Discussions in the Facebook Group “BULUK KANIAK”

DISCUSSIONS IN THE FACEBOOK GROUP “BULUK KANIAK”

When an anthropologist wants to explore the culture of a traditional society, he likes to turn to elders who usually have a great knowledge about all areas of their ethnological surroundings. Much of my knowledge of the Bulsa culture goes back to interviews with such men as Naab Azantilow Ayieta (Sandema), Anamogsi Anyenangdu (Wiaga-Sinyansa), Akanming Awasiboa (Wiaga-Sinyansa), Asage Adum (Wiaga-Sinyansa) and others. It is rare to find older male informants who are well versed in both traditional and modern society. Such an informant, helper and friend I found, for example, in the teacher Leander Amoak.
Female anthropologists, in particular, have recognized for some decades that the position of women in a traditional society, which previously only rarely attracted the attention of male researchers, are worth in-depth studies. With regard to the Bulsa, researchers (Barbara Meier in particular) have dealt with such female-centered topics as the “Doglientiri Relationship” and “Women and Emigration” (several papers).
Children, their upbringing, games, drawings, etc. are usually treated only over the course of more extensive investigations. In my two-volume book on Bulsa Material Culture (2001), I was able to include one chapter on “Children’s Toys and Games” (p.739-785) and in 1987 wrote an essay on the traditional and school education of Bulsa children.
Another population and age stratum of the Bulsa appears to have been less attractive for scientific investigations so far. This refers to the most important demographic group of modern society whose members occupy all important positions in politics, economics, science, etc. For many of them, the knowledge of their own culture is not very extensive because they often left their more traditional environment in early childhood in order to attend school. After that, they took on a job in a modern company or institution, often outside the territory of their ethnic group.
It is, however, of great importance to study the attitude they have towards their own traditional culture. I found out with the Bulsa that their interest in and appreciation of it is extraordinarily great.
An appropriate way to explore their attitudes is to make use of social media. Facebook groups, which are currently being visited extensively by Bulsa youth and young adults, offer a suitable starting point.
In No. 8 (2015) of our magazine, BULUK, the Bulsa Facebook group Bulubisa Meina Yeri was examined more closely. In this issue, some topics that had been discussed intensively in the Facebook group Buluk Kaniak had their comments published.

1) The Kantosi / Yarisa and their Significance for Bulsa Culture

Alternate names (adopted from the internet and other sources):
Kantusi, Kantonsi, Yarsi/Yarsé, Yarisa, Dagaare-Dioula, Yari, Yarsin, Yarcin, Dagaari-Yula/Jula
I (F.K.) think that Yarisa (Yarsé) and Kantosi should not be considered synonymous. The Yarisa entered the Bulsa area from the north, the Kantosi from the east (see “History”). Some Bulsa want to use the name Yarisa for all Moslems in the Bulsa area, but the Fulani herdsmen can certainly not be called Yarisa or Kantosi.

History of the Kantosi
According to I. Wilks (1989), the “Old Muslims” came from a Mande-country within or on the edge of the old Mali Empire (which peaked in the 13th and 14th centuries). When it declined, groups of “Old Muslims” moved south. One group had emigrated to Wa and left again after a conflict. Some of them, who had in the meantime adopted a Dagara dialect and were now called Kanto(n)si, went to Visi while others went to Kpalewogu.
The archaeologist David Davis (1988) and the historian Ivor Wilks (1989) speculate that the Konto(n)si of Kpalewogu might have been the creators of the so-called Komaland terracottas (excavated in Yikpabongo) or that they at least had some influence on that culture. I cannot agree with them because the depiction of naked human figurines or sexual objects does not fit into the culture of Islam (See Kröger 2014).
The Kantosi of Sandema say that they came from the village of Kpalewogu, probably in the 19th century.

