If you don’t sleep in the henhouse you don’t know that hens are farting.
2016 Fire Festival in Nalerigu (Bugum Toobu)
As I’ve mentioned before, the annual Fire Festival (Bugum Toobu or Bugum Kyuu) is one of my favorite cultural events (see 2015, 2014). It’s a wonderful mix of traditional, ancient order and wild, youthful antics. This year’s event was a bit of a let down because of the weather. Around 6pm a huge thunderstorm rolled […]
Naawunni kyɛ ka yuumni ti ya nya hoo nŋɔa taabu ka mari la nyɔvuri ni alafɛa n laa n-toori bugum.
May God allow me to live through the coming year with health and throw fire again.
Nyin kyisiri seelli ka sɔ dira.
Someone else eats what is taboo for you.
I bu gbi buliga m-paai koom zuna.
You will not dig a well to reach water today.
Nubila yinni bu pii kugri.
One finger can’t pick up a rock.
Mampruli Proverb #141 – Bad Tree Climber
The bad tree-climber should not laugh at a cripple.
Zigi Ŋmeebu: The Courtyard Pounding
I’m really happy to finally be able to share a project I’ve been working on for a long time. The video above is a short documentary about the women’s courtyard pounding tradition in Mamprugu. I initially began this project as a language learning exercise. Heidi and I interviewed our friend Talata James and then transcribed […]