Death is not a big deal. Perhaps it is to the grieving one/s left behind, but not to the deceased. “They are at a better place” is a cliché statement but it’s true. They have gone back to where they are fundamentally themselves, unbound by the limitedness of human nature. They are at a place where they can see what we cannot see, where they know what we do not know. They have gone back to a magnificent dimension where they feel no hate, no judgment, no guilt, and they look upon us with unconditional love. They carry no grudges. Any resentment they bore in their heart was immediately erased the moment they passed away because they went to a place where animosity cannot exist. Even if you killed them, they don’t hate you and they will not haunt you in your sleep. It is your mind, your own conscience, that haunts you.
When you think of them as the person you knew when they were alive, you would both be right and wrong. Right because you indeed knew them like that, and wrong because they aren’t that person anymore. They aren’t even a person. The person you fondly remember was just a garment, a costume for their character on stage, a mask for their part in the masquerade which they took off as soon as their role in it was over. That person is no longer the child you knew, or the granny that took care of you, or the friend you loved. They are no longer the criminal that was shot, or the terrorist that killed hundreds, or the good for nothing addict who died from a drug overdose. Now they are simply a being far more superior, unattached to the illusory identities they took up on stage. Now they are without face or form, and they transcend the echoes of time and space unrestricted by the physical boundaries of flesh – you wouldn’t know where they begin and where they end. Now they are just an ageless being that existed before the beginning of time and will continue existing after all has ended. They move like the strongest winds yet you’ll barely feel them. They shine like the brightest suns yet you’ll hardly see them. Here, they cannot be defined. They cannot be compressed. They are nothing, and they are everything.
Death is not a big deal. It may be devastating for the ones left behind but it isn’t for the one who’s gone. They are not dead, they have just gone back to their original self. They haven’t stopped existing. They are still here but not as a human being with human attributes. They can hear you when you think of them and they respond subtly in interesting, mysterious ways – symbols, songs, dreams, numbers, ideas, patterns, ‘coincidences’, other people. If you were truly connected with them, they become a potent energy at your disposal, an angel you know personally whom you can turn to when you have questions and get answers from a higher perspective. When crestfallen because they’re not there with you, you can mention them silently and feelingly inside your heart as if they are in there and ask them to give you comfort. They will, and they’ll make you feel like they never really left
Friday, 17 January 2020
It is that time. For us, struggling citizens, that time of the month has come.
That time when you dissect the empty toothpaste tube to access the traces of toothpaste therein. And you swipe your toothbrush just once, no more than a centimeter. Anyone in the house who swipes their toothbrush twice, as if they have more than 32 teeth, is punished severely. And if they swipe twice and use more than a centimeter at the same time, they get excommunicated from the home.
A time when, after pressing the lotion bottle, instead of lotion, you get air, and a pitiful pffff sound. So you do a few push ups, as a warm up exercise in preparation for slapping that lotion bottle against your hand, mightily, so that, at least, an iota of lotion can shoot out from that small hole. Then after two days, you cut up the bottle and dip your finger in either of the two halves, to see if you can get a tittle of lotion.
The time that taking a shower is a water-only affair, because the bathing soap has completed its life span and now looks like a SIM card. If your empty lotion bottle completely refuses to co-operate, well, you'll walk around with your skin as dry as your financial situation. Here, a statement like 'just a small skin issue', spiced up with a lie like 'my dermatologist advised...', can come in handy when someone points out the horrid scales on your skin.
Tissue is running out, so you ask everyone to try, as much as possible, to wipe once, but with precision and skill, to avoid 'wastage', and should they need more tissue, they had better use water. You also forbid anyone from having diarrhoea. At least until the salary checks in.
A time when the shoe polish has said its goodbyes, and now work shoes, or whatever other shoes that require shoe polish, are just wiped using water and a cloth, and they will still look like they have dust.
And beverages are taken without sugar, and as you sip your sugarless tea, you keep saying, "Sugar is not even good for your health anyway."
The battle is tough. But what ever happens, January will end.
That time when you dissect the empty toothpaste tube to access the traces of toothpaste therein. And you swipe your toothbrush just once, no more than a centimeter. Anyone in the house who swipes their toothbrush twice, as if they have more than 32 teeth, is punished severely. And if they swipe twice and use more than a centimeter at the same time, they get excommunicated from the home.
A time when, after pressing the lotion bottle, instead of lotion, you get air, and a pitiful pffff sound. So you do a few push ups, as a warm up exercise in preparation for slapping that lotion bottle against your hand, mightily, so that, at least, an iota of lotion can shoot out from that small hole. Then after two days, you cut up the bottle and dip your finger in either of the two halves, to see if you can get a tittle of lotion.
