\sayeJ~ who shows what form of §~~~g§b A man may have two, or t.hr'ee or four wives and when a delegat.ion of this nature comes and goes, the man consults the woman whose daughter!s Iland is being sought in ma~riage~ It is when a decision has been t.a~:el' that the at.her wj.ves are formally informed University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh should be made and it is done without hesitation. Thi,s form of consultation with a ~~g~ or aiA_ti~~igU is considered unislamic and is gradually being discouraged among Muslims in Dagbon. It.s tot.al. eradicat.ion cOljlc[ be fulfi,l.lecl Dagbon continue to subject the practice to severe criticism. 4.29 Before the last. quarter of this century, it. l"'~0.S quite possi.ble for a delegation dLring its "first. greet.ing!' to be informed t~at the girl had beer betrothed to another man either infcmry or when she was in her early teens without her kf"lowledge. This sort of embarrassment l,a5 gradually bE!en eradicated because bef(~re a gil~], as~:s a yO\Jng man to see her parents, she makes sure that her parents have 110 intell'Lior1 of forcing hel' to marry anothel~ man~ S(3melimes it happens t.hat a girl is aware that she is being forced to marry a man st,e does not 1 ike. Bile cannot openl; disagree with her fat~ler on this issue and 50 she tal~s to a prominent person or an Bi§ or one who is vel~y close to her fs't,tler to irltercede on hel' beha 1 f 0 If the girl is lucky, the father gives up his decision blJt if she is not, he does not just b\~dge on his stand~ 40 :)0 Dur ing tl-Ie !!s:,econd ';:Jreeting" 's, grandfathers alld grandmotilers are visited is that sometime in the life of girl these relat.ives might. have t.aken care of her or might. have shown some interest. in t.he girl or one of have. tndicat.ed inter'est. in giving her out in (narriage when she j.s of age. 1 Therefore, to give lhe girl al/J21. Y in marriage wit.hout. consulting t.hem can cause sE-:rious fc.'fTlily m:i.sunderstc"\r1ding" There is also t~le general not:lon i.n Dagbon society t.hat a father who brings a child on to this earth is only a f c\thel' and not the only one W~\O owns him or hsr'~ It is therefore common to hear fathers makirlg 1. i. ke" 11 I b f"' oU~Jh-t. h(~~r' int.Cl tl~is world but. do not. own her c. There <..~.re no tion should u~dertake to conclllde the n\arriage procedurea The least nU.mbel' of visit.s t~at a delegation could make is three, but some delegations' could make as many as eight. or E"~vell ten including visit.s t.O ot.~ler relations of the girl~ It. :i.s t.o be In Dagbon it. is not. £:.ur·pr ising to note t.hc,t due to the ext.ended family system, (:ert.ain relatives giv\?r1 cert..{;'"J..in responsibilities o~'er SOlne children everl tll0Ugh these c~ildren might not be their owna An aunt.ie or lJr)cle may be oiven the authority 'lo give a relatives da\~ghter away ifl ;~~riag~ wj.thout any misundenst.andjng~ University of Ghana2 h2t1tp ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh(g~ noted that. it is only in the case of marriages involving young girls t.hat people are fussy about. several visits. woman is a widow or a divorcee the vist.s range bet.ween one and three. 4.32 When the girl's parents are sat.isfied with the number of visit.s made and the amount of moneyl so far given by the delegat.ion in respect to the girl, a day is fixed fOI' the formal handing over of the girl to the delegation to be given to the youngman. This ceremony does not involve the presence of the girl but it is a symbolic procedure. On this clay all family members of the girl assemble together the delegation in the girl's fatl,ers l'Ollse~ When greetings and felicitations have passed between the two g~oups, the aL~ prays indicating that the meeting is the wish of God and is in line with the traditions of the Prophet of Islam and asks God to bless the ceremony. As usual kolanuls and money are presented to the girl's parents and some other invited aL~Q~m~ offer supplications", (head of family) announces to all present that the girl has been formally handed over in marriage to her suitel-'" In reality this occasion betrothal ceremony akin to the engagement ceremony organised in Christian communities. Both parties are usually happy when this ceremony takes place. The monies given to the girl's fattler at various stages o f "greetings" are kept. to t.he last day. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 222 4.33 The betrothal. cerE~mony is an indication that the green- light is given for other marriage processes to commence. The ne:.:t stage of -t.he pr'ocess i.s fOI" t.hf~ man's fami.Iy t.o ",ssl?mble t.he l~f..€. 1 It. forms one of the most important <,spect of tile process of marriage in Islami.c Communiti.es in Dabon. Tile l~f..~ consist.s of four or mor\~ hal. f pieces of eoth, v(" i Is and headgea.rs t.o matcll the number of clot.hs p r ov i. ded" a mc,l, a pi 11 ow, a pair of sandc\ls, a mirror~ comb~ talcum powder, a bucket., pomade, some t.oiletries and a beautiful large pan to cont.ain the items with the exception of the pj.llow, buc~et. and mat. Some of the very rich bridegrooms provide expensive it.ems which a.re impor't.ed int.o t.he country. Some of such rich bride- grooms buy twelve half pieces of real Java wax pro ints and t.he same number of veils and headgears to mat.ch t.he clot.hs. In matters concerning the it is t.he women who play an important role because they are responsible for buy ing and assembIyi.ng them for is SDrC)et. i mes Vf2!ry difficult for some young men to assemble t.he 19[9 for lack of funds in good t.ime and so t.heir marriages are delayedd the is finally assembled, relatives and women who live around the bridegroom's house are in v ited to come round and inspect t.he l~ig and gi v e their blessings. Sometimes some women make unfavourable comments to the effect. that the items to be presented to t.he bride are of inferior Lefe is a common word in Muslim Communities in Ghana and it is connected with marriage. The word represents the items or gift.s that. a bridegroom presents to his bride before the final marriage ceremony. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh qualit.y. Such comment.s hav(~ forced young men t.o borrow huge sums of money t.o buy expensive it.ems, especially t.he clot.hs for the l§li~. In 1979, t.he Muslim yout.h of Tamale convened series of meet.ings at. lhe Victory Cinema Hall lo discuss the high co~;t. of l~£"~ and its effecls on bachelors. There were also discussions on women s alt.itude to wax prints manufactured in Ghana. After several weekly meetings t.he consensus r(2Cl.ciled was lha'l:- only four made in Ghana wax print.s should be provided by bachelors as part of in every marriage ceremony in Dagbori and t.h i s was endor sed by U1e B.£..SlQ.S!.Qle. in The Muslim yout.h warned that. any violation of the consensus was not to be taken lightly and that no e!§ should officiat.e in any of t.he m8.rri.age ceremonies where t.he clot.hs number mor'e t.han fOl!.f' and are import.ed wax prints. The young men were particularly i.ncensed by the manner young girls and middle aged women were fussy about. \tI..la~< prints manuractureed in Gha.na. The Muslim youth furt.her {'ei.tel'aled theet. t.hey ";ould not sit down unconcerned while women dictat.ed what they desire in matters . relating to This was a welcofne news to the young men of Dagbon who blamed women as getting out of hands. The ..' omen on the other hand wel'e not too happy about. t.he decision taken by the Muslim youlh and daring as they were, the consensus proved to be a d€!ad let.t.er ~ The consens.us f 8.1 led largely because no effective machinery was set up to check its abu£.;e .. Addition- .nted the delegat.ion lo take the 1..~£"S'. back Ilome to prepa.re to salisfy lhe woman's demand. Permission was given and lhe 1£1£ was sent back home~ The same 19l~ was used in marrying another girl becaust? t.he demand by t.he first. girl's mot.her was considered an insult. Not.withst.anding the expenses lhe young man incured during lhe prelimi.naries of contra cling the first marriage, he had to look for anolher wife. Il took lhe first girl a period of five years before she got a husband and ironically loa, her 1..~£"S'. consisled of four cloths out of which three were wax print.s manufact.ured in Ghana. Such inci.denls go to show that lhe simplicity of marriage that. Islam advocat.es is not adhered to but. ralher lhings lhat satisfy people's whims and caprices malter most. 4.37 The l..§£..§ is usually sent to the brides home by a delegation made up of only women representing mc.:1.n 1 S fam:i.l.y" When i.t is presented there is a lot of exci.tement as women in and around that conlrnuni,'ly rush to see the l§L§~ The young girl whose 1§1§ has been presented becomes very excited University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh because h er friends and wl'!ll wishel'~; would sur I'ound her and c o ngrat ulate her amidst giggles and jokes .. SC)met i mc:-?s sh(~ is teased that she would soon leave her father's home to become a stranger somewil(-2re .. I~mong friends would be others who would be expecting their l§!~ to be presented and such r.>cc:as:i.on urges them to worry their would be husbands to hurry up with their 19!9. 4.38 When the lere has been presented, a date is f i:·:ecl for the actual marriage ceremony. During the night of the eve of t h e marriage ceremony, two or three women from the bridegro6m's ho~e go to the brides home in secret but this is known to the mother an d a rew other women. These secret visitors are made to hide in a room and the girl is lured into it where she is smea.red with The girl i.s i0.ctually taken u n a. IMar es and it signifi.es a transition from spinsterhood to married life. As soon as the 1§~10 is smeared on the gi.rl she start.s wailing as though death has occuredu When people ask·to know what is happening, they are simply told smeC'.red with henna II pr'ep2f'e for i.t.. The U S0? of henn a i s also fast. dying out especi211y in the urban centres on the eve of the wedding. 4 . 3 9 a nd we l l wishers assemble in the hClmes of the bride and bride- groom. I n vitations af'e normally sent out to people to come and wi t. ness the ceremony. Before the last quarter of this century only ko l 2nut s were sent out as a form of invitation to such ceremonies, but these days sweets and invitation cal~ds are given. However, the older generation and a majorit y of the rural dwe ll ers still use kolanuls as i·ndicat,ed in the case of namin g ceremonies in 4b09b The marriage ceremony is lAsually h e l d in the bride's home or in a mosque nearby. I:; number of a!~D~m~ assemble for the ceremony but one of them will be t.he o f f iciat i n g e(~ who is normally invited by the bridegroom. The pr ayer in honour of the Prophet.) which all Muslims present join i.n r e citing. c hap t er of the Quran) and some ot.her verses of the Quran, especially t.hose t.hat deal wit.h m2rriage. 1 COfl l inues wi t h a shDrt serlnon on tIle signifj. canc~ of marriage Some of the vef'ses the Ara reads are: 4:21 (Marriage Contract); ;,:~ 4~ ::: ._' :~ ;:; (\'·1al'l-j.Cigf~ aO' oblig'2ItDry) f·?tC. University of Ghana 2h2tEtpl ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh in I s lam and quot es Qb§d!1b on mar· r' i.age" Then he asks the bride' ~> f atha l' or his representative whether he wholeheartedly a-gre'2S t.o give hi~ daughter ""up pI :i. E'el ) in marriage to t he brielegroom in accorelance with t.he t.raelitions of the P r o phet t.hrice. If t.he answer is positive which is clll,A,'ays 'j the case~ - the ceremony cont.inues. At this juncture the officiati.n g Bi§ informs c:\ll that the briele's fa t.h er has wholehearteelly agreed to his daughter's marriage to the bri d egroom. It shoulel be noted that this aspec t of ma r r i age has already been concluded but i.t is done on the wed d ing day to publicise what had been done quietly between the t l"O f ami 1 ies. 4.40 The officiating e(~ asks th. bride's father how much he demands as ffi~I::'-!::.. f a.ther might give a PI" i ce !l'Jhich the bridegroom's father or his representative will feel too high anel as a result coulel ask for a reduction.3 Many 2 t ime the m~~~ is already agreed upon and it only needs the end o rsement of the officiating B£g and the wit.nessesu IrJhen the," ID§b ~ is pai d ~ the amount. is announced to the public to bear Th ere has actually been no case of a sit\Jatian where the b r i des father or his representative answers negativeJ,y t.o the officiating Afa's questions. 2 Mahr is a marriage gift from the bridegroom to his bride which is her exclusive pr'opertyu It is lJsual,ly a SLlm of mon ey or other property promised by the husband to be paid o r de l ivered to the wife in (:onsideration of the marriagsa Marr i age is not considered valid in Islam withclL1t mahr~ III Da g bon the word 'Asadaql' is useel j.flstead of mat,r or sadaq« I n -some cases there is serious b"::H'gaining agr(·?ement on the mahr is reached. University of Ghana 2h3tt0p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh that whatever is done during the ceremony affects them hence the need for their presence and that in most Islamic countries that is what However, the literate Muslims in Dagbon ensure that both the bride and bridegroom are present at such ceremonies. Ideally, it is the practice of Muslims throughout the world for both bride and bridegroom to be present at the wedding ceremony but some Muslims in Dagbon who are mostly illiterates, exclude the bride at the wedding ceremony which is more traditional than Islamic. 4.42 After the wedding ceremony both parties are usually satisFied that they have adhered to the factors that go to make an Islamic marriage valid. These are~ Proposal by the man and in kind; obtaining parental or guardian's consent; and presence of wilnesses~ 4.43 On the evening of the wedding day, the bride is brought outside her family house or in the compound of the house, if it is spacious, to be bathed. During this ceremony the bride is seated on a big mortar turned upside down with only a piece of cloth tied round her waist and baring her breasts. There is usually drumming and Singing and while this goes on the bride weeps and money is placed on her forehead by wellwishers, friends and relatives. Some of the songs the young girls sing are just to tease the bride not to shed crocodile tears and that marriage is wtlat she cherishes mosta The woman who is University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh witness lhat so muc h has been paid as dowry in raspect I. CJ t 11[2 bl' ide. Some families are of the view that the monies given to th e b I' i cle ' s father eli.ll' i ng t.h(;) PI" eli m:i 1· \ i~I' y gr f2et i. nG)!3 '3hol.!1 d t h e mS1\:H:." but ot h ers prefer separate money whic h makes marriage mope c--?N p f2 n s i vG.~~ About two decades ago amounts ranging between f i ve and ten cedi.s were i.ndicated to the public as the dowry WhiCh was actually not lhe case. Today amounts ranging between five and twenty thousand cedis are announced to t.he public as t h e dowry which is a true reflection of the money spending processes the bridegroom goes through in getting the girl b e tr ot h ed Lo him. 4.41 The officiating aLA allows soma other BLAQ.mQ present to offer s h ort supplications and pray for long I i f t'?, prospel'lty an d h a p piness for the newly wedded. One important prayer during this ceremony is for bachelors to secure good wives. Aft.er this ceremony there is feast.ing in the homes of both the b ride and the bridegroom. USLwll Y dr'umming oll"\el danci.ng sessions are organised especially by the women, but. follow~rs of Afa Ajura and many other Muslims do not tolerate drumming and dan cing during such ceremonies. con nection with naming ceremonies, the practice of drumming and dancing is considered t.raditional by the ehlYl=~YDD§h and s h o uld t h erefore not be entertained in Islamic circles. It j,$ not ed that during the marriage ceremony in some cases, both the brid e a nd t h e bridegroom are absent which the Muslim youth cond emn . I n their condemnation of the practice they stressed University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh that whatever is done during the ceremony affects them hence the need for their presence and that in most Islamic countries that is what is done .. However, the literate Muslims in Dagbon ensure that both ·~·e br'i.de c,nd bl' :i.r.iegroom ar'e present at. such ceremonies" Ide,dly, it. is the practice of Muslims t.hroughout the world for both bride and bridegroom t.o be present at. t.he wedding ceremony but some Muslims in Dagbon who are mostly illiterates, exclude the bride at the wedding ceremony which is more traditional than Islamic. Lj·.LJ.2 After the wedding ceremony both parties are usually satisfieel that. they have adhered to t.he factors that go t.o make an Islamic marriage valid .. These a.r·e: Proposal by the man and acceptance by the woman (ij§~_~§_£Y~Yl); giving of bridal gift or in kind; obt.aining parent.al or guardian's consent; and presence of witnesses~ On the evening of the wedding day, t.he bride is brought out.side her family house or in the compound of the house, i. { it is spaci.ous, t.o be b,:~thE~d. During this ceremony the bride i.s seated on a big mort.ar t.urned upside down with only a piece of cloth t.ied round her waist arId baring her breasts,. There is usually drumming and singing and while this goes on the bride is placed on hel" forehead by welJ.wishers, friends and relatives. Some of the songs the young girls sing are just t.O tease the bride not to shed crocodile tears ar,d that marriage is what she cherishes most~ The l'iOtllEl.n I."ho is University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh usually responsible for bathing the bride is old and is ca.lled (~ ft.er this ceremony which lasts about an hour, the bride is clad in two white sheets and taken to the bridegroom's house for the consumat. i on 0 f t.he mar' I':i. age. In Dagbon t.he bride is referred t.o as em~~i~~ and the bridegroom BaQQ. Hausa words which have been used by the Dagbamba for quite a long time and are examples of the Hausa influence on Dagbon. 4.44 Early t.he next morning the bride is brought back to her home and the al!~~§nt~ examines tIle t.wo 5~hee·ts thol~Qughly wit.h the hope of locat.ing blood st.ains. When these are locat.ed then it presupposes that the bride was a vj.rgin LJnlil the night before and there is .jubilation~ Sometimes family members tie pieces of white material round their wrist to indicate that the br- ide ha.s !!pa.ssed t.ile test!1 .. If blood. stains are not lCJcdt.ecJ then it means that the bride involved herself in pre-ioarital sex which Islam does not allow~ When a bridels virginity is proved by this method the Dagbamba say~ litera.lly me.;.:\lls II s he is fulJ.!I!1 and this brings honour ~nd respect to her paf'ents for having brought up their daughter I.Ne1l. • In appreciat.ion of not let.ting the family down, the bride is showered with gifts but Significantly, a white fowl is !31aught.ered for her" On the other hand if the bride is found to have broken her virginity some"lime in her maturity~ sh(7) is full". In such situation the bride is insulted by her parents for having brought disgrace and dishonour to t.he family. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh However, before the cessation of this practice about a decade ago, most of the brides who went through this exercise were found to have been virgins before their marriage. 4.45 The mode of determining who involved herself in pre- marital sex or not in Dagbon mal'riage c81'emonies ].eaves muc~, to be desired because it is quite alien to Islam~ have condemned it and during the last quarter of this century, it is almost. non-existentD The other practice that has ne)l found favour with the B!0D§m0 is the way the bride is bathed in public by the BIIY~~Dt~. This pra~tice has also ceased lhrough- out Dagbon. These practices were introduced into Dagbon by the Hausa Muslims and they became part of Islamic customs in Dagbon but today they belong to history as a result of the intel1se campaign against However, SO{T18 parer\ts are of the view that the Hausa Muslims introduced the mode of determining who was a vil'gin and who was not because they wanted t.he young girls to maintain their chastity and thus bring honour to their famil ies and that was why promiscuit.y and premari"lal sex wel'8 not common, but beCBllse such pract.ice has been stopped, pre-' marital is rampant" Whe·ther pre-marital 58>: or promiscuity is rampant in Dagbon or not, the q!~estian at slake is whether the practice is Islamic~ There is no provision in the Qurar\ or the Hadith to suggest that such practice ever existedc 4.46 On the last day of the marriage ceremony which is about th e third or fourth day, depending on when all the possessions University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of the bride are assembled, the possessions are carried by women i.n 1:.)