Today I am going to talk about how Dagbon was sitting up to the time the white men came here. And we are going to talk about when the white men came to Dagbon here, and they opened our eyes, and we will be following it up to the present time, when politics came and our Dagbon spoiled. Yesterday I told you that when Naa Garba died, it was Naa Saa Ziblim who ate. Naa Saa, or Naa Saalana, was a son of Naa Siɣli, and he was the only son of Naa Siɣli who ate Yendi. And now Naa Siɣli's fire has died on the part of the Yendi chieftaincy. When Naa Saa died, it was two of Naa Garba's children who ate. Naa Ziblim Bandamda ate, and when he died, it was Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga who ate. When Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga died, it was Naa Ziblim Bandamda's son Naa Mahami who ate. And when Naa Mahami died, it was Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga's son Naa Kulunku who ate. When Naa Kulunku died, it was Naa Mahami's zuu Naa Simaani Zoli who ate. And when he died, another of Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga's sons came and ate. That was Naa Yakuba. In the Samban' luŋa, when they come to these chiefs, they only bring their praise-names, and they count the children they gave birth to. And so what they did is only a talk we hear. It is drummers who talk about what they did, but they don't add it inside the drum history, and I haven't heard them say why they don't beat it. And so truly, if I talk about it, I will only talk about what I know.
All those chiefs I have called, I can say that Naa Saalana, Naa Ziblim Bandamda, Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga, Naa Mahami, Naa Kulunku, Naa Zoli, coming to Naa Yakuba and Naa Abilaai, I know their praises, but I haven't asked to know more about the talks that happened during their time. From Naa Yakuba and coming to Naa Abilaai and up to the present time, I know the talks that have happened. And what you know, that is what you will talk. As for some of these chiefs, if I talk and jump them, maybe it won't be sweet. And so as it is, I will just cut some short talk for you, and we will leave it. I won't take them one by one. I don't want to talk, “It is in Dagbon,” and somebody will say, “Ah! Why is it that this fellow talked this talk to you? He didn't talk to reach it.” It won't be sweet. And I am even a drummer. And so if it is Naa Yakuba's end and from Naa Abilaai up to Naa Andani and coming, as for that, I can talk it.
Truly, the time Naa Ziblim Bandamda was eating, Naya, where Yendi is, was different, and the Yendi people were calling this side Toma. From here to Yendi, the walking was difficult. You could be walking, and lions would stop you. There is a hill called Gbilijini. From here to Gbilijini is about thirty miles. There were elephants there. If you were coming and met these elephants, you wouldn't leave that place. And so they were fearing it like that. And the Yendi people were fearing to come to this place. Even up to the time when I was a small child, it was like that. The time the white men came and they brought lorries, there was no lorry to go from here to Yendi because the road was not good. It was like a road for tractors. And when the lorries also came, it was still difficult, because when I was a small child, to take a lorry and go to Yendi was ten pesewas. And getting money was hard, too. It was difficult for some people to get ten pesewas. And it came to twenty pesewas, came to forty pesewas, and when it was Naa Abilabila's time, it was forty pesewas. That was the time when people were going to Yendi or coming to Tamale a little. And so in the olden days, this was the suffering that was inside it. You could go and you wouldn't come home again. And if you go and you don't come home, is it sweet? Catching things will catch you. This was how it was, unless you went in a group. And so as Yendi was different and this side was different, this was what brought all that.
The chiefs who were at Yendi side, those were the chiefs the Yaa-Naa was for. And the Savelugu-Naa was eating here, and our Yaa-Naa was the Savelugu-Naa. If some trouble happened, and it was that some chieftaincy fell, they would go to search for it from Savelugu-Naa. If it is the Nanton-Naa who is dead, or Kumbun-Naa, or Tolon-Naa, Tampionlana, Kasuliyililana, Wariboggolana, Nyankpalalana; they are going to search for the chieftaincy from the Savelugulana. And the Savelugu chief will choose the one he wants before he will tell the Yaa-Naa. When he chooses and tells the Yaa-Naa, it stands. That was how it was until the time of Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga. Coming to the time Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga was eating, that was how it was, and coming to Naa Mahami, that was how it was. From Naa Mahami up to Naa Kulunku, and coming to Naa Zoli, it was like that. Dagbon was not one as it is today. It was one, but it looked as if there was no chieftaincy at Yendi. If I say that, it's not a lie. And again, Yendi was there, and they were fighting for it.
I have already told you that as for our Dagbamba chieftaincy, it came because of fighting. If they were going to make a Yaa-Naa, if they don't try, the one they have chosen will not enter the Katin' duu. The time they are bringing him to enter the Katin' duu, some people will come and beat him and drive him away, and then take another person and enter the Katin' duu. And it's not somebody: it is a Yaa-Naa's son they are also taking to enter there. And so the entering of the Katin' duu, it is that you will take strength and enter it. As for chieftaincy, it started with fighting a long time ago. It was like that even in Naa Gbewaa's time, up to Naa Ʒirli and Naa Shitɔbu, Naa Zulandi, Naa Dalgu, and up to today. Chieftaincy started like that, with fighting. And coming to the time of Naa Yakuba, Naa Abilaai, Naa Andani, and Naa Alaasani, at that time there was a lot of fighting. When I was growing up, during the time of my father, there were some people who saw some of these wars, and they didn't like talking about it at all, just because of what happened. It was only one-one who talked for us to hear, but as of now, there is nobody in Dagbon again who saw it. That time too is now far.
And when it came to Naa Yakuba and Naa Zoli, Naa Yakuba was a mad man, and he ate the chieftaincy. Naa Yakuba killed Naa Zoli and ate Yendi, and old drummers say that when he killed him, that is what made him mad. That is how it is. And why we don't like talking about it is that if you talk it, they say that you are opening the anus of Dagbon — you, a drummer. We don't like talking it. Truly, it was not Naa Yakuba alone who killed Naa Zoli. Naa Yakuba and his junior brothers, they killed him. Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga's children added to Naa Yakuba to kill him. Have you seen? Naa Zoli was Naa Mahami's son. And so wasn't Naa Yakuba Naa Zoli's junior father? Inside the family, he was Naa Zoli's junior father. This is how it is. Naa Garba gave birth to Naa Ziblim Bandamda and Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga. And Naa Ziblim Bandamda, was his son not Naa Mahami? And Naa Mahami, was his son not Naa Zoli? And wasn't Naa Yakuba Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga's son? Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga's first-born was Mionlana Simaani, and Naa Kulunku and Mionlana Simaani had one mother and one father. And so Naa Kulunku was Naa Yakuba's senior brother. And so Naa Zoli, his junior father was Naa Yakuba. And the reason why Naa Yakuba and his brothers killed Naa Zoli was that they didn't agree that Naa Yakuba would be sitting down and Naa Zoli would eat Yendi. That was why they killed him. As I have told you that, that is why we don't like talking a lot about it, but it was Naa Zoli's junior fathers who killed him. Naa Simaani Zoli, it was his own family who killed him. It wasn't that it was people from some other town. And so what I have talked, I haven't talked it into details. I have jumped it. It is not a good talk. Naa Yakuba was mad, and was it not Naa Yakuba who killed Naa Zoli? Is that not the madness?