The time that taking a shower is a water-only affair, because the bathing soap has completed its life span and now looks like a SIM card. If your empty lotion bottle completely refuses to co-operate, well, you'll walk around with your skin as dry as your financial situation. Here, a statement like 'just a small skin issue', spiced up with a lie like 'my dermatologist advised...', can come in handy when someone points out the horrid scales on your skin.
Tissue is running out, so you ask everyone to try, as much as possible, to wipe once, but with precision and skill, to avoid 'wastage', and should they need more tissue, they had better use water. You also forbid anyone from having diarrhoea. At least until the salary checks in.
A time when the shoe polish has said its goodbyes, and now work shoes, or whatever other shoes that require shoe polish, are just wiped using water and a cloth, and they will still look like they have dust.
And beverages are taken without sugar, and as you sip your sugarless tea, you keep saying, "Sugar is not even good for your health anyway."
The battle is tough. But what ever happens, January will end.
When you want to (discreetly) borrow things on credit at the shop, that is when customers fill the shop. That is when the entire district decides to buy things from that shop. And not just the entire district, but all the people in the district who know you. When the shopkeeper is finally alone and you are about to expose your pitiful financial state and other secrets, 27 customers suddenly enter the shop. You tell the shopkeeper that you'll be back. You lie that you want to rush somewhere first. You meet 13 more customers on your way out. You go back home and sit for 10 minutes then go back to the shop. You enter the shop at the same time with your next door neighbour. Since you don't want them to hear you borrowing kerosene and bread, you pretend that you're a kind person and let them get served first. As you wait for the shopkeeper to finish serving them, 64 customers stream in. Because you know about 50 of them, you greet them heartily as you cleverly weave your way out of the shop to 'answer a phone call'. You go back to your house and ask God some pretty tough questions. After 20 minutes, you go back to the shop, hopeful that you'll find the shopkeeper alone. But when you get there the shop is already closed.
Challenges are many
Challenges are many
Origin of Lunsi(Drummers/Gong-Gong beaters in Dagbong)
Lunsi were also descendants from the royal home. Their roots thus can be traced to the era of Naa Nyagsi. When Naa Nyagsi was reigning as king of dagbong,one of his wife Napaɣa Fanliriba died living behind two orphans namely; Ӡima and Bizinŋ. These orphans were refused foods any time it was ready and that subjected them to malnourishment. Ӡima and Bizinŋ devised out a strategy by securing for themselves an empty bowl which they usually used to drum as a means of pleasing their brothers and sisters(who were quite fortunate having their mothers alive and kicking) to be able to get them some morsels for their tummy. This development continued till a particular day when Naa Nyagsi witnessed this as he was seated at his resting palace hall(Zɔnŋ Tuuni). Naa Nyagsi called for Ӡima & Bizinŋ and informed them to always make themselves available with their "Drumming bowl" any time Naa Nyagsi food was served. Ӡima and Bizinŋ heeded and begun regaining their feat to the surprise of many elders of Yendi who inquired from Naa Nyagsi,and they were told how the orphans were now metaphorically breastfeeding from Naa Nyagsi, their father and king of Dagbong.
When Naa Nyagsi embarked on his conquest to expand the territories and boundaries of Dagbong by toppling fetish priests otherwise known as "owners of the Land". (Tindan-nima) and replacing them with some of his princes,brothers,warriors etc.... Naa Nyagsi and his forces got to Diare where a certain group of people came out of a cave around that realm with snail shells in their hands. They definitely striked the snail shells against each other to make certain pleasant sounds and they coupled that with eulogizing the ascendants of Naa Nyagsi just so for Naa Nyagsi to grant them some mercy by not annihilating and wiping out their clan. The group was believed to have been led by one Lunŋ Tisuu. Naa Nyagsi haboured some mixed feelings at this juncture because on one hand,he had expected them to run for their lives but they didn't and on the other hand,they pleased him to the marrow with their snail shells and appellations. Naa Nyagsi asked why they never runned for their lives and they declared,"we've long heard the name of the son of Shitobu & his exploits cum bravery and we wanted to see for our own eyes who that was in order for us to plead for his mercy,have some historical accounts to narrate to posterity and save ourselves from his attacks". Naa Nyagsi granted them their wish but likened their art to his orphans display of seeking for food for whenever they had none to depend on.
