IDNO

LS.103351.MF

Description

Distant view of a large crowd of Tallensi people; a dee? (grand mimic war march and mock battle) for a funeral? Full-length frontal view of a line of Tallensi men standing in the foreground. The men are wearing small striped shorts or cloth tied around the waist, cloth caps or wide-brimmed straw hats. Some of the men also appear to have square amulets around their necks and many are holding long sticks.

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

Lanternslide - Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

LS.103334.MF - LS.103356.MF were kept in the box now numbered C564/.

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).

Context: The Major Cleavage in Tale Society: The point of primary importance is that a major cleavage runs through the whole of Tale society. On the one side stand communities or parts of communities the members of which are generally agreed to be the descendants of immigrant Mamprusi. These are the Namoos. On the other side stand similar social groups who claim to be and are accepted as the descendants of the aboriginal inhabitants of the country and early immigrants who they absorbed. This cleavage is given a symbolic formulation in myths of origin the historicity need not concern us.
This cleavage is so fundamental that it permeates the whole social outlook of the people. One sees it most visibly in the martial choruses chanted at important funerals. One of the high lights 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 clothes, weapons in hand, plumed helms on their heads, blowing whistles and accompanied by drummers, the men gather in lineage squadrons to march round the settlement, and eventually mass at the house of the funeral. They march irregularly in an unorganised mob with excited children trailing behind and women dancing on the flanks trilling the shrill kplemet cry of elation. And as they march, especially as they pass the funeral house, they chant defiant challenges against their traditional enemies in the wars of former days. ‘Yo ho!’ they chant, ‘we might rise one day at break of dawn to sally forth against certain people.’ ‘Is it not because of us’, the Namoos chant taunting the Talis, ‘that you have water to drink?’ And again, ‘do you mock at them, do you not laugh at them?’ And now and then a man leaps forward, crouches scowling, pretends to shoot off an arrow, and cries scornfully, ‘If it were not for the white man, by now we would be meeting them in battle.’ It is all play-acting, but there is an undercurrent of passion and tension. When a dee parade reaches the border between adjacent Namoo and Talis settlements, there is a danger of a hostile demonstration from the other side and the older men have to be very watchful. In 1936 a Tongo dee parade was attacked by a group of Gbeog men who were simply swept off their feet by the sight and sound of the armed mob of their traditional enemies. (Fortes, M., 1945. Dynamics of Clanship Among the Tallensi (London: Oxford University Press), p. 28.). [ED 26/11/2007]

Context: "By mid-morning of the first full day (fagba), the men and musicians begin milling around the compound and its entryway (zanore) to await the arrival of others, which will mark the public part of the ceremony (Fig. 3). The clothing of a deceased man, especially his smocks, may be displayed on the roof of the compound’s head room, which is adjacent to the zanore (Smith 1982: 39), fig. 10). The clothing is said to symbolise him and to indicate his role in the compound. The clothing of a deceased woman may be displayed within her sleeping room. Each related lineage group will organise separately and march in battle formation to the compound (Fig. 1). It is at this point that the divisions within the clan are ritually recognised; unity is to be achieved later. Fortes reports: "One of the high lights 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 clothes, weapons in hand, plumed helmets on their heads, blowing whistles and accompanied by drummers, the men gather in lineage squadrons to march round the settlement, and eventually mass at the house of the funeral" (1945: 27). As the first group approaches, the women leave the compound and join the men at the entryway. Then, as each battle unit is viewed, the men of the compound, accompanied by the women, children, and musicians, go out to "defend their territory" (interview, Zuarungu, February 1973). Frequently contact is dramatized by spears being violently thrust into the ground, symbolise male aggression and social anxiety and the critical role of the Earth in supporting society (Fig. 2). The neighbouring Kassena have a similar arrangement. For them "the war dance marks the height of the public festivity. Those men who do not belong to the house of the deceased assemble in a line. They, like the men of the house, are dressed in war or hunting garb" (De Carbo 1977: 128). ... In addition, for both men’s and women’s funerals, the women of the compound offer encouragement and support by making a shrill cry that incites the men to fight. Fortes reports that the costumed men "march irregularly unorganised mob with excited children trailing behind and women dancing on the flanks trilling the shrill kpelemet cry of elation." (1945; 27). Yet, at the same time, the women will cool the men when they become too hot by fanning them with a piece of cloth or a wicker fan. They symbolically remember regulate the tempo of the ceremony. This is a recognition of the importance of women and their role in maintaining socio-cultural stability.
As the compound members meet the approaching units, mock battles are staged. The rhythm of the battle is orchestrated by the musicians. One elder notes that this behavior is "to show that a compound, males and females alike, would defend itself in the time of war. The compound is the basic Frafra sociopolitical unit and it usually constitutes a minimal lineage. The war-like ritual visually demonstrates the dynamic structure of the kinship system. At times the men will simulate hunting behavior, which reflects the symbolic and mythological importance of hunting in a now basically agricultural society. After a series of skirmishes, the separate units come together to defend the compound. It is circled three times if the deceased is male, and four if female. A degree of unity has now been achieved, and chants honoring and praising the deceased are sung. The people then move into the area directly in front of the zanore, where more mock battles occur, this time performed with greater intensity. The zanore is the location of the primary ancestral shrines of the compound, which serve as a direct link to larger lineage groupings. Among the Kassena, "the dancers pass back and forth in front of the compound, brandishing weapons and raising war cries. The dance forms are said to simulate the stalking of prey, most simply described as a repeated crouch-short leap to a standing position-stride a short distance-crouch. During these movements one’s bow is drawn, and ones eyes are shifted from side to side. The dance is accompanied by the firing of muskets and the lighting of powder charges at the side and in front of the compound. In earlier times arrows were shot into the sky" (De Carbo 1977; 129-30). After a series of heated skirmishes, cooperation is completely achieved, and the praises of both the deceased and clan are sung. Finally the men hang their weapons on the wall adjacent to the entrance as an indication of clan unity." (Smith, FT., ‘Symbols of Conflict and Integration in Frafra Funerals,’ African Arts, Vol. 21, No. 1. (Nov., 1987), pp. 46-51+87). [ED 20/3/2008]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Elisabeth Deane 19/5/2008]