And again, during Naa Yakuba's time in Dagbon, there was fighting on the part of Naa Yakuba's brothers and Naa Yakuba's children. During the time of Naa Yakuba, Naa Yakuba was only giving the chieftaincy to his junior brothers. And it came to a time that his own children made one month, that if they don't tie war and drive away their junior fathers, they themselves will never grow. Naa Yakuba's children were new princes. And Naa Yakuba's brothers were old princes. And so that was what they called and old prince and new prince war. It was Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga's children against Naa Yakuba's children. The way elder people talked about it, Naa Yakuba's zuu was zuu Abudu. That is Naa Abilaai. He is also called Naa Abilaai Naɣbiɛɣu, and also Naa Abilaai Bawuna. And zuu Abudu's junior brother was Sagnerigulana Sulemana: the two of them had one mother. And Naa Andani was next following zuu Abudu and senior to Sagnerigulana Sulemana. And so at that time the three of them made one mouth and tied war against Naa Yakuba's brothers, the children of Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga. Naa Abilaai and Naa Andani were princes, and they fought together in the war with their family. There were many of them, and Naa Abilaai strengthened them. Sakpiɛ-Naa Adam also added himself to the war; he was Naa Kulunku's son, and so Naa Yakuba was his junior father. Naa Yakuba's children, together with Sakpiɛ-Naa Adam, they made one mouth.
Naa Kulunku's zuu Mahami was eating Karaga, and Sakpiɛ-Naa Adam was the one following Kari-Naa Mahami. When Kari-Naa Mahami died, Naa Yakuba's brother was Sunson-Naa Yahaya, and Karaga was given to him. And when the chieftaincy was given to Sunson-Naa Yahaya, Naa Yakuba's children said that they didn't like it, that they wanted the chief of Sakpie, Sakpiɛ-Naa Adam. And Sakpiɛ-Naa Adam's brother died, already they had made their mind that they were going to fight against their junior fathers. When they made one mouth, they said that if they don't sack their junior fathers, they won't get chieftaincy. And Sapkiɛ-Naa told them that as for him, he wanted Karaga. And it wasn't long and his brother died. And so he got up from Sakpie, and he went and laid down in Karaga and performed the brother's funeral. Dagbamba people say that if you arrange with somebody before it is time, if you wink your eyes, the fellow will know what you mean. And so they all knew the plan that was going on. If they didn't do that, there wouldn't be a time they would get chieftaincy to eat.
When Naa Yakuba took Sunson-Naa Yahaya and gave Karaga to him, and they were sending him home to Karaga, Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga's children — Naa Yakuba's brothers — were following him. Mionlana Issa, Kpatinlana Adirkarli, Sanglana Blemah, they were accompanying him. And the people of Karaga were standing that they wanted Sakpiɛ-Naa Adam. And the people who were following this Sakpiɛ-Naa Adam went and told the Karaga people that they should prepare for war, and they would come and help them. And then the Sakpie chief was invited to come, so that they would make him the head of the war. And so Sunson-Naa Yahaya's and his brothers were going, and the princes gathered. And the children came and fell on them, and they beat and sacked their father's brothers, their junior fathers. Sunson-Naa Yahaya was sacked. And Mionlana Issa was sacked. Sanglana Blemah was sacked. Kpatinlana Adirkarli was sacked. And they sacked Savelugu-Naa Mahama Ŋoobila.
And when they sacked Sunson-Naa Yahaya, he didn't die there. He was no more Kari-Naa; he was no more Sunson-Naa. And so he was made chief in the bush and sent home. Sunson-Naa Yahaya went to Korli-gbini, that is “under Korli.” And Mionlana Issa was no more at Mion; Mion was out of his hand. And Savelugu-Naa Mahama Ŋoobila also went to Korli-gbini. And that's where they died. It's on the way to Masaka, on the Salaga road. It is a Gonja town; we call it Korli under. That is where they died. These three people, I heard where they went. As for the rest of them, I don't know where they remained. Whether they fell in the war or they also ran to some place, I haven't heard anything about that. And what I am showing you is that you can fall in a war, or you can run away and die somewhere: what killed your friends in the war is the same thing that killed you. We say it like that. If you write it that the war killed all of them, nobody will separate it: they are all one. That is how it is. If they kill you in the war or if you run away and you never return back to your town, it's all the same. It means the war ate you. And so we say they died in the bush, in other lands; they didn't die in the house. The new princes sacked all of them. And so drummers say the old princes and new princes fought. It was Naa Yakuba's sons against Naa Yakuba's brothers.
And Sagnerigulana Sulemana fell in the war. He joined the war and died inside. If you trace his family in Dagbon, you will know about him. The time you were asking me about Nanton-Naa Sule eating Nanton, I talked to you about it. His grandfather Sagnerigulana Sulemana added himself to that war, and his brothers won, and he fell. They killed him. And so if his child is looking for any chieftaincy in Dagbon, can anybody ask him anything? That is what is inside it. And Naa Yakuba's first-born became chief of Mion; he was called Abilaai. And when Naa Yakuba died, he became Gbɔŋlana, and he remained on the skins. And Karaga was given to Sakpiɛ-Naa Adam, and so he was Kari-Naa Adam, and we call him Adam Jetta. If they had not sacked their junior fathers, maybe when Naa Yakuba died, his brothers would have come to eat the chieftaincy. This is what they thought about, and they brought the war and sacked them. As for all this, elderly people talked, and I heard it.
And when Naa Yakuba was a chief, again, his junior brothers wanted to kill him, but they were not able to kill him. It was also because of chieftaincy, because of the Yendi chieftaincy. And as Naa Yakuba became mad, when he became mad, he killed people. I have heard that as Naa Yakuba was mad, he knew his children and grandchildren. As for his madness, Dagbamba say it was eye-opening madness. What is a mad person whose eyes are open? If he came and met his child or grandchild, and he knew that it was his child, he would say, “Run away! Don't you know that the chief has entered madness?” But if he came and met somebody's son, he would knock him and kill him. This is what old people said he was doing. That was how Naa Yakuba was killing people, but if he saw his own son, he would tell him to run away. If not that, any time Naa Yakuba saw a child, and there was nobody around, he would just take the child and knock on the ground and kill the child.
And then people came to say that they should put some chains on his legs. It was Yelizolilana Yidantoɣma: he was the nephew of Naa Yakuba. His drumming name is Yelizolilana Laɣfu because he had money. Yelizolilana Yidantoɣma's mother was the chief of Kpatuya, Kpatu-Naa Shetu; she was a daughter of Naa Andani Jɛŋgbarga. Yelizolilana Yidantoɣma told them to make anzinfa chains — white metal chains. And Naa Yakuba's children came to say that they should remove the chains. Yelizolilana Yidantoɣma was killed by the princes in the Karaga war. And so during that time, the princes were arguing among themselves and their fathers. There were wars. There were civil wars in Dagbon, and they came to fight one another. And they could not remove Naa Yakuba. And when Naa Yakuba died, his first-born son Naa Abilaai was eating Mion, and he sat on the skin and remained in the chieftaincy.