Naa Nyagsi at this material moment gave Ӡima & Bizinŋ out to these people particularly their leader Lunŋ Tisuu to be taught how they did theirs. Lunŋ Tisuu taught Ӡima & Bizinŋ their art till the death of Ӡima which brought their practice to a halt because Lunŋ Tisuu feared for his life but his eldest son mustered the courage and said,regardless of what happens,Naa Nyagsi must hear the sad news of the demise of Ӡima. They followed it up the next day by going to Naa Nyagsi with their Snail shells. They initially praised Naa Nyagsi before giving a brief notice of Ӡima's death to Naa Nyagsi upon his request of their reason behind praising him with their snail shells. Naa Nyagsi took the news normal and even recounted how powerless he was when the orphans mother died,how much more when one of them(the child) also takes same path. Naa Nyagsi used same meeting to offer some words of prayers to Bizinŋ to be able to master the art very well. As times goes on,they had some reforms to their art by way of moving away from using the snail shells to the use of a cylindrical barrel of which an animal skin was sewed to as a way of beating with rapid succession of strokes to please the king.
Naa Nyagsi conquest continued which took him to Namɔɣu where he toppled the fetish priest (Namɔɣu Tindana) of Namɔɣu who superintended over that village. Bizinŋ was called to duty to replace the Namɔɣu Tindana. When Bizinŋ was called to take the Namɔɣu skins,he arrived and displayed his talent in appellations before his father,Naa Nyagsi the king. Bizinŋ displayed what we call in the local parlance as "Kpilbi". Kpilbi is when the drummer brings to bear the works of pass kings of dagbong after which the drummer talks about the works of commoners and then sum it up with the words of God. The Lunŋsi are very important because I remember during the live stay of the late Nanton Naa Alhassan Charles sulemana,some asked why he opted to continuously stay in Nanton at the expense of his" story building" located on the Tamale Teaching hospital road and he answered"I'm quite comfortable and takes so much delight whenever drummers have to sing praises of me,my ascendants and appellations of the skin". The Lunŋsi are also royals and that is the more reason why the Namo Naa also have his own pavilion erected within the premises of the Gbewaa palace. The Namo Naa pavilion at the Gbewaa palace is erected to the left aspect of the palace main hall. Whenever there is a gathering, the Namo Naa seats to the far left hand side of the king of dagbong at the Gbewaa palace with his subordinate chiefs such as:Sampaha Naa,Taha Naa,zohe Lunŋ Naa etc..
There's something that we call Biԑɣu Naayo in dagbong. It is a form of paying homage to chiefs in dagbong particularly chiefs who are under the jurisdiction of the king of dagbong (Yaa-Naa). It is usually carried out on Mondays and Fridays. The origin of Biԑɣu Naayo can be traced to the famous Sanŋ/Chirizanŋ battle and the battle of Nyingilingi(battle involving Naa Andani Girilonŋ and Kumbugu Naa Abdulai).The lines of Biԑɣu Naayo in the Sanŋ/Chirizanŋ battle went like; "Kundunŋ puɣisiri Gbuɣinli Napɔnŋ kpaa" and was actually drafted by the chief drummer of Zaɣili Dapala Andani Sigli in the person of Wablaa Kundari. The lines in the Biԑɣu Naayo that was drafted during the battle of Nyinglingi is quite different from its original version. The lines in the Biԑɣu Naayo that was drafted during the battle of Nyinglingi goes as follows; "Garinga biԑɣu nԑԑya, Garinga biԑɣu nԑԑya, Garinga biԑɣu nԑԑya".
The Namo Naa( Dakoli papuu baa dali dabuɣi Lana,Binbana Naa,Ashaa dabuɣi Lana,mahamaru dabuɣi Lana
,Kosurim bԑ jia ka konyurim bԑ jia dabuɣi Lana) serves as the Paramount of all the chief drummers in dagbong. Below is a short list of towns with their respective chief drummers:
Namo Naa- Yendi Lunŋ Naa.
Darkuɣaa- Gushegu/Gushԑɣu Lunŋ Naa.
Polo Naa- Savelugu Lunŋ Naa.
Zaɣa- Mion
Laɣim baligu- kariga Lunŋ Naa.
Maachԑndi- Nanton Lunŋ Naa.
Taonbihi-Gukpegu lung Lunŋ.
When it comes to famous drum chanters, the first renowned drum chanter(Baanga/Lunŋa) I recalled was a native of Nanung but his terrible unique voice made him famous. He was also with Naa Abarika Attah and anytime he visited Tamale,Jack N-moro,formerly of npp central organizer house was his lodging place.
History remembers the most renowned & famous drum chanters in dagbong and some of them are listed below. You can as well add in the comment feed famous drum chanters I couldn't mentioned.