\' Dad dayl i.i:,:jht for the pLililic to see what the girl possesses .. These -2.osse-:..ssions are car'/"' i('2d to the !Jr' idegr'oClm ' s house where they are kept in t.he bride's room~ T f t.h[~ br ide has no room to herself the things are kept in her' husband's roomo Normal.ly in D2\gbon, women do not live in the same room with their husbands. is no sepearate room for t.he bride, she Ii.ves wi.t.h ·t.he bridegroom's mother or some other relation in t.he house. The Cl.Ct. of car'r'ying and parading the streets of tov-..ln::. and viJ.lages of the bride's possessions have also come under severe crit.icism from Afa A,jura and h:is a~L~l (F'eople of the traditions of the Prophet) supporters. In their criticism, they stressed that. of t.he bride's possessions disco\~rage the poor who cannot. afford to buy many t.hings and above 2\11 it has no basis i.n Is1a.m" Besides, people make a lot of comments about the bride's possessions which are not pleasantu A~ a result of the i.ntensity of criticism an this i SSLU?'!I there has been some considerable change~ Those who wish t.a convey the bride's possessions to ~he bl'idegroomis house use a vehicle to do SO~ Those who cannot afford to hire a vehicle allow women to carry them at night. However, there are ottlsrs who wish to m",:i.nt.ain the status quo and these are opponent.s of Afa Ajura~ It is noted that there are some of his opponents who adfnire hiin and his courage but they either wish t.o show off or fear castigat.ion University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh from their own camp for supporting him.1 4.47 It should be noted lhat it is only in the case of young girls who are get.ling m,;\r I' i ed t.he first. ti.me t.hat. cdl. t.h(;;se ceremonie£.; are organi.sed. If the bride is a wi d ow Of' a divorcee~ the cel'emi:tn i es are t11ac/e simple but all thE' f '3ctors that go to make marriage valid in Isl.am are adhereed t.o as indicated in 5 .. 42~ Howevel' there are cases of SLICh marriages that assumed greater fun f <3. i r than in lhe case of marriage :involving YOLmg girls. Nevertheless, most. of involving widows and divorcees are simply organised. It generally agreed that such marriages last w~lile qljj.te a nlJmber of those involving young girls end up an the rocks. It. is believed that women who go into marriage lhe second time espec i<3.lly when t.hey are divorcees, humble themselves 50 that lhey do not experience another divorce. 4.48 One ot.hel' form of rna.r'r iage im Muslim communities in Dagbon which is however fast. dying oul is t.he case where a ma~ wishing to honour a respectable man in the society, or an or even some inlimate friend, gives his daughler out. in Afa Ajura informed me thal in his bid to int.eract. with his opponents he decided lo pay a visil to one of them. When thi s man saw Ara Ajura through his window coming t.owards his house, he asked his wives to lell him he was not at honle if he called. When he actually called he was t.old his host was not. at. home. When I asked him how he came by this informma- tion, h e t.old me a close friend of lhe man he was visit.ing infol'med him. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh marriagf= as a fOI'm of 12.SlQ§.9§ (al'l\S(]iving). In such cases the girls father provides the dowry and other expenses connected with the marriage. Examining this practice critically at the Islamic point of viev", is illegal to do so without the consent of the girl. accepta,nce) which is a cardinal principle in an 1",1 am i. c marriage is missing, and once this happens it means that the girl i.s bei.ng fOI'ced into marri.age against her will which is In almost all such marriages, the girJ's consent is not sought but she is just called and inf ormed that she is to be given out in marriage and all that is e~pected of her is to agree. Some of the GI.SlD§ill.Sl know too well that this form of marriage is illegal but they officiale al such weddings because of the money and other gifts that they stand to gain. In Dagbon custom, the father wields a lot of a~thority in the home and whatever he desires must be done. In sue!', c:tpcumstance if a girl dares to reject the father's wish, she slands the chance of being driven out of the home and disowned by the father. Such fathers easily forget that once they have embraced they should lead complete Islamic lives but instead they blend it with customary practices and inval'ia.bly the customary practices take the better part of them~ However, this form of marriage is not common witl1 llle t.ul'n of the last quart.er of this century. Nevertheless, some parents marlage to convince their daughters to agree to marry men of their choice without necessarily bringing pressure to bear on them. l"Iot hers a 1 ~;O play important roles in such circumstance by convincing their daughters to agree and when that happens, the marriage becomes University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 236 legal when contracted. Temporary marriage not contracted in Dagbon. 1 4.49 In Dagbon-c\ ~Jreatel' nLAmber of (narriages are contracted in the month of §b9Q9D (8th month of t.he L5J.'Wlic: caliOmd"lr) whi.ch corresponds to ~Q1Q~~~1~ of the Dagbon calendar. The mont.h of S~~~~Q precedes t.hat of B~m~1QQ wt,ich is the mOf1th of fasting~ The ei§Q~m§ preach t.hat it is always bett.er to contl'ac:t. marriages in t.o serve t.he husband well in the month of fasting t.liereby seeking and the pleasures of Since it. is t.he duty of t.he woman to serve her Ilusband and it is in the month of the woman's services are needed most, it will give t.he woman a good start at serving the husband well so th2'tl she ,,,,111 cont.. inue it even EI.fter j.s not contracted during the month of 8gm~~~Q in Muslim communities in Dc<.gbon, even the traditionalists would not do it for fear of C2,St i ga:l i on" As a result of the type of food 11uslims in Dagbon ea.t for (dawn meal) and at i£i@[ (time for breaking the fast at sunset), women do a. lDt of cooking Therefore bachelors always desire to marry :i.il thE' mont.h of This prac:t.ice is commOil throughout West Africa but Mut 1 a was a kind of marriage that was allowed in the early ;~;~;s of Islam, but. afterwards the Prophet prohibit.ed and abolished it~ ~1owever, t.he Shi 1 ahs still. consider sl~ch a temporary marriage perfectly legal, and establish its legality not. only from Traditions but. also from declarations of t.he Quran 4:29; Dictionary of Islam, 424. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ironicall y that is not the practice in Saudi (..\I'abia. are mostl y contracted after B~m~~~n in the Arab world. It is worth stating that some of the marriages contracted in Stlaban do nO'l last long" is noted that some of these marriaoes last until theenddf B~m~~~n. 4.50 It has been noted with concern in Dagbon. espec :i. a 11 v in the ul'ban centres thai bachelors irl thej,r haste to qet married before 89.m~Q9.m easily fall into the trap of makino wrona choices and when 89.m9.~9.n ends, they do not wish t.o ha.ve t.he i r women again. 4.51 In Islam divorce is termed t§l~ql and it is t.wo sided which means that both husband i:\nd v\li fe· can ser?!k However, in Dagbon societ.y divorce is almost always associated with husbands leaving their v-,tives" There ar'e times if) a maIl's life when it. becomes virtually impossible for him t.o continue 1 iving "Ii. th his wife and vice verSBu lAJhE~n such a situat. 'i.on occurs it is bett.er for a divorce to ta~e pl a ce rat.her drag on indefinit.elY:r to live in. Al 'Lhough Islam allows divorce if there sufficient grounds fOI' yet the riaht i,s to hp p~pr(:iSRrl only under exceptional cirCLlmstancesc The Prophet of Islam is Talaq literally means t.o set an animal free. It is used in the Shariah to denote the leqal method wherebv a marriaoe is brought to an end. University of Ghana 2h3tt8p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh quoted t.o have s~'i.d,. "Of ,?-11 t.h:i.n~js IAJhich havc~ b'2en p(2f'mi.t.tect divorce i.,;:; t.he most hat.ect by Al1",h",1 These words are supposed to serve as a strong check on the hast.y recourse to and want.on abuse of the pel'missi.!Jil:lty of e1i.vol'ce. ",nother the F'r'ophet "Mar r y ,H,ct do not. d i. VOl' ce; undbol.ltE'ci 1 y tile t.hrone of Ule Benefi.cient. I_ord shakc~s, clue to divorce ... 2 4,,52 If a man ~las to divorce his wife, he has to do so b,'2ar ing in mind down stipulati.ons by §YDD§b which state that three successive prono\~ncements of divorce be made; t.he pronouncements should be made when the woman is in her stale of purity which means that. she should not be in her me?rlst. .. r'ual period; t.here should be no int.ercourse during any of the three pel'iods of puri.t.y; and finally t.h"lt t.he divOf'ce r env:\ i ns revocable unt.il t.he t.hird and final. pronouncement. is made. On pronouncement of t.he fi.nal the divorc:€~ irrevocable. ~ldd i. t i onE• . 1 1 y, t.he woman should go t.h r ough period of waiting t.ermed 'i~~§b· The Quran 3 prescribed t.hre(~ months of wa.i.ting aftel' divorce has been pf'onoLmced so that a spell of temporary separation and suspension of con.juqal relations may give the spouses time for rethinking and Abu. Dau.d, 13: 13; ,,>.Iso Su.rlan Ibl-; i"la.ja.I'l,. l.loL 1, 318, 2 I<:a.shf a l·-f.gban i" The Islamic t.erm for t.his periocl of wailing or' seclusion is Jiddah~ 2 Qur Jan~ Surat al-Baqarah; 2:234. 3 Qur Jan~ Surat. al-Talaq; 65~4~ t.o st.clY back University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghin t heir late husban d' s homes to enable t h em l ook a f ter t heir children well or vice ver' sa. " All Dagbon and the Bbm~~iYY§ condemn t.he Iij§DiYY~ and other Mus li ms for orgarlising ceremonj.es for the dead t.h a·l h ave no basis in Islam!] but despite these condemn at.ions the practice pers :ists .. 4,, 65 As a resu lt o f the quick manner Muslims bury the dead , some r elat ives and well wisl,ers of the bereaved fanliJ.y are nO'l a ble t o meet the burial ceremony. When such people arrive at. the f u nel'al haole ~I t.hey I'equest t.hose in t.he funera l home to .join thern in offering prayel' fOI' the HOI,.\lEVer' , those who are not well versed il' Islam are not able t.O offer such prayers and so they do t.hat in Dagbarlin pI'each that. mourners should not stay in funeral homes for more than thl~ee days bec a use quite a nLlmber of people go t.o such 110mes with the hope of obt.aini.ng free The e-specially of the Afa Ajura faction, also advise that the bereaved family should not involvf? itself the pl'ep a rat.ion of food for mOllrners and that it 1S t.he mourners who should offer them food. People whCJ travel from distant. places to funeral. homes shoul.d be fed by the bereaved famj. ly but as a f'esult of the mOltrning mood ir1 which their host.s ~Ir··e thl'OlAJn, i.t is e~lebl'ations. On the other hand the Afa Korenema will lose the beneFits and privileqes that thev derive durina SLlch functions. Chiefs who are the custodians of the customs of Dagbon maintain t.hal funeral celebrations are necessary and that if such celebrations are not observed, the ancestors would be angry. They therefore appoint Bi§D~m§ to oFFiciate at such ceremonies .. Th!? il'ony of it is that the particioation of t1usl ims in funer'al celebrations has not bf".:en part Df the original custom of because of the intense interaction between the chiefs and Muslims, especially durinq the reign of Na-Zangina this practice has become part of custom .. 4.67 It is ridiculous to note that some of the AFanema ~now tao well that such funeral celebrations are illeqal so f ".1' as Islam is concerned but they do not have the quts and the will to condemn it, and so many other f""1us.l ims, especially those in I'ural. Dagbon, 1,,100 look up to Muslims in the urban centres for University of Ghana h2t5tp2: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh religious inspiration, do not see anything wrong wilh organi- sing fune l'al celebrati.ons" So much money is pumped in to such celebrations lo the detriment of widows and children of the deceasedd M'''f1L a ti.me chi.lclri'o'n of t.he deceased are l5een ill lattered clolhes and others surfer from want of food and yet 1ar'ge sums of money are wasted on f LUter' a 1 s .. I"lus 1 i. ms who condemn thcc>se c(~l.ebrations spearheaded by Afa Ajura are referred to by opponents on this issue as poor Muslims who envy the way the rich take care of their departed relatives. 4.68 The marking or decoration of graves by either cement.ing it or by polishing it with terazzo chippings is not. common in Dagbon. However, about tvlO decades ago some of the IiJ.§D.i:iY§ Muslims started marking lhe grav(es of t.hFi'i r mh!.9{!99§fD~~ " 1 Accordi.ng to Spencer Trimingham the clergy differ as lo whether lhe grave should be marked or not,,2 Ther'€? quest.ion of difference on this issue because many Mus].ims have stressed that it has never been lhe praclice or tradit.ion of Islam to mark a grave and t.hat it is an alien idea .. 3 Since tile Qur'an st.ates in chapter "Certa.inly you hays in the Me;"senger of ~\J.lah an e;·~celJ.ent. e;'~E\mple" and I,~" rl(O;ve.I' pr,,\ct.ised the marking of graves, t.herl as Muslims we do not have a basis for doi.ng so. A visit. t.o any Muslim cemetry in Dagbon These are sufi leaders of the Tijaniyya Order who are highly venerated by its adherent.s~ 2 J. Spencer Trimingham: Islam in W~st Africa. Oxford, 1976, p.180. 3 Abdul Hamid Siddiqi S~\ }l i il 1'1us 1 i m (YD 1 " ?) Dar' c\ l--Ar' ab i a, Beir'Jt, L.ebanon~ 1985, 9u459u University of Ghana '~h11~.;.'t::t"·:r "~, .p~:, ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh reveals that all the graves are indicated by mound s and in the urba.n centr es they are numbered by organisations in charge of cemetrj.es whereas i.n t.he ["'uraJ. areas only the mounds are visi.ble. No gr.-ave in Dagbon is a. pla.ce of worshi.p as i.s done in ot her parts of the Muslim world. 1 4.69 Th ere is no dDubt a.bout t.he fact is predominant.ly Muslim and the Dagbamba are very concious of thei I' l'1u.sl im ic:lentity. HDwever, a closer review of the contem- porary evidence reveals the survival of pre-Islamic cust.oms which sustained element.s of the traditional religion. FOI' morl;> than a century aft.er the advent. of Islam in Dagbon, t.he Dutcome was not syncretism, nor t.he moulding of Islamic and t.radit.ional elements, but. rather a dualism, in which the two existed side by side. What is happening in Dagbon Loday is a. ca~3e of syncretism because of the fusi.on Df the t.wo syst.ems by the chiE'fs and t.he majority of t.he ru.ral dl."iellers. cultul'a.l systems do not e.~.~ ist. in a.bst. r act i on, but. are r'epresented by social l;,!f'OLlPS within Dagbcm. IAJhere21.s gained in the urban centres, t.rading communities and among the chiefs, it. had little impact on the rLlral communities, which remained closely attached to the traditional That is why the rural dwellers af'S referred to as nomirlal Muslims, especially those of the Tijaniyya, Qadiriyya, Shiah and other sect.s venerate the graves of their 1 E~2\cler s but no such grave is venerated in Dagbon~ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Mu s lims. The chief who is at the centre communicates with both t h e Muslims and traditionalists and tr i es to their- c\1 1 eg i ance. His position between the two poles of Islam and t r ad itionalism ~s c on d itioned to a large extent b y the relat ive s tr en g th of the opposing social groups in a given historica l con te~d . . 1 4.70 The system whereby Muslims practise traditional customs unacc ep table to puritan Musl:i.ms may be describecl as "mi":ing".~~ As o b served in the rites of passage in Dagbon, this system has generated a lot of conflict between ML~lim groups. mE\jority of rural dwellers and some Mtjslims in the urban centres cannot clivorce Islam from traditional practices. The puritan Muslims led by Afa Ajura and his followers are of the view that Islam is a complete culture by itself and once one embrances Islam, one has to do away with traditional practices that are not in consonance with Is 1 ,,\111, As for the chiefs, there is no way they can do away witt1 t!~aditional pract. ices because they are considered the custodians of the culture of Da gb on. Besides, there are some rites that they have to Instances of similar characteristics have been notecl in the Sudanese states of Gharla, Mali and Songhay as recorded by Nehemia L~evtzion in his book, ~lncient. Gh,3nf."I and 1"1a1i" a~ Spencer Trimingham also recorded similar characteristics in West African States in his book on Islam in West Africa~ Humphrey, J. Fisher: Some Historical Aspects of Religions Conversion in Black Africa, in e!£i~§ 19Y£D~1 __ gi __ tbg __ 1Di~£D§ligD§1_0!£i~§D l012:Utyi,g, 0,< for d ,. Vol"XLIII, po27. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ...,c::- r:-~­ ~-.:. .... h.J observe which Islam prohibits but they cannot shirk t.his responsibility for the sake of IsI,31il, In the c,,\se of I'" ur 2"~ 1. dwell.er's, i.t is sheer ignorance because they believe that the most important Lhing i.s to identify oneself with Islam cHlcl obsel'v;;, the five daily prayers. They also perceive Islam as a replica of Customs of Dagbon. They have not act.uEdly been e:( Islam. 4.72 Some Muslims in Dagbon have a vague idea of the concept of t~~ni~l which is the focal point of the Islamic faith. This concept teaches the Muslim to put all his trust in God whether in happiness or in sorrow~ and to depend on him alone for solutions to ones problems. However, the desire for quick results has given rise to the persistent attitude of the Dagbamba to consult the ~§g~ or eL§ __ ti~~ig~ on almost every aspect of their lives to the detriment of the concept of t~~nid. For example it is still the practice of some fathers to consult a ~~g~ when a child is born to find out which ancestor is cDmtng~ whether the child's future is bright and what name should be given to the child. When a man is about gettinq married he consults a soothsayer with the hope of finding out This is an Arabic word derived from t.1,e verb ~~~~~~, ,nearling to proclaim the Dness of God. The word tawhid commonly mea~s proclamation of, or faith in the 'one and only God. ' University of Ghana h:t2t5p7: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh wh at th e future holds in store for him he marries a part i.c u lar gi.r l. . When a woman has infertility prob l ems and i s u n able t o get pregn ant, both husband and wife Oil one hand th e ir' paren t~:; -on the other are alarmed . In order to allevia t e find out is wrong .. It. is always hoped that such cases would be r e f ~'l r r e d to a gynaecologist i.n t.he hos,p :it.al but almost. invariably, it up to for remedies because they always feel that there is s o meone behind every mishap. 4.73 When these soothsayers are consult.ed they recommend t.hat. same §§~~~~b be made such as cooking food i.nvit.i.n<;l many children ~"h i ch slaughtering a fowl to appease the ancestors or even giving out money, kolsnuts and a piece of white cloth to the poor. Some- times too it could mean giving aut the woman's clothing or of it to the poor .. It is also noted that these soothsayers name specific receipients of indi.c:at:lng t hat it should be gi.ven to a blinciman, the mother of twins, one-eyed man, a lepper or a very old and needy man. There arE' qu i te numerous ways by which the §§~§g§b should be made and when t hi s is don e , it is hoped that the solution to the problem is f o un d. ' Yara ' is a Hausa word meaning children. When people want t ~--Tnvite children to come to their homes to eat they just sh o u t. II Yi:\ral} 'fara ll and children mDve from all cOI"ners t.D t.he place of ~all because they know that there will definitely be something to eat. University of Ghana h2tt5p8:/ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.74 When someone dies, ~Jhc-?t.her myster- i (.JUS], Y or other-wise" t.he soot.hsayers are consulted t.o det.ermine t.he cause of deat.h. These soothsayers have all adopted a funny way by which they inform their cu.stomel's about t.heir enemies who wish t.o harm them. They do not mention names of these so called enemies but give descriptions of people t.hat. the customer quickly connect.s i.n the fami ly or in the communit.y. Such attit{Jdes gener-ate enmity, tension and gener'al misunderstanding within families and communities .. DUI'i.ng funeral celebrations, the shavinq of the head of some r- e 1 cd. . i ves ~ especially the children of the deceased still persists. A mar-ried woman whose father dies has to present herself for' shaving in line with custom, but. Afa Ajura and his. followers have always kicked against this rite and are prepared to lose their wives rather than have them shaved. The Qi£igi~Y system whereby a young woman is officially informed of her pregnancy in the third month of her pregnancy also persists in some Musli.m homes. The undesirable t.hing about this practice is the manner the young woman is made to stand naked before other women. The puritan Muslims believe that once a woman is married her nakedness is the prerogative of her hllsband Brld so to subject someol,es wife to such '-' f'ite in the name of culture is unacceptable. 