History of the Yarisa/Yarsé
In Wikipedia I found the following information that coincides with my own knowledge:
“The Yarse, also spelt Yarsé, Yarsin or Yarcin, are a people of Burkina Faso, living among the Mossi [from whom, according to Zwernemann, they adopted a Mossi dialect as their language]. The population in the mid-1990s was estimated at 190,000, of whom 90% were Muslims.
They are the descendants of Mandinka traders who arrived in the area in the late 1600s bringing Islam. In 1780, they were granted permission by the Mossi king to settle throughout his kingdom; over the years, they adopted the language and customs of the Mossi and intermarried with them, but they did not convert either to Christianity or the indigenous Mossi religion, remaining faithful to Islam. Settlements in which the Yarse stayed included Kaya, Rakaye, Patenga and, later in the 18th century, Ouagadougou, where they had their own quarter. They continue to be merchants, although many have settled down to become subsistence millet farmers”.

Literature on the Kantosi and Yarisa or mentioned in the text

Barker, Peter: Peoples, Languages and Religion in Northern Ghana – a Preliminary Report. Ghana Evangelism Committee in association with Asempa Publishers. 1983

Davis, David C., 1988: Observations on the Mounds of Komaland. Nyame Akuma, 30: 10-11.
Ethnologue, 2003: www.ethnologue.com Summer Institute of Linguistics.

Kröger, Franz ,2014 The Creators of the Komaland Terracottas (Northern Ghana). In:
https://www.komaland.com

Meier, Barbara, 1993: Doglientiri. Frauengemeinschaften in westafrikanischen Verwandtschaftssystemen, dargestellt am Beispiel der Bulsa in Nordghana. Münster und Hamburg: Lit-Verlag (257 pp.)

Meier, Barbara,1999: ‘Doglientiri: An institutionalized Relationship between Women and its Social Implications among the Bulsa of Northern Ghana’. Africa 69,1: 87-107.

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantosi_language [Kantosi related to Dagbane]
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantosi_(Sprache) [Kantosi a Guang language]

Wilks, Ivor, 1989 Wa and the Wala. Islam and Polity in Northwestern Ghana. Cambridge University Press, New York, New Rochelle, Melbourne, Sidney.

Zwernemann, Jürgen, 1978 Notizen über die Yarse. Afrika und Übersee, 56: 257-264.

Introduction to the Facebook Discussion about the Kantosi/Yarisa
In November 2017 Linus Akandzenaam Angabe started a discussion about the Kantosi (Kantusi, Kantossi, Kantonsi) and their role in Bulsa cultural history. It was followed by many more comments, nearly all of which have one thing in common: They respect the Kantosi/Yarisa very much and recognize their contribution to Bulsa culture and their integration into Bulsa society. Even more progressive opinions are mentioned: The Kantosi should have more political rights, e.g. they should run for a seat in the District Assembly or in Parliament and the compound-owners should be given the suffrage in chiefly elections.
It is appreciated that all of the Kantosi speak Buli fluently, although most of them have not given up their Kantosi language. One controversial question addressed was whether the news of Radio Bulsa should be read in Buli and afterwards in Kantosi (especially since all Kantosi understand Buli).

To facilitate reading, I have used a unified notation for the proper names: Kantosi (Kantosis, Kantussi, Kantonsi, Kantoosi), Kpaliwugu (Kpaliwogu, Kpaliworgu) …. The additional plural -s in ethnonyms has been dropped (Bulsa instead of Bulsas or Builsas). Interpolations by the editor (F. Kröger) appear in square brackets [….].

Discussion

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: The Kantosi (Yarisa) of Buluk are real Bulsa in our modern-day history… The Mamprusi brought kingdom ideas. But at the same time the Kantosies (Yarisa) brought modern civilization to our land. That was education. Islamic clerics like Alkali actually recorded so much about our history. The Kantosies served our kings as very educated people. Their contribution to Buluk history is so great. Chiefs before Sir Naab Azantilow respected them….

