Pressing patrons with proverbs: Talking drums at the Tamale markets1
Examples of drummed proverbs: Linguistic, musical, personal, and metaphorical relations
Example 1
This proverb is drummed for a chief of Tolon, Naa Alhassan. The implication is that you may be blamed for something if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, even if you are really innocent.
The lead and support drums play the words of this proverb in unison. The gungon drum omits one syllable of the first word, and fills in some of the empty space between quarter notes with left-hand strokes above the snare. A feeling of polyrhythm is pronounced because the first half of the pattern has a distinct 6/8 feel while the second half has a distinct 3/4 feel.
Example 2
This proverb is connected with a chief of Savelugu, Naa Yakubu. The meat referred to is poisonous. The chief took this drum name when other people were wanting to overthrow his chieftancy but failed. They tried to reject him as chief the way that people reject eating this meat.5
The lead drum has a four-note ascending pattern in a straight duple feel; the first note is omitted every other time. The support drums play a three-note syncopated rhythm that cuts across the rhythm of the lead drum. The two short verbal phrases interlock with each other.
Example 3
This proverb is drummed for a chief in Yendi, Naa Abdullai. It is reminiscent of a verse in the Bible, found in Psalm 118:22-23, Mark 12:10-11, and 1 Peter 2:7: "The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is!" (TEV).
The third tone in the lead phrase is not always struck; it may be arrived at through a glide produced by pressing the drum's thongs with the left arm rather than through a drumstroke. The lead and support phrases are cleanly broken into call and response.
Example 4
This drum name is associated with a chief of Naya, Naa Abudu. The "black stone" referred to here comes with the lightning in a storm to strike a tree and burn it, or to strike a person and kill him. Whoever is the first to see this "stone thrown from heaven" can protect himself from injury. This is an oblique way of saying that the chief can protect himself from danger.
The words of both phrases are spoken by all drums in unison. This lengthy pattern contains both short and long "fills" to be played by both lead lunga and gungon. The short fill lasts for two beats and fills in time between verbal phrases. The longer fill lasts for five beats. Here, the lead drum can choose either of two other proverbs to complete the four-measure pattern. The gungon does not speak words during the long fill, but fills in time as before with any of several variant patterns.
Example 5
This proverb is drummed for a chief of Chogu, Naa Mahama Yuli. The hidden meaning here is that a witch may see a person and desire to kill him through witchcraft but will be cautious (like the chicken).
Four spoken syllables are not represented on the drums in this pattern. The second phrase is spoken by the drums in unison. During the first phrase the gungon emphasizes the syncopated accents of the lead drum, providing something like a "whisper" of the words.
Example 6
This proverb is the drum name for a deceased paramount chief of Tamale, Naa Gupenya Yili. The lengthy fill at the end of this pattern can be completed by any of several other short phrases, including the one given above.
This pattern provides a rare, perfect one-on-one match between spoken syllables and drumstrokes. A three-tone pattern is played, then repeated a whole step lower, thereby bringing in a fourth tone. The gungon can fill in four very short places where the lead drum rests. A longer fill is drummed at the end of the pattern. Except for this fill, the words are spoken in unison by all drums.
Example 7
This drum name is connected with a paramount chief of the Dagbamba people, Yaa Naa Mahamadu of Yendi. The proverb implies that the chief can satisfy the needs of many of his people.
In this pattern, the words of the lead lunga and support drums overlap. Actually, different words are represented by almost identical rhythms on the lead lunga and gungon in the pattern's second half. The lead drum plays a four-note pattern which can be elaborated into an eight-note pattern by adding four drumstrokes which do not represent syllables. During this same sequence, the gungon player improvises a four-beat fill.