4.75 Festivals form an important aspect of the sDcii~J. and f'eligious I He of the Dagbamba. Some of t.he festivals celebf'aled in Oagbon af's: ~ygYm, LQ.iDi and Oamba. 1 Of' Muhammad ~~hsin Khan Sahirl f-,l-Bukhar i (vol" 2) {-il'clbic ~nglish, Oar al-Af'abia, Beirut, Lebanon, 1985, p. 215. University of Ghana h2tt5p9:/ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh All these festivals are celebrated by both Muslims and traditionalists because they have both Islamic and lraditional traits in them~ This festival existed in Dagbon before the arrival of lhe Muslims. ~YQYm marks the beginning of the year during which all idols, shrines and gods are cleansed. This feslival is not limited to Dagbon alone bul to olher lribal groupings such as Mamprusis, Burkina Faso. 1 During this festival the Dagbamba make new resolutions and appeal to the ancestors to guard and guide them ·throug~10ut the new year~ They cut bits and pieces of cooked food and place them on their QQQDl .~!D2 al'e s2'.t.isfiE,d t.hat Jn as When Dagbamba Muslims took over from the Wangara and Hausa cleri.cs, they had to continue with the system of one of the I' i te,5 that gave t.hem a place in Dagbon societ.yn Additionally, it was an income .earning vent.ure fOI' those INho pract.ised itn By the 1i~~Y sys·lem~ amulets and talismans are made for people who eit.her hang them round t.heir nt·~cks C"Jr t. i0' t.hem round their waists. The one hung round the neck is called §~bll and the other for the waist is 9Y£YD. These amLllets and t.alismans are believed to possess t.he potency of warding off evil, scaring witches and wizards, urging one on to sucess and many othel's. These BLS\ ___ 1it?!.:L21 also wri.te AI'dbi.C'''"' on !5l.i.~tes, wash the writing with waler into B bowl and later pour it into It should be noted that. not. cd. 1 in Dagbon pl'act.i.ce libbu. 2 It is just not mere Arabic that is written on tt,e slates~ Ttlese wri·tings ape either ·la~(en from t.he Quran or some other Islamic books meant. for supplicat.ion. Some of them contain diagrams, the names of the Prophet and the Ort.hodox Khalifas. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh bottle s for customers. People who patronise 11~~y are supposed to drink such concoctions in or'der' lo achieve lhe desired effect.. Older boys Wh o study under some of are c<,lled upon to do the writing on slales and within a short t.ime they are used to such exercisesn After t.he:i.I' st.u.d i es t.liey also take to such practices in order' to earn Generall y the a[~Q~m~ are consulted on every conceivable problem for solution and they al,nost always have the panacea to these p r ob lc2n1s .. 4.88 The majority of Muslims in Dagbon are illiterate both in secular and Islamic leiH'ni.ng" Th i.s illit.eracy coupled with ignorance have made Muslims quite gullible. The Islamic -leach- ing their gullible public that it is not i 11egal in lsI i).iI), For they explain that what.ever is cont.ained in the amulet or talisman came from the Quran which is undoubtedly, the worels of Gael. Ther'efor-e, to carry the words of God along round ones neck or tied round ones waist is a meritorious deed and tha'l apart from God1s protection one stands to be rewarded on tile Day of Judgement. The problem here is that people who USB all forms of ta.l isma.ns tend to overloo~: the so called God elemen"t in them and see them as saviours or preventives in "thE:'fTlselveSn By so doing Gael is eventually relegated to the background and the talisman is seen as the force behind its useru Gene?!' all y wc)men form the majority of people who patronise hL~~~· This is so because it appears women have more social men University of Ghana2 h6t't"p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh in Dagbon society probably as a re~Jlt of the cultural practices of Some of the reasons why women go to see the aL~ li~tl§i are: infertility problems, the Cluest for un" 11 oyee! love from husbands and would be husbands, the elimination of rival wives or keeping them constantly in subordinate positions, the desire for wealth and the wish that other rival wives go barren. 4,89 tA.lomen who go to consult Bi~ __ li~iti§i do so secretly because people who see them and know their husbands might wish to report them. Some husbands are known to have divorced their wives because of their frequent v isits to B!§_li~ti§i. It. is a has wic~~ed in'lentions and the earlier somethj,ng is done about. !-jer, the · better. It is also embarrassing for two people who know each other to meet in an Bi~_1i~rig~~§ house and so others prefer visiting at night. Since customers go in to see the BiQ ilb£igy one after t.he at.her suell embarf'0ssing situations are bound to occur. These e[~ __ ti~~i§i know too well that the requests from women run contrary to Islamic principles, 'yet t.hey go ahead to t.ry some process towards the achievement of such goals, but whether they are effective or not i s c~nother matter' " 4.90 ?lnother' function of the e[~Q~mA is the preaching which they organise from time to time at popular spots in Dagbon t.O educate the public on Islamic prinCiples. fall in l.ine wit.h 'lhe demands of d~~~~ (missiollary aclivit.y) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 27() that is imposed on every learned Muslim all over the 'Nor I d by In Dagbon such preaching exercise is popularly known as Muslims both men and l'-lOmen like attending such preaching sessions because they get to learn a lot about Islam especially about the exposition of SCI"' ipt.ure, moral conduct " innovated pl"'act.ices, Islamic history, life after death and many other Islamic s~Jjects. They are normally organised in t.he. nights at about 8 p.m. after the last prayer of the day has been observed and when dinner has been ta~~en~ 4.90 The man who popularised ~~~~ in Dagbon was HSj.j of f,gati.ng Islam in Dc\gbon .. There are popular spots especially in ttle urbarl centres in Dagbon where various types of activitj.es are 11eld and it is It comes from the Arabic word ~~~~ meaning homily~ They 8.r(.:? normally held in the urban areas in Dagbon. 2 Afa Wazulana was so popular that his real name was almost forgotten and everybody referred to him as Wazulana which means 'the preacher man'. His house today at Kumbungu is referred to as IrJazLtlan'··yi. J. i (pl'eachel's house)" Hi,s sons and daughters have also taken Wazu as their surname e~g~ Abu~(ari Wazu and Abiba Wazu. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 27:t t.he pubLic. In Tam,,, Ie t.he Omnibus Services Aut.horit.y bus t.erminus, the Taxi rank and an open area behind t.he Agricult.ural Development. Bank places best sUited for id.:3.?:.Jl activitieE." In ot.her towns and villages it. is either tl'H, market placfE or the open Sp2'"1Ce in fl'ont qf the chief 's house~ Mas'!:. . of t.ho t.:ime t.hf? topic f 01' discussion is not known to the audionce until the ei~ who deli.ver the sermon Somet.imes too tho topic is known because certain incidents give rise to such preaching sessions~ When ~B';b--~ is to be or'Qc.iniseci on .a part.iculc:\r ni.ght, Arabi.c school pupils are made to convey chairs and benches from ~heir school to the ~~~~ spo'l after school at 2p~mn These seats are collected from schools controlled by the organisers of t.he ~~£~. In t.he rural areas Muslims who come round to listen t.o ~~;y come along with their own benches and chairSn 4.92 Aft.er observing the last. prayer for t.he day and ha.vi.ng eat.en ·'(. . he i r dinner, people converge at. the popular spot. The normal pract.ice is t.hat. before the principal commences with the disCI~ssion for 'the I,ight, other preachers are given t.he opport.unity to preach for sometime" Normally a public add,"' e~5S is used because marlY people attend such sessions" Sometimes when an irldividual in Tamale municipality does somet.1I i ng goes contrary to Isla(nic teachings~ such a person is taken on and his action condemned al~d t.he audiellce advi.sed not to adopt SLlCll attj.tudes" In the rural areas slJch attacks on individuals are not common because MusJ.ims j.n these University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh areas are ignorant about some Islamic principles and so they are normally given lhe benefit of lhe doubt. Such ~::\tt.ac:ks on urban dwellers are severe because it is usually felt tha.t they violate Is1,0II11i4--: leachi.ngs deli.ber~it.ely, t.he sar l11on" t.here is usually sometime for quest.ions from the public. These ~£.;iJ sessions last unt.il aft.er midnight a.nd somet.imes up to t.he early hours of t.he morning. ~~~~ sessions are also held in homes where people are bereaved and the sermon here is always based on the concept of deat.h in Islam, 1 i fe a(tel' and admonitions to Muslims to absta.in from act.ions that incur the displeasure of God, It is also noted that sometimes when a s·ermon is a direct attack on an individual, his supporters or sympathisers attend the sessionn During question time they might wisll to contribute to the discussion by trying to legitimise the a.ffected pel"'son I s. act.ion" This all.i tude unfortunately results into nasty and regrettable incidents. In 1965 one of the pupils of Afa Ajura questioned the basis for and he was beaten up which callsed serious problems between Ara Ajura's group and the Ii~~ai~~A. 4093 ~~~y~ are beneficial to the Muslim public i.n D2"lgbon because they help them to learn more about Islam and how its principles affect them. As a rE::sult. of tile que.st.. ion t. i fne allowed during the session, people ask questions in order to Wi.rd is a Ii ta.ny task generally recited at the end of certain ritual prayers~ It is very common with the SLtf i or·ders" University of Ghana h2t7tp3 ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh cl<7?ar thc·:d r minds of certain doubts which enhances their faith . Besides, ~~~~§ have a social significance as se r ve<..; as a cl,eck on Muslims to refrain from violating Islamic tenets with impunity. ~ome Muslims who have viola t ed Isl2.\mic t.enet.s have had to be embarrassed by severe condemnation by the QL~Q~mA and t.his has caused some affected people the bitter experience of having to go on self i mpDsec! e>~ i 1 e from their hometown. There fore, people are very careful about how t.hey behave in Dagbon. It. is therefore common to find Muslims counsulting t.he some ventures they wish to undertaken They Irlish t.o find out. whether Islam sanctions j.t or not and thE'Y al"'e i.nformed that it. is an abomination in Islatn, they give up the Since t.he intr·oduct ion of , '!:!.~;'~2 in t.he 1950 s ma.ny Dagb0.mba have learnt more about Islam and Hlc\ny mor'e have embraced Islam at such sessions= The post of i'llSltI! is a r espec-- table institlltion in Dagbon. Once t.he t.itle of im§m ).s conferred on an individual he continues t.o hold t.he post until his death. Not until the im~m dies no other person goes by the title at within the area of his jurisd:ictic)n~ In cases where the im.§ffi tra.vels or he is sick~ it. is t.h€~ D~Yiilli.:l who lakes Dver~ 1,lhen is too old to e}(ercise !lis funct.ions, i"L is the D§Ylmi who officiates on his behalf" Ther'f? is ~i case of im~m at Nant.on~ about fifteen miles llorth of Tamale where he had to relinquish his post because he claimed he had become impotent. It. was reported that he announced t.o The "litle of Q~~imi is a corrupt.ion of the Arabic word Q~i~ mea.fling deput.y. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 274 the c o~greg2tion just before the commencement of prayer t ha t h e had not experienced ejaculation for sometime and so he did not deem it fit to continue s}:ercj.5ing his fLmctions. 1 There is also- a case of a young man who wanted to lead a small congregation of worshippers in prayer when the !m~m, who is his father, h~ travelled outside Tamale, but he was stopped by a member of the congregation from doing so because he was not qualified since he was impotent. 2 4.94 Once an is elect.ed~ he cannot be displaced or removed from office because that institution is held as sacr~d. Most of the !m§m~ in Dagbon are elderly and command respectn However, there are some young ones who t,avs occupied such posts as a result of their knowledge in Islan\ic. learning~ Sometimes the post of im~m becomes hereditary in one fanlily especially when it is learned, but this practice is dying out because many more knowledgeable Muslims are springing up in other familiesn Since the post of iffi~m is not the excl.usive preserve of one family, Muslims now want to see that the post goes to t.he most qualified in terms of knowledge, moral standards, (~espect in the society and participation in Islamic affairs in the c o mmunity. The post of !m~m goes with quite a numb~r of It is a teaching in Islam that a man who is impotent cannot lead Muslims in prayer" 2 Apparently the young manls wife run away from his home because she complained that since their wedding the marl had not consumated the marriage u University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh priveleJges such as respect, honour, and benefits such as foeJd, c l o t hing and money that come to him in the form of ariel t. . o Islam " n ,j fJE'ca.use t.1l ~~j do ot oj, k lo r , fnor'ley, th€':y r - en"!: i, t lee! to :fi~t!::Lk Some 01' he 1':1. 1 im~ til ink. that t.h(·? 1.. .m B!!l?;;. ,.ar f'= As a, " \ \~~. . ] E' DC...:.. '1' t ) U· 'i I 'r '}i=.\ ], , c- 'I .[ ~'ci on j (' f !'" q , ,. " ,. ,.1 B.rIC\? o{ t e .~.ms::m La.rlnot local. c\nd 5Dme of the ident.ified groups with thei.r for the local tr'ibes f.:\r1C! 4.95 In every tOIf-Jn or' vi lliEl.ge in Dagbon where there is a chief, there m\~st of necessity be an !m§ID to serve him" It is the chief who appoints the im~m alld norfnally a dale is fixed for the robing of the lID~ID where he is presented witll a gown, t.rousers .:3nd cap. This ceremony of is to for'mally Dn r1cmclay and Friday mornings, t.he ~§=bim§ID goes to the chiefls house wit.h ThE' Dagb2.mba refer to the Gon.ja as Zabagsi, Moshis as Mohe, Fulallis as Fulan-nema, Zabramah as Zanbalsj. and HaljSa as Gbengber i. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.S one and ot.hel' Acc:ording to popu1.al' belief i.n Mondays and Fridays are holy days because the Prophet was born on Monday and Friday is t.he official holiday in Islam. Thel'efore prayep~ on thesE.' two days are rea.di.l.y clcc",~pted by God. The purpose of t.hi.·:;; visit is to offel' pl'ayers fol' t.he chief and t.he success of his ! n &.yL i on I II 1 norma,lly in eiUler shed for the purpose of receiving guests or entrance hall. to the chief's compound~ The 19C9 is usually a very large one t.hat has a capacity of about one hundred guests. If a stranger wants to locate the chief's house in a village or t.o~Jn in he looks out. for the house with the lal'gest If there are two large ~QQg§, which is, quit.e he has t.o look for t.he IQQg wit.h a §.m~.§ directly opposite it. 4.96 On Mondays and Fridays the chief sits in stat.e sUl'l'ounded his entour·a.ge. Sit.tin~l in state and waiting for the !LmQm is one of the signs of respect chiefs il' Dagbon ha.ve for Under normal circumstances people come to wail for ·the chief to ~ation is used here to mea.n trle ar'i2a that comes uflder the jurisdiction of a chief. Thf? Da.;;)bc>.ni word used in this circumstance is Tingbanj.a 2 The Wulana is the chiefs deputYI Lun-na is the chief tom-tom beater; Akarma is the chief of the talking drummers; Kambo-na is the ctlief warrior, Yamba-na is the chief of the gonje illusi.C2\l. group (fiddl.er's) and Lambara-'n" or Yal'-fli'\ is the marl responsible for washir19 the bodies of dead chiefs~ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh came out and meet them, but with the Muslims it is the other way round because of the spiritual significance attached to su.ch mee'Lings .. When the ~~=!im~m arrives he is ushered to his seat followed bj the exchange of greetings between the !!m.m and the chief on one hand and then the Ilm~m and elders on the other" After this the ~~=bim§m offers prayers for the well being of his domain, that of his family and all present. Aft.er the prayers have been said, the chief offers kolanuts to the ~~=blm§m and his entourage. It is to be not.ed that whoever visits the chief should offer him kolanuts except the ~~=bimAm who is offered kolanuts by the chief. This is a sign of respect that the chief has for the !!m§m. Ap~i.r·t from kola,nuts, lhe ~~=bim§m gets money and m~b§ from the chief. Somet.imes the chief sends food it.ems and guinea fowls to .the ~§=bim§m through his messen(;Jers Of' the ~!§,=klffiEm~~ __ l§'QbL~!Jp The birth of a child in every Dagbon society is a welcome news to the family inola which the child is born as well, as the community at large. If ·lhe chi Id is a male, he is circumcised on any day betweell the third and t.Me seventh after bipth. The eighth day is normally fixed fOI' the naming cer·emony. On this day the child 15 given a Muslim name or any is not associated with an idol or shrine~ It i'," the officiating Bi~ who norfnally calls out the child!s !lame and prays that the child should have long life and prospepity. Women play very important roles when a child University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 278 they all come together the family in their domestic chores. In some of 'lhese homes, drumming and dancing sessions are held but in homes of supporters of Afa Ajura where outdooring cere1nonies are held, drumming dancing are prohibited. On this day also tt\e (:l,ild's head j,s shaved, the hair collected and weighed to determine the amount of money the cbild's father should give away as §~~~~~b to the needy. Marriage is considered a very important phenomenon in every society in Dagbon~ be it traditional or Islamicc Any adult who is not married is J,ot accorded any respect because such a person is not considered a responsible personc In most cases t.he laid down PJ~ocedures for contracting an Islamic marriage are followed such as proposal by the man and the giving of bridal gift obtaining parental or guardj,an's consent; and presence of witnesses~ In some other cases, pal~ents choose hLlsbands for t.heir daughters which have condemned and as a resLAlt, it is gradually losing its significanC8c Apart from the dowry which the bridegroom pa~5, which is the exclusive right of t~e bride, he has to present 19f9 which consists of a nlJmber of cloths, veils, headgears~ a pillow, bucket, a mat, a pair of sandals and toiletries~ When a wamar1 is finally betrothed to a man is normally presented before the wedding ta~:es place~ As a l~esult of the ex~,ensive University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh nature of l§!§ some husbands cannot af fOI'd it and so they o r gan ise t.heil' lAleddings qUietly withotJt the usual (un (air~ The prov i sion of 19!§ is not an Islamic demand i:l rlcl ~:\ t bE'lst i. t cou l d be descr-:ibecl as an innovation . However, it has come to be a c cep ted as lhe norm in marriage affairs in Dagbon. Th e el~Q~m~ officiat.e during the wedding ceremony which is normally held in the bride's home or in a mosque near her h o me. Whereas the bridegroom is pi"' esent at the wedding, in mast cases the bride is absent and people have begun question- ing the rationale behind this attitude which is not in with Islamic However, lilerates who organise weddings make sure that both bridegroom and bride are present. As usual drumming and dancing sessions feature prominent.ly at such occasions but is an unacceptable i n n ovad:. j.an., The Islamic t.erm for' divorce Islam 211 lOINS b ot h man and .......I oman to seek d i vor' ce e v en t.hough it is t.he most Il a ted by '::;11ah. {lS. ,3. means of restr'aining both O1c'?l.rl and ",..~oma.rl from recour'se to divorce, Isl.am has J e:\j.d dCWJil certain procedures to be followed before a divorce becomes irrevocable" However, the Dagbamba in most cases do not follow t_hes\~ 1 i:d. 0 down proceduresu tAj I! en a man t..\!lshes to divDr'C(~ !