Lawrence Abakisi: Yarisa as a term or concept in Buli [that] means Muslim. All the various smaller ethnic groups who are mainly Muslim merchants, farmers and traders are collectively called Yarisa because of their Islamic background. The Kantosi are a specific ethnic group within the larger “Yarisa” group who migrated from Kpalewogu, near Wa and settled in the Sisala, Kassena and Bulsa areas. There are Mamprusi, Gurma, Mossi, etc. within the group called “Yarisa”. Even Bulsa who are Muslims are sometimes called Yarisa! “Yarisa” is from “Yadasi” which means “Muslim”. The Yarisa in Buluk are a well integrated group and have contributed in diverse ways to the development of Buluk including agriculture, trade and commerce, tradition and culture, transportation, religion and other areas. If there are terms like “American Jews” or “African Americans”, then certainly we could have Sandema Yarisa or more generally Buluk Yarisa. There is nothing derogatory about the term “Yarisa” even though stereotypes exist between “Bulsa” and “Yarisa” as they exist between Sandema and Wiaga people or between the north and south of Buluk! But we have dealt with those stereotypes in a better way than any other place!

Adumpo Emile Akangoa: Yarisa doesn’t really mean Muslims in Buli. Some people call them Muslims because they might have introduced Islam to Buluk. A Muslim in Buli is ‘karimoaak’.

Lawrence Abakisi: Yes, I do agree with you that the Buli word for Muslim is “karimoaak” but I am suggesting that as a concept or term “Yarisa” in the manner we refer to them, denote mainly Muslim settlers. It is in this sense that I equate “Yarisa” as meaning Muslim. For instance, it is not uncommon for a Bulsa Muslim to be referred to as the “Yarik” [indef. sing.] from this house, say Abakisi-yeri “Yarika” [def. sing.].

Adumpo Emile Akangoa: That is largely true, but remember we also have some Muslim settlers in Fimbisi [Fumbisi] who are ‘Mampurisa’ [Mamprusi], if you like Dagbam, but not Yarisa.

Anyaana Awadiima Lambert: Yarisa in Buli means strangers.

Lawrence Abakisi: Lambert, is a stranger not a “nichaana” in Buli?

John Agandin: Actually, in Buli, “Yarik”, “Moak” “Bayorik” etc., all refer to outsiders or non-natives who settled or interacted with Bulsa at different times. It is not derogatory. We often use those terms to name children we consider to be ‘returnees’ (I don’t know if there is an English term for it). In this case, it is meant to indicate that we do not consider them to be part of us and so we will not be pained if the child should return (die again).

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: Yarik in Buli refers to something that is different from other things of the same variety: peanuts have some Yarisa, ducks too…….
…..
Patrick Adjaab Akan-yidi: …[Our] wars were mainly against strangers and not between us. So there was a general discomfort in accepting strangers in our settlements. It was the same reason that informed the people of Sandema to push some white people to Adakurik and Wiaga.
So, because of this discomfort, when the chief took the decision to allow the Kantosi/Yarisa to settle in Sandema, our people were not comfortable. A precondition for accepting them was their show of good behaviour. I must confess, in all honesty, they more than showed this even in the wake of provocation from the natives. Some of our people use that opportunity to mistreat them. Over time, it started to sound like our people had little regard for the Yarisa (who were merely fulfilling their promise as peaceful settlers).
I grew up hating this phenomenon (ie some people feeling superior to others) but it reduced over time as the Yarisa left their Islamic school and joined the natives in the government schools over the years.

Bernard Akanbang: Patrick, also note that the advent of English Arabic schools in Buluk is a recent phenomenon. During my primary school days, we all attended school together.
…..
Jacob Akisbadek Agyakinla: …By sheer coincidence I have been to Kpaliwugu to execute projects for them. Before going there in 2013, growing up in Kanjarg, I used to hear people teasing my father’s uncles Vuundema in Kanjarg as “Kpaliwugu”. Surprisingly, in [Kanjaga-] Vuundema too, the most secluded part of it is nicknamed “Kpaliwugu” even till date. But, I was surprised that a good number of the people in Kpalewugu speak pretty good Buli. I must also say, I have been proudly hoping for a way to let our chiefs (especially the Sandemnab) institute a scheme inviting them from Kpaliwugu to the Fiok every year as a way to integrate them further. For me, the people from Kpaliwugu and other Buli speaking settlements like Kalaasa [a section in Kanjaga?] and Gbenebilisi [Gbedembilisa?] should all be treated as Bulsa or at least as strong allies of Buluk… I will be glad if our cherished chiefs take this up because for me, a Buloa is someone who can speak Buli and practice some traditions of Buluk.

