Legends have been told of a great hunter called Toha Zie (the red hunter) from whom the ethnic group was formed. He is said to have saved a community from a wild beast who had taken control of their water bodies and therefore caused a severe famine in the community. After Toha Zie killed the beast, he settled in as the king of that community and through him, three Dagbamba ethnic groups sprouted: the Dagombas, the Mamprusis and the Nanumbas.
Naa Gbewaa was the son of Toha Zie who is believed to be the genesis of the Dagbon ethnic group. Dagbon is an ethnic group in the Northern part of Ghana. The people are called Dagombas and the language they speak is Dagbani. The Dagomba chief is called the Ya Na which means the All Powerful King, whose seat is at a very renowned place in the north called Yendi, even though the administrative capital of the Northern Region is Tamale.
THE DANCE
For so many years, I have not had the chance to witness a dagomba dance festival because I was mostly based outside the north. An opportunity presented itself last weekend on campus. The Dagbon Students’ Association (DASA) organized its annual meet up and dance festival and I was so lucky to have bumped into it. Over there, a lot of renowned chiefs were invited and most of the dances were perfomed by both men and women.
Below is a description of some of the dances I witnessed:
- BAMAAYA
Bamaaya literaly means “the river is wet”. Is it the most popular dance in the Dagbon and it incorporates the use of instruments such as Lunsi- small drums, Wia- flute, Siyalim- rattling container and Gun’gon- the master drum. The story behind it dates back to the early 19th century when a dagomba community was hit by a severe drought. The elders of the community consulted the gods of the land and were told that in order for them to have a rain fall, the men in the community had to dress like women and dance so as to appease the oracle. As this ritual was performed, they had water in abundance and ever since, this dance has become so popular among the dagombas. Up till date, men dress like women in order to dance.
- JERA
Hunting expeditions are important aspects of the culture. Before a hunting expedition, the morale of participants need to be up. They performed this dance in order to get their spirits high for the event ahead. Also, after hunting, they performed this same dance to show how happy they are for having a bountiful catch. As the years passed, the people adopted it for diverse occasions including wedding ceremonies, funerals and festivals.
- TAKAI
The instruments used in this dance are the Gun’gon- the master drum and the Luna- the supporting drums. It is performed by the male royals of Dagbon, that is, by the chiefs and princes during very important occasions such as the Bugum festival and the Damba festival. It involves moving the feet to the rhythm of the instruments.
Thank you very much for reading.