A Drummer's Testament

Chapter III-2:  How Dagbamba Sow Their Farms

How Dagbamba farm yams; other crops: corn, sorghum, millet, beans; crop rotation and agricultural technology; farming rituals and sacrifices; uses of yams

• Supplementary material
• Paragraph outline and links
• Proverbs and sayings
• Dagbani words and other search terms

Supplementary material

[images forthcoming]

Schedule of farming    <PDF>

• October-December
•     clear nyutam:  measure and clear yam field
•     remove yam seeds from old field
•     begin making ridges and mounds
•     sow sesame

• November-January
•     prepare vuɣlaa:  make ridges and mounds
•     prepare yam seeds

• December-February  (Harmattan season)
•     plant yams

• April-May  (start of rains)
•     clear batandali  (last year's yam field)
•     sow corn

• early May-June
•     sow guinea corn and cow peas

• May-July
•     sow bambara beans and millet in the yam field

• June-August  (up to December)
•     start to harvest yams, especially laabako and kpino

• July-September
•     harvest corn

• November-December
•     harvest bambara beans and millet

• December-January
•     harvest guinea corn and millet

Contents outline and links by paragraph

Farming yams

• 1.    farming is focused on yams; mixed with other crops
• 2.    clearing the land:  nyutam, vaɣli, zalli
• 3.    cook food after clearing the land; bury food on the farm
• 4.    making ridges for yam mounds; vuɣlaa, nakpaa
• 5.    preparing yam seeds
• 6.    season or time for planting and harvesting yams
• 7.    techniques of planting yams
• 8.    types of yams; their characteristics and differing yields
• 9.    farm different types because of different harvests; don't mix types in a mound
• 10.  covering the mounds with nyubuɣri; protecting the mounds
• 11.  nyusari; stake the growing yams; weeding and caring for the yams

Farming other crops

• 12.  second crops, make farm in the batandali; getting people to help
• 13.  farming the batandali; making a corn farm
• 14.  adding guinea corn and beans or cowpeas
• 15.  sowing bambara beans and millet among the yam mounds
• 16.  farming corn in the guinea corn farm; types of corn; guinea corn only one year
• 17.  can farm a plot for three years usually; occasionally five or more; then fallow
• 18.  sow red beans (sanʒi) in the corn farm; early harvest
• 19.  when weeding yam farm, also sow sesame in a separate place

The work of yams

• 20.  typical Dagbamba use new yams for sacrifice to Jɛbuni house shrine
• 21.  gather people to harvest the yams
• 22.  the day of eating yams:  gather the family; pound new yams for fufu
• 23.  slaughter goats and fowls; share the food to neighbors
• 24.  the work of yams:  mashed yams
• 25.  the work of yams:  boiled yams with stew
• 26.  the work of yams:  roasted yams, fried yams
• 27.  the work of yams:  other ways to cook and eat yams

How women help with harvesting crops

• 28.  harvesting the other crops; women help with harvesting work
• 29.  harvesting corn; remove the kernels in the house compound
• 30.  harvesting guinea corn; also women; push down the stalks and cut; gather and carry home
• 31.  harvesting millet is difficult; how women prepare an area, beat the millet, and sieve it
• 32.  sharing the harvest with the house women for their own use
• 33.  how women sometimes help with sowing and weeding; girlfriends and wives
• 34.  some women do not help with the harvesting; sometimes causes quarrels

Proverbs and Sayings

Everybody has got his sense in farming.

Some Dagbamba say that if you are a farmer and your farm is increasing too much, it means there is a funeral behind it.

It's just like if someone is nice:  when it's daybreak he will bathe and make himself fine, and at that time you see that he has become more beautiful.  This is what we do to yams.

The farming of yams looks like how they take care of a new-born baby:  you cannot get someone to farm yams for you.

He has not yet shown it to his old thing,

Take this food and this meat and go and give to this housepeople, and tell them that today we are eating yams.

Have you ever seen someone eating food, and the food will collect his sense?

How girl friends are:  if you are entering a hole, she is following you.

Having a girl friend is sweeter than having a wife.

Every day you are with your wife, and when you are with someone every day, even if she is a witch who catches people, you won't fear her.

Dagbani words and other search terms

• Chiefs and elders
• Naa Gbewaa

• Farming terms
• batandali
• bogu  (bɔɣu)
• gbankurgu  (gbaŋkurgu)
• gbansogu  (gbansɔɣu)
• kagsogu  (kaɣsoɣu)
• nakpaa
• narga
• nyubugri  (nyubuɣri)
• nyuli
• nyusari
• nyutam
• tankurli  (taŋkurli)
• shebli  (shɛbli)
• vagli  (vaɣli)
• vuglaa  (vuɣlaa)
• worgu
• zalli

• Types of yams
• baamegu  (baameɣu)
• baayeye  (baayɛrɛ)
• chamba
• chenchito  (chɛnchito)
• dakpam
• dandigu  (dandiɣu)
• frigima
• fugla  (fuɣla)
• gungunkpili  (guŋguŋkpili)
• gungunsalli  (guŋguŋsalli)
• kangbaringa  (kaŋgbariŋga)
• kpaasajo
• kpabo
• kpagoo
• kpino
• kpinokona  (kpinokɔŋa)
• kpringa
• kulkulga
• larbako
• liilia
• nyuwugu  (nyuwuɣu)
• warlana
• ziglangbo  (ziɣlangbo)

• Foods from yams
• ampashe
• ampesie
• busa
• dundunkolo
• fufu
• nyuchimda
• nyudugrili  (nyuduɣrili)
• nyugatili
• nyuli
• nyusherli
• petepete
• poggo
• sakoro

• Foods and utensils
• bangli zhieri  (baŋli ʒiɛri)
• bambara beans
• bungu
• cowpeas
• dagubiegu  (dagubiɛɣu)
• dawadawa
• groundnuts
• guinea corn
• kawaanyia
• kpalgu
• kukognyina  (kukɔɣnyina)
• kukogu  (kukɔɣu)
• laa
• nili
• sagim  (saɣim)
• sanzhi  (sanʒi)
• sagvugli  (saɣvuɣli)
• sinkpila  (siŋkpila)
• tuya
• za

• Miscellaneous terms
• Dagbani
• harmattan
• housegod
• housepeople
• Jebuni  (Jɛbuni)
• kona  (kɔŋa)
• karo

• Towns and places
• Dagbon
• Tolon
• Tongo
• Yabyili

• Cultural groups
• Ashantis
• Dagbana, Dagbamba
• Mossis