Lawrence Abakisi: Though Akandzenaam Linus Angabe’s saying that the “Yarisa” should be regarded as Bulsa is well intended, I think it is a misplaced call. I think the identity of any person or group of persons should not and must not be sacrificed on the altar of integration or unity or even their longevity of settling at any place. To say these people are Bulsa is to deny them their language, traditions, music etc. Are there not Bulsa living in Kumasi, Accra, Takoradi for such a long time who speak Twi and some of whose children can’t speak Buli, yet they’re not called Asante or Ga or Fante. Don’t these our people exhibit our culture in freedom and even have chiefs? We must embrace multiculturalism! Let us respect the identity of people. It is one thing to say these people are from Sandema or Siniensi or Fimbisi [Fumbisi] and it is another thing to say they’re Bulsa. Has there been research that confirms these people want to be called Bulsa? Let’s not force our identity on people! Can you tell how long the Jews have been in Europe and America yet their identity has not been lost? I think these people need our respect more than being called Bulsa. At best they come from Buluk but they’re not Bulsa, and I am sure they’re proud of whom they are!

Lawrence Abakisi: …We cannot say that there is full integration when the “Yarisa” feel intimidated to contest elections to be Assembly men or MPs. In the political parties some of them have contested and won elections and therefore hold power, however, when it comes to general elections like the Assembly, MPs and even DCEs, it is still like a no-go area for them. This is discriminatory and an abuse of their rights! Northerners, and for that matter Bulsa, are quick to say Asantes, or more generally Akans, are discriminatory, yet we are worst! Northerners have full political participation in the south but not in the north. Let a Bulsa who was born and bred in Tamale say he wants to contest for an MP [in Buluk?] and there will be confusion. The “Yarisa” most of whom were born and bred in Buluk and have contributed to its development have no better home than Buluk. The iron curtain that prevents them from full political participation must be lifted!

Lennox Abanya: In fact, drawing the attention that the Kantosi should be allowed to contest for MPship and Assembly men, please, I have no problem, but the great Laws of our land [Buluk], should be documented and vehemently interpreted to them with warnings and the consequences documented and signed by their Chiefs to know that as humans we are bound to make mistakes. Because people of this tribe (the Kantosi) have a [more] violent and controversial character than we, the natives.

Akandzenaam Linus: I even think that they must be allowed to vote for chiefs. They also have house owners. Some of their houses in Sandema and Siniensi are even bigger than some Bulsa houses that have votes for chiefs. Why must we exclude them? They have always been part of Feok [festival].

Adumpo Emile Akangoa: Akandzenaam Linus Angabe, wait a minute. Chiefs are the embodiment of the traditions of the people. How do we reconcile that when they practise a different religion?

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: Adumpo Emile Akangoa, Christian landlords do vote in our chiefs’ elections.

Adumpo Emile Akangoa: Where have you seen that? These [chiefs?] are supposed to be leaders of the traditional religion. I remember in the days of our father, Sir Nab Azantinlow, he used to consult the oracles on behalf of his subjects.

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: Adumpo Emile Akangoa. You are a Christian. If you become a landlord you may be eligible to vote in chiefs’ elections.

Adumpo Emile Akangoa: Notwithstanding the fact that a Christian may become a landlord, remember the house remains a traditional house with gods to be sacrificed and other cultural practices to perform. Are the indigenes who own houses in town eligible to vote? Certainly not!!
…..
Kennedy Azantilow: I have been reading what has been said and want to express my displeasure with Radio Bulsa regarding the use of the Kantosi language. I do not think it is necessary, nor does it make sense to read news in Kantosi, after the same has been read in Buli! Don’t the Kantosi understand Buli? Are there two competing languages in Buluk? I have no problem with special programmes in Kantosi in keeping with our multicultural nature but I am vehemently opposed to news in Kantosi! There is another irritating practice on radio Bulsa, i.e. jingles in Twi! So irritating!!