Behind Naa Yakuba, when he died and his first-born Naa Abilaai ate, the talk Naa Abilaai started was war. And so during the time of Naa Abilaai, there were more wars here, but Naa Abilaai didn't fight against Dagbamba; he fought against Bassari. In Dagbani, we call it Bassali. Naa Abilaai wanted to collect Bassari and add it to Dagbon. That was the war. He just wanted to show strength. He prepared and went and fought the Bassari people. Naa Abilaai went to war like that. I haven't seen, but I have heard and it is true. He fought the Bassari and came back and died. But when he was going, he was not the only person who went. Inside our drumming, we know all of his brothers who added to him and went to Bassari. We count all of them. He took Naa Andani to Bassari; he took Kori-Naa Mahami and went, took Mionlana Mahami, took Mionlana Salifu, took Savelugu-Naa Bukali Sheɣbaa, took Tugulana Salifu, took Zangbalin-Naa Aduna, took Zoggolana Issa, took Pigulana Issa, took Kari-Naa Yinfa, took Kudulana Issa: he took all of them and went to Bassari.
As for these chiefs, and how this talk is coming, I want to open your eyes. Listen well. The way Dagbani is, someone who doesn't know inside Dagbani will get tired. Somebody may ask you: as I have said Naa Abilaai took two of his brothers, Mionlana Mahami and Mionlana Salifu, it's not that they were both eating Mion at the same time. If you are a prince and you do something like going to war, and you have not eaten any chieftaincy, but after you go to eat chieftaincy, we have to call you with the name of the chieftaincy you were eating. We don't just call your name. We use your chieftaincy to call you. We don't search inside to say whether you were only a prince or not. It is not inside drumming. And so if somebody asks you this question, or the people who are reading the book, you can tell the person we don't ask like that. That is how it is. If a prince who has not eaten chieftaincy goes to a war and dies there, as for that, we can call him by his name. But if someone was eating some town's chieftaincy at the time he is inside our talks, and then he later goes out to eat another chieftaincy, and then he goes to the next one, we don't use the chieftaincy he was eating before to call him: it is the last chieftaincy he ate that we use to call him. Already you know that the chiefs move from town to town. What I have just told you about the Karaga war, I didn't want to confuse you. How I called Sakpiɛ-Naa Adam that he left Sakpie and went to war so that he ate Karaga, any drummer who will talk about it will call him Kari-Naa Adam. But if I said that Kari-Naa Adam went to war to eat Karaga, maybe you would have been confused that he was already eating Karaga at the time. And so I changed it for that talk, but it is not inside our drumming custom like that. And you see I called the name of Kari-Naa Yinfa. After Kari-Naa Adam died, then Kari-Naa Mahami's son Kari-Naa Alaasani ate, and when he died, Naa Yabuka's son Kari-Naa Yinfa ate. And so the chieftaincy a chief died with, that is the chieftaincy we use to call him.
Naa Abilaai had many brothers, and these were those whom he took to the war. Inside drumming, as they say Naa Abilaai went to Bassari, they only know that he went to the Bassari land. He crossed out of Dagbon to enter where Bassari people were. It wasn't that he seized the whole of Bassari. Whether he seized ten villages or twenty villages, they are all Bassari. It's just like if a person takes war to enter Dagbon, and he is able to seize about ten villages, we are going to put it in the Samban' luŋa that he came into Dagbon and seized Dagbon. If they ask you, you can only say, “I heard that he went and fought Dagbon; I don't know whether it was the whole place or not.” At that time, the person won't have any question to ask you again. And so the way I am talking to you, you have to be following it very well: if you follow it too much and it comes to a lie, it's not good. If somebody goes and attacks a different tribe, nobody will ask how many villages he seized, because if he is able to get even one single chief of that land, then he has collected the place. And so if he goes to three or four villages, and you know them, when you are going to beat the drum, those are the villages you have to count. Everybody will know that those villages are within that other tribe. You don't add towns or villages you don't know. This is how it is inside our talk. And so if they were getting to a town, and it was a Bassari town they were reaching, the people would run away. There is a town called Nanchemba, and it's a Bassari town: the people ran away. And Naa Abilaai collected the town, and he was lying there. It was from there he beat and drove away all the Bassaris. Some ran into Togo, and he collected some of them, and he was for them. And so the Bassaris who are in Ghana, it was Naa Abilaai who beat and collected them, and they have become the Yaa-Naa's Bassari people. And we call him Naa Abilaai Naɣbiɛɣu. And we also call him Naa Abilaai Bawuna.
And Naa Andani too, he was eating Savelugu, and he prepared for war. And he was going and he beat the Gurunsis. He went to Satili; it a Gurunsi town behind Navrongo, near Karimari. He went to Dolbizan; he went to Awarayili. They are all Gurunsi towns, and Naa Andani was there when Naa Abilaai died. And Naa Andani fought the Zambarimas. He didn't fight them in Dagbon. I don't know if he passed Bawku or he was around Bawku. Inside our drumming, we only heard that Naa Andani went to Zambarima. The names of the towns we count where he went and fought the Zambarimas: Wakambaliya, it is a Zambarima town; Nambaliya, it is a Zambarima town; Bassimbaliya, it's a Zambarima town; Kunchumambaliya, Sechi, these were all the towns where they fought the Zambarimas. And so Zambarimas didn't come to Dagbon to fight. It was the Dagbamba who went there. Dagbamba fought them three times. Kari-Naa Adam Jetta: he fought the Zambarimas three times. Naa Andan'ʒee: that is Naa Andani; he fought the Zambarimas three times. And when Naa Andani came, Naa Abilaai was dead, and Naa Andani met Mionlana Mahami sleeping in the chief's house and waiting for him. Mionlana Mahami was also a son of Naa Yakuba. And when Naa Andani came back, Mionlana Mahami gave the leadership to him, and they performed the funeral of Naa Abilaai Naɣbiɛɣu before Naa Andani collected Yendi. And we call him Naa Andani Naanigoo, and we call him Naa Andan'ʒee.
The time Naa Andani was Yaa-Naa, he fought two wars, because he fought the white men and he fought in Dagbon, and if you want you say three wars because he fought wars in Dagbon twice. Naa Andani fought Kumbungu; and he fought Karaga, too, because he fought against Kari-Naa Alaasani. He beat Kumbungu, and he beat Karaga, and he fought the white men. He did all this before he died and Naa Alaasani collected Yendi.
The war Naa Andani fought with Kumbungu and Karaga, it was one war, but he separated it to go and fight Kumbungu, and go and fight Karaga. I will tell you what was under it. Kumbun-Naa Abilaai beat and sacked the princes and chiefs from this side, and they all ran to Yendi. And Kumbun-Naa came to Savelugu. At that time, it was Savelugu-Naa Sheɣbaa Bukali who was eating. Kumbun-Naa sacked him to Yendi, too. And Kumbun-Naa Abilaai was lying down at Savelugu. And you know, as for Yaa-Naa, the Yaa-Naa regards Kumbun-Naa as his bilaa, his slave. If you are sitting down and your slave comes to sack all your children to come to you, what will you do? And so Naa Andani also tied war against Kumbun-Naa Abilaai.
At that time, Kari-Naa Alaasani was eating. When Kari-Naa Adam Jetta died, Kari-Naa Alaasani ate Karaga. Kari-Naa Alaasani was a grandson of Naa Kulunku. Kari-Naa Alaasani father was Kari-Naa Mahami, and I told you that Kari-Naa Mahami was a son of Naa Kulunku. And Kari-Naa Mahami's mother was from Kumbungu. And so Kari-Naa Alaasani's father's mother's side was from Kumbungu. The way old people talk about it, Kari-Naa Alaasani joined his mouth with the Kumbungu chief, Kumbun-Naa Abilaai. He said he wouldn't give his father's mother's side to his father's side to kill.
