IDNO

N.101823.MF

Description

A group of men taking part in the Dee, a war march which forms part of the funeral ceremony (Fortes 1945: 263). The men wear calabash hats with long erect plumes of animal hair and carry bows and arrows. They engage each other in mock battle. Spectators in the background include children running in the background and a woman. There are trees and hills in the distance. [AF 16/4/2008]

Place

W Africa; Ghana; Upper East Region [Gold Coast; Northern Territories]

Cultural Affliation

Tallensi

Named Person

Photographer

?Fortes, Meyer

Collector / Expedition

Fortes, Meyer

Date

Collection Name

Fortes Collection

Source

Drucker-Brown, Susan

Format

Glass Negative Halfplate

Primary Documentation

Other Information

N.101822.MF - N.101832.MF were kept in the box now numbered C546/.The inscription on the metal box numbered C545/ does not fully correspond with the contents.

Similar images in Fortes, 1945, p. 256, Plate XV showing another dee with the caption, “A mimic war parade at Ba’ari to inaugurate an elder’s funeral. Other images in Smith, 1987.

Context: Fortes writes about the dee, “One of the highlights at the opening ceremonies of the funeral of an important person is a grand mimic war march (dee) of the men of the clan. In their finest cloths, weapons in hand, plumed helms on their heads, blowing whistles and accompanied by drummers, the men gather in lineage squandrons to march round the settlement, and eventually mass at the house of funeral. They march irregularly in an unorganized mob with excited children trailing behind and women dancing on the flanks trilling the shrill kpelemet cry of elation. And as they march, especially as they approach the funeral house, they chant defiant challenges against their traditional enemies in the wars of former days.” (Fortes, 1945, p.26) [Alicia Fentiman, 16/4/2008]

Context: Smith provides a detailed description of the symbolism attached to the funeral customs of the FraFra with interesting illustrations (Smith, 1987).

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1945. Dynamics of Clanship Among the Tallensi (London: Oxford University Press).

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1949. The Web of Kinship Among the Tallensi (London: Oxford University Press).

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1987. Religion, Morality and the Person: Essays on Tallensi Religion (London: Oxford University Press).

Bibliographical Reference: Smith, F.T. 1987. “Symbols of Conflict and Integration in Frafra Funerals”. African Arts, Vol. 21., No.1, pp.46-51+87.

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Sarah Worden 12/4/2007] [Alicia Fentiman, 16/4/2008]