-lis ~\j:i.fe!J _ t_he woman is expected to go through a period of \\Icliti.ng callee! lasts three months. The rationale behind this ' i~1~b period is to give the man the opportw,ity of \"' ec:onc i 1 i rig University of Ghana 2h0tt0p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh with his wife. Besides, it is to make sure whether the woman fs pregnant or not so that there may be no confusion as to the parentage of a child if the woman see~~s to remarry~ It is unFortunate to note that some Muslims who divorce their wives in DBgbon do not consider the 'i~~9b period. Once their minds are made up about divorce, they carry it out instantly requesting the woman to pack her belongings and leave the matrimonial home. This Form of divorce is termed as 191§~ Women who do not wish to continue matrimonial ties with their husbands for various reasons run away from their husbands' homes to their parents. Some husbands may send a delegation to plead with the woman's parents to get the woman to return to her husband, but others may not care. Some of the pre-Islamic attitudes of keeping women constantly at subordinate levels exists especially in the rural areas and that is why a majority of divorce cases ar'e init.iated by men~ With the birth of a child, the whole community is thrown into a joyous mood. Similarly when a person dies, the community is thrown into a state of mourning because it js cc)nsidered everybody's problem and not lImited to the bereaved family. As Islam demands, a ritual bath is given lo lhe corpse which is then shrouded in white malerial. The im~m of the community leads a congregation to offer the funeral prayer after which it is taken to the cemetry for burial. No Muslim is buried with a University of Ghana h2t8tp1 ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh coffin in Dagbon. (~ft.er- the bUI'ial the ~m~m gives a short sel"'rnon on the Islamic concept of death and offers supplications for the depar-ted soul. After burying the dead and returning to the funeral house!' some Muslims especially those of the Iij§DiYY~ Order in Dagbon an(j most. rUf'al dwellers organise ~~y§ (supp l. iCi~t. ions;) for the clea.d" They do it. again on the t.hird, seventh and fortieth days on a large scale. t:ljura, there is nothing like ~~~~ (supplications) for the dead aft.er burial in Isl.am. If the dece.,3secl children their concern is to contribute money for the bereaved fam:i.l y. The Tijaniyya on t.he olher- hand organise drumming and dancinq sessions especially Ofl the seventh and fort.ieth days and prepare plenty of fODd for sympathisers tD eat~ It. is observed t.hat much money B.nd food are wast.ed during these funeral celebrat.iDns. (.:) 1;'9.rge number Df the B!§D§ID§ benefit f pam t.nese funeral celebrations and so tl,ey lake active part in it. .( uner' a 1 celebrations, some of these a[~Q§m~ wish to see it persist as a reSlllt ~f t.heir selfish motives~ One othel' >3.t t i tude that is common to both sides is t.he ~~~g sessions that. are organised i.n the dE:-")ceasec:l t S home especi.2dly at Such ~~~~ sessions could go on for about a week and all the sermons are centred on t.he of death. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Festivals fOI'm a very :i.mpol'tant. aspect of traditional life in Dagbon. Three festivals are considered very i mpol' tarrl in Dagbcm and Prophet), and tgiOi (Guinea fowl). They are celebrated in the first, ancl sevent.h months of the Dagbon lunar calendar respectivel.y. Th(~ ~'dg'=lm. (f ire) festiv,O\l. e:dsted in Dagbon before the arrival of ~1usl ims because it was a period where the idols, shrines and gods are cleansed and resolutj.ons made for the new year. The celebration of this festival is attributed to a legend concerning how a chief's favourite son got missing aDd how he was fO'.l.nci at nicJhL Torches are normally lit 8!ld most participants dress ].il~e warriors~ When the Muslims arrived in Dagbon and observed t.his festival among the Dagbamba, they associated it with Prophet Noah. Today in Dagbon Muslims take aC'live part in it. (Guinea fowl) festival was introduced by Muslims. There is a general belief among West African Muslims that t.r,e Prophet of Islam was disobeyed by a wet gLtinea fowl t.O show him where he could obtain water when he asked for help, The ,-,-,tory fUI'ther stat.es that it was a pig whicl, showed the Prophet where to obtain waleI' hence the prohibition of the eating of pork by Muslims. This story has no basis in any of the sources of Islam. On the other hand the guinea fowl has to suffer for its a.ct ion a.nc1 towards t.his end, during this festival, guj.nea fowls University of Ghana h2t8tp3: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh are obtained, their feathers r'emoved ancl whipped before they are killed and cooked for food" This festival has lost its significance in the urban centres becallse they are no longer' celebrated but =e of the Dagbon lun",r mont.hs go by it.s name" (birthday of the Prophet) festi.val. is cel.f2braled widely in Dagbon. It is a festival that is celElbraterJ in twa part.s. The first. is known as ~9m§_Q§mb§ which is celebrated on to commemorate the birthday of the F'rophet 17th of the same month t.o commemorat.e t.he naming of t.he Prophc'L The m<;.in feat.ure of t.his celebration is t.he active drumming and dancing that are lield. Addit.ionally all participants dress in their very best lradi'Lional attires for the occasion~ The perform many functions haVE' contributed in placing them in a position ne>:t to the chiefs in Dagbon. Chiefs hold the 01§D~mQ in high esteem and it has been a t.radition since the reign of Na-Zangina who used t.he Muslims to make Dagbon a powerful 'Ilation'n Every chief t.herefore has to have an im§ID to serve him~ One attitude of' chiE?f~3 to t.hf': shows t.hat they are highly placed is the fact that whoever visits the chief must of fer· him kolanuts except the B!§ who rather receives gifts of kolanllts and money from t.he chief. The ~[§Q@m~ lead Muslims in prayer, officiate at naming, marr- ic\ge (£l.ne! funeral cer emon i e::~)" TIley serve as arbitrators il~ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh cases of misunderstanding between two people, families and even communit.ies .. They are also consulted for advice on diverse issues because they are considered the people of God. Thf= most cont.rovBI'sial dSP(~ct of their fLmctions is that of 1ih~y which orthodox Islam rejects. Since they make d lot of money out of it dnd there are many more younger ones who work under them, the practice will continue to linger on for some t.ime" It. observed that ItlOmen form the majority of people who patronise 1i~~y perhaps as a result of t.he perculiar pr'oblE.'ms that WDmen face su.ch as the presence of f'ivC'.l wives, thE' desire for wealth, the desire to ~~eep enemies at bay and !11{~ny others. olle functioll of t.he Bi.§X.l§'.(!!£ which the IVluslirns in Dagbon admire is the ~~~~ sessions they organise from t i, me to time . Even though such sessions are not ver y regular, they have made some Significant impact. or\ the Muslims of Dagbon~ 1"1 L: i. ng is Lieser'ibed as the attitude whereby Muslims practise traditional Cl1stoms alongside their If::-;l€:\mic Sorne Musl ims in the urban c e ntres are guilty of such practices but the worst offenders are the Muslims in the rur~, l c:\I"'eas" It is the belief of most. Muslims Isl{E:HT! is a bedfellolt.' Df t.raditional Dagbon customs becatJse t.hey see simi J.e.r it. iE'S rat.her than parallels between the two. Some of such similarities are polygdmy, div(Jrce~ sacrifice of at,imals~ University of Ghana h2t8tp5: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh say 1511:\111 is a complete cLAlture by itself and so once a person embraces Islam, he has to i,~]. 1 other cultures to the background and limit himself to that of Islam" The CDsmopol it2'\r\ nature of ur"'!Jc,n centt"'es 112\5 r"'ec1Llced the int.ensi. t.y of some of t.he traditional Dagbon cultures" the ,"'ur-·al areas are still deep root.ed in traditional activities hence the intensity of mixing in such consult both amulets and gllC.m.@. and also wear gQ.SlgQg (bullet pr-oof gown)" The at.titude of mixing will continue to persist among the Dagbamba for some time because many Muslims cannot divorce traditional customs fram Islamic practicesQ That is why it quite di f f i.cul t for people to easily determj.ne wt,ere lradi- tional practices begin and end and where Islam takes off. Howev~?r' ~ there are some v illages in Dagbon such as Mbana-yili, Kogni, Kpabya, and Ngar-in where mixing is gradually losing its significance among the Muslims~ This ~'ind of chc.,nge, it. is beJ.ieved~ will blol!.,! ,:3.11 OVE.1r leading to a change of attitude and thus ma~:e room for orthodox Islam to prevail in all places in Dagbon. University of GhCaH,n~aF' ThEtft-p( ://Fu Ig VsI:'p: ace.ug.edu.gh There are four main Musl,im sects in Dagbon today and these are, Tijanj,yya whj,ch is a §yii l. confr'alerrlily that was fOIJnded in 1781 by an Algerian Berber called Ahmad b. Muhammad at.-Tijani; (People of the traditions of tilt;; Prophet) who are popularly known in Dagbon as ~~Q~bi~~ and sometimes called ~~b~~!yy~ which has its roots in Saudi Arabia; is a modern Islamic sect founded in 1889 by Ghulam Ahmad in India, and lastly §bi~b who are followers of Al i. ibn (4bu Tal ib, the cousin of Prophet Muhammad. This sect came into being as a result of the Battle of Siffin in 661A.D. between Ali and Muawiyah and it is strongly based in Iran. 5=02 The !N~ga. . r:.~ and Hausa. Musl ims "ho int.roduced Isla.m into Dagbon did not come with any sect.arian t.endencies~ Thf1 only identifiable difference was that there were two groups of Muslims, t.he Wal'gara and the Hausa and each group practised its Islam wit.hout interfering with the other's prac:t.iC(3S" unifying fact.or between t.he two groups was the fact that bot.h observed the Maliki School of Law which was prevalent. A Sufi is a follower of the mystics' way in Islam~ There are var'iou5 opinions as to the derivation of t.llis wordn Some say it is derived (rom wool, because the people adhering to this systern (sufism) are said to I'lave worn the humble dress of wool. Others derive it from purity or wisdoffin University of Ghana h2t8tp7: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh throughout (~est Afr ica. 1. Howevel' , with the coming of more Hausa clerics into Dagbon, sectarian tendencies gradually set in among Muslims and by the second half of the 20th century Dagbon e:-:pel'ienced the emergence of =1ect.s which have contributed immensely in undermining the Islamic brotherhood , amity, peace and love that the religion of Islam cherishes. The doctrinal differences that eHists among these sects have caused a lot of socia l and political problems in Dagbon. It!LIlJ.6.t~L!..n6. 5 .. 03 Th e first sect that emerged in Dagbon is the Tijaniyya Order. It was introduced by Hausa clerics and in the beginning its practices were limited to the clerics alone because it was a class sect whereby people who were knowledgeable in Islam could practic~ it. However, with ~ime pockets of Muslims in and around Tamale and Vendi got converted into the Order. It was in 1950 that the Order became popular when at the invitation of the Hausa community and some Dagbamba adherents, the lat e Shaykh Ibrahim Nyass, the then leader of the Order in West Africa based in KaolacknSenegal, visited Tam21.le. Thf~ Shaykh was app21rently on a visit to Accra and his followers in Tamale seized that opportunity in inviting him to Tamale. His photographs were sold allover Tamale and generally there was a rush to obtain them. His followers portrayed him as a Saint The Maliki School of Law was named after Malik bin Anas who was born and lived in Madinah. He was a great ~ybD~~ilb who was a scholar and authority of the Science of hadith. University of Ghana h2t8tp8: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh who was fl~l] (Jf' superhuman powel's al1d wherever he went MlJslims non-Muslims struggled to catch a glimpse of him. I,AlC)mr;,~n had to spl'(?ad thE!i. r cloths C.1f1 Ulf~ g 1" ounei for hi.m to ",If, 1 k on~ ,.~herever !"\e sat. he Has farmed like E:\ :ing of the medieval Sudanese states and generally Muslims wanted to get nearer him so that they could either touch him or his gown with the hope of receiving blessingsh When peopJ,8 were informed t~\at to sip wa.ter (kett. Ie) or' ablution jug he uses in performing ablution was enough to earn one blessings, there was a struggle for ~\is ~D!~ W~lereyer he wentD 5~04 It was popular belief amorlg Tijanis that ~hoeyer held be satLJrated with blessingsh These beliefs are contained in §~£L teachings which are aimed not merely at guiding members in mystica,l pr-C'.ctice, but in binding them in allegiance to a ,naster and develope(j int.D a cult of sai.nt.s as mediators with the spiritual It-lor Id q Shayl(h Ibrahim Nyass was considered a l~ossess8r of \Nho a.ct.s ~tS a mediator bf'idging which separat.es God and man~ §~[i leaders are highly venerated by their fDllowers" Uncler t.hE:" Shaykll lDco,1 2.gentc-; called tariqa) who enroll, t.rain c'":\nd initiate new members~ collect dues 2.nd organise the collec·live ~~il~§ (remembrance of God)~ Centres of religj,oLls activities are (ret.reat. or convent) and they are generally a compound enclosing a group of buildings with sections leader, his fami].y~ disciples and pilgrims who come to venerate t.he tombs of their clead Shaykhs. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5 .. 05 The §~(i ritual is centred on ~~it~ which is performed alone or in congregation. At in i t iat. icm, H!e ffi~L.LQ (c>.sp i I',mt.) swears an oat.h of allegiance, r'8ceives a rosary and is allocateej litanies to be recited wit.h its aid" At. the congregational under the leadel'shi.p of t.he leader, litanies and i nvocations are chant.ed in rhythm. Whi:le ·lhese are chanted, it is the duty of each participant. to concentrate thought, feeling and action on God. 5,,06 The Tijaniyya Order en.joins on its adherents two ritlJal obligations daily. The fif'sl r·ilu"d. is t.h(9 ~:! ..t cf.l (li.t..,:.>ny) wh:i.ch i s either observed in a groLfp or individually and it.. requires t.hs recitations of tile following: (a) the (~he forml!la of penitence) which is recited one hundred times; and (b) §~l§l_~l=E§iib (a cont.roversial special prayer i.n praise of Prophet MLthammad) one hundred ·limes~ The second rit.ual whic~ is known as t.he ~~~ii~ (s Tijaniyya lit.any tasl,) is observed anytime ir1 the evenings after ~Ql§i §!=~~gb[i~ is offered, but. on Fridays it is clbser'ved immediately after B§~ prayers~ This secorld ri·tual involves the reci·t.atioflS of the followingg (a.) (the formula of penit.ence) t.his time thirt.y times; University of Ghana h2''t>tp0 ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (b) (a controversial prayer in praise of the Prophet Muhammad) fifty times; (c) Dne hundred times; and (d) which is the most. important prayer of the Order is recited twelve times. Ahmc'.d Tijani, the founder of the Order from the Prophet Muhammad, It is only when one has performed ablution with water that one can take part in the ~A~ii~ which is observed collectively. 1 This means thal 'h9.'L9.ffiffi'dffi (dry ablution), l/vhich can be used .in observing any of lhe five daily prayers when there is scarcity of water, cannot be used for the '. \ ~~~ii§~ Thi.s presupposes that the !dEI ..L iB is a higher' 1'''lusl im r' i lual t.han ·-7 ::b- the five daily prayers~ These rituals are usually heJ.d in the mosque where the adherents sit around a white sheet called i~~tc Women adherents sit some distance away from the men but they take part in all the processes of the rituals with ttlsir men counterpart.s" Joining the Order and participating in all its rituals are believed to be highly rewarding and that slAch people would enter Paradise. Consequently, an initiat.ed member feels that he belongs to a religious elile. J.N. {-\BUN--I\IASR:· Th,= Tijaniyva, O,:(ord, 1965 p,::"2. University of Ghana h2t9tp1: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5,,07 The significance of spreadig the i~§~ and sitting around it IS that when the adherents reach the seventh recitation"of the Prophet and all the four Orthodox tn~li[~n~ attend the circle of the ~A~i[§ and remain there as long as it is being recited.' As t.he Prophet and the four Ort.hodox tnAli[~n~ are held in high esteem, it is found appropirate to prepare special j""eser-vation fOI' their' unseen guests. 2 However, in Dagbon, t.hose who subject t.his Order to ridicule say that the Tijanis claim that it is God who comes t.O join them sealed on the wt,it,e sheet and so ttley have been referred t.o as ~§~YD __ DY§Lih~ (those who see God)u .. When the Order was first. established in Dagbon, interested people had to pay a registration ffE:f;E of one pound one S!'lillillg (2\ guinea) but today the registration fee has l;Jone up to fivE~ ~ hundr"ed cedis One of the Tijaniyya teach.~ ngs that has attract.ed many people is the cl.ai.m t.hc;\t ~'\Ihoever' participates in its rituals would be able to save seventy members of his family frem the torment of Hell fire on the Day of Judgement. Some ott1er Muslims see 'this claim as contrary to the teachirlgs of tl,e QUI~an and t.hey quote the ver'se, tf{~rld nD bearer of a burden ~an bear the burden of The four Orthodox Khalifahs are: Abu Bakr ibn Abu Quhafah, Umaribn al-.(hattab, Uthman ibn Arran and Ali ibn Abi Talib. 2 I think that the i~A~ which is reserved for the unseen guest!.::;) i-:=:. only c;\ symbol ic,3.1 I"epr€.~sefltation c.if t.he gu.ests cl.nd flot a t.r'ue presence as some of the adhererlts are made to bel ieve. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh anethel'" 1. to chc>.llenge the Ti.jan:i.yy,,1. assel'tion. The critic" say that the verse in lhe Quran means thal the burden of lhe sins of one man cannot be laken away by another, and that the effect. of each ITrt1n's 2\ct-i.ons clinej t.o himsedL This CI' i.t i.c ism notwithstanding, the Tijanis continue with their practices all ovel' Dagbon" The book that contains all its teachings is This book is Simply cal J.ed Jawah i r· al-mc\ani and its aut.horship is accredited tolAli Harazim b al-'Arabi Barada. 5 .. 08 It. has been not.ed that some of t.he Hausa clerics who found themselves in Dagbon belonged to ttle Quadj.riyya Order which is also a §~ii Or'der named after 'Abdul-Kadir Jillani. 2 As a result of t.he large following of the Tijaniyya Order, members of t.he Qadiriyya had t.o join the Tijaniyya. Those who joined the Tijaniyya were required to give up their membership of the Qadiriyya, aS5urj.ng them that they would be safe frOin any form of vindictiveness of the ~~lL§ (proteges of Gad, Saints) whom they would thus repudiate~ The Qadiriyya Order did not therefore make an impact in Dagbon. Tijanis have been Gur-an 17~ 15, 3~5: 18 etc~ 2 He was the head of 2 School of Hanbalit.E Law and a f'ibat (Sufi. centl'e) i.n Ba.ghdad" His I'eput.ati.on gn,w dS a H,,"\ntlcdi. preacher but not as a Sufi~ There is no evidence that he ever claimed to have a path or guided anyone or init.j.ated anybody_ After his death in 1166 a.nd with t.he passage of time, Shaykhs began to init.iate their pupils into his name because his fame as intercessor was spreadingn University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh wa l' ned against leaving the Ordel' and it is widely believed t h a t a Muslim wh o leaves i t wou l d have an adverse tel'mination of h is lif e (yamutu Ahmad al-Tijani has himself wa l' ned t.hat he who e;·:ecr'ates him and does not. I'epen t. di£~s an i.nf ideL Tijanis have been forbidden t.o visit living ~~!i§ and the shrines of dead onesu In this connection they quote Ibn al --Al'abis ' saying in al-Futuhat al-Makiyya t.hat. jUst. as t h e world does flot. belong to more t.han one God~ and the believer, to mOl'e than one Prophet., and a woman cannot be at the same 'lime the wife of mOl'e than one man, aD also a mYri~ may not attach himself to mOl'e t.han one shaykh. 5 ,,09 Some of the Tijaniyya teachings that. brought about. s e r ious c lashes between them and especially the ~~D~blrg are as fol l ows: (i) t.he belief tha.t the recitation of ~S\!S\b._S\!=E§,1.ii:l once is equivalel,t in meri'l t.o reading the whole Quran six thousand times~ this teaching as Lyir (unbelief) and pointed out that since t.he Quran is God!s own speech and ~~l~t __ ~l=E~ti~ is just a speech of one of his creat.ures, he who believes that the speec~ of the creature is sLlperior in its essence to that of the Crea"lor has recanted his faith in Islam; University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ( i i ) the belief that Prophet Muhammad taught only In cr'it:i.c:ism, the ~YQ~birg stated that if this Tijaniyya gospel was taught by Prophet Muhammad to Ahmad al-Tijani only without having previously taught it during his life time tel his companion, then it presupposes that Muhammad died without delivering completely his prophetic mission and this is contrary to the verse of the Quran which states, "This day have I per·(ected your I'eligion for you, camp l!.?ted my f ~i.VOl\r' upon YCJU anel hcl,ve ChDSE':.I.t:1 fDf' you Islam as YDur rE!J.igion; III (iii) the belief that adherents of the Tijaniyya Order will enter Paradj,se without submitting themselves to any account or punished for their actions on the Day of Judgement. The ~YD~birg are of the opinion that such a teaching constitutes unbelief because the doctrine of judgement and compensa- tion for good actions is a basic teaching as enshrined in the Articles of faith. Thr;;refor·e he who believes that he will be admi. lled int.o Paradise wi·thoLlt first being brought to account for his actions is an act of ir1fedilily; Qu r 8.11: 5 ~ LJ. ~ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ii. v) once is equivalent to thousands of ~lilgrimages and hundreds of prayers~ The ~UQ~~i~~ see this as a great annulment of the Quran because if the Quran has imposed pilgrimage as part of the required acts of devotion with all the difficulty, fatigue and cost involved, the recitation of this T i. j an i. gaspe 1. is equated to thousands of such pilgrimages and prayers, then the Tijaniyya Order is false and must be rejected by all well meaning Musl i.mso 1 Despite all these criticisms by the ~~Q~~i~~, the Tijanis were steadfast in the observance of Tijarli rituals to manifest their Ltnalloyed r ,~i t.h in t.he Tijaniyya Order. The ~~Q~~i~Q on t.he other hand were bent. on ridding Dagbon of the Tijaniyya Order a.nd it.s II innovated pract ices!! and hOl,.