A Drummer's Testament

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Chapter I-20:  Funerals

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Funerals as an example of the role of music in community events; the elder of the funeral house; how a dead body is bathed and buried; the stages of a funeral:  three days, seven days, shaving the funeral children, “showing the riches,” sharing property; why Dagbamba like funerals; the importance of funerals; music and funerals



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Supplementary material

Images

drummers praising people outside a funeral house
funeral house cooking pots

Audio files

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Dikala

Be kumdi la kuli


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Contents outline and links by paragraph

Introduction:  funerals

Kuyili kpɛma:  the leader of the funeral

The Small Funeral

Drumming for the dead person

Bathing the dead body

Settling of debts

Burial of the dead person

Prayers and sacrifice:  the “three days” and the “seven days”

Kubihi pinibu:  shaving the funeral children

The grandchildren's role

Conclusion of the small funeral

The final funeral:  kubihi pinibu, buni wuhibu, and sara tarbu

Funerals before Islam

Benefits of funerals:  knowing the family and the friends

Drummers' work at funerals

Why attending funerals is important for the family

Conclusion



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Proverbs and Sayings

The talk of funerals looks like the talk of families.

How a human being is, a human being is in four parts.

An old person is not somebody who has lived long or who has a white beard.

An old person is one who has heard the talk of the past and is holding it in his pocket.

If somebody dies, children should see the way their father is.

If people gather like that, to be sitting outside a dead person's house and sleeping there, it always helps to remove the people of the house from their sorrow.

Whatever we are doing and the people are many, it is something that helps us.

Benefit is in a group.

We perform a funeral and know the family, and we perform a funeral and know the friends.

It is we drummers who show someone his family and they will know each other.

If you are somebody who doesn't lend anything to anybody, then nobody will be coming to pay you back.

When your friend gets a problem and you go to help him, then it looks as if you are holding his debt.

In Dagbani we give it the name:  we help one another.  If you don't help somebody, somebody too will not help you.

If there were to be no funerals, then there would be no family.

It is because of the performing of the funeral, that is why the family is standing.

The performing of the funeral is the thing that strengthens our friendship with people.

Friendship brings family.

A dead person doesn't die at once.

God says that any gathering that will gather and will bring family together, that gathering is very good.

If you are a good-luck person, and you go to be with a bad-luck person, then you will also carry some of his problem.


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