Kari-Naa, too, you are a Yaa-Naa's son. The way old people talked, if Naa Andani gets up to come and fight with the Kumbungu chief, and if Naa Andani falls, then if Kari-Naa gets Yendi, won't he eat? And how he was a grandson, he didn't care. I told you that if Yendi falls, a grandson can interfere. And so when Naa Andani tied war, Kari-Naa Alaasani was lying down at Karaga. And it is standing that if Yaa-Naa ties war, Kari-Naa has to be behind him. And so why is it that Kari-Naa is a child of Yaa-Naa, and today Yaa-Naa is going to war, and Kari-Naa is lying down? Naa Andani didn't know that Kari-Naa and Kumbun-Naa had one mouth. If Kumbun-Naa were to defeat Naa Andani, Kari-Naa will also come and join the war and finish it, and he would take over the chieftaincy.
And so Kari-Naa Alaasani said he wouldn't give his father's mother's side to his father's side to kill. And he made one mouth with Kumbun-Naa Abilaai, and he was lying down at Karaga. And Kumbun-Naa Abilaai was lying down at Savelugu. And Naa Andani tied war and came and fell on Kumbun-Naa Abilaai at Savelugu. And he killed Kumbun-Naa Abilaai and cut off his head. And then he turned and went toward Karaga, and he went and fell on Karaga people, too. And he cut off Kari-Naa Alaasani's head. And so this is why some people say that Naa Andani fought two wars in Dagbon, but it was the Kumbungu war that went to Karaga as well, and that is why the war was one war.
And it was Naa Andani who was sitting when the white men first came here, and Naa Andani fought the white men, too. They say that when the white people were coming, they were not many. At that time the Germans were at Sansanne-Mango, in Togo. And the British were at Gambaga, on this side of Dagbon. And they say it was the Germans who came first. And some of them came to Yendi, and they told Naa Andani that they would be coming to Yendi and trading and also they would be consulting one another. And Naa Andani told the Germans that he would not agree. He told them three times. And he said that, truly, he and alizini people could not sit at the same place. Do you know alizini? An alizini is something like a bad spirit. And he said again that he and red monkeys could not sit and greet one another. At that time we were calling the white people red monkeys because they looked like red monkeys. And Naa Andani said that if you don't hear the language of somebody, you cannot sit with him. And the Germans said that, as we Dagbamba were saying we don't understand their language, there were people who could understand Dagbani and Hausa and German, and that such people, Hausas and Dagbamba, were at Sansanne-Mango under the Germans. And by then Naa Andani told them that as he had said he would not agree, he would not agree.
And the Germans said they were going back to Sansanne-Mango, and they told Naa Andani that whether he wants or not, they the Germans would come and sit, and they were going home to prepare and come. And I heard that when the Germans were coming, they sent a messenger to tell the Yaa-Naa that such-and-such a day, they would enter Yendi. And Naa Andani told the messengers, “Go and tell the red monkeys that if they are coming, then we will fight, because I cannot sit with them. They should know that as I said I don't want them, I don't want them.” And the messenger went back to give the message, and the Germans prepared, and they said they were going to pass Korli and pass Adibo and enter Yendi. And they said they were prepared, and so the Dagbamba should also prepare. And they said that whether the Dagbamba like it or not, they the Germans were coming to stay at Yendi.
By then, Naa Andani prepared for war, and the Dagbamba came out and they got to Adibo. At Adibo there is a hill, and they slept on top of the hill. And the Yaa-Naa's Kambonsi stay at Gbungbaliga, and it's just near there. And Naa Andani told them they should prepare to fight, and they prepared and went to Adibo. And you know, as for the white men, their fighting things are different from our fighting things. I heard that we did not even see them. They had a gun we call sarimana. It can kill many people quickly. I have not seen it myself, but old people said that when they open the sarimana, you will see many people falling down. That is how old people described it. They make it to stand, and somebody will be holding it and turning in all directions, and you will be hearing the noise: popo-popo-popo-popo. And the Germans set that gun on the Dagbamba and started shooting them. They killed them until there were only a few left. Some of the Kambonsi died; some ran away; and some vanished or flew. And Naa Andani at that time was blind, and people came and told him that the red monkeys had killed all the people. And Naa Andani asked, “Where are they?” And his people said, “They are over there.” And Naa Andani said they should take him to the Germans. And by then, his people knew that if they took him to the Germans, the Germans would kill him, and so they took him and ran to a village called Tuusaani, near Malizheri, and they told him that that was where the fighting was. They knew that Naa Andani wouldn't have agreed to go to that village. And when they got there, he asked, “Where is the fighting?” And they told him that it was finished. And Naa Andani was sitting there, and it was on that day that the Germans entered Yendi. And the Germans burned all of Yendi. And the Germans went outside Yendi about one mile and sat there. And they were sitting.
When the British too were coming, they came from Gambaga. When the British came to sit with the Mamprusis, the Mamprusis at first refused. But they didn't fight. When the white men were going to sit here first, they fought with the Dagbamba, and they killed many Dagbamba. And as for the Mamprusis, truly, they also did not want the white men. When the British people wanted to sit with the Mamprusis, the Limam of Gambaga said, “We cannot sit with these red-anus men.” And one of the white men put his hand in his pocket and brought out matches and lit a match to smoke. And the Mamprusis said, “Oi! This red-anus man: his hands have fire coming out of them! As for these people, we cannot fight them. When they knock their fingernails, you will see fire coming out. And so we cannot fight them. We will sit with one another.” That was all. And it was there that they agreed for the British people to sit with them. The Mamprusis and the white men didn't argue. When the white man struck the match, they were frightened, and that was all. As for the Mamprusis, they fear too much. That is why Dagbamba don't respect them. Just common matches, and they were afraid. When they struck the matches, we heard that some people even ran away. If you joke with a Mamprusi man about that, he won't like it. But since then, the Dagbamba don't respect the Mamprusis.
And so the British people were at Gambaga, and the Germans were at Yendi. At that time, the British were also coming, and the Germans were in the east. These British and the Germans were having some quarrel. And Naa Andani didn't keep long and he died, and it was the time when Naa Alaasani was getting Yendi that the British came here to Tamale. They were sitting about three miles outside of Tamale at Bagabaga side. And when the British came here, it was confusion that came, because Naa Alaasani was working with the Germans. At that time Naa Alaasani was eating Karaga. And Naa Alaasani was the son of Naa Abilaai, and so Naa Andani was Naa Alaasani's junior father.
Naa Andani's first-born was Tugulana Iddi, and when Naa Andani was going to die, he spoke to Tugulana Iddi. Naa Andani told him, “If the time comes and I die, Naa Alaasani should leave Karaga and come and eat Yendi, and you should take the chieftaincy of your brother Naa Alaasani at Karaga.”
Do you remember that I told you that when Karaga people drove Naa Bimbiɛɣu away, Naa Bimbiɛɣu swore on Karaga people that they would suffer from yaws? That is it. And so when Naa Andani died, the Gbɔŋlana, Tugulana Iddi, and his mother's children at Yendi, and adding the Yendi Kambonsi, they said, “Tugulana Iddi should never go to eat Karaga. As for Karaga people, they have rashes on their arms, and they have yaws sickness. And so we won't follow him and go there. Tugulana Iddi should rather go and eat the Savelugu chieftaincy.” And at that time the Savelugu chief was Darimani, the same person they call Kukara Djee. He was a son of Naa Yakuba, and so he was Naa Andani's brother.