\1 far they hav'e succ {~eded will be discussed in the latter part of this chapter. 5~ 1.0 A ma,jority of the adherent.s of the Ti,janiyya Order practise mixing and tlleir clerics are the worst offenders in the making c\!.d sellin{;} of amulets and talisfnax,s .. They 21.150 operate as soothsayers and claim t .o have the power to treat cases such as infertility in women, j.mpotence and mental The Tijaniyya Order has many beliefs that. cannot be enumE:~I"a-- ted here. l-hese criticisms are similar allover thE~ i::""\r' eE.~S; where Tijanis are located. University of Ghana h2t9tp6: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh problE~ms. They ar0 mostly seen at outdoorlng and f L,mer' ~I ]. celehrations as officiating ~lericb. Tijaniyya adherents who organise Qutdooring, marriage, funeral and m~Yll~l celebrations do Scl i.n graniJ stylE). time to exhibit wealth and thp Order encourages it. To t,hosf.~ who cri.ticise them are poer people who have nothing l.o e:'1 h j, lJ it on s u ch and that. if their critics had t.hn opportunity, they would act. in like manner. "j. 11. It has been noted that lhere are quite a number of lil2"1"t none of tilem has "ome forwar d tD c,~;SL\me it 1n Dagi:lo['l. i.n T'·,lm;"I.!."", VI;!IICi:i", SE,ve 1 ugu" f::umbungu, Each of them organises its activities and Tijani l"Ij, t.h I 11 Lhe comrnunitic}~ l.iley are IDcated. contribut.ed as a factol towards the apat.hy to lead~rBhip. It i s also believed that nene of the Tijani ~lerlcs in Daqben has the cCJur "'.I;}e and chal' i ',:;ma t () f acE' A f a A.,i 1.11'" i.1l confrontation on the vslidil.y of the Order. Tijanlyya adhprents are forced tD ln/ita 0['10 of i[:", populi'll' leaders in Ghana known as Sh~ykh Maikallo who lives in Prallg in the Brong Ahara legion lo como to Tamale to addres~ them. A 1j9.~\,U.Q is a term generally u!:"t'd I hi' DL'.qI10ut vJC0'lt () 1'1 " Cd meC'lllil'11] lhp celebrdtion of tilo birthday of the F)r'opi'lp( of I?li~m" University of Ghana h2t9t7p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh majority of the Tijanis consider him as virtually the leader of the Order in Ghana. 5" 12 During Shaykh Maikano's first. few visits to Dagbon in 1970 1 s, there was no ser'ious clash between the Tijaniyya a.nd the t11,.11J.~b.i!:..~. Whenever Shaykh Maikano arrived in I)Cl,gbon, he stayed in Tamale and c'\dhef'ent:") loc2~ted all over- Dagbon came to pay homagf3 t.o him. These Ti. .jani 's ~.50 much identified t.hemselves wi t.h th,= (J!'der a.nd its I'ituals a.nd also held Shaykh Maikano in such high esteem which suggested t.hat he was venerC\.tedc The way and manner they were so att.ached to, the Or·der gave the impression that they had relegated their obligatory religioLts duties to the bac~(ground~ At .any time Sha.ykh I"iaikano vi~ji t.ed Dagbon, he succeeded in 'converting' some Muslims into 'the Tijaniyya Order~ The ~~D£bi~§ felt that Shaykh Maikano's vi,sits were a t.hreat to the very existence of Islam in its Orthodox form in Dagbon and that if something was not done to prevent. him from coming to Dagbon, he could influence tho(~sands of irlnocent Musli(ns~ Consequent.ly, the ~~D~bit~ decided to debar him from coming to DagbDn descr· ibing it as a. iib.@:,Q~ 1 In I"iarch" 1977, Shaykh t'ja.ika.nD defied all t.hreats of attack from the ~~Q~b.iL~ and travelled by air to Tamale. Apparently t.he Tijanis in Tamale had assured him of ma}~imum security and of hj.s safety~ ~iQwever, while he Jihad is holy fighting in the cause of Allah or any kind of effort. to make Islam superior. It is regarded as one of 'li"" principle of Islam. Striving to rid oneself of ·::"ins is considered a jihad agail·lst ones desil~esH University of Ghana 2h9t(t1p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh was b e:in g d r :i.ven i.n ,"" car fr'om t.he ail'pert i.n t. o t.h0' cent.re of Tamal e , t. h e ~~Q~ni~~ ambush ed and at.tacked t he car in which he wa s. It. resulted in violent. clashes between t.he two groups in wh i ch some ,,1.eop l e were S91'iously i nJLtred and man y cars bel o nging to the Tijsni ' s were badly d amaged. A combined team o f th e Police and the army in Tamale were brought. in to quel l tl, e clash. When the ~~Q~ni~g were accused by the Tijanis of being the aggressor in lhe conflicl, they replied that they c onsidered lheir act.ion as that of an Islamic jihad against the introduclion of alien ideas irlto Islam and that they were determ i ned to rid Islam of Tijani influences in Dagbop. . It. 1·1<")'s been noted that supporters ar,d sympathisers of bath religious groups are [(lund everywhere in Dagbon but the main can't.re of clashes between them is in Tamale where followers of both groups are concentratedn 5 " 13 The second sect to emerge in Dagbon is lhe anl~l=§~QQQn· Th ey ar e s o metimes referred to as ~§b§~lYY§ bLAt their most popular Dagbani nafne is ~~Dfbl£g which mearlS !the rejectersln The name ~~bQ~iYY~ is an Islamic communit.y founded by Muhammad ibn {\bdu I -- Wahab (1703--1787) in the middle of the 18th century i n Saudi Arabia and essen'lj,ally based on tIle teeachings of 'lhe t.heologians, Ahmad ibn Hanbal (9th century) ,:'mc! Ahmad ibn (15th century) who both stood for litel'al adherence to t h e Quran a n d the Traditions of lhe Prophet as the sole valid s ou r' c e of religiollS and mor'al law~ The nalne was given to the University of Ghana h2t9tp9: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh COmm U!1j.ty by its oponents in the foundel~ls lifetimen It. i.s not. used by its members but they prefer Wnitari.ans) .' They t.hf:~mse]. ve.s strict.ly to t.he Quran and the Hadith apart from which there is no binding authority in religion. They base their argument on a F'rophf.~t.i.c st.atement. during the 'Farewell pilgrimage' 1 that., "0 ye people,. for I have deliver'ecJ my me ssa.g I::;? and j"'d.ve left among you t.hat whi.ch, if you lay hold upon it., will keep you from ever going astray, a clear command, a book of and the custom (Sunna) of H).s F'rophet. 11 ~ 2 Til i~) sect is P!"'i,;~vc:"\lerlt ill the I'Jere al lowed to preach to l"lt.lo;l i.m students. managed to get a few literates to join their fold. centre of activity is Tamale and with the setting up of the ~hmadiyya Educational Unit, they built a school each in Tamale, Datoyili and Woribogu. The survival of the Al,madis in Dagbon can be attributed to the fact. tha't at. t~,e pea~~ of the conflict bet.ween the Ahmadis and the Orthodox Muslims, there emerged differences among the Orthodox Muslims because the Tijaniyya and Munchire among them opposed each other. Consequ.:~nt.ly, the un:lted a.lld cancer'led effort against the Ahmadis was we2~::c~ed and 'the Ahma.cl is, for the first time, had a period of peace to go abOLtt i.heir activities at 'their convenience and this has persisted up Walas and Sisalascome from tt19 Upper West Region. Inciden- tally the strong hold of the Ahmadis in the north i~.; 1A1,,3~ the capital of the Upper West Region. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh to toelay. It is also observed that some of the few literate . Dagbamba who joined the Ahmaelis, saw the movement as a well organised one and without the petty squabbles reminiscent of the Orthodox Muslims. The latest sect to have emerged in Dagbon is the Shiah and i~s members are known as Shiahsn This sect was formally ina.ugurat.ed on 10th December :' 1987 at the Zamigu mosque (centraJ. mosql...{e) in Tamale in t.he presence of the Ir'anian Ambassa.dor· to Gt-""na IVlr. S,,8. I.:ha.regha.ni, his emt",ssy offic.i".ls and some Bl§D§D:l.€! in Tamale" The leader of this sect. lS Alhaji Ibrahim BaBha and als~ the proprietor of the Nuriya Arabic School. The Shiahs are supporters or fDllowers of 'AI:l , the cousin of Muhammad and husband of his daughter Fatimah. The §bii>b consicler 'Ali to be the lawful Lb~li!§b (successor) ar1d lID§ID af~er MLlhammad and that Abu Bakr, Umal' and Uthman were all usurpersB 1 They also believe that t.he i,mamate belonged by divine declaration and the command of the Prophet to Ali and his descendants~ The sect formally ernerged in Islaln When the Prophet died in 632AD Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthma.1"l c,nc! Ali succeeded him rIot as Prophets but as leaders e)f the Islamic: community~ University of Ghana h:;t>t:p1.0: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh when during the battle of Siffin in 66 1A.D. revo lted from Ali after they ha d fought under him. Thr,lY t.ook o f fence at Ali submit.ting the decision of his right to the Kh a l ifah to the arbitration of men, when in their opinion j.t. oug ht t.o have been submitted t.o God. Besides, the tb~~~~i~ felt that Ali had lost all prestige because by submitting himself t.o t.he arbitration of men, he thus accepted ~~~~i~~b as h is equal, although ~Y§~iY~b was his sL~ordinate and a rebel, as ile had risen against the tb~lii~b. Those who opposed t h is view and stopd by Ali dl~ring this time of confusion have come t o be known as t.he Shiahs. The Persians and many of .. the Mus li ms of India are Shiahs. 5.26 Since the inauglAration of the §~i~~ . sect in D2.gbon in December, 1987 only a rew Muslims have shown interest in it.. Both the tt'dQ<;.bi~~ i3.nd major'ity of the Tiji3.ni's have not. been happy about the §bi§b sect. because in t.he first place they do not share the beliefs of this sect and secondly they condemned the Shi ah's attempted attack or, the t~~~b2 during t.he annual pj. lgrimage in July 1987 in which many MIJslims died most. of whom The r~~~~~i~ are those who broke away fr'om Allis army during the battle of Siffin when Ali submitted to the call for arbitration between him and Muawiyah~ They are also refe r red to as Kharijites in other books~ 2 Th e Kabah is the House of God in Makkah which is the oldest house of worsl")ip built by Abraham and his 50r1 Ismaj.l. Mus lims throughout the world pray facing the Kabah which is ref e rred to as t.he Qibla. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 311 we r's f2bi.eb§ from I ran. One other factor that has contributed to the poor response in obtaining support for Iran and also to get MLls J. i. ms in Dagbon to embrace the sect is the fact that ~~slims in this area acknowledge Saudi Arabia as the craddle of Islam and thus see any attempt by any group of people to undermine Saudi Arabia as a threat to all Muslims. T<,-\king into consideration the strong support for Saudi. Arabia in Dagbon which has the largest Muslim population in Ghc~na!l B.nd the attempt by the §bi§b to make an impact in the area, a Nati6nal Islamic delegates conference organised by the Islamic Centre for Edl~cation and Development based in Accra was held betweel1 February 20th and 21st 1988 in Tamale. This conference was organised under the auspices of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Ghana~ In order to grace the occasion and also make a last.i.ng impact on the Muslims of Dagbon, the Im§ID of Makkah, Sheikh M~,ammad bin SL~ail was invited. nt the end Df the conference a resolution was adopted to the effect 'lha'l Muslims in Ghana stand sDlidly behind the Kingdom of Saudi Ara.bic'. in its efforts at taking measures to ensure the safety of pilgrims at the annual pilgrimage. they condemned I ran for its a.ttempt.ed B.t·lB.ck on t.he [ alf-Iay in La Cote Dllvoire on a state visit between 3rd and 9th September~ 1968, th e "L. 1.59 was ~evoked by L.1.596 of customar y L.a~-'>/) Dc:.~gbon St.B.t.e (RevQc;:€:d:. iDn Or'der) 1968~ On t.he retu~n of the Chairman of t.he ~~C and Mr. Ibrahim Mahamah, lAJho were considered A!ldani allies, L. 1.59 was re-instated by NLCD 281. 3 However, L. 1.59 was finally revo~ed by ~~CD 296 on the recommendation of a committee which was set up under Jus·t ~.ce J~B~ Siriboe to advice the Government on the advisability or Recorded in District Administrative Officer's Re~ort to the R.A.O. dated 15th iJctober" 1968 ,~h:lcll 3.ppearecj as e:-dlibit X in the Report of the Committee of Enquiry j.nto tile Vendi skin affairs, 1968. 2 This allegaticln was made by Alh3Ji Shani Mahamah M.P. Vend i in Par']. iament ~ See I~arliamentary Debat.es~ Vol~2 10th DE~'cember, 1969 Col,,557" 3 L~I~596 does not appear in the Statute boo~( as Declaration o f Cust.ofnary Law but as State Cocoa Marketirlg Boarc1 (Amendment) Act" University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh othe!'wi~~e of the ret.ention of L. L~S9" With the revocation of L.1.59, the candidate of the Abudulai family now qualified to contest the D~m of Vendi. Consequently, the fight for the D~m was between ~lQD=~~D~ Andani and Mahamadu Abudulai the regent" The funeral III was performed on 7th November, 1968 and the following day tension began to mount in Vendi as both the ~lQD=~~D§ and Mahamadu Abudulai were selected by two different bodies to fill the vacant D~m"l On 21st. November ;l 1968, after careft~l e:. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh fol' any meaningful I'econciliation to succeed, then one of these two groups should be pl'epal'ed to r E.\II(.)unc~e bel:l,~fs which, to all. ir,ten'ls and pur'pl)!Se5~ none of them is ever' pr'epared to do. the f:i. rst. ever' r'ecCJnc: i 1 j,at. iDn ""as initiated by §y!bQ~=~~ Alhassan, the chief of TCl.male i.n l~pr' i.I" 1969. of Tamale where t.he differences between t~le t.wa MLtsJ.im fact. ions was too intense, he could not sit dowr1 unconcerned and so ~\e had t o do something to br'ing aboLlt a lasting SOll.ltiof) to the conflict.. Consequently~ he assembled leaders of both grollps at. the Tamale Police Par~ so that. they cc)uld argue out. t.heir cases wit.h the view t.o reaching a compromise that. would l.ead to pe,~c:(·:" in Tamale in par't.iculc-::<.r' Afa Ajul',,, represented ·the ~UQ~bi~§ and Mai~ano, ~he leader of in Ghana came down to Tamale to represent tIle Tijanis~ The §y!bQ~=~§ as arbitrator asked Ma:lkano to prove to the gathering by usi.ng the QUI'" B.n, or' Hadith that the rituals that arE' associated v-~i th t.he Tijsniyya Order are sanctioned in Islam, Maikano tried to use analogical reasonir1g to prove his case which Afa Ajura rejected. At the end of it all no ~3j,de could claim victory over the other and the large crowd that assembled had to go home disappoint.ed. 5 .. 38 In March, 1972 anott,er reconciliation attempt was made, this time by the Saudi Arabj.an Ambassador accredit.ed to Ghar,s, His Excellerlcy Mrrt Fuad Alfiy who was resident in Accr'2\d University of Ghana 3h2tt~.p5 ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh al so assemb led leaders of bot h groups at the residence of the Regional Co mmissioner of t he Nor t hern Region and appea l ed to them t o bury tlLeir differences ,"md live as b r other,; and sisten; wh ic h t he religion of Islam cherishes. Ara Ajura was at the head of t he ~~Q~~i~~ delegation but this time Maikano was a bsent but Tijanis such as Alhaji Adam the im~m of the Tamale c ent.ra l mosque and Alhaji Tahiru Issah of Zogbeli were p l'esent. Both sides agreed that there was the need for them to c ome t. og et.her in order to give islam a good image in Dagbon bu t A ra Aj ura I~eiterated his earlier stand that there could be no last in g solution to the problem until the following conditions were met~ (i) leaders of both grolAps should be assembled and t~le causes of the conflict spell out; (ii) the Holy Quran and the Hadith should be used in judging them; and (i i i) tl,e groLlp that is guilty should be made to accept its gLlilt and to stop all LJnislamic act.ivj.ties" Musl i ms in Dagbon were of the hope that such a meetirlg would be conven ed so that the differences between the two groups could be thrashed to ma~(e room for peace to prevail amor\g Musl.imsc Th e ~~D£b1£§ were quite eagej~ aboLlt. suet1 a meeting because they held t h e view that they were on the right path. Dn thE~ ot.her University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh hand the Ti.janis were not cur'iaus ( 01' such a meeting because Maikano was not readily available to r'spresent. them arId nc)ne of the Dagbamba Tijanis had the courage and charisma to face Are>. Ajura in religious arguments~ 5 .. 39 A decade after the emergence of this cancerous conflict, the youth of Dagbon realised that the conflict between the two gr'oups wh icll has been e>:acerbated by the ctlieftaincy dispLlte, is a great stumbling block to the progress of Dagbon. In (j E~g en t?oS of Dagbon in the three universities o( Ghana established the Dagbon Students Union and even thOllgh they wet'S associat.ed in one we>.y or· the other· witl, the divisions back home, they interacted with each o·t.her and discLlssed their problems a.s though there was no confliclc The yout~ back at home literate anel illiterat.e aJ.:':-1o began each ()i:.iler i.rrespective of the elifferences. It became possible to find ~~D~bi~§g and Tijanis at each ott,ers wedding, (uner'al and other' ceremCJnies~ is the contention of the youth in Dagbon tha'l the flame of t.he conflict. is always elders, the opinion leaelers anel generally people or the older generation and that in elue COLlI"'Se when the oldel' generatiDn pass 8 .1-'J8.Y, trJOul c! be possible t.o have I s 12~m df:void of conflict.s i.n Dagbon. It hi3.S ,dSD been not.ed that. most. o( the, elders remain committed 'Lo whatever faction they stick to and they openly exhibit their hatred for lhej.r adversaries arld are never willing to make any compromise~ Hor."lever', it I./I..ri 11 not be (ai r to blame only the elders (or the perpetration of the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh con flict but also some Inembers Df the yot.lth who have rlever waver'ed from the line of the ledere. Thie hard line attitude notwithstanding, the youth of Dagbon were riptermined to forge ahead in their search for a lasting solution to Lhe problem. It is highly believed that once the religious problem is solved, the others would take their turn as a matter of course. 5 .. 40 When the general elections was held on :l.BUl :iune, 1.979" none of the two parties which dominated the politics in Dagbon won it. It was won by the Peoples National Party which appointed Alhaji Harunah, a Gonja as the Regional CommIssioner (or the Northern Region. minority party had won the elections. Tamale municipality and its immediate environs have for over acute wat€:!1"' problems but during Alhaji Hdrunah's term of office, lhe water problem reached very alarming dimensions .. The regional administration was quite helpless a5 both tha Ghana Walel' and Sewerage CorporatIon and the Electricity Corporation of Ghan~ kept on blaming each other' (CJ r' t.h€,~ per en :i. a J. waleI" Thf_~ youlh C) f Tf.:\malE.~ r E' 1. t. that t.hE' Regional Commissioner was insensitive to L.hE! pJ. i~Jht of t.ha inhab :i. t",mts Df Taml:;\l(~ anci id(?11U. f 'i.E,d hi.m as an (·:\nE~my Df Dagborl" The stand taken by the YDuth of Tamale can ba deduced fl'om tilE! f acl t.h,!t Peoples National WQS not supported b~ an; mil,j lJl' it. Y q I' oup Lribe that has h~d orflie's with Dagbon since t.h0 lEH.h centLlI'Y, it was relt that there was a deliberate at.tempt to University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh punish thE~m" demonE", LI' .i\'l i. on ii.\Ll:iVE·~J.y During the demonstration W~:\I" E,' c:(')lT1nl:i. t t.r~d t h e Regionsl Commissioner IS residence whore the looting of food items and other valuables from the stores of Lhe Ragional Adm i n istration aLLured, 5 Ill. As C::\ l'e51.11t of t 11 r,~ t.he·' r~e\J:tcln(.\l CaCTIm i S-::i i on(~f' imposed a curfew on Tamale from bam to 6pm. During one of such nights, Ibrahim Mahamah, t.hC'·! L hc~ Social Democratic Front and also a NYOfblC9 and belonged to Lho Arldani ~:;(':'~f' :i.ou£~ 1 y by unidentified assailants. He wa~ briefly ad~ittpd at Central hospital and later flown t.o tI'lf.~ 1""0.1.i.(1.' 1·)[)·:I.lit.('ll. i.n Accra wl'10re he uncierv-IE"nl Op""I' 'lt it)l'l'" Th.,' t hat he was alLacked because he inc itad Lhe yout.h of Tamale to embark on the demonstrations. rhe people of Dagbon t.h".r',"'forf' It was a lurring point In th0 histcr; of Degbnn b'2C,"LlSE' t.he disuni.ty t.hn'l: h •.