A Drummer's Testament
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Household shrines and the ancestors; the major shrines and gods and their work: Yabyili, Naawuni, Pong Tamale, Chema, Jaagbo, Lansah, etc.
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Supplementary material
- The Yabyili shrine: image gallery
- Tongo (3 images)
- The plateau (6 images)
- The tindana and his house (6 images)
- Inside the tindana's house (16 images)
- The shrine in the cave (13 images)
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Contents outline and links by paragraph
Introduction
- 1. talk of the gods: different gods; an old talk, with typical Dagbamba
Family gods
- 2. household shrines: Jɛbuni, Tilo, Wuni, Wumbee; sacrifices
- 3. Wuni shrine is outside the house, Tilo and Jɛbuni in a room; relation to ancestors
- 4. sacrifice with goat
- 5. house shrine is with family head; different ways to build it; different sacrifices
Family gods and Muslim religion
- 6. Jɛbuni in Alhaji Ibrahim’s family; why he doesn’t follow it as a Muslim
- 7. the gods are for non-Muslims; how Prophet Ibrahim broke the gods
Family gods and ancestors
- 8. sacrifice and call the names of ancestors
- 9. inherit the family gods; Tilo held by a woman
- 10. bad dreams; image of dead ancestors lurking and looking at the family; beg ancestors
- 11. differences from the sacrifices to placate dead chiefs at Samban’ luŋa; sacrifice an old family talk
- 12. soothsayers help people understand problems and know the sacrifice needed
- 13. annual sacrifice (repairing); millet pito for Tilo; different animals
Gods of the towns
- 14. different gods have different ways or things they help
Pong Tamale
- 15. Pong Tamale god is rain and lightning; works against thieves
- 16. return to Pong Tamale when get stolen things back
- 17. cannot keep the stolen things that are returned; must take them to Pong Tamale
- 18. also witchcraft cases; how witches protect themselves against the god
- 19. how witches make sacrifices to the god
Naawuni
- 20. crocodile; at Diari and Singa
- 21. also works against thieves and bad people; ask when on boat crossing the river
- 22. some people refuse to answer and do not cross
- 23. people from Singa and Dalun do not pay to cross
- 24. how households go to Naawuni to find out about stealing; don’t use the boat
- 25. in olden days, Naawuni killed many people
- 26. receiver of stolen things is also at risk
- 27. Naawuni also works against borrowers who don’t pay back
- 28. Naawuni also judges witchcraft cases
Yabyili
- 29. in Talensi land near Tongo; people from any tribe can go there; good for barrenness;
- 30. have to get someone to lead you to the tindana; same for any tindana
- 31. how Alhaji ibrahim’s mother went to Yabyili with eye disease
- 32. examples of Yabyili’s work and strength
- 33. Yabyili for every tribe; anyone can go to visit and beg any god
True gods and false gods
- 34. Pong Tamale, Naawuni, and Yabyili are old
- 35. Naabuɣli, a false god in Konkomba area
- 36. how Naabuɣli was exposed for making a false charge
Bunnyamaashe
- 37. Bunnyamaashe at Yapei; how Alhaji Ibrahim’s wife went there for barrenness
- 38. the trip to Bunnyamaashe; meeting the tindana
- 39. the interpretation of the sacrifice
Other gods
- 40. Lansa at Chito in Gonja; barrenness
- 41. Chema at Chema in Gonja; also barrenness
- 42. how people give the appropriate sacrifice; the responsibility of the tindana
Jaagbo
- 43. Jaagbo at Tolon; a snake
- 44. the signs when Jaagbo enters the town
- 45. how they make the sacrifice to Jaagbo
- 46. Jaagbo and barrenness
- 47. special treatment for the children of a god
Tampion’s gods
- 48. Zeyibu at Tampion; monitor lizard
- 49. signs of Zeyibu for Tampionlana and Guma-Naa
- 50. bees at the Tampion market; no market taxes collected
Yendi’s gods
- 51. Gurugua; Pabo, a hyena; the signs of Pano
- 52. the room at Bagli for dead Yaa-Naas
- 53. Kpala at Galiwe; also for Yaa-Naa; Naa Garba’s mother Laamihi; don’t burn the bush; similar god at Taha
Tamale’s gods
- 54. many tindanas and gods; at Chaŋni and Tuutingli; Gurugbaya
- 55. Kpalaŋga; area with kpalga trees; Dakpɛma’s responsibility
- 56. the sacrifice to Kpalaŋga
Other gods
- 57. also Tambo at Sang; Saambuɣli at Mion; the strongest gods are Naawuni, Pong Tamale, and Yabyili
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Proverbs and Sayings
If anyone tells you any talk about Dagbon, and he is not a drummer and he is not a tindana, he will talk to you and the talk will leave him standing on the way.
He will talk and it will make your mouth sweet, but I am talking to you on the eyes of the talk.
In Dagbon here, an old person walks, and a child will be behind.
Inside every family, it was somebody who started it and put it down for them. If not that, if this were not an old talk, would anyone be doing it?
If a person does work and does not get any benefit, will he do it again?
If a town is far, there is another town which is far beyond that town.
And does a bad person tell you that he is bad?
It is not everything one tells a boatman.
In Dagbon here, if you want something from someone who has a name, you cannot just go to him.
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Dagbani words and other search terms
- Gods and shrines
- Bunnyamaashe
- Gurugbaya
- Gurugua
- Jaagbo
- Jebuni (Jɛbuni)
- Kpala
- Kpalanga (Kpalaŋga)
- Lansa
- Naabugli (Naabuɣli)
- Naawuni
- Pabo
- Pong Tamale
- Saambugli (Saambuɣli)
- Tambo
- Tilo
- Wumbee
- Wuni
- Yabyili
- Zeyibu
- Chiefs and elders
- Dakpema (Dakpɛma)
- Dalunlana Blemah
- Guma-Naa
- Naa Garba
- Naa Gungobli
- Naa Nyagsi (Naa Nyaɣsi)
- Singlana Aduna
- Tampionlana
- Tolon-Naa
- Yaa-Naa, Yaa-Naas
- Zugulana Ali
- Zugulana Dasana
- Names and people
- Adam
- Amina
- Hawa
- Ibrahima
- Imoro
- Issa
- Kasuwa
- Lansa
- Laamihi
- Prophet Ibrahim, Ibrahima
- Prophet Mohammed
- Sulemana
- Yaba
- Yabdoo
- Yapaga (Yapaɣa)
- Musical terms
- Bimbiegu (Bimbiɛɣu)
- Samban' luna (Samban' luŋa)
- Miscellaneous terms
- bagyuli (baɣyuli)
- bia
- bugalana (buɣalana)
- calabash, calabashes
- chieftaincy
- Dagbani
- goonji
- housegod, housegods
- jinwarba
- kpalga
- langalinga (laŋgaliŋga)
- maalam, maalams
- maha
- Muslims
- Oi [exclamation]
- pesewas
- pito
- Thursdays
- tindana, tindanas
- wua
- wuni
- Towns and places
- Bagli
- Bimbila
- Changni (Chaŋni)
- Chema
- Chito
- Dagbon
- Dalun
- Galiwe
- Gumani
- Gushegu
- Kalariga
- Karaga
- Kumbungu
- Mion
- Pong Tamale
- Salaga
- Sang
- Savelugu
- Singa
- Taha
- Tolon
- Tongo
- Tuutingli
- Voggo
- Wa
- Yapei
- Yelizoli
- Yendi
- Cultural groups
- Ashanti
- Builsa
- Dagbana, Dagbamba
- Ewes
- Frafra
- Gonja
- Konkomba, Konkombas
- Talensi