And when they told Naa Alaasani that Naa Andani had died, he was on the way to Yendi running to perform the funeral. In Dagbon here, when the Yaa-Naa dies, when the Kari-Naa gets up, he will not go back to Karaga unless they finish the funeral of the Yaa-Naa. If Mionlana gets up from his village, he will not go back to Mion unless they finish the funeral of the Yaa-Naa. Savelugu-Naa too, it is the same: he doesn't go back home. Even the Sunson chief or the Nanton chief doesn't go back home. Truly, the Sunson-Naa and the Nanton-Naa can go home and spend two days and come back. But the three I have called, they will never go back home. They are the children of the Yaa-Naa. How will your father die, and you will come to the funeral, and you will go home before the funeral is finished?
And so Naa Alaasani was running to perform the funeral. And the Yendi people came and stopped him at the village called Tuusaani. And so they refused to allow Naa Alaasani to perform the funeral of Naa Andani. And they told him that he will never reach Yendi and see the grave of Naa Andani, and they don't want him. And this talk was coming from Tugulana Iddi and his brothers and from the Yendi Kambonsi. They were telling Naa Alaasani this, that he shouldn't come there. And if Naa Alaasani doesn't come and perform the funeral, will he eat chieftaincy? He won't get it. And so Naa Alaasani did not perform the funeral of Naa Andani. They drove him away, and Naa Alaasani went to Tampion; he had gone out from Tampion to go and eat Karaga, and he went and was lying down at Tampion. Tugulana Iddi and Savelugu-Naa Darimani and the Yendi Kambonsi drove him away, and they didn't know him again. And so Savelugu-Naa Darimani was standing behind the Gbɔŋlana, Tugulana Iddi, that he has to perform his father's funeral.
And so Tugulana Iddi refused his father's mouth. And in Dagbon too, we fear the mouth of a dead person. If he didn't say something before he died, it's not a talk, but whatever he said and died, if you refuse it, you will get trouble. And so they drove Naa Alaasani away not to come to Yendi, and he stayed like that for a year, and some people say two years. And they came to perform the funeral of Naa Andani.
The time Naa Andani died, Kori-Naa Mahami also died. This Kori-Naa Mahami was next to Naa Andani on the part of Naa Yakuba's children. And when Kori-Naa Mahami died, his first son was Kari-Naa Abukari, but at the time his father died, Kari-Naa Abukari was the Gbɔŋlana of his father at Korli, and he was only called Abukari because at that time he had not yet eaten the chieftaincy of Karaga. And so Kori-Naa Mahami and Naa Andani died at the same time. And this Korli Regent Abukari added himself to Naa Alaasani, and he told Naa Alaasani, “How these people are telling you not to perform the funeral, they are refusing us the chieftaincy.”
And so the Korli Regent Abukari was supporting Naa Alaasani, and there were many chiefs also behind him. Nanton-Naa Alaasambila who just died, his grandfather was with them at that time. Savelugu-Naa Kantampara Bukari: that was before he went to eat the Savelugu chieftaincy. He added to them, and the chiefs who were behind Naa Alaasani were many. Korli Regent Abukari went to Naa Alaasani, and he told Naa Alaasani, “Truly, they have refused you not to run to the funeral of your father Naa Andani. And your father last told you that when he dies, you are for Yendi. And he told Tugulana Iddi his first-born, too. And Tugulana Iddi refused and followed the people of Yendi. And the time when they were performing the funeral, they didn't tell you. And you sent and they drove the messenger back. And so how it is standing now, we have to prepare a war and fight them.” But Naa Alaasani said, “We cannot fight them. They are many.”
This Abukari, when his father was alive, he used to give him smocks to take to Sansanne-Mango and sell. And when this Abukari was going there, he was meeting the Germans, and he knew them very well. The soldiers of the Germans were his friends. And Korli Regent Abukari said, “Truly, when my father was alive, he used to send me to Sansanne-Mango, and I know the people who know the Germans very well, and I know all the hidden talks of the Germans. I can go and show that it is true that there is a person in Dagbon who is coming to take Yendi and send it back to Toma. And if that person collects Yendi, he will send all the strength of Dagbon there.” I told you that at that time, the Savelugu chief was the paramount chief of this side, and he was like the Yaa-Naa here. The Savelugu-Naa was the Toma Yaa-Naa. And Korli Regent Abukari took this talk and told the Germans, “This is how Naa Andani died, and our brother Naa Alaasani is supposed to eat the Yendi chieftaincy. And Yendi people refused him and said they want the Savelugu chief. And if this Savelugu chief should come and eat Yendi, he will take Yendi and give it to the British people. Because of that, we are coming to tell you Germans. And you should know that if Naa Alaasani eats the Yendi chieftaincy, you will be holding Yendi. And you should also know that if the Savelugu-Naa should come and eat Yendi, you cannot hold us again.” Korli Regent Abukari went and told the Germans all this.
And when Kori-Naa's first son Abukari told the Germans, at that point, who would let the one collect more than the other? And the Germans told him, “Go home. If they happen not to give you the chieftaincy, we will come ourselves. And if they give it to the Savelugu chief, we will see.” And so they said he should go home, and when they perform Naa Andani's funeral and anyone comes to eat the chieftaincy, he should come back and tell them. And he came home, and when they finished performing the funeral of Naa Andani, those Yendi elders who catch the Yaa-Naa gave Yendi to Savelugu-Naa Darimani, the one they call Kukara Djee. And then Abukari turned and went back to the Germans and told them. And the Germans asked him, “Where are they, those collecting the chieftaincy?” And he said, “They have made the chief, and the Regent has gone to Savelugu. And so the Yaa-Naa will be staying at Yendi, and they have given Savelugu to Tugulana Iddi. How he has eaten it, the chiefs who were there with him, they have to follow him and go, because he is the paramount chief of Toma. If they walk to a certain village, they can stay there for about two or four days, and they will be eating sweet food, and they will be playing music. And so now they are lying down at Sang, and they are resting there. And this Yaa-Naa they have just caught, the one who comes from Savelugu, he is at Yendi.”
And at that time the German people said, “It doesn't matter. You people should keep quiet, and you should be lying where you lie.” And the German soldiers got up and came to Yendi. When they were coming, this Savelugu-Naa Darimani, this Kukara Djee who came and ate the Yendi chieftaincy, he heard of them and he got up and ran away. He ran up to Tugu, on the road to Sang, and he died there, at a small village called Juni. And I think that it was the heart-spoiling that killed him. As it is, our chiefs have got strong hearts that can kill them. Some kill themselves, and it is just, “If he dies, it is better than if he is there.” Look and see: you were eating Savelugu, and now you don't have it. And they come to say that you are a Yaa-Naa, and you ran away and left Yendi. What are they going to be calling you? As it is, will you reach daybreak? And I can give you an another example of this recent fighting between the Konkombas and the Nanumbas. The Bimbila chief died when the war started, and it was because of heart-spoiling. And again, Gukpe-Naa Alhassan, the one they removed, it was the heart-spoiling. As for him, we can say that it was medicine they took to kill him: when they brought him and he was coming out of the house, his head knocked the door, but he wasn't tall. And that was it. That killed him. And if not that, then it was heart-spoiling that killed him, and some say that.