Chԑi gbara lunŋ Dogbura
Zilindo lunŋ Naa Alhassani
Dakpԑm lunŋ Naa Alhaji Baba Bla.
Toon bihi wulana. One unprincipled student required to find out the home town of Naa luro's mother and he responded in equal measure by angrily saying Toochima(Techima). And when the student left, he soliloquied that we don't seek for "herbs" for free.
lunŋ Abukari Abede. He is the inventor of the famous; "Achim Dagban bia naa Buru yaanga" and this links president Nana addo to the Abudu royal gate. He is yet again seen in Gushԑɣu Naa Bawa's 1995 enskinment videos.
Nyoligu lunŋ Naa issahaku Moɣalo. Though blind,but he almost ruled dagbong drummers with his narrative dexterities. He proved to all and sundry in dagbong that,disability isn't inability. He died at Zakpalsi when he was invited by the chief of zakpalsi, Zakpalsi Lana Abdulai to be the guest drummer & chanter for his "Samban-Lunŋ" but its beauty was marred when issahaku Moɣalo died suddenly having suffered from a short stomach pains.
Isahaku Namɔɣu.
Current Chanshԑɣu lunŋ Naa. A very young dynamic drummer.
Lunŋ Adam Gbaɣu.
Lunŋ Naa Johira.
Lunŋ Naa Landaru/ Choɣu Lunŋ Naa Imoro who in turn gave birth to Yԑpalsi Lunŋ Naa Alhassan.
Shabo lunŋ Naa Abraman. He is the Royal Highness,Kampakuya Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andani's favourite because his Royal Majesty enjoys listening to Shabo lunŋ Naa Abraman lines of appellations and praises.
When Naa Nyagsi embarked on his conquest to expand the territories and boundaries of Dagbong by toppling fetish priests otherwise known as "owners of the Land". (Tindan-nima) and replacing them with some of his princes,brothers,warriors etc.... Naa Nyagsi and his forces got to Diare where a certain group of people came out of a cave around that realm with snail shells in their hands. They definitely striked the snail shells against each other to make certain pleasant sounds and they coupled that with eulogizing the ascendants of Naa Nyagsi just so for Naa Nyagsi to grant them some mercy by not annihilating and wiping out their clan. The group was believed to have been led by one Lunŋ Tisuu. Naa Nyagsi haboured some mixed feelings at this juncture because on one hand,he had expected them to run for their lives but they didn't and on the other hand,they pleased him to the marrow with their snail shells and appellations. Naa Nyagsi asked why they never runned for their lives and they declared,"we've long heard the name of the son of Shitobu & his exploits cum bravery and we wanted to see for our own eyes who that was in order for us to plead for his mercy,have some historical accounts to narrate to posterity and save ourselves from his attacks". Naa Nyagsi granted them their wish but likened their art to his orphans display of seeking for food for whenever they had none to depend on.
Naa Nyagsi at this material moment gave Ӡima & Bizinŋ out to these people particularly their leader Lunŋ Tisuu to be taught how they did theirs. Lunŋ Tisuu taught Ӡima & Bizinŋ their art till the death of Ӡima which brought their practice to a halt because Lunŋ Tisuu feared for his life but his eldest son mustered the courage and said,regardless of what happens,Naa Nyagsi must hear the sad news of the demise of Ӡima. They followed it up the next day by going to Naa Nyagsi with their Snail shells. They initially praised Naa Nyagsi before giving a brief notice of Ӡima's death to Naa Nyagsi upon his request of their reason behind praising him with their snail shells. Naa Nyagsi took the news normal and even recounted how powerless he was when the orphans mother died,how much more when one of them(the child) also takes same path. Naa Nyagsi used same meeting to offer some words of prayers to Bizinŋ to be able to master the art very well. As times goes on,they had some reforms to their art by way of moving away from using the snail shells to the use of a cylindrical barrel of which an animal skin was sewed to as a way of beating with rapid succession of strokes to please the king.
Naa Nyagsi conquest continued which took him to Namɔɣu where he toppled the fetish priest (Namɔɣu Tindana) of Namɔɣu who superintended over that village. Bizinŋ was called to duty to replace the Namɔɣu Tindana. When Bizinŋ was called to take the Namɔɣu skins,he arrived and displayed his talent in appellations before his father,Naa Nyagsi the king. Bizinŋ displayed what we call in the local parlance as "Kpilbi". Kpilbi is when the drummer brings to bear the works of pass kings of dagbong after which the drummer talks about the works of commoners and then sum it up with the words of God. The Lunŋsi are very important because I remember during the live stay of the late Nanton Naa Alhassan Charles sulemana,some asked why he opted to continuously stay in Nanton at the expense of his" story building" located on the Tamale Teaching hospital road and he answered"I'm quite comfortable and takes so much delight whenever drummers have to sing praises of me,my ascendants and appellations of the skin". The Lunŋsi are also royals and that is the more reason why the Namo Naa also have his own pavilion erected within the premises of the Gbewaa palace. The Namo Naa pavilion at the Gbewaa palace is erected to the left aspect of the palace main hall. Whenever there is a gathering, the Namo Naa seats to the far left hand side of the king of dagbong at the Gbewaa palace with his subordinate chiefs such as:Sampaha Naa,Taha Naa,zohe Lunŋ Naa etc..