Adumpo Emile Akangoa: I do agree with you when you detest the practice of playing jingles in Twi. However, I have a dissenting view from your stand on giving news in Kantosi. Remember these are a people who have a culture that they want to pass on from generation to generation and their language is part of that culture. For me, it is most appropriate to give them a modicum of space in our airwaves once they do have distinguishable cultural practices that are not germane [related] to Bulsa culture.

Kennedy Azantilow: I agree they are a people with a culture that deserves preservation! My concern is the reading of the same news item in Buli and then Kantosi. Does this suggest that the Kantosi, who have a long history of peaceful settlement in Buluk, may not understand news in Buli?

Lawrence Abakisi: The news in Kantosi is perfectly right. These are a people who besides the Buli language they speak also have their own unique language. Must their language go into extinction because of Buli? Certainly, a Big No! Why is it that in Kumasi there is Zaria FM which broadcast news in the northern languages when all northerners speak and understand Twi in Kumasi? The UN has a special programme to protect languages that are on the verge of extinction and Buli is one! In fact, I am so glad the Kantosi can preserve their language and have the space to uniquely express themselves on radio in Buluk! These unwanted and unnecessary habits of superiority must make room for a common human existence! God created them to speak that language and who is a human to prevent another from living and behaving as God desires? We have a common interest in our collective development and our common enemy as citizens of Buluk is not language but poverty, our bad roads, unemployment, etc. It is a human right to have an identity of which language is part! The constitution of Ghana guarantees this right!

Kennedy Azantilow: You are right, my man! Special Programs in Kantoosi will do!

Jacob Akisbadek Agyakinla: Well, to confirm some of the suspicions above, the exodus of the Kantosi is related to war. Their legend? As narrated by one old inhabitant, they used to have a water body by their old settlement which provided them with fishes whenever they had visitors. Their last chief before their scattered exodus insisted on seeing the bottom of the water body. He therefore asked his subjects to scoop out the water till he could see what gave them the fishes. After doing that for some time, people/warriors came out of the water body to attack them which prompted them to abandon their settlements. I believe it is to escape from these “water body warriors” that they sought refuge in Buluk and other parts of the world.
It will be good if any of the professional historians can collaborate to study their history.

2) The Accra Feok Festival

On December 22, 2017, the great Feok/Fiok Festival took place in Sandema. The Feok, in general, is a mixture of different components. It commemorates the victorious battle of the Bulsa against Babatu the slave raider and offers thanks to the Earth, ancestors and other supernatural powers in the form of a sacrifice to the ‘Siik’ tanggbain [earth shrine]. For most visitors from near and far the Feok is a spectacular event. Bulsa dances are performed in which the visitors can participate as well. Many Bulsa who live outside their ethnic territory, regard it as an occasion to visit their homeland and meet relatives and good friends, often after a long time of absence.
Some months after the Sandema Festival, on March 3, 2018, another celebration took place in Accra. It was called “Bulsa Feok – Accra Chapter” by the organizers (see Agandin’s report in BULUK 11). This version of the Sandema festival, especially under the same name “Feok”, caused great annoyance among many Bulsa living in their homeland. The conflict also played out in the Facebook group “Buluk Kaniak”.

Discussion:

Thomas Akannyaawom Amoak: Bulsa Feok Accra Chapter, I found it very difficult to understand how the festival that has always been celebrated by Builsa in Sandema has a regional classification now. Hmmm.