And the Germans came to follow Tugulana Iddi, the one who had eaten Savelugu and was going home. He was lying down at Sang, in the evening time, and they were playing music and dancing the Kambonsi dance. Nobody was hearing anything again. As they were there, they knew that Korli Regent Abukari and Naa Alaasani were going to bring a war and put it on them, but they didn't know of the Germans. And they said, “This war cannot do anything to us. They are telling lies. How many are they? And so let's forget about them.” And so these Germans came from Yendi and met this Savelugu-Naa lying down and making music. When they were coming to the town, they were not far, and they saw a woman in the bush trying to pick up a load of firewood and carry it. When the woman saw them, she threw the firewood down and was going to run away, and they shot her: Kpo! And the sound of the gun went home. Within a few minutes, the Germans were on them. The Dagbamba were many, and even I heard that there were thousands of them, but on that evening, the Germans finished all of them. Those who fled with their horses, those who vanished with their medicine, those flying with medicine, they were flying. And those who didn't have medicine, the Germans killed them. The Germans killed many, many chiefs there, and commoners and princes, they killed all of them. It was not a joke. Alhaji Adam Mangulana's grandfather, Tolon-Naa Sulemambila, the one who gave birth to his mother, the Germans killed him at that place. And the Germans killed Tugulana Iddi at that place, and how they killed him, it looked like they had killed him some days before. And that war, we call it Sang-dali: Sang-day. And so it was on Sang-day that they killed Tugulana Iddi. And so what the old people talked and I heard, the way they showed it, when Naa Andani died, his son and Naa Alaasani fought. That was the one Dagbamba call Sang-dali. Since the Sang-dali war, I haven't heard that Dagbamba fought any other war again, unless this time when they have started burning people's houses.
And so when the German people came and killed all the people at Sang, this Kukara Djee was eating Yendi. If you want, you call him Savelugu-Naa Darimani. It was the fighting that drove him away, and he ran away, and he didn't keep long and died. And so we don't count him into Yaa-Naas because he saw the war coming and he ran away. He should have been sitting down, and the war will come, whether it would eat him or not. If the war ate him, they would say that he died on the skin. But how he ran away, as for that, he is not a Yaa-Naa, and we don't count him among Yaa-Naas. And so the one they gave Yendi, this Kukara Djee, he was not Savelugu-Naa too; and he was not Yaa-Naa. And Tugulana Iddi refused his father's mouth, and it ate him: he was not Savelugu-Naa, he was not Kari-Naa, and he was not Tugulana, too.
And at that time, the Germans said they should bring Naa Alaasani and put him in the chieftaincy, and those who catch the Yaa-Naa, they caught him and put him inside. And so Naa Alaasani's fighting showed that the white men helped him, because they also fought it. And this Abukari, he was the Regent of Korli, and he performed his father's funeral and said, “I don't want anything. I only want Karaga, and so the town you came out from, give it to me.” And Naa Alaasani gave Karaga to him.
And it was this Kari-Naa Abukari who killed Naa Alaasani, because he put medicine into drink and gave it to Naa Alaasani. He tried to kill Naa Alaasani many times. The dance we have been beating, Zambalana tɔŋ, that is a name for Kari-Naa Abukari. One time he tried to kill Naa Alaasani with medicine on a gown, but Kari-Naa's son Sanglana Mahama wore the gown by mistake and died. That is Zambalana tɔŋ: a wicked man's trap has caught his own child. Kari-Naa Abukari put medicine into pito for Naa Alaasani to drink. If you are sitting down and your brother sends something to you, will you suspect it? Kari-Naa Abukari sent pito to Naa Alaasani, and Naa Alaasani poured some and drank and died. And truly, Kari-Naa Abukari's giving the pito showed that he wanted Naa Alaasani to drink it and die so that he would come and take over the Yendi chieftaincy. Have you seen? Kari-Naa Abukari was a grandson of Naa Yakuba, and a grandson does not eat Yendi, but at that time, the German people only knew Kari-Naa Abukari, and he knew very well that if Naa Alaasani dies, they will let Kari-Naa Abukari come and eat the chieftaincy because already he is the one who came and called them. And Naa Alaasani didn't know that Kari-Naa Abukari was calling the Germans to come so that he would get a chance to kill him and take the chieftaincy. Naa Alaasani didn't know, and that was why he took the pito and died. And when he drank and he was going to die, Naa Alaasani called Naa Abudu, his first-born son, and he said, “If I die, do you see this drink? You see it? It is your junior father Kari-Naa Abukari who gave it to me. And so if I die, it is not because of anything that he is killing me. It is because of Yendi that he is killing me. And so if I die, go and follow Savelugu-Naa Bukali.”
This Savelugu-Naa Bukali was a son of Naa Andani. He is the one we call Boforo. Have you heard? Savelugu-Naa Bukali Boforo was Tugulana Iddi's junior brother. He and Tugulana Iddi had the same mother. After they killed Tugulana Iddi, and Kukara Djee ran away, this Savelugu-Naa Bukali was the one who came and ate the Savelugu chieftaincy. He was with Tugulana Iddi at the Sang war, and he flew away. If not that, they would have killed him. And you know our Dagbamba fighting doesn't always go far. If they fight a little on the part of chieftaincy, getting to a year, they will solve their problems and be there. And so Naa Alaasani himself was the one who gave Savelugu-Naa Bukali the chieftaincy. It was Savelugu-Naa Bukali's mother's stomach's child that they killed, Tugulana Iddi, and he came and ate Savelugu.
And so the time Naa Alaasani was going to die, he told Naa Abudu, “Kari-Naa Abukari is killing me, and so if I die, he will not eat Yendi. You should go and follow Savelugu-Naa Bukali. He is the Yaa-Naa. But you should know that if I die, it is this drink that Kari-Naa Abukari gave me, and I drank, and I am going to die. And so go and put it in a box. If they ask you, you should tell them that he gave me this pito, and I drank some and died.” And after saying this, Naa Alaasani died.
And Kari-Naa Abukari got up. His heart was white, and he came to Yendi. They performed the funeral of Naa Alaasani, and Kari-Naa Abukari got up and said Yendi is for him. And the German people also got up and said that Kari-Naa Abukari should be the chief. And Kari-Naa Abukari's father was not a chief of Yendi, either, and before you can become the Yaa-Naa, your father has to have been the Yaa-Naa before. Have you seen? Kari-Naa Abukari's father was Kori-Naa Mahami, and Kori-Naa Mahami was a son of Naa Yakuba. And Naa Abudu was eating Mion, and he was sitting at the Gbɔŋlana. And Naa Abudu said, “I will not agree,” and he came to Tamale here, and he brought the case to the British.