\ c.1 €I"H.Ji.l1feci Ddgi.Jcln •..d . 1'.1'1,.,1 imC'~ \1\1(\, -,l.l,·h t llat thf! opponol-,l' of Ibrdhim l'1dl;,:,m,:"h I'1tlu:lc.l 1'1,:\,' r ":i '11.' pel i.nc i.dcmt, I. he SDF" All til ,~"0' r on~".Lc:lF!r'''\L:i.Clrl'·. 'IV('I"'" rc It.,S!,·.\·I· ·.Id tC) 'l hu -1:.111" Ot-;~\ r..1f.·1C'f.;\d(~'l! I.he University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Dagbamba had come together to fight a common cause. Alhaji Ibrahim Mahamah arrived back in Tamale by air after recCJvering from the brutal attack on him, he w(::\s 9 i VE-?Ii a tumultuous welcome by both the ~UQ~bi~~ and the Tijanis. It was a welcome never given to any single personalit.y in Dagbonu The youth of Dagbon decided at this time to capitalise on this sudden unity in Dagbon to forge ahead towards the achievement of a more lasting one. To this end meetil,gs were convened at RuIe Alhassan*s residence in Tamaleu R. I. Alhassan is a lawyer by profession, a supporter of the Abudu gate who represented the Abudu family on the two committees of enquiry i. nto t.he 'lEond i skin affairs and a sympath.iser of t.he Tijanis~ 1 The unity that the youth of Dagbon desired would have been sustained but. P.N.D.C. L.av.' 12[> of 20th l'iovember', 1985 allm'ling appeal by people not satisfied with t.he Vendi skin affair gradually split Dagbon and sl1att.ered the hopes of we]. meaning Dagbamba who had hoped that the ground had been paved for' the total achievement of unity in Dagbon. With t.he enactment of this law, Dagbon was once agairl thrown into confusion as the Munch ire IAnda.n i group t.he Tijani/Abudu group engaged Lhemselves in war of words. For quite a long time Mr~ Alhassan tlad not identified himself seriously with Islam may be because 1"18 was infJ.uenced gl~eatly by European life. He studied law in Britain and married a Brit ish WClf'ili:m. HO'. . -.j~"·v'eJ', IO("~ r·",,,li.seci by 19134 that to seriously ma~(e an imoacl among the Dagbamba, he needed to be ser i ol_ls Il'IIith ISlc~f11n 'Hf:: ther',,'?fc.H'E~ went Of"'l t.he hajj in 1985~ University of Ghana :h:;:t:t:0p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5,,43 Another rE?conciliation attempt was made during the National Islamic delegates conference organised by the Islamic Cent.re for Educat.ion and Development. held at the Tamale Police Park between 20th and 21st February, 19m). Prominent person- alities at this conference were Sheikh Muhammad Bin Subeil, the Chief !m~m of Makkah, Alhaji Hudu Yah ayah former PNDC Regional Secretary for Northern Region, Mr. B.A.R. Braimah, Head of the Department for the Study of Religions, University of Ghana; Dr. Abdallah Bin Abdul-Aziz AI-Missilih, Dean of the Faculty of Divine Law (Shariah) and Religious Affairs of the lm§m Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Makkah; His ExcelJ.ency Mr" Anwar A~ Abdrabuh, Ambassador of the KJ,ngdom of Saudi Arabia accr8- dited t.o Ghana!! His E>icellency IViuhaiiHnad Sh(.~lbay,::\, {~iTlbi::\ssacl(Jr of the Arab Republic of Egypt; His Excellency Mr. Iftikhar Ali Shei.kh, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Alh". . j i L!.I"I. Iya, Second Secretary of t.he Nigel'i,m High Commission" 1 On the second day of the conference the Chief Imam of Makkah appealed to Muslims in Dagbon to bury their dj.fferences and live as brothers and sisters which is in conformit.y wit.h the tenets of Islamn He spoke at lengttl on the significance of unity in Islam~ Apparently~ the corlrerence was organised with the full participation of both the ~YD~bi£~ and the Tijaniyya. 2 The Imam of Makkah and his entourage had There were several digr1 itaries fram Accra Blld other regiorls who alt.ended this conference but ttlsir names canrlot be inclucled here. 80th groups agreed to come together to organise t.he corlference so that together they ~ould effectively show t.hat Islam is domir\ant in Dagbon and also press for aid. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 331 earlier on been given a rousing welcome at t~18 Tamale airpol·t by bo~h groups. Both ~YD~bi£~ and Tijanis who possessed luxurious cars released them for use by the guests. advice to both groups came at a time when they were gradually coming closer each other. One import.ant ~hing which should be noted is the fact that at the time of the conference Afa Ajura and Ibrahim Mahamah, both ~~n~~i~g~ and Alhaji Amadu Sana, a Tijaniyya were in deten~ion on ~he orders of the Northern Regional Security Council 1 after clashes between supporters of the Andani and Abudu families in some villages r\ear Savelugu in which some ~ people lost their lives.~ Some other ~~Q~~i~~ and Tijanis who were earlier or, detained, had been released allel bonded to be of good behavioL!r~ Therefore, quite e number of elders who matter on both sides did not take part in the organisatj,on of the conferencec AccommodatiOtl, transport and logistics w~re arranged and organised by the yo~lh from both groups. On Friday February 19th, the day the lm~m of Makkah and his entourage arrived in Tamale, t~,ere was COnflJsion between t~le two groups with regard to the mosque where the Iffi~m was to observe the Friday prayer. In order 110l t.o mar the growing confidence that both groups were gradually reposing in each There were also rumOLlrs tllat ·these detentions were ordered by the Northern Regional Secretary, Alhaji Hudu Yahayah. 2 Those involved in the killings were tried at. the r1ational tribunal in Accra and sentenced to death, but wer~ lat.er pardoned by the Head of State. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh other, the ~~Q~~i~~ group led by Ara Seidu and Afa agreed that the J..Q}s\ffi should obser've the Fridc\')f pr'ayer at the Zamigu mosql_\e l"ihere the Ti.janis normally pr·,ly :}O that a.t t.he time of prayers, the Im§m would lead the congregation at the Sa~~asaG:a mosque where the ~~Dfbl~§§ prayu On sevel"aJ. ~YD£biI§§ observed prayers at, the l§migy mosque and likewise Ti.janis at t.he Sakasaka mosque. It has t.herefore been obser vee! tl,at if tIle elcler's CHl both sides hae! taken part in organising the conference, t.he success that was achieved as a r'esult of the compromise that was reached between the youth from both sides would not have come abOL!t JJecause these elders never yield to the demands of ea.ch ot.her'r. This obser'valian also goes to buttress the assert.ion if1 5=3~ 'lhat t.he con f 1 j.ct between t.he two groups is always ra~ned by the elders from both sidesn 5,,45 The conference was well or ga.n i ~..;ed, a.t t.ended a.nd fully participated by both g r' Ol.lps." During the period of preparation towards the conference and the perioe! it lasted, leaciel's from both groups interact.ed so much so t.hat it came as a surprise to some of the foreign delegates when they learnl~ t.h~\t both t.he ~~D~bi£§ and the Tijaniyya were diamet.rically opposed to each at.hera They t.herefore encouraged both group~::; to keep up that spirit so that relations betweel1 them COLtld be further strengthened. The stage was therefore set f 01' c losel' co-·oper at. i on bet... l"lel:9n t.hem" The detent.ion of sc)me elders from both sides by the Regional Security Council is seen University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh blessing in disguise to Muslims in Dagbon especially as a result of t he successful organisat. i.on of t ile cor,feJ~ence" Tt,e only unFortunate situation during the conference was the distribution of leaflets by the §bi§b in Tamale at the venue reminding Muslims of the 'barbaric ' murder of hundreds of Iranian pilgrims during the annual pilgrimage in 1987, However, t he leaflets did not make any meaningful impact on the people because it was written in Arabic which over 95% of the Muslims who had gathered at the venue could not understand. Those who collected these leaflets had to tear them to pieces when they were informed it was distributed by the §bi§b. 5.46 The Im§m of Makkah and his entourage. had the opportwllty of visiting the major Arabic schools such as Ar\bariyya~ Nuriyya j Nur-Islam and Nahtldaln He also paid a courtesy call on the then Northern Regj,arlal Secretary, Alhaji .~udu Yahayah during which he appealed for the release of Afa Ajura from detention~ Consequently, Ara Ajura was released on 12th April, 1988. The only two people left in detention then, Alhaji Abrahim Mahamah and Alhaji Amadu Sana were released on 25t~1 July, 1988 the day l~yl=a~b§ was observed in Tamale. Today in Dagbon, the ~~Q~bi~~ and Tijani conflict has subsided considerably. The frequent ~~~~ sessions that were organised condemning each other has st.opped and instead, co-operation between them has improvedu Sirlce the emergence of this conflict the ~YDfbi£~ and Tijanis commenced fasting in the University of Ghana h3t3tp4 ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh filonth of B~m~~QD on different days and sometimes they ot)served !~~l=Eit~ prayers on different days. With the co-operation that had started between them, a mamoth ~~~~ session was organised by both groups in Tamale on Friday, 15th April, 1988 behind the Agricultural Development Bank to discuss fasting in Islam. Learned Muslims from both sides spoke at the ~§~y session and on Tuesday 19th April, 1988 all Muslims in Tamale, for the first tilne in over a decade commenced fasting. T ijar,iyya activities have aJ.so reduced and perhaps it is worth stating that since 1975, Arabic students in Tamale and Vendi particularly, gained admission into Uniyel~sj.ties and higher institutions in Saudi Arabia~ While there, they questioned their lectui'srs on 'lhe legitimacy of Tijaniyya rituals and they were condemned as serious innovation5~ On their retul'n home these student.s kept away from Tijsni activities and informed their people about their experierlces in Saudi Arabia. Gradually, many people have withdrawn from the Order and this tlas threatened its popularityc These studerl'ls studying in SalAdi Arabia have actually COlltribllted j,nlmensly in disabusing ·the minds of some Tijan adherents of its legit.imacy. It should be noted however that the ~§b§~iYY§ which is prevalent. in SSLldi Arabia opposes all ~gli Qrders~ Therefore, it is not surprising to find them criticising the Tijaniyya and asking its adherents to recant their faith in it~ It is even held that the scholarships awarded by Saudi Arabia to Arabic s·t.udents is to indoctrinate them against ~~£L orders~ The small number of people seen in the performance of the ~§;iI§ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh these days is a clear manifestation of the impact of Wahab ism on Musli.ms in Dagbon .. Tt,ose who continue to observe this Ti,jani ritual are-t.he elders who ilave be-,lC'n involved in the Ti.,janiyya Ordel' for a long U.mce" Young men who belong to Ti,jani parents but do not wish to practice Tijani r it ua 15 i~ I'" f::! now free to abstain, a situation that could not have been entertained a decade ago" 5 .. 48 The co-operation and understanding that is currently pravalent between the ~~Dfb1£§ and the Tijanis is a laudable expel'" iencen This achievement is a turning point in the history of Islam in Dagbon and the youth from both sides should be commended for' it.. Castigations, insinuatic)ns and the gerleral war of words between them now belong to the past and the year 1988 will continue to be a memorable year to generations yet unborn. A new for'm of Islam in DagbiJn has been set in mot. ion and what the future holds for it, according to the youth is a IJr ight one .. It is also noted that some degree of I"econcil-- liati.on has been attained between the Andani and Abudu gates. 5,49 A~ already discussed in chapter two, the Wangara, Hausa and Moshi Muslims who arr'ved in Dagbon, particularly in Yendi were conferred various Musl im titles which their descendants have maintained over the yea!~Sb FaJ' more than a century these Muslim leaders had authority over all other Muslims in Dagbon but gradually their power was limited to University of Ghana 3h3tt6p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Vendi and its environs as a result of the emergence of Islamic scholars in Tamaled The authority, dignily and respect ior these 1'1t.lsl j,m -l:-eaders in Vendi were further threatened wi. t.h the emergence of the Andeni and Abudu chieft.aincy dispute. This conflict has result.ed in the duplication of lhe Muslim titles in VendL 5.50 Va-Na Abudulcd I I I who rul.ed Dagbon bel,"een J.95~' ancl 1967 elected Alhaji Abudulai Gomda, a learned I'lu f" I j, m as the lhe chief iffi~ffi of Vencli. Tile :l§:.=i:iffi€!ffi is the same In 1967 Na Abuclulai III died and there was serious confusion between the Andani and Abudu families as to who was to succeed the lale chief. Apparently the Nkrumah government had promulgated the L. 1~59 in 1960 which sanctioned stJccession by rot.ation between t.he t.WO disputing familj,esn As Na Abudulai. III was from the Abudu gate, the next chief to succeed him should come from lhe Andani gate. During thj,s period the Abuclu family sent a petition to the N.L.C. government describj.ng l~ 1~59 c.-\S polit.ical settlement designed La suit the whims of N~run\ah and his Convention Peoples Party to lhe detriment of the rust oms of the Dagbambe,. Event.uallY:t the Mion--Lana was enskinned as Ya-Na P,ndan j. III from the Andsni family. Alhaji Abudulai Gomda paid homagage to the new Ya-Na and pledged to serve him as he did his predecessor~ Alhaj i Gomda' s act.ion provDI:ecl membE!t'S of t.he Abuclu family because they clid not. expect him as an ~rr~m who had been elecled by and served the late Na Abudulai III to swear University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh allegiance to another chief who was an opponent. 1 Dur ing thGi.. confusion in D~,gben, Y. f\:: I.~t ~l A IlCJ a n :i. III clic:,d in 1969 and was succeeded by Y§=~A Mahammaclu Abudulai IV whe r emoved (~l he,j i Abudu 3. e' i 130md2\ as fOI' allegiance to the late Y§=~A Andani II I. All other Muslims ~glygy=~§ etc who accompanied Alhaji Gomda lost their posts. They were considered unrealiable and unsympathetic to the Abuclu f ~,mi ly ' 5 C:ocial. and pol it icc:d problems in Cagbon. Ae,:, for lhe ()hmad :i. yya Movement it does not involve itself in confrontations with the ot.her' sects" The movement concentrates on the propagat.ion of Islam in the t,igher instittjtiollS and has set LAp quite a few schools in Dagbon to educate children. The Shiah has just emerged in Dagbon but the campaign mounted by both the ~YD£biL§ and the Tijaniyya against it i,dicates that it has no future in The leader of the ~~Q~hi~~ known as Afa Ajura has always called en Muslims in Dagbon to adhere strict.ly to orthodox Islam and PI'Bct.ise t.lle simplicity lha't :[slam teaches~ On the Clt.hel' University of Ghana .h3t4t1p ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh hand the Tijanis consider the ~YQ~bi~§ as a covertv stricken group who envy the The differences between them are so sharp thcyL they have permeated all spherE";s of act. j,vitv in Dagbon. FOI' e:·:amp Ie it was very difficult for a Munchire to marry a Ti,jani and vice Vet~SaN Soc ii:\l one gr'oup is solely pat.r'onised by members of that. D~\rt :iCOIL'I' group. Therefore, cohesion and interaction between them WAS just impossible during t.he early staqes of the conflict. Ti.jani leader was repol~led to have said that it was PAsiRr fnr a camel to go through the eye of a needle t.han for a Munchire to marry a Tijani girl. Tt,ese two sects ar'e the onl,v two who are located allover Dagbon but. Tamale is the centre of clashes and serious confrontations~ One fact.or that has seriously torn Daqbon is the chieftaincy dispute between the Andani and Abudu families. The Tijanis ha.ve identified their qroups with the Andani. and Abudu families respectively. This situation has succeeded in keeping them far apart so far' r'8cC"Jnc:i 11 ial ion is concerned .. Three attempts at reconciJ,j,nq these two mainr sects in 1969, 1972 and 1988 have taken place with the latest. one yielding fruitful I"Bsul·Ls. All alonq t.he vouths of Daobon have been put.ting the blame on the elders on bot.h sides [C)I" t.hp never-ending crisis. Theil in 1987 t.hose who matter Oil both sides were arrested and detained for t~le part they were alIened to have played in creating crisis at Zokuqaq a villaae near Savelt.lgu .. "Jh:i 1(;;> some of lhe elders were still :in cJ~?t.t.:!nt ion University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 342 ,,,nd o'lhc")r s I"' e l eased b ut b o n d ed to be of good bE.'havj.ou l"' , t.he y ouths on both sides came togethel' to assist in organising a Nat.i o n a l. Isl.ami.c Dell,,"gates Conference in Tamale with the Im§m of Makk a h a t tending. This conference has h elped t o b r ing thee t1"'0 oppos i n g g r o u ps clo'sel' together and the youth from bot h groups n eed be commended for this feat. To d ay in Dagbon the conflict between the ~~Q£~i~. and the Ti janis has subsided conSiderably. There is much CO~·- operation between them and they have teamed up to fi.ght against t he i nfi. l tration of Shiah activities in Dagbon. They als-.o come toget.he r t.o preEl.ch during ~~~~ sessions~ The youths from both sides are quit.e confident t.hat t.otal uni.ty wi 11 be attained bet.ween them. It is hoped that. wi~h this welcome co-operation between them all ot.her differences wou l d be identified and ironed out. The other major problem that is likely to subside as a res ult o f this co-operation is the chieftaincy dispute that has c rea t e d serious differences in Dagbon between father and son, husband and wife and between two int.imatefriends. For over centu r y '!::9.=t!!9.'2. a.,,;surned of f ice arid met !'Iusl :liTIS I,.. ho occup ied certain pOSitions created by the Y9.=~~· These Muslim officers maint. . ;tined tI,e i I' posts and served any y~=t!!A that carne to rule. However , with the chieftaincy dispute, this status quo suffered c1 set back in 1969. wi th the i r Muslim leaders and those already there have to move University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh cut and wait wltil another y~=~~ who belongs to their group is enskinn;"d. The reversal of this pra.ctice, it i.s believed, help eep Muslims in Dagbon together. However, with the death of the former YA=~~ Mahammadu Abdulai IV, the Muslim Chiefs who served him have their positions in jeopardy si.nce the Abudu gate cannot and wi.ll. not. clare (·2Iect anot.hel' Y!E\=.!'.!!E\ in Y~-!ndi" University of GhaCnHAaF 'hTtEtFp~: //uS gI sXp ace.ug.edu.gh I.§b.BJ::!,_ __ ~Qfl(;;.B.II.QI~L8.N[) CI-II~ I ST I r:;1\i IVI I S8 T[ JNS~ It! __ ii.8§~QI~-----------·----''----·- ; 1§hBt11.l:;;_S:P'1J.I:;;BI19l:l::::-J!jBtBBB.~IB1_1!:!_I!:IS; __ fB!3hy'_J2BI~:2 6:: 0 1. When the Wangaras and the Hausas unobtrusively entered Dagbon in t.he 18th century as traders and clerics, settled and established trading centres~ they also set up schools t.o leach Muslim children how to read and write ArabiC, at least as much as would enable them read the Quran. The basic aim of such Quranic education was to get the children to learn off by heart some chapters of the Quran for \~se il1 of"fering ttle five daily prayers and to bring them up to appreciate the Muslim way of life. Classes were organised in the homes of t.hese cl.erics W~\O ar e popu I ar' 1 y known as m§lJ§.!!J§. 1 Initially Quranic education was limited to the m§ll§m~§ family then gradually the landlord or host's children were admitted and finally the facility was ~ade open to children of all Muslims. HO .... Jever, B.llowed into such schools but as time went on girls were alsc) admitted and the need for expansion arose because the gj.rIs had to sit in a separate class for their lessonsn Consequently serve as a schooln This is a corrupti6n of the Arabic I 1""1u. ! .c\ 11 i in ! mean irlf~ teacher. 2 Zana--ma.t is made from a kind of tall grass known as Giant Star Grass CAndropogon GtlyanuS)n It is woven beaut.ifLI11.y B.nd used as fence in many homes in the nort.ha Some mal lams rE~l.y on the Zana-mat in el~ect.ing sheds for use as classrclomSn University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6,,02 Th e first thing that the m§ll§m teaches these children are t.he thirty Arabic alph,:J.bl'ets which they ,Olre e~l" tlmy d " I' ml:) I'I', Uun:I'!(;) I'ly, they ;:,II'~' ",lbIt, to :i,mpr'elVEl 1.1[.101"1 1.1)(" !!,II',\'I',I" "I 'li1f':l.I' e cil.l c:a t i.on , tlI-,I(:',.\Ii!ln 11,1'.,; I~ orne, development.. 6.06 It i s il"l till?' 1 i9 11t of lilt' Oi..)I)YI"! corlVI c:1 J 1,:)1') II iiI L IIIL' H ,Cl,(). l"lc~Jillj'lrTI~ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh promu I (~at:l on of this Act made education free and compulsory to every Ghanaian child of school going age from primary to middle school level" - Consequent.ly, many schools wel"'e set up throughout the counlry and in almosl in a school is Where a Single village is too small to feed a school wilh the required number of pupils and there are ot.her villages ar'ound, one school is Sf'=t. up at a centr'al point convenient to each village so that. i tS'I children of school going age could attend. Many new schools got started and many pupil teachers were appointed to leach undt~r trai.ned t.eache,"'s lhroughout Ghana. 