Lawrence Abakisi: The balkanization of the Feok festival celebrations: A short-term gain but a looming disaster for Buluk unity. And so, the latest sectional celebration of Feok in Accra was a huge success, thanks largely to the collective efforts of the organizers and indeed the “Accra Bulsa” not forgetting the representations of royalty and war dancers from Buluk.
In an age where a community is not defined by geographical location alone but by shared identity, values and goals, it may not be farfetched to understand the demand of Bulsa in the “diaspora” and every locality to have their own version of Feok.
Understandably, Feok celebrations anywhere could have their positive implications for Buluk culture and identity, however, I stand to believe that the progressive and unrestrained celebration of the Feok anywhere has dire consequences for Buluk unity and development.
The picture of the various Bulsa communities coming to Sandema in unison for the annual Feok is indelibly printed in my mind: We at Abakisi yeri always anticipated warriors from Wiesi, Dogninga, and especially Wiaga Sinyingsa!
But the subsequent failings of all of us to continue the legacy of the Feok as bequeathed to us, through bad planning and representation obviously led to bitterness of exclusion especially with Bulsa communities other than Sandema…
Honestly, having a Bulsa cultural display or show anywhere should not be a problem, but exporting a festival that binds all the Bulsa people together spiritually, economically and culturally, is another thing!
The Akwasidae Kese of the Asante bring Asante and indeed the whole world to Kumasi. The economic and social benefits of this cannot be underestimated. It is all about branding! For me, the Feok is the biggest festival in the Upper East region and with all its challenges, we could in unison make that happen again.
Instead of our chiefs sending representations to sectional Feok festival celebrations, they should work to bring important personalities to the Feok in Buluk like the late Nab Azantilow did. President Rawlings made the Feok a big festival by his participation those years.
Feok Festival can still be big, let’s encourage all Bulsa and lovers of Buluk culture to patronise the Real Feok. The Buluk Economy stands to benefit greatly and the unity of Buluk which is disintegrating by the day shall surely RISE AGAIN!!!!

Kennedy Azantilow: I don’t think we should start ringing alarm bells! Bulsa Feok is not at risk! The event in Accra and possibly others elsewhere in future can never come close to the real deal! The real deal will always be the real deal! In my view Feok, as we know it, can not be replicated anywhere! What happened in Accra was not Feok! I agree a lot needs to be done to improve Feok.

Lawrence Abakisi: Well, the Accra Feok Festival has gone international to the point it is captured on online Bulsa Journals. I am now anticipating the Kumasi Feok, T’di Feok a la el!
… The organizers christened it Feok, and the chiefs and war dancers went to join in the Accra edition of the Bulsa Feok. You can say it was not Feok but that’s what was sold to the whole world.

John Agandin: You have put out very cogent points here, my brother. The Feok is certainly the summit of Bulsa culture and identity and we must not spare any effort to ensure it endures and grows. I am completely for that. Unfortunately, it seems to me that we have of late fallen asleep on it and hence the issues that have arisen concerning falling standards. Nevertheless, we have not done any objective assessment of what may be responsible for this current trend of affairs. It seems to me that (as is becoming the general culture in Ghana) we are only interested in pointing fingers instead of addressing the real issues. Is there any link between the caliber of people invited to spice up the Feok in recent times and the perceived sectionalism you’re pointing to? (Former Prez. Rawlings was a major attraction in those days). Why are communities outside Sandema now less enthusiastic about Feok today than they were in former times? And I can tell you that not many of such communities celebrate any sectional ‘Feoks’. What attempts have been made to rejuvenate the celebration and promote inclusiveness? You referred to the “Akwasidae Kese” of the Asantes, but you fail to realize that even that festival is also celebrated by Asantes in the diaspora especially in the USA! So, in essence, sectional Feoks are not the bane of the Feok but could be precursors to the main Feok to make it bigger and better. The way we have suddenly grown jittery especially with the Accra Feok; complaining about everything from the christening of it as Feok to even the use of such words as chapter is only a false alarm. We are now behaving like people who are holding onto something that they aren’t sure if it has any value but fear that if they share it, others may find it more useful. So, they would rather hide it so that no one might benefit from it. This may not necessarily be bad but it is our uncompromising attitude that is worrying. The falling standards of Feok has more to do with the divisive messages being carelessly passed around using social and other media, our obsession with NDC/NPP politics, corruption and party divisions in the district assembly (real or fancied), a possible lack of unity of purpose in the traditional council and the adulterous child emanating from all of the above being the poor/inadequate planning of the Feok (mainly because we cannot raise enough resources to make things happen) rather than any sectoral celebrations of the festival. If our chiefs/traditional council have control over the celebration of Feok, what is our worry? Can’t they experiment with sectoral Feoks and end any such celebrations if they are found to interfere with the main Feok?