I told you that at that time, the British people were in Tamale, and their time had come to collect Yendi. And at that time they also thought that Kari-Naa Abukari was the right person to be Yaa-Naa. Naa Abudu came to Tamale here as the Regent, and he met the white men and said that he did not want Kari-Naa Abukari to be the chief. And the British people asked him, “Why is it that you Naa Abudu want to be the Yaa-Naa, and the people of Karaga say that you cannot be the chief.” And he told them, “They said Kari-Naa Abukari should eat Yendi, and I refused. Kari-Naa Abukari is a grandson, and a grandson does not eat Yendi.” And Naa Abudu said again that it was Kari-Naa Abukari who had killed his father Naa Alaasani, and he didn't want him to be chief. Then the white men asked Naa Abudu, “How did Kari-Naa Abukari kill your father?” And he told them, “Kari-Naa Abukari put poison in pito, and Naa Alaasani drank it and died.” And the white men asked him whether he had seen it, and he said, “Yes, when my father was going to die, he told me that it was in a box.” And they told him to bring it, and he brought it out and said, “When my father was going to die, he called me and showed me this drink that Kari-Naa Abukari gave to him to drink and die. And my father also told me that if he dies and Kari-Naa Abukari comes to eat the chieftaincy, I should refuse him, and I should come and follow the Savelugu-Naa.”
And the British people asked Kari-Naa Abukari, “Have you heard what he said?” And Kari-Naa Abukari said, “He is telling lies.” And the English people said, “All right. Everyone should go home, and come back in the evening.” Where the Regional Office is, that is where the English were staying. That was the government house. And so the English told all the chiefs that they should come for a gathering. And at that time, the Territorial Officer was an English man, and he was like the Regional Commissioner or the District Officer. Our local name for him was Gomda. And he came to Naa Abudu and collected the drink. That evening, everybody had his table and seat. Here was Savelugu-Naa's table and seat; here was Mionlana's table; here was Kari-Naa Abukari's table. Every chief had his table and seat. And the English put drink on the tables: beer was there, and pito was there. Everyone came and sat down and was drinking. And the British poured some of the poison into a glass for Kari-Naa Abukari. When the English gave Kari-Naa Abukari the pito they had collected, Kari-Naa Abukari didn't know that they had collected it, and he took the cup and drank: ka-up, ka-up, ka-up. He swallowed four times, and the cup broke in his hands, and he shouted, “Oh! I am dead!” And he fell back on the seat. They took him to his sleeping house, and that night he died. His grave is in Tamale here, just near here. They buried him at Nyanshegu, near Sakasaka here. And so the English killed Kari-Naa Abukari. According to us, we have heard that the British killed him. They poisoned him. They won't say that, but we know that they killed him. They wanted to know whether Naa Abudu was telling lies, and they saw that everything Naa Abudu was saying was true. And they said, “Yes, it is true. Naa Abudu has spoken the truth.”
And so what he would do and it would eat him, that is what he did. What you sow is what you harvest. And what is coming is not going back. And it is still eating Karaga now. And truly, even if Kari-Naa Abukari had brought the Germans to Yendi, he wouldn't have eaten Yendi. Since Yendi started, everything has changed, but a grandson does not eat Yendi.
By that time, everything became free. As Naa Abudu was the Regent, he said, “My father told me that if he died, they should give the chieftaincy to Savelugu-Naa Boforo.” That was how they called Savelugu-Naa Bukali. And by that time, too, Savelugu-Naa Bukali had become blind. And he said, “It doesn't matter. I have collected it. Our Yendi: a blind man will not eat Yendi unless he is inside the chieftaincy and becomes blind. As for that, it is not a fault. But to be blind and bring your blindness to the skin? No. It's not there like that. And so I have agreed. I will be inside the room, and you Naa Abudu will be outside. Naa Abudu will be outside.” And so the English said they should carry Naa Abudu back to Yendi and give him the chieftaincy. And the Yendi elders gave Yendi to Naa Abudu. And so when Naa Alaasani became chief, and he died, Naa Abudu came and ate Yendi. That was how it was. When Naa Alaasani died, it was Naa Abudu who became Yaa-Naa.
And so during the time of Naa Alaasani, the German people were holding Yendi. And that is what brought the division of Dagbon, because the British people were at Toma. And it was in Naa Abudu's time that the British collected the whole of Dagbon, and Dagbon become one. When the Germans went back to Sansanne-Mango, the British collected Yendi and added. And then, if any chieftaincy fell, they didn't go to the Savelugu-Naa again; they would go to Yendi. And truly, I don't know whether the British and the Germans fought here or not, but I think they didn't fight here; if they had fought I would have heard. At that time my father and mother had not given birth to me; even they didn't know where I was, but my brother Mumuni was given birth by that time. And as for this talk, we drummers know it, and I have heard it. From Naa Alaasani's time up to now is not up to a hundred years. And so the British didn't fight us. They were going to fight the Mamprusis, but the Mamprusis agreed. And so it was only the Germans that the Dagbamba fought. The Dagbamba and the Germans fought, and many people died, and they defeated us. But we and the British didn't fight, and there were only a few of them in Tamale here. And so that was how the white people came and were sitting here. And I think it was the Germans who defeated us and opened the eyes of the Dagbamba, and we didn't fight the British when they came. Because as for that, we saw the British people to be the same as the Germans: they are all red.
And the time the British came to this Tamale and the Germans were at Yendi, as Dagbon was, this place was different and Yendi too was different. And I heard that when the Germans were holding Yendi, any strength here was not going to Yendi. If a chieftaincy fell, it would stop in Toma. The Savelugu chief was the Yaa-Naa of this area, and it was only in the time of Naa Abudu when the British collected the whole of Dagbon that the people of this side took the chieftaincy to Yendi. Before that, if somebody wanted to be a chief, when he went to Savelugu, that was all. The Savelugu chief would sit down and send to the Yaa-Naa, and say, “I've given this chieftaincy to this fellow.” And the Yaa-Naa would just say he agreed. And so the Savelugu chief was the chief here. But when the British collected the whole Dagbon, it wasn't like that again. Then, if any chieftaincy fell, they didn't go to the Savelugu-Naa again; they would go to Yendi.
And truly, I think that their collecting us was good for us, and when they sat here, it was good for us. Before the British collected us, we were for ourselves, and there was suffering. No one could roam and rest. No one could have money, apart from the chief; if you had money, it was the chief who had the money. When we were for ourselves, one man could not go to a place. If you wanted to go to a place, then you would have a knife or a gun, and when you were walking, you would hold a walking stick. And so I think in my heart that when we were holding ourselves in the olden days, we had suffering from one another. But when the British came and collected us, we were removed from the suffering. They left all our things for us, and everybody was doing what he wanted. It was they who came and our eyes opened. They let us know everything, and they showed us that a person could roam and rest, and could roam anywhere he wanted. They made our roads to be large ones. And they made the roads that were long become short: a place where formerly a person could not get to, you could get to that place.
And so the time the British came here, Dagbon became one. And so I can say that it was in Naa Abudu's time that Yendi and this place became one. Up to that time, all those who ate Yendi didn't have strength in this place. The strength of this place was in any Savelugu-Naa who was eating. The Savelugu-Naa was for all the chiefs and all the commoners. But in Naa Abudu's time, this side and Yendi became one. And if I want again, I can say that it was in the time of Naa Mahama Kpɛma that Dagbon became one. At the time of Naa Abudu, there was a lot of suffering to go from this place to Yendi, because they were going on their legs, and the walking was too hard for some people. During Naa Abudu's time, the lorries were not many. Many of the people who were going were walking. And so in the olden days, Yendi was different and Toma was different. There was division, and they weren't gathering much. In the olden days, what was Yaa-Naa coming to Toma to do? It was Naa Mahama Kpɛma who ate and some people knew lorries, and they were entering lorries to go to Yendi. And the chiefs used to enter lorries and go, or the princes who wanted chieftaincy, they could go to Yendi and give respect. But if not that, up to Naa Abudu's time, there was suffering to go from this place to Yendi.