1 6",07 Despite the establishmenl of Engli~h schools, the Arabic schools in Dagbon conlinLlsd to draw l~rge numbers of childn?r1 of school going age into their system so much so that. the need for further expansion arose. Some of the m~ll~m§ were to use mosques att.Bched to their homes as classrooms, others acquired plots of land to put up school buildings and others erected more sheds olJtside their hORles to ser v e as classroomsh Gradually the Arabic schools introduced into their' sy~.tern the use of tables and chairs~ exercise bool.y prospel"." (6~~: 9···10)" University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh rejecting the i§i~§ they emphasised that its acceptance was tantamount to undermining Islam and they condemned the [At~A e n thusiasts as stooges of Christianity. 6.30 Out of the one hundred and SiH (lOb) Enql:ls;h/Ar'c\bic sc hools in the whole of the Northern Region in 19E:12, t.wo (72) were loce,t.ed in Dc,gbcm and only si:-:teen (16) of the schools opt.ed out of the EI1g1ish/Arabic school system because their proprietors were not ready to go with the public school wee k . Today in Dagbon there are over one hundred and fifty ( 150 ) Engl ish /AI'abic schools with Education Service, but the schools which management. of Alhaji Yusuf Ajura have stayed out of the system maint.aining t.heir stand against th~ change. openly castigated all the ot.her proprietors for showing too much interest in secular educat.ion and also for let.tinq Islam clown. There is no cloubt that the English/Arabic school system has caught on well with the people of Dagbon but. it unfortunate that schools under the management of Afa Ajura have stayed out. of the system. This unfortunate sitlJ8't.ion stems from the fact that Ara Ajura's Anbariyya main school is the largest and most populous of all the Arabic schools not only in Dagbon but nation wide. It is noted that Afa Ajura appreciates t h e value of secular education because he later on appealed to literates among his followers to come to the school and offer vo l un t ary teaching services to the pupils. The f'ssponse at t.he beginning was very encouraging but later on most of the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh irregular al school and so lhe scheme a tJ anrJo n ed. The aim of lhe English/Arabic school syslem is lo impr ove lhe lileracy rale of the people in the north and so l h ousands of children i.ll t.l"lis area are prevenled fr'oNI avaj,lirlg i h e mse l ves wil h the opporlunity of being capable of reading and wriling English through no fault of theirs, it is a problem for wh ich a solulion musl be found. 1 6.31 It cannol be over emphasised how apalhy lo secular educalion has been drastically reduced 1n Dagbon as a result of the introduction of the English/Arabic school syslem. el\ i Idl'Eil1 in these schools are very happy lhat lhey have access lo bolh St~CU 1 i:\'" and Islamic educalion. Currenlly Lhere are quite a large number of students in secondary schools al various slages who have passed through the English/Arabic SLhool ~YBtem. Il is envisaged lhat wilhin the nexl wou l d turn oul some of As a result of lhe success of lhe English/Arabic school syslem 1n Dagbon in part:i.cul.ar' anei in lhe Northern Region in general, the lwo Upper regions (Upper East and Upper Wesl) understudied thal of the NO I'thern Region for two years after which the English/Ar.bi~ school system was set up i.n :1.976" The Volla Ragion, with part icula.r reference to the Kete :rachi El1ucation Dj,5trict." adopted the system in :1.980 and in :1.981 the Brong Ahafo Region lam reliably informed thal arrangemenls ara .fool by or"I.,,\n1--· sal ions bolh in and oulside Dagbon lo gel Afi:1 A,jur,,1 t.(J compromise with lhe Ghana Education Service. University of Ghana h3tt7p4:/ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh also established the English/Arabic school system. Today 1n Ghana all the ten regions have established the English/Arabic school system. 6.32 In 1987 the Gove~nment announced the establishment of an I slamic Education Unit under the auspices of the Ghana Education Service~ To this end, a National Council of the Islamic Education Unit was formed with Alhaji Ibrahim Basha, proprietor of Nuriya Islamic Schools in Tamale as Chairman. All the ten regions have two representatives on the Council. The other member from the Northern Region is Zohe Limam (Imam of Zohe, a surburb of Vendi), Alhaji Ahmad Hussein. The Headquarters of this National Council of the Islamic Education Unit is in Tamale. The Council's secretariat is headed by Alhaji Abdul- Majeed Hussein who serves as tIle Acting General Manager. 1 The primary role of the Council is to advise the government on all matters relating to Islamic education in the COLlntry~ With the beginning of the 1987/88 school academic year, there have been some changes in the processes of absorbj.ng purely Arabic Schools into the public school system. As indicated in 6.20, any Arabic school that is interested in getting absorbed into the public school system need apply and Alhaji Abdul-Majeed Hussein was the first man to be appointed co-ordinator of the Enqlish/Arabic school svstem in the northg "Even tllOUgh he is now I~etiredq the Islamic Education Unit needs his services in view of his vast experience in this field. University of Ghana ht3tp7:5/ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh meet some conditions and it is absorbed and regislered with lhe Ghana Education Service. It is a lso supplied with inpuls to get the school lo run effeclively. Howev er , the new scheme aims at making such schools communily based communi.t y is expected to provide the school bu ilding and furniture for both pupils and teachers. Then tile Ghana Education Service will supply textbooks and other inputs. The Arabic teachers who do not pass the special pr'of ic iency examination conducted by the Ghana Education Service do not enjoy the flal allowance given to them as indicated in 6.18. However ~ all lhose who used to enjoy it before the beginning of lhe 1987 /88 academic year continue to draw the allowance while new ones are exempted until they have passed the examinations. 6.34 Th e yea.r 1989 marks the sevententh year since the inceplion of the English/Arabic system of schoolino i.n Daclbon. Like any other organisation set up on experimental basis, especially in developing countries, lhere are bound to be problems affecting the system~ Therefore it. is quit.e appropriate to discuss the problems t.hat beset the smoot.h running of the English/Arabic school system. The first problem is in the area of school buildings. There are se v ent. y two (72) English /Arabic schools in Dagbon and out of this number only eighteen ( 1.8) are properly housed. Many of these properly housed English/Arabic schools are t.he Local Authority schools that were converted into the new system. However, there are University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh also a faw proprietors who have man aged to put up buildings to house t.he ever ln~reasing number of pupils attending sc hool . Most of these English /Arabic school. are tempor ar il y housed wit.h st ructures ranging from ~.Q. mat s heda to mud hut. •• During the rainy a nd harmattan a.ason s , e f fective Leaching i s done in the sc hool s. One ~an therefor. imagine how pupils in such schools lose academically during tha rainy and l ong h~ll"mi~tt.an p l"ob l,~m is cont.l" ibut.CJI"y fact.or t.o t.he low academic standard s in some of SLICh scl"lools. Somc-? the P ",I 1" r~nt· l r2.',c ho[' assoc i at.ion s have accumulat.ed funds to put up permanent sc hool buildings but the problem lies in the high cost of building materials in Dagbon. 6.35 The school enVil"tlnmL,nt counts ",\ 10L in l.he.' ",~dl .. \(:dt.ian of into consideration. l i mj,ted t.o a 5rna11 area a lld :in some ca5;es to a sma],l [:C)I'I-\el~ if" the centre of tho town amirlst the husLle and busLle. resull of lhe small space available to the school, education and games that form essential parLs of the school curriculum are neglected. Pupils who are potential athlet.es or sportsmen and women generally, this early st,age becBLtSe of t.lle at)!~ence of dl('~ 1":Lqht (~nv:i.f'ClII· mi?llt ( or' Very ilonic~lly too, scme of the s~hoo ls thal are properly housed and have very goed enVil"OllfnE';lts clo not allClw pupils to "10 fOf' phy',.i,,, ~\l Ceill( ,,,t lOll University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and games. The proprietors of such schools argue that since their schools are basically Islamic, they have to observe Tslamic teachings fOI' the pupi.ls t.o emul2te. To this end tl,[;!y are not prepared to allow pupils t.o e:,~pL1se part.s of their body" Normally when children go out. fOI' games or physical education, t.hey wear singlet.s and pants in the case of the boys and vests and pants in t.he case of the girls. Some Musl ims argue that there is not.hing obscene about these forms of dreSSing for games since the children are very young. The prapl'ietors concerned also argued that such manner of dressing especially with the girls is against QY£~~b"l The provision of writing tables and chairs for t.he pupils is also a problem to almost. all t.he schools and this problem has arisen due mainly to the riSing cost. of limberd Wh i Ie some propr iet.or's jointly wit.h their parent./t.eacher associat.ions make serious att.empts to solve the furn:i.lure problem, others eKhort parents to provide their wards with tables and chairs on enrolling t.hem at the beginning of the It is a system of dressing enjoined in the Quran. Muslim women are not to display t.heir beaut.y eKcept what must ordinarily appear such as face and hand. It is noted concerning the dressing of girls for physical education and ga.mes tl,2,t in 1983, the Sokot.o State (purely Islamic State in the Federal Republic of Nigeria' House of Assembly unanimously carried a mot.ion calling on lhe Sokot.o State Minist ry of Educa'lion to ban inter-school and inter--stat.e sports competit.ions involving girls in post-primary instit.ut ions t.hroughout the stale. The motion mover Alhaji Sule Mada declared that sports contests involving female stu.dents Wer(2 11 iiiimClf'aJ. and of no benef it as t.h€:.:! C;J.i.r Is W0~ f'e. ha.l f dressed" dur ing sLle;, event.s. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh school ac(,~\demic: yt~~f'" In some of the schools long bBncha~ are provided (or the pupils because they ara cheaper to make and it accommodates many pupils. Ilowf"vE!r ,> ~~ome of t.I'1l~ !Sc:hool~>, ("'W thClLI~lh, pupi l~; ~!it un L.lle b,:\r Ii, ( 10Cll' It is observed t.hat apart from the inability of such children to learn effectively, Lhey get dirt y at the close of the day. The proprietors have full control of their schools and so they organise them their own way. They have not made any meaningfL\l suggestions for the improvement of their s~hoolB regarding syllabuses, lime table and general administration. Each schaell adopts its own except in case a whero a proprietor has several schools under him. ti1f' ['1'1" ii' fTkH1 CJ f National Council of the Irlamic Education Unit, Alh~ji Ibrahlm Bash. has lndicated that Lhe Government will soon make available the necBssary syllabL\s for the unit up Tl'lis is i::1 The non-avaIlabIlity of a syllabus for the E::nq I j, s;h IAr' "It:! it:. schc)ols witl, regi.~rcl to Lhe l,0",\chin';J of I<,larnic 'llb.jpc I: '" h ,c" given rise to each school te"I('h:i.I1IJ its pupils what fit. One school may be imparting very difficult ieleal Lo its pupils while in ,;111 ot. h I,,!)' l<;l"mic taLlght" University of Ghana h3tt7p9: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6.38 General l y lhere is a diversily of opinion among lhe var i o us prop r ietors regarding tIle teact,ing elf Arabic and I s l amic subjecls as well as worl.able lime lables in order lo make lessons effective. One of lhe observations in some of lhese schools is the lack of qualified Arabic/Islamic teachers lo handle the subjects. The proprietors take it for granted that lhe pupils are small children and 50 they could be handled by anybody at all and that as they progress they would be handled by more qualified parsorlSn Sc)met.~.mes there are qualified Arabic scholars to appoint but almost all of the proprietors prefer to appoint their children and relatives because of the remuneration attached to that appointment. On the other hand some of the English/Arabic schools localed in the rural areas of Dagbon do not have the qualified Arabicl Islamic teachers not as a result of nepotism on the part of the proprietor, but due mainly to the fact that the qualified ones do no t like residing in the rural areas. 6.39 Talking about lac~ of qualified Arabic/lslamic teachers brings into focus the problem which hinges on the difficulties lhe Ghana Education Service is Facing in gelting trained teachers posted to the English/Arabic schools in adequate numbers. HCJwever, the posting of trained teachers to schools in the urban centres is encouraging but to the rural areas is Lhe problem. As a result of the poor conditions of the schools i n t h e rural areas, trained teachers do not normally wish to be post ed there. They may even prefer to be posted to EngliSh University of Ghana h3t8tp0: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh school s in t he rural areas because some of the English schools the r e a r e well housed. 6. 40 Some trained teachers refuse to be posted to the English! Arabic schools even in urban cent res bec ause of the attitljde of s ome o f t he proprietors. There have been cases of humiliation o f s e c u l ar teachers by some proprietors and interference in the del ivery of lessons. Some proprietors centralise df:?cision makin g in themselves and when they issue directives, they shoul d be carried out without question. In fact t hey do not tol erate teachers who would challenge their authority. Some s e cul ar leact,ers have t.ried t o exercise a lot of restraint i ll dealing with such proprietors but it must be noted that to l erance has its limits. However, the National Council of the I s l amic education unit has laken nate of these problems for appropriate action. 6 .. 42 The English/Arabic scl,oo 1 syst.. em has created job o pportunities for hundreds of people who have studied Arabic a.nd I slamic Religion in lhe local Arabic schools. Hitherto people with such qualifications could not be Dr f :i.c1a11y empl oyed by the Government to use their knowledge to the b e ner:i t Dr the nation. HC)tNE~ve r ~I sillce the incept:ion of this new sc h eme the Government has found it quite Expedient to e mpl oy them for the success of the English/Arablc schDDl system. The new scheme did not create job opportunities for Dnly the local Arabic schDols but also for Middle and Secondary University of Ghana h:t:tmp:l/ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh school leavers who were without jobs. It has therefore contri- in no small way in reducing the rate of unemployment among these school leavers in C.gbon. 6.43 As a result of the non-availability of adequate Muslim t.eachers for posting to all the English/Arabic schools, the Ghana Education Service had no other alternative but to post Christian teachers to these schools. By so doing, it has provided a good opportunity for closer intel'Bction between Christian and Muslim teacl,ers at the work place thus creating better understanding between them~ Besides, sorne C) f t. hese Christian teact,ers have learnt some aspects of Islam ancl have picked up some common Arabic words. 6.44 A development worthy of note within the English/Arabic school system is the establishment of day nurseries in some of t.hem especially in T arn{::\ 1. (.~, Vendi ;1 Sa.velugu!l NY,'\Ilkpal"., Tolan and I:iled are sent t.o li ve and die there. The Department of Social assi=-;t.s such in finding some income generating activity" Some people outside Dagbon are of the view that these I.rJomen at Ngaani are v:i.cl:.. ims of circumstances beyond their controJ because there is usually no pl~oof that. they ever killed theil' so called vict.imSn Whatever be the reaction of people towards the attit.ude whereby witches are exiled, the Dagbamba beJ.ieve is the best way to I~cept the Catholic church are people from Southern Ghana~ The leader of the Catholi~ church in Dagbon is Arc hbishop Peter Dery, a Dagaaba from the Upper West Region. Despite the fact that Christianity has been in Dagbon for over sevellt y (70) years, the Ilumber or Dagbamba who haave embranced i t is so negligible and ·the reasor1 can easily be traced to · t~le i n t e ns ity of the influence of Islam on the Dagbamba. However, th e Ca tholic, Baptist and Assemblies of God churches have now con centrated their effort in evangelism in the rural at~ eas of Dag bon where they are gradually making an impact on the p e ople. This achievement by the churches in the rural areas h as been possible firstly because the impact of Islam in some o f t h ese rural areas has rlot been intense and secondly, these c~, u rches distribute free itenlS such as wheat, non-fat dry mil~(, d r ugs, second-hand clothing and in some cases they have installed grinding mills in the villages so that they no longer University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 417 have ·Lo walk long distances to grind their corn, millet or guinea-corn" It therefore appears that some of these r'u.ral dewllers accept. Christianit.y for the sake of convenience rather than of conviction. The relationship between Muslims and Christians has been cordial because tllere has never been any cause for confusion or c 1. a.shes be"L,l.Neen them" This atmosphere of cordia.l ity l"i ill continue to persist so long as one group does not undermine the other" The main factors that have influenced Islam in Dagbon in thi.s 20th centLlry and has made tl'1e ~rea to be aware of j,t.s Islamic values are as follows~ Islamic education in and contact with Islamic countries i.n the Middle East is C.n i mpor te:1.nt factor in this reg,':i\'f'da Arabic and Islamic students who were awarded scholarships by Islamic countries especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Eg ypt have come back to Dagbon with new ideas both 1-' E' f or mat. i vr;.:: and h~'.ve illtr'oduced certain att.ilucles pertaj.ning to sociaJ, life in these areas such as ttle naming of tIle child on tIle seventh day instec\ci of day i=i.ft.er birth, the use of long dresses by women and inviting friends to tea parties while discl.ts~~itlg issues affecting Dagbon. On f'eformative ma.t ters pertaining the reI i.gion, these scholars corrIe togethe r to organise ~~~~ sessions to educate the Muslim public University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 418 what. obtai.ns in the Arab world, especially in Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam. These scholars have helped to crec;d:~e a lot of religious awareness of the of't.hodox form among the Muslim populace in Dagbon and the people on the ot.her hB.nd have reposed confidence in themn Ther'e is a strong hajj traditior\ in Dagbon~ It has been observed that it is an accepted fact i.n Islam in v·iE'st Afri.cc\ that. ~A~~ has always influenced the growth of Islam. Rulers of the Sudanese states such as Mansa Musah of i"la Ii l..-::\nd Aski2\ Muhammad of Songhay are remembered for their colourful trips to the holy land of Islam. It clid not only influence people of the Sudanese States but it ~)elped to ~ut these states on the "Jorld map. Even though in Dagbon no chief has taken the stand by some of these aile :1. ent (""ul.