A Drummer's Testament

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Chapter I-23:  Traveling and Learning the Dances of Other Tribes

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Why Dagbamba learn other tribes' drumming; the difficulty of learning the Dagbani language; the drumming styles and dancing of:  Mossis, Kotokolis and Hausas (Jɛbo, Gaabitɛ Zamanduniya, Mazadaji, Adamboli), Bassaris and Chembas and Chilinsis, Dandawas, Wangaras, Gurumas, Konkombas, Frafras, Ashantis, Yorubas; differences in the drummers from different towns



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Supplementary material

Images

dancing Gurunsi-waa

Audio files

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Gaabitɛ zamanduniya 1

Gaabitɛ zamanduniya 2

Hankuri zamanduniya

Amajiro

Gado

Jebo

Gbada 1

Gbada 2

Adamboli

Mohi-waa

Mazadaji 1

Mazadaji 2

Yoruba-waa 1

Yoruba-waa 2

Bassari-waa

Zambarima-waa

Gurunsi-waa

Sikare

Suberima kpeeru 1

Suberima kpeeru 2

Gonja Damba

Wangarisi-waa

Kasu nkura

Mamprugu-waa

Guruma-waa 1

Guruma-waa 2


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Contents outline and links by paragraph

How Alhaji Ibrahim traveled to learn more

Dagbamba drummers' knowledge compared to other tribes

Mossi dance and guŋgɔŋ beating

Jebo

Zamanduniya

Adamboli

Other tribes

Learning:  training and experience

Conclusion



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Proverbs and Sayings

Who becomes annoyed with God?  Only a fool.

When they give food for people to come and eat, those who are first will eat more than those who come last.

Learning is in the heart, and if your heart is bright, you will get what they have taught you.

When you stand and watch someone doing some work, and you want to do that work, if he is not going to teach you and you are only going to watch him, then you can still do the work he is doing.

If you want to learn work, you have to try your best to learn it well.

It is good for you to travel out to towns.

You have to have patience to sit in the world.

If you are a drummer, you don't sit only in your town.

It is roaming that will let you learn more.

When you learn something well, if someone says it is difficult, you will say it is not difficult.

The eye-opening of drumming is just to be traveling all around.  If you don't travel, your sense is only one-way.  It is in the traveling that you will see all the good ways of beating and all the bad ways of beating.

If you want to learn drumming, you have to learn it from someone who knows much about it.

It is good, if you want to learn drumming, you should learn from someone who knows it well.

If you want to teach somebody how to drum, you show him all the corners in the drumming so that he will also know it.

As you are going around, you should use your sense and be adding to what you have learned.


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Dagbani words and other search terms