And what repaired all of it was the time of Naa Mahamam Bila, and this place and Yendi just became one house. Tamale and Yendi, you could go to Yendi and come back. If the Yaa-Naa wanted something, he could send somebody, or he could come himself and go back to Yendi. But if a Yaa-Naa wanted to come here, he would come for three days, and he would sleep on the way. Before he came, he would come and lie at Vitin, and all the Toma chiefs would gather in Tamale. From all areas, from Karaga, Diari, Pisigu, Tolon: all the chiefs from those areas would gather in Tamale. The next day in the morning, they would meet the Yaa-Naa on the way at Vitin before they would take him and bring him here. If there was going to be a gathering, that was how they were gathering. And so the roads alone that the white men opened for us, it was good for us.
And look again: a small thing like matches. In Dagbon, we had what we call chɛbli: flint. My father had one, and any time he wanted to make fire, we used it. And blacksmiths had them, too. You see the kapok tree: you remove the seeds, and take the cotton. We had a bag we called chɛb'kolgu, flint bag, with two pockets, one for holding the flint and the other side for holding a stone. If you are in the farm, and you want to roast yams, you will use it to make fire. When you are going to prepare fire, you cut the cotton and press it to the stone. When you strike the flint, you will see the fire coming and hold the cotton. Then you gather grass and put it to the cotton, and you take it in the air and be blowing. You have to blow like that until all the grass catches fire. When you started, you have already gathered firewood, and you will come and put it down. And you will be getting sticks and putting on top. When it catches the fire strongly, then you will put the yams on top. It wasn't all Dagbamba who could strike the chɛbli. If you prepared fire, and the smoke was rising, you would see an old man whose farm was close sending a child to come and collect some of the fire, and they would be roasting their yams. When matches came, Dagbamba called them silimiŋ'chɛbli, white man's chɛbli. That alone helped us. Sometimes, in the olden says, if you used the chɛbli to light the grass, you would blow the air in it until you will feel dizzy. When the smoke was coming out, sometimes the cotton would finish before the fire would catch the grasses. You would have to go back to the pocket of the chɛbli bag and tear some of the cotton and add. Then you blow the air again with the grasses. At times I would be blowing the air, and my eyes would turn upside-down. When the white men brought matches, we stopped all that suffering.
And here it is again: you sit down, and water will come and reach you in your house, and you will drink. In the night, you sit down, and you see light, but you don't know where the light is from. That is the work of the white man. They opened every place in Dagbon. What had been difficult for us, we found it easy. And so we benefited. Even now, as we are sitting, it is good to us. And the time they were here, they would not agree for anyone to cheat his friend. And they didn't agree that because you had strength or because you were a chief, you could worry the commoners. It was they who came and we knew that if somebody does a wrong, they will pull his ears. And we knew that if somebody does a wrong that is too big, they will put him in a room. And we knew that if somebody kills his friend, they will kill him. When the white people were here, people were afraid to hear the word “law”: if you did something bad, the law would eat you.
Now that we have collected independence, there is no law. Law is just sitting there, and somebody will just step on it and use money to close the law. And now that they have left us, our living has spoiled. We are holding ourselves, and it has come to show that when a person who was not somebody comes to get strength, then those of you who are nobody, you will not rest. That is how we are now. And so, it is many people who have thought, and I also have come to think in my own thinking, that if the white men were to come out now and say they are going to hold us again, many of us would agree. If you are someone with patience, when you see once and you come to see twice, you will not agree and allow the third one to come. We were holding ourselves and suffering, and they came and collected us and it was good for us. And so it looks as if we have seen one and we have seen two, and now we are coming to see three. And I'm telling you, there are many people here who even beg God that the white people will come back.
There are many people who believe that since we collected our independence, we don't feel shame or feel pity for one another. When they were going to collect the independence, they said that when they collect it, then we will rest. We didn't know that some people were going to put rope into the necks of other people and pull them like bulls. The people who collected the independence, they are the people who are resting now. The white people didn't give all the powers to government people. And their getting, too, they didn't give it to only themselves. In our independence, the one who is the head of any work, he is solving his and his family's own problems. The work won't go and touch another person. Our independence has been worrying us. We have used the independence to spoil our own customs. When the white people were here, we were in darkness, but the white people helped us to maintain our custom. The white people were afraid of the custom. But now that we have our independence, they say that custom is something we can just throw off.
The time they were here, we knew how to eat and be satisfied. If you went to the market, you could buy threepence of yams and it would fill a bucket. Sometimes you could not even carry it. Today we are holding ourselves, and we farm the yams ourselves. You will use many cedis to buy a single yam. The time the white men were here, no one bought a bag of corn for even two cedis. Today, how much is a bag of corn? It reached 120 cedis, and it kept increasing, and it reached 600 cedis, and it increased again. And still it is increasing. As we are sitting [1988], it is more than 1000. And we are the people farming it; it's not from the white man's town. And that time, no one would go to the market and not get what he wanted. If you wanted to find sugar, you would get. If you wanted milk, you would get. Or matches. Or soap. Anything that came from the house of the white man, unless you didn't have money, you would get all of it. What of today? Do we get? Today, you will go to the market and you will not see any of these things there. Today, as we are sitting, we don't know what we get, and we don't know what we don't get. Even if you get, it won't be daybreak before it's finished. When the white people were here, the money the big clerks were getting is now the money of laborers, and the money a laborer was getting was enough for him. And everyone knew his end: what you got, you knew how far it would take you. Today, as we are holding ourselves, if you get, you will not know even where you are standing, and you will not know whether it will do for you or it will not do for you. And so here it is: where is the holding yourself again?
And so, as we are sitting now, it's not sweet again. It is coming to look like how we were living in the olden days, when no one was looking after us. But our politicians and our leaders and our government people are not the same. There is eye-open inside it, and they have taken the white man's talk to enter into it. But it is different. If they had taken the way the white men held us to hold us, we wouldn't have been worrying one another. But the politicians and the soldiers have taken the white man's eye-open and they have added their own bad way of living to it. They have taken their own bad hearts to worry us, and it has spoiled our way of living. The white men were using law to hold us. And they were holding pity. And they respected the hearts of the people. And they knew an old person. Today the politicians and the soldiers don't know any of that. When a bad thing reaches a person, then it has reached him, and there is no pity. When you catch your friend, you eat, and there is no pity. There is no fearing of an old person. There is no fearing the hearts of the people. And the one who spoiled Ghana more than anyone was the soldier, Acheampong. Before Ghana will be all right, or before somebody will come and Ghana will be made well, we will suffer. Acheampong's soldiers spoiled Ghana too much. They spoiled everything, and every way. They did everything for themselves, and left us the people.
And so our independence has no benefit for us. Old people say something about it. They say that the time when God creates you, and you are in that time, you don't call it a bad generation. It is God who has put it like that. And if we take a look at it a second time again, we don't have to call it a bad generation. But we know that, by all means, the generation before was better than this one. And the old people say that you shouldn't blame the current generation: you should pray for them. And so we only have to pray that any good thing inside this time should come out for us. And I will stop here, and tomorrow we will continue.