('2rS, y'=t. th<'2 indi.vi.duaJ. pj.J.c~rims after their return from ~~ii due to their affirmation of envigorate the whole Islmic community~ They act.LAally give ·the whole community the feeling of the viability of Isla.fTl due to the i.nter·nat i.on".l natur'e of Moreover~ even though most people in Dagbon would not have made the pilgrimage, the ~~~j_ with its irlternational flavol!r and media coverage more or less gives prominence to Islam especially in a countr'y wit!1 strong ChI"' istian in f l.uences" This prominence!, it ts believG~d~ affirms the faith of the people. The establishment of the English/Arabic schools by l:'J211.E.ffi pc'opr ietora of pr'om:i.nence in learning j.s cOI-lsidel~ed a University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 419 great achievement in the history of Islam in Dagbon. The events surrounding the emergence of these schools in the early 1970's in particular~ what.ever be their setbacl.s at that time, fostered a strong affirmation of Islam for the people in the it was seen as a conflict between Chrj,stian tradition or secular and immoral tradit.ion, they gave the reaffirmation of the people's faith. The setting up of the English/Arabic schools was a signal to the effect that although Islam was prepared to accep'l secular' education, it was prepared to do so only on i'ls own terms, which in effect means the acceptance of secular education guarded by the Islamic religioA. Nevertheless, one factor that ha~ contributed to the growth of Islam and its reaffi.rmation in the courllry has been tt\at Muslims who, despite traditional objections, have gone in for secular educaliorl have nO'l apostasisedp They rather have shown the value of the faith and have shown levels of deep understanding is appreciated by the less edLlcat.ed in Dagbon as well as countrymen of other religious persuations~ Since Dagbon is t.he most populated single Islamic ethnic gro\JP in Ghana, and has produced many of such scholars of standing in different spheres in the country such as in educatiDn ~ medicine, law, engineering and administration, the position is encouraging the young and up-coming to follow their' examplen Even tt,e Arabic school does not end with tt\e m~L~L~Q~~~ but its pupils still pursue further s'ludies in Islamic CQUlltrieSn Generally, that enables the growth of Islam in Dagbon hand ill hand with modernity without any sense of the lost of Islamn University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 420 Even though chieftaincy still has traditional elements in it, yet as discussed ill the thesis~ the recent skj.n disputes i.s not simply traditional. The problem did gSJ18J'ate irlt.O a religious conflict between the Ti.janiyya and the ~~Q~~i~~~ Religious leaders on both sides became litiqants i.n the dispute which seriously divided Muslims in Dagbon~ This sholt'./s hoJt.J strong t.he influence of Islam is would continue to stand the test of time~ One other factor that has contributed to the influence of Islam in Dagbon is the ~~~~ (missionary) activity that is being carried out by some of the e£~Q§m~ and the scholars who have gra.ouated f [... . om Saud i Arabian ur'iversities~ They organise sermons for secondary school student.s and the general public. On SUC~l occasions people ask questj,ons ill order -to broaden their outlook on certain thorny issues and by so dD:i.ng the people get to know more about their religious responsibi- lities .. For the projections for the future, there is no doubt t.hat Dagbon i·3 regc\rded as a cr'Llcial f act.or' in IsJ.2\mic influence in Ghana. ProD. found in the fact t.hat secta.r' ian issues (",.part from the Ahmadiyya and other Muslj.m problems) are raised more in Dagbon than anywhere elseu assembled ·Lhe leader of the ~~D~biL§ and that of t.he Ti1z:\niyyf.:\ to disCLlSS doctrinal. positions between them~ ifihen the 511 i. t.e,; University of Ghana h4t2tp1: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh wanted a fertile place to plant their doctrines and eslablish a base, Tamale was found most suitable. When the Saudis also wanted the majority of Muslims in Ghana to acknowledge orthodox Islam, they found it suitable t.o come to Tamaleg Tamale has hosled many Muslim conferences because people I'salise how important Dagbon is to The attent.iofl lha'l foreign Islamic nations pay to the area gj.ves cr'edence to it.~ This means that Dagbon has presented itself as a stroflg Islamic factor in lhis country and a strong pivot of Islam. Wherl peace returns to the skin of Vendi and there are no conflicts as it is hoped from now onwards, there wOIJld be much peace and tranquility. With the sort of Islamic learning that the indegenes of Dagbon are acquiring, gradually mixing will be removed from the sQciety~ This does not mean that the people of Dagbon will lose their culture because some of the cultural pract.ices are not in conflict with Islam. It lS hoped that higher institutions sponsored by Islamic states w(Juld be estabished in Dagbon. This would help change the face of Islam flot only in but tllroLlghout tIle country~ It is true that Muslims in Dagbon are disadvantaged because they lacked secular educatior1 but with the establishment elf these institutions, light would be thrown into the minds of the people so that the janitorial types of work that has for so long been associated with Muslims would be a thing of the past, at least in Dagbon. University of Ghana ht4tp2:2/ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABDUL -HAMID S . 2.0.hlb __ !:':Ih'211£!) vo 1. ::, Dal' al--Al'abia, 1985, Bei.rut, LebCl.non 2 .. ABUN-NASR, ,J. ~1. I!J!'LLU.Q!Jlyy.Q , Oxford University Press, 1965 . ''':''' BOAHEN, A,A. The Ghana Kola Trade q in Ghana Noles ~D~_Q~§ti~§, Accra, i p~8-Hl0~-------' --- IgQi£§ ___ 1!J ___ ~g§1 __ _ 0I!1£.Q!J ___ Ul§1g!y, Oxford University Press. 6. CARDINAL" A. W. Ib.€.-___ ~~t.t.y:§.§. __ ._._9.f.. ____ Ul~ _____ ~Qc..tlJ.§.c..Cl_ I§!Lc..Lt.Qc..t~§. _ __ Qf.. ____ t.lJ.'L __§ Ql.!L ___ ~Q~~§.t, London~ 1925" ~ .' . DAVIES" O. The Invaders of Northern Ghana: v.lh,,,t. Archaeologists are Teaching the Hi stor i ·~.ln s ~l lJ.lJi. . Y§r.:2_~t.0.§ (Legon) !I Vol. i.v p. :1.34,,-6. 8. Institu.te of Afr ica.n Studies!l Legc:)n, :/.969~ 9 . DOl, A.R.I. §b§~i~~h~ __ ._Ib§ ___ 1§1§ID1~ ___ b~~, Tahc\ F'ubli'3hers, London (UI<:)" 1984. 10. EYPE --'SI"I I TH" J" 13, __ ._ _ 12 c..t.?.L ___B §Y: .t..~IC! __ QL _·lb.§. __ tI.t.. §. tQ c.. 'L ___ ~Q.g. §g.!;..t..,'\L __ Qr.:..g£\C:lt§.S\.t..t..QIJ._ __ Qi_._tb.~_E:§.g.i;>.l~§'_Q.L ~Q I::.tb.~c..Q. __ I~c..c..i1Qc..i§'§' ___Q L_. ___ t.b.§' ____ §f"L!d ~Q~2t, Acc r- <:1, 1933. 11. FAGE, J.D. Reflections on the Early History of the Mossi-Dagomba GrollO of St.ates, in IIJ.~ ____ I:!.t..§.tQc..i5lQ. ____ tlJ. __ .Ic..Ql2.t£,i';\.1 __ J2LLi<;.i';\., Lonclon, 1964, p.17"7-91.. The Investigation of Oral T radition in the Nort.hern Territories of t.he Gold in ~9Y!!J§1 ___ g! ____ 1b~ Hl§1g~i~§1 _____ 2g~1~1~ ____ gI ____ ~igg!i§ Ubadan), 1" 1, 1.956. 13 . FEF~GUSOI\j, F'" Pa t terns of Succession to High Office in Dagomba, F'ubli.sheci in M. Cro"Jdel' and I. f.nut'i. on the Hdusa, In ,IQ!"LD§l gi_eiLi£~Q_~i§1QL~, 1960, i, p.205-12. 18. HOmON" T" The Islamic Literary Tradition in Ghan a, i n 121;;>,m __ iQ __ Iu2Q.i(;.Al __ 0L~i~So, London, .1966, p. 442--60. 19. JEFFERY, A. The Forty Traditions of An-Nawawi in B B§~~§r_~QQ __ l§lgID~ Mouton and Company, 1962" p.142--60. 20 .. LEVTZION, N. Islam i'l the Native States of Northern Ghana~ in l§l~ID_iD_ei£i~~ Van Noslrand'- Re:lnhold Company, 1.969" 1j~~lim2_.Qo.g_htJ.igi.'§._~_iQ __ ~§.§.1~ __ BLc.:i£..g, ,~ Study of Islam in the Middle Volta Basin in the Pre-Colonial Period, O~dot'cI LJnivel-·~.ity Press, 1968" 22" BD£i§D1 __ §b§D§_ _ §D~ __ ~~li, 1\1elhuen and COu t_t.d~, L_olldon, 1973" ~..,. c:, .. .:." M?-)HAMAH, I. II}§._Qc.igiQ!2._Qf._tlJ.~_Q;;>'9.tl.A(!!~S\_._Qf. __ §~~S\t§,.L U£'dQQQ, Unpubli~,hed, :!'98!:;~ M?-\ULANA 1'1. A. I'1LJHAI'1I'IAD, fC)" 1'1. Ib~ __ ~Ql~ __ QY~:S\Q, Arabic Text, English Translation and Commentary, Sixth Ed:ltion, Specially Promotions Co. Inc. Chicago, Illinois, 1973. 26 .. MUHfC)MI'1AD, 1-1 .. IQ1E.9dh!~1iQQ __ 1Q __ I§1~m, Ernst Klett Printers, St.ultgal~t, West Germany, 1977. University of Ghana h4tt2p4:/ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh 27. MUHAMMAD M.K. §SlliitLI31.::f!ldlJJ.s1:i vo l. s. 2.3 and 7 Dar al--I0,p,3,bia, 1985. Berj.ut., Lebanon. 28. McWILLIAM, H.O.A. ItL~--ngY~_109Qf!lgD.L __ gL_f.Q~£:9J~.iQ!:LjD_§!J§D§),' l_ongmans, 1959. 29. OPPONG, C. §!::9,bi.iDlL!JfLiD __ 12§)9129Q " Ghana Publishing Cor'por~• . tioll, 1975. 30. PALMER, H.R. The ,~>:;.~vi i i n 31. PARRINDER, G. W~2.t. __ G.L1:i~§.Q. __ 8.~.LtgiQI~l,. ___ 8._§t.\dQ'L._QL_t.IJ~ ~~1.i~L2 __§ .Q.Q __ E:c.Sl.<;.·I;..t<;:.~2 __ QLJ:!l.§)l. __ t;;\:!g, 1:Q1: \,~9.9. •.. __ 19. Q _____ ~~Q.Q __. _.L tm! ~ L.~ Q ._ __ .t:§'QI2.1~§., Ep'NClf'ieh I='r e,;s, 1973. 32. RATTRAY, R.S. I[i12~§ ___ g! ___ lb~ ___ B§b§Di.i __ ~.iDi~!::l§)D.Q, l. . c)f1cl(Jn, VDls. I ~, I I, 19:~:2. ·..;,·-=,c SHINNIE, P.L. Y~Q~i __ Q~~~~i, in Ghana Notes arld QLteries~ iii~ LJ.~ r)CC I"' i:\, 1961" 34. SHINNIE, P.L. & E~·~cavat i OilS e\t Vend i Dabar i ~I in OZAI\lNE; F'. Ic..s.n~:.f:1.;.1.iQlJ.§.~_Q£._~·hrl§._.t!i2tQC._i~s11 __ §Q~i~i.Y_ Q1._Qb.Sl.Q.§!, 196::::, vi, p.87--118. 35~ SHOURA-EL, Ie Ib.~_Ei'{~_E:tllSl.c.2_QL1§.1§!!!!, Dc'\r a.l--Asfallani ~~ Co~ F'r'ess, Jec!dB.h, 1965" 36. STANILAND, M. Ib.~_biQQ2._gL __Q .Sl.9.Id.QIJ.'-__ E:Q1H.t~Sl1._._[b.f'Q.9.g iQ_~Q~t~~~Q_§h~Q~~ Cambridge University F'f'ess, J.975~ 37. TAMAKLOE, E.F. A Brief_~.i§tg£y_g!_tb§_D~ggm12§)_E~ggl~, A~~;:·:;;-Government Pri.nter" 1931.. 38. TRIMINGHAM, J.S. ':1 __ .tit§ .·hfl!::. 'i __Q L_L§ .lS l.!!! __ in __ i!i§.§. t. _ .Jj1.c. t hi'!, , L.ondon ~I 1962" 39. Ibg __ J:Dih.'gjJ~;~ __. 9i_._121.9m __ !JQ9L~. __ .B![i<;:i.?! , I_olldon, 1968. Isl.sm in West Africa~ 6;~;;:~-~~i~;~;ii~-~;:~ss, 1976. 41. WATHERSON, A.M.C. The Northern Territ.ories of the Gold Coast, in ~g~[Di.?!1 ___ g! ___ tb~ ___ 0![i~9jJ §g£igty~ l_ondon, vii p~344-73~ 42. WILKS, I. Ibg_ ___ ~g!::lb~[D ____ E§)~lQr ___ iD ___ B§b.9Dli Ui~lg£y, Legon, 1961. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LI '-:'ot') 43g The Growth of Islamic Learning in Ghalla, i.1l Jg"'~r.IJ§l ___ 9..L_tb.§ __ jji?tQr.i.\:;§l §9£igiY_ __ Qi __ ~ig.§r.i§ (Ibadan) ii, 4, 1.96::, p" 409--17" 44. i.AJ I UO::S , I. A Note all the Early Spread of Islam ill Dagomba, in Ir.§IJ§§£iiQIJ?_ __ 9.i ___ ib§ !::!.i§if2!::i.\;§1_ __ §9.£i.§iY_ __ 9I-. __ WJ§IJ§, L'?goll ,. Yol" Yi. i :i., 1.966. 4 UJ,.; UUAKUIAN, Saturday, September 3, 1988 , l~UnQiv'ers~ityd oaf Gthannau h ttYp://uagskpauceb.ug-i.eld u.gh Mecca is a wa~jn~dis;~nce ~-;r .. 1 L, ' ~;i ... ~! 8 Yakubu r--'il11 !l~ ~o--ry-0f cloi£~dn~ ';s'; -of(C':" :>a nl wars and suff..:!rin ~s in thl! cun t L~en! . he I ~ 't~ Came rolln a:nd then o-~Kh~;--; A.. >, } lul~r.I,!~S .:u,d, above aU, of human en- h. . d ~mbar~ed U,Il his l? n es~r:'e l C!u~nt:Y ' t')urn through the Central African Reot.: b-- I ·.iu~, kilometres away - to chemical so lu'ion~ io ~.: 11 eithe r as pe trol or I keep p11 1 people: to know Ihat {lIe;: ::.Ccm ln..; I~ trekkIng. Last Dece mber, amled ....' tl! ?n Hraw oa)it which con(aJn~ a....tallon of wate r I .i mr\,~sibl(; las\( has been accomplished by introduc tory notl! from Mohammed. fbn i it few (']o{hing and );ome lsh(;.es.1 Yalci.JbU' ;he;: gr:1~G of AHa h. \, ~hamba~. Ghan ~'s depul;' s('crctary, h)re;:- I Wbu spcaKs nine l'ln guages a nll h3S Ii daugh~ "N..! ltha f :lin nur"un could stop me . Not Ign Aff.ucs, he Jo urneyed from ':lortht! rn , ~e(, teyc;al :i Ihat his Wife is nq( happy. She c;:\(' n {!"It:: lear 0 1 \,'i~d animals could ... if aGnhda.~alg· :ncra~u,rSbae(t~~pa~~ot~n~eurrt~~:!~ i, sl~clfl.S Yy "' .... u.U y Ih~ .. holt· ',,"'n. Th~ M I I"''.:If"rwt.'oflh"ne'''mOn ...· ith hi~ th.· \""'n and rem.l ie. ... e t~ reunited. Durin, pn.-uI\('t'. I~ ~2tI...;'~ MlIbe."\lfu lh d.,..u ... "od ALL over t h e country, (~8ti vAh 'h l:< I",rincl. ~ ni~hlly n ....... ltd hi~ l uric81 e" , n'. , t", th e at11'lo9p h e r c (o r p e nc E' Qnd T h"no" W.,dnr-dfty nilht lui week, the . mduo:l; nR ",-"",, .. lullri~' ... flfh,~v~n''' nI~ "nd "tohl ~ ",. " I ,h. . t).~ht> o tTun4\lill ity . m ..... " firlaIlY·PfIe ... ,ed·I\ ....... K' ·'f! I."' ... ll h w,hl Aller Ihi.o., Iht Y • . Ny. \' II ~ "\>U Anll.", Il . 3t61 ... Thry .\lto ~an. 'he •.d ulI110n of Ih .. F", ;1", )><,<,,, ...,,,1 n:l~h"" T ron I" the t). J[b"" ~ I HI., /)"nll,~ t< a ',.,.1, ,,,,, ". . It,h,,, I,<1 ,," II mo,I, "" , .... " h, II,' ~n m<",'rm •• " {;h" ,,~ ,,,,,. . ,,,m~"''''"''· ,h.· h",h "I 1"0\'''''' Muh'Hl'Jl,t'(Ihf.')a~o""" ... 'h""h~'n"w""UI'"..,....,.r ;';,~: :: ~l f'~~;:~~:('~ I ,,~.'.',:~,:;:\',\:.'·~~~~r,"~;l' ~::~ " ,1,,\,,,., "'"''"','.'_'' '''",, ",ki".: ,h,· r, "",i"MI "' •.•~ ~ "rfi . ''' '"Ih I","'" ... "It """",1011' ."hup.1 11._111 ". -tlt'h II "'nv Ihlll Il ~~, ... ,~ tt~' "'-' o ll,d , ... ,.",• . ",.,,,, ,,, ,,I .-,,n,,",'''' Th. · I"", ..,ro,· ur Ih. """,v~1 h .. ~ il Ih", .... n"' · ~~':::~~ .I I~~~\,~oa7.~:~,~:··,.I .:~~;~::~~i;,~r~ •. ~~;; ...... ,.", ..., ,11,,»\1 •• 11". .. .· ''''.1· ..· ;1''01.'' . 1• . ' .. ", .. ·II,.·""'l. ... Tt. ... I)'""h.ll.""'; ', ;\I,h"~.·,"".· t ,, 1• • ,.d"I<".I I", the' , .. , ... f~".iI ,· dll,II,,"·' ,,,,,,10 , I ~'" ..( II. .. ", .. " I ,,, ,,,. . n.,,,, 1 .'~ t,, ~ 1 " I II ,.. ,." .. '" · 1 ·1~~:~'::: .. ~'::::':I~I~ .. "~'~: I~·',.~~th:~~·~h:.,~~:: :: ~ ;;t;::, " ' I ~ ' '' ' ~~ ... " . .. ,,,h., .... "1 r~t ;v ~ 1 '" (:h"n" .. It .... ,h. · ,·. ." ,11 ~.~.· 'h I""", f"",,"n l I" .ud ... ~1':;~ "r~~:" ~'~"~li~h" ;.~,~~:,~..::; I,~ ~n~'~. •1 \" ' I ,,," "~u ... ,,,o{lh,. f,.,.''''"l wM_.U''I .........' ''c''t.-d Y,·nd •• litt m,I,,,. ~"'~I "I Tamn"· ....." "iri~p l1 :o' undr. • 'fhl' r ll. No }'(lh'~ tlll Ant/mli /1 ill h~ 11.',/.10/ /lm;hy (I/UI rnl('rtainill i: self. t~(lrinR Ilw I N'mlfl~ U. ll(/ (Jt>l' rr/,Itl·",~ ,'nJlI ',j ~-:~~, i~~~"';! ~:inYl ~~~d' :" :::iJ~~~ ~~r.ri n;:~ '0( hi' h~s( fir 1/1(' I.! r('~l 'f)amb(l' ({ali ef' al Yendi. f'ie(u. r l' hy A~are Anoquah. . THE "'fiROR, Sal\l ,4Ior. Ho .... mboH 5. Hlell . p~ U . University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh f08UII G1lJGll!Rl f!IHU.r~~fDIlUli [@IllOOGll fllaQId ~~~:~~~~ THE SIGNIF'ICANCE OF DAMBA Views from YENpl 1'hi.o.inlI.~I~III.~"n , lIi .. n u n o! lh .. pu""U1dl.llUl"'I.I!1ct .. loo l~~.:u,,' b .. cullu ••· . fill" rJDAJtI ZE/tIOU-ZAKA.RI ADDUlAl, &, MAUJLW, Y£~DI ' DAlIolH" L. ,,",, '\lbrlll"" by o lher tribe• • • ... -II _ by D •• ornb •• an" I. b •• i".II )' .. ~~if¥;~~~~~:,s~;~:f~~~r:q:f~:~~~c:~~ MHS FA.TI MUNKAIUo. 4lI, TJ;ACnt:Jt. or UAMllA Y .11 "",c ... i"" lor mcrr,.-an."inl!: bl.,hday .nDiv"na r y c~l.br."on Ihe i!LdL,..d ' h"~r""U:oI\r''''lw .. l i'' lh,·"uflh,·rn", :''1 .ni.l _ber (0:0 ..1 : 00110 or Uu: birlh u r lb • prop b.ct o(I. loun. ",f ttl " I:UlIfl l ry . p" ... t''' l:l~ h'',. ''". 0.,111; .. enl" 'lIed wit h th~· c u n v"nllull ' " l,Jam of th" .:h..,r~ iO"d ""<)I ,I~ or th~ IOre.u •. Willi I I.., .... ~ of 'nnc, th~ h.bon;': I'r ll el ..· .'" ,,l:i f»miJ i ' ; lii !i;"1!:~ :~~~,~!~~J.~~~:~7~~':~~!11;~\'~~::::~;:;'~'~:'~: 111",1 I h~ lI.doIl Ol'lI" llaKumb. un~." 11. ... :. , ,, ,, ." 'L~' ~'; \ A; .. ... d.. "" ....... "'''Klh .. nll.~wn'"Ultu r ... 1U..r~~.J "",h J.Il .r."· .t"., p .. n 0(<":1'1 .. 1\ .. In "",,,, ... 1. II I ~ to lh" binh " r prophet &Iuhummcd IS.A.W ) lI nd " I.o lbe "murueln!! of 1.I .. m by ~~{!~::?;{:;'i.~1fii,:;~:!~;:3:\1~i~fi'~\~ ~;;~,~i·:~I:;:::~;:·£~;':~ I:'~:::: :i:I:J::~~~~:::.~'I:~,:~ 1" .. I ...... "' th._.:OlOb. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh !b_QJ'_ Y Sang Youth Association. C/o Mr. E.A. Mahamah. District Education Of rice. 1"',0. Bo>: 7, Vend i. 4th Auoust. 1982. Sir, 8EfLICATION FOR CHANGE OF SCHOOL TO AN ARABIC-ENGLISH SCHOOL We of the above association would be very qrateful if YOU could change our village's Local Authoritv Primarv School. which is at present strictly English bias, to an Arabic-English one. 2. We have observed that the poor enrolment of t.he schoo 1 Dv\?r the years is due to the fact that the local population. predominant Iv Muslim, is loo apathetic about sendinq theil~ childl~en co the school because Islamic education is absen~ there¢ ~~ Sir, it is clear therefore that. ttH:~ ch~~nCI(~ Wf2 (o:;'.I't~ advoc~3.tin(] is necessary to impr'ove enr'olment. in -LI £. schCJC)l~ and t Juc.Jl J.e II in its entirety in the localit,. 4. We end here hoping fC:H' your kind cDn~sldE~r'i:i.til\ -:lllc:1 .imll)&1dil::\'Lt::, action. ,SC,dd ) L.t.tl-:.o.ri -IS:::. 1 S t (-,,·1 T ·-.:;l~F I \·:\F THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOG, DISTRICT FDUCATION OFFICE, P .O" BOX "7 yr;:NQI· University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh \l,~"_" i':Jr~J.l j-"!L'dd LjLL'H' t.e\ -::. .: ' I; __~ !!6"F'3 E~d·-, _.,::.;Li·~Jrl ~:ler'V.1.t.:(72.1 F, u. dc.: .\ Ref et:'f U;;\f c,B . [ s f'"' I- Jn i S 'l.lfJ!~""\1 .. NEi 1·1 1"11.J!·'IJ(:-\ F." I Df'; iC"JL.:: I /\' T' n- rc,=,· HEF( \":',ND I."'F Ef E3 ... OI-lS -I'he . '" f"\' oS f. :orr" ~ --111 j :::';.:::dP ~~,U~:J ,; ect of S2i" 11':::-5 Df discu-:;;'!:;:ic'ns .-3.p.j CDf'Sl· 1. t.at. . :~~'! ,~3 t .. J t!1 i.nter'e-stE:d (~r auos and school author'i'lies in t hr----' !\!C)f' t her' n Region far sometime r'jOW~ In adclit.iDn~ v-H-? have ·31 SCJ had Lh(~\ adv':'{rl ta,.J\0~ Dr ~~,. . ::;;c:er'tO::ilfllnC! -c~-,e lew::;, of ]"\'11..151 im professors olJtside this countl on L!--II'.:'- s~\rnE~ (oat·tel-; 2~ The follol,.~~ing crbservdtions bore ther'\~fore made on thl:'? iSSIII~ for' the guidance of English/Arabic schools. (a) The statu"Lor',"! wOI"'kinq (j,:t.ys fIJI"' t.his COIJrl'j' !"'V r.-.~r'p. j'v1(indF.{v Friday School visits/inspections are carr'ied out conveniently (In these OaYSh Public schools obser'vino different working days are likely to create oroblems for OUI~ supel~vising staff alld the Government~ (b) Private and public functions, celebratioN of local festivals~ funerals, soccer mat.ches~ political r'allies~ to mention a few~ ape observed on Saturdays Blld Sundavs~ This is in the interest of productivity whch is a priority area for the Governmentn Teachers ernployed in SCllools wor~~ing on Saturdays and SUlldays are bOUlld to pay less attention to their work on these days. Some !i1c:~y n<:rt. 2\ttend school at all ~ The ef feet on pupi Is ir') these schoc)ls cannot be favourable and the Northern ancl Upper Reg-ions stand to lose by thIS lJI"actice~ (e) The views of Muslim professors in Muslim Llrliversities outside this COlJntry indica'le tha'l students q workers 211d businessmen could attend to their leqitimate duties on Friday after discharging their prayer obligation. They claim that this does not contradict Koranic 'leact,inq" In fact, this is the practice with many Muslims in this countr·y. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh t!l2fl§!Jf.Li>" ~'l)" (continued) 3. We would therefore take this opportunity Lo request all concerneci school proprietors, parSl"lts and Muslim leaders - to ensure that English/Arabic schools which would like to aYBil tl,emselves of Government aid operate ft~onl Mor1day t.o Friday as all other public schools. and give yc.lu.r r eaS(JnSj f or your answer . f:)ny other? '':;' 0 How did Dagombas come to settle in their present home? f"lnd when? 4. Before the advent of Islam into Dagbon, what was the religious life of the people - Did they believe in the Supreme Being? How did Islam come into Dagbon? Was it through wars or i.·l was a peaceful movement? 6. Whe n the Muslims arrived what was (a) their attitude to th~ people? (b) the peoples attitude to them? 7. Why did chie fs tolerate Muslims in their courts? 8. You are quite aware of the f~ct that Islam does not compromise on associating partners with Allah but certain rites performed by chiefs go contrary to th i s significant Islamic dogma, but the Muslims did not criticise it. Why do you thin~ it was so? 9. Why is it that there are many Muslims in Dagbon? 10. What is "Ya.ra. Yars." and why i.s it. or\:;]a.ni.sed on Monda.ys emd Fr'ida.ys? 11~ Is I IYar~", Va.ra ll a. Dagbani Dr Ha.usa It-Jord? 12. When a man dies in Dagbon, the third, seventh and fortiet.h day burial rit.es are performed. Some Muslims observe it but most.ly the non-Muslim Dagombas observe it. Was it introduced by Muslims Dr they came to meet this practice? 13. What other practices of the 'Dagbandaba' have found their way into Islam and vice versa~ 14. Mu.slims do not eat ca.r· r' ion;; blood 2I.nd por'k B.nd some "Da.gbandaba' do not eat. such things. Is i.t. s.n influence of Islam? 15 .. Why is it t.hat. outdoorings are termed Isuunal and weddings lamar i ye.. I ? University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 16 . Wh y is it that the 'Dagbandaba' have adopted the practice of nam i ng their babies as is done in Islam? 17. Why is it that there are many more Islamic Scholars in 'lhe urban areas of Dagbon but not in the rural areas? 18. Do you think that this has affecled conversion in the rural areas? 19. Wh y is it that Chrislianily has not made any serious amonq Dagombas? 20 For the past five years the Catholics and Baptists have been mak i ng headways in their conversions ir) Daqomba villaqes= Why do you think that they are succeeding in the rural areas? 21. Have you any idea as to whether ttl8 people in a particulal~ vi llage 01' area clashing with Muslims or Chrislians? 22. If yes, name the village and why the clash. 23~ Have you heard or seen any clash between two Muslim qroups? 24~ If yes~ name the place and explairl whYn It is believed thal Muslims are not Gnited in Daclbon. What accounts for this unfortLtnate problem? 26~ What can bring about Llnity among Muslims in Daqbon? 27. I.Nhy af'e 1 Damb.;1.';1 't.gbon? 16. What contributions has Islam made to the people in Daqbon? 17" What is t~le relatiorl between the people of Daqbon and Arab countr" ies? 18. What is YOUf' observation abolJt Ml1s1ims in Daqborl Salaat~ Siyaam, Zakaal and Haj.i?