There's something that we call Biԑɣu Naayo in dagbong. It is a form of paying homage to chiefs in dagbong particularly chiefs who are under the jurisdiction of the king of dagbong (Yaa-Naa). It is usually carried out on Mondays and Fridays. The origin of Biԑɣu Naayo can be traced to the famous Sanŋ/Chirizanŋ battle and the battle of Nyingilingi(battle involving Naa Andani Girilonŋ and Kumbugu Naa Abdulai).The lines of Biԑɣu Naayo in the Sanŋ/Chirizanŋ battle went like; "Kundunŋ puɣisiri Gbuɣinli Napɔnŋ kpaa" and was actually drafted by the chief drummer of Zaɣili Dapala Andani Sigli in the person of Wablaa Kundari. The lines in the Biԑɣu Naayo that was drafted during the battle of Nyinglingi is quite different from its original version. The lines in the Biԑɣu Naayo that was drafted during the battle of Nyinglingi goes as follows; "Garinga biԑɣu nԑԑya, Garinga biԑɣu nԑԑya, Garinga biԑɣu nԑԑya".
The Namo Naa( Dakoli papuu baa dali dabuɣi Lana,Binbana Naa,Ashaa dabuɣi Lana,mahamaru dabuɣi Lana
,Kosurim bԑ jia ka konyurim bԑ jia dabuɣi Lana) serves as the Paramount of all the chief drummers in dagbong. Below is a short list of towns with their respective chief drummers:
Namo Naa- Yendi Lunŋ Naa.
Darkuɣaa- Gushegu/Gushԑɣu Lunŋ Naa.
Polo Naa- Savelugu Lunŋ Naa.
Zaɣa- Mion
Laɣim baligu- kariga Lunŋ Naa.
Maachԑndi- Nanton Lunŋ Naa.
Taonbihi-Gukpegu lung Lunŋ.
When it comes to famous drum chanters, the first renowned drum chanter(Baanga/Lunŋa) I recalled was a native of Nanung but his terrible unique voice made him famous. He was also with Naa Abarika Attah and anytime he visited Tamale,Jack N-moro,formerly of npp central organizer house was his lodging place.
History remembers the most renowned & famous drum chanters in dagbong and some of them are listed below. You can as well add in the comment feed famous drum chanters I couldn't mentioned.
Chԑi gbara lunŋ Dogbura
Zilindo lunŋ Naa Alhassani
Dakpԑm lunŋ Naa Alhaji Baba Bla.
Toon bihi wulana. One unprincipled student required to find out the home town of Naa luro's mother and he responded in equal measure by angrily saying Toochima(Techima). And when the student left, he soliloquied that we don't seek for "herbs" for free.
lunŋ Abukari Abede. He is the inventor of the famous; "Achim Dagban bia naa Buru yaanga" and this links president Nana addo to the Abudu royal gate. He is yet again seen in Gushԑɣu Naa Bawa's 1995 enskinment videos.
Nyoligu lunŋ Naa issahaku Moɣalo. Though blind,but he almost ruled dagbong drummers with his narrative dexterities. He proved to all and sundry in dagbong that,disability isn't inability. He died at Zakpalsi when he was invited by the chief of zakpalsi, Zakpalsi Lana Abdulai to be the guest drummer & chanter for his "Samban-Lunŋ" but its beauty was marred when issahaku Moɣalo died suddenly having suffered from a short stomach pains.
Isahaku Namɔɣu.
Current Chanshԑɣu lunŋ Naa. A very young dynamic drummer.
Lunŋ Adam Gbaɣu.
Lunŋ Naa Johira.
Lunŋ Naa Landaru/ Choɣu Lunŋ Naa Imoro who in turn gave birth to Yԑpalsi Lunŋ Naa Alhassan.
Shabo lunŋ Naa Abraman. He is the Royal Highness,Kampakuya Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andani's favourite because his Royal Majesty enjoys listening to Shabo lunŋ Naa Abraman lines of appellations and praises.
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