A Drummer's Testament

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Chapter II-18:  The Guinea Fowl, Ramadan, and Chimsi Festivals

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The origins and celebration of the Kpini (Guinea Fowl) Festival; Ramadan/Konyuri Chuɣu (Mouth-tying month); why Dagbamba fast; difficulties and techniques of fasting; the work of drummers during Ramadan:  Asem and Bandamda at the chief's house; the 26th day of the fast; the Eid' (Praying) Festival, the Samban' luŋa in the Eid' Festival; the respect of drumming during the Ramadan; example:  a trip to Akosombo and how the drummers were respected; Chimsi (Sacrificing) Festival


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Supplementary material

See Chapter II-9 for more information on the Samban' luŋa.

Audio files are also posted at Chapter II-9 audio files.

Images  [more forthcoming]

Samban' luŋa:  image gallery

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Contents outline and links by paragraph

Guinea Fowl Festival

Ramadan fasting

Ending the fast:  Water-Drinking Festival

Drummers' work during Ramadan

The drum chiefs and the chief's house beating

The Samban' luŋa

Drumming for the general prayers; the respect of drumming in festivals

Example:  traveling to another town during festival months

Chimsi

Conclusion


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Proverbs and Sayings

Everybody has what his stomach wants.

If you don't have the means, you can't fast.

The problems of the Ramadan are too many.  It is just like holding a newborn baby:  you don't know what it wants.

If you have the means to fast, it shows that you have health.

It is the maalams who say that God says that if you are sick, you don't have to fast.

Hunger can't stay with anything.  Whatever you are holding in your heart, if you are hungry, you heart will get up, and the hunger will let your heart throw that thing out.

God's Holy Prophet started it and it is standing; God started it, and you should give to God.

If you are giving, you are giving to God, and if you are refusing, you are refusing God.

I have given you a gift, and you have to greet me.  After the fast, you have to come and greet me.

After satisfying yourself, what is left to do?  It is left with playing.

Whenever a drummer comes to beat in your house, it means you have respect: where a drummer is, there is always respect.

If a drummer is not in our living together in Dagbon here, then our prosperity will not go far.

Any work that people want to do in Dagbon, there must be the hand of a drummer inside it.  If our hand is not there, then the thing is not an important thing.

If living is not good and we are there, I think it will be good.

If something is sweet or not sweet and we are there, drumming will make it sweet.

If somebody knows us and we go to meet him, he will like us.  And if somebody doesn't know us, and we play the drums and come and meet him, he will also like us.

We drummers say that as we are drummers, we thank God, because of the respect that God gave to drumming and so many people like it.

It is inside our greetings that we thank God for our lives.

I think there are many people in Dagbon who would like to be drummers, but as they are not born into the drums, they cannot be drummers.

The respect of drumming is what lets people want to be drummers.

The goodness of a person lets him get a gift.

A drum doesn't want disturbance.

If two wives are in a house, and one cooks and the husband eats, it is good for the other wife to cook.

If you are a chief, you are holding people, both good people and bad people.

If somebody is eating with two hands, if sickness catches the two hands, what is that fellow going to do?

When a person holds people, they search for bad things for him.

If you buy a Gurunsi sheep and you are bringing it and it runs away, when it runs away it says that if it doesn't know forward, it knows how to run backwards.

A dance which dances till daybreak always moves slowly.

A dance which dances till daybreak, you don't have to dance it with strength.  If you dance it with strength, daybreak will come and you won't be able to do anything again.

To go to Mecca is a sad journey, and at the same time it is a happy journey.

And the work we do is there, and it is still more, and it is still increasing.

It looks as if the talks I've talked, I have collected them from some people to come and talk.

All people will not like a person.

It is the mouth that talks, and it is the heart that is for something.

As my heart came and I talked these talks, it doesn't look as if I talked it.

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