Achuroa David Akanpentiba: This whole discussion on whether to celebrate Feok outside of Bulsaland is largely based on individual opinions. Not factually based. In this 21st century, serious decisions should not be based on people’s opinions. Several rumours could be peddled on this platform, but this peddling is unhealthy. Let’s give credit to whom credit is due. Organizers of the Feok in Accra did a fantastic job. They brought people from Sandema to Accra, an activity about which I wonder how these people’s transport cost, living expenses in Accra among others were catered for. All in the name to project the cultural identity of the Bulsa to the outside world. Only to be lambasted continuously on social media. We should shift our focus on to how we can measure the impact of this Accra Feok celebration on patronage in this year Feok celebration.

DISCUSSION ABOUT THE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN

Janet Adama: Ka bua, Buluk ka nipokba ya? Nipok ka committee wa po. Bulsa Bisa me ka nipok. Ka bua? [What is this, has the Bulsaland no women? A woman was not in the committee. Bulsa Bisa [club] has no women. What is this?]

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: I love your Buli. It is so sad women were excluded. No Mangasia [“female chief”] was invited, too, even though we now have recognized queen mothers in Buluk… For me it is better all our women remain loyal to the Fiok in Buluk and ignore so-called chapters in Accra which have no recognition to our women.

John Agandin: Women were not excluded and if you read the report, you would realize that women played a central role in it and were duly recognized! That there were no women in the committee does not mean they were excluded. Your opposition did not prevent the celebration from going forth and would not kill the concept!

Janet Adama: Note, I am practising the small, small Buli I manage with my family. What I tried to ask was why there were no women in the committees nor the Bulsa Bisa Club.

John Agandin: There are women in the Buluk Bisa Club, but they were not members of the organizing committee. That is really a huge omission that needs to be addressed. Thanks for pointing this out.

Janet Adama: Beautiful report. What I know is that in almost every household, you have a larger population living outside Buluk than in Buluk and I am not surprised the attendance was so massive. The lorry fare home and back to attend Feok is also wahala and yet we cherish it. If Feok can therefore be brought to our door steps, we do not have to miss this for anything.

John Agandin: The wahala bit may be true, but I don’t think the Feok is the main reason why any Bulsa would want to go home or not. If there is no real desire to visit the motherland, the festival alone may not provide any compelling motivation. And if there is a desire to visit home, witnessing the cultural display outside the homeland would not kill that need or desire.

Fidelis Landy: Honestly, I have decided to stay away from this topic, because I have written several times on this issue and do not want to be seen repeating myself, but I am deciding to just say this: I think organizing a war dance in Accra is a good thing.

John Agandin: Thanks, Fidelis Landy, I agree with you completely. I am actually proposing to the organisers to give it a new name. All the usual dances and more can be done whilst we preserve the word ‘FEOK’ for what happens in Buluk.

Fidelis Landy: John Agandin, if there is a name change, then I am all for it. We need to showcase and market our culture to the outside world, be it in Accra or Kumasi. Other tribes do it, why not the Bulsa. Thinking outside the box is not a crime. I am a traditionalist but a progressive one.

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: It was because of the name that many people complained. We were told that an apology was sent to the Sandem Nab and that subsequent activities like that will not be marketed as Feok. Instead of de-emphasising the event as Feok, people now seek to institutionalize it as something that is normal. Is it that difficult to do a Bulsa traditional meeting without branding it as Feok?

John Agandin: That may be so Linus, but only a few of the complainants were concerned about the name. Many of them focused on more frivolous issues, conjuring up ideas of sacrileges and the fact that it has not been done anywhere before.

3) Bulsa Chiefs’ Names

Introduction to the discussion (F.K.)
Some days after I uploaded John Agandin’s report on “The Builsa Feok – Accra Chapter” on our provisionary Facebook website “Bulsa Journal” (April 2018), there were some reactions to the photo of the Bulsa chiefs present. The caption of the photo was (from left to right): Nab Francis Asangalisa (Chief of Chuchuliga), Nab Amang-nya Abiako (Chief of Uwasi), a representative of the Sandemnab, Nab William Nkrumah Aparinchang II (Chief of Gbedema and chairman for the occasion).

Discussion
…..
Kennedy Azantilow: William Nkrumah?

Franz Kröger: Is the name wrong?

Kennedy Azantilow: I am wondering how and why a Chief is bearing this name! An English first name is acceptable, given our colonial past, but an Akan name, a surname in Akan is very unusual for a Bulsa Chief! I’m not anti-Akan, but a conservative Bulsa.

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: Ken, he was named after Nkrumah to probably mark the date of his birth. I see nothing wrong with that. Let me add that his surname is captured as Apaarinchang.

Kennedy Azantilow: …I still can’t feel “cool” about a Bulsa Chief answering to William Nkrumah! Nkrumah, being a surname in Akan, aggravates my uneasiness! I am thinking of renaming him! Details will be published soon!!

Samuel Anyamasah: Kwame Nkrumah of blessed memory named one of his children after a former President of Guinea. What is wrong about that?

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: The late Chana Chief was officially called Pio Roland Ayagitam. Nothing is odd about Nab William.

Samuel Anyamasah: I think sometimes we need to rise above tribal and ethnic sentiments and demonstrate fidelity to indispensable matters in the interests of national integration. The name of a chief should not be a contentious issue. I will be comfortable with any chief or any other person as the case may be to the extent that he is a person of high moral character and proven integrity.

Kennedy Azantilow: Far from being tribalistic, ethnocentric, petty or unenlightened, I am convinced that a Chief of our land should not answer to a name that is not Bulsa! This is my take! Jokingly, any name can be made Bulsa, simply by adding an A to it! Akennedy, Alinus, Afidelis, Afrancis are examples!

4. Bride Capture and Forced Marriages

Introduction to the discussion (F.K.)
The discussion about “Bride Capture” was prompted by an event that took place in a Bulsa chief’s family. A member of the chief’s family was said to have abducted a Junior High School girl, claiming that she was his wife. In a lengthy discussion, many members of the Facebook Group called for tougher action against the perpetrator. A general discussion on “bride capture and forced marriage” developed from this topic. In addition to personal opinions and attitudes, interesting facts about Bulsa courtship and marriage were voiced here.

Discussion

John Agandin (April 30, 2018): The marriage institution is one of those areas Buluk needs to evolve. Traditionally, the Bulsa have no ‘handing over’ ceremony in marriage, no engagements. No matter how many times a would-be bridegroom ‘visits’ his potential in-laws, or what kind of gifts he gives them, they (the potential in-laws) would never arrange to give him his wife. Indeed, all gifts given before a man has taken his wife home are considered ‘mere gifts’, not part of the bride price! The man is expected to lure his woman home with the support of his friends and family. It is after a man has lured his woman home that he returns to his in-laws to perform the ‘akaa yai le wa bo de’ or ‘akaa gisi ne wa bo de’ rite (literally: “do not search for her for she’s here”).
Now it is true that many people (including myself) have been able to negotiate this process peacefully, but many others have used the opportunity to ‘forcefully’ marry women that they admire but do not have the courage to approach. Some women were forcefully captured and taken to men whom they hardly knew. I have personally rescued two women from such capture and nearly got beaten up once for intervening. This practice of capturing women seems to have slowly become a custom in its own right. This is why our traditional authorities should step up and pass some by-laws to outlaw this shameful practice once and for all. It simply has no place in modern society! I call upon our traditional council and especially the queen mothers of Buluk to rise up against this outmoded practice. I will give them the coming weeks to do so, but if it is not initiated, I would draw up a petition to the council to outlaw the practice and introduce a new ‘tradition’. Buluk must rise!

Martin Akandawen: This has been outlawed many years ago, John.

Ali Karol Rousseau: Wow! Incredible to know that there are still people with that mentality.

Martin Akandawen: As you explained it was seen as dishonouring for a lady to show outward willingness to follow a man to his house as a wife. And I dare say it’s in ladies to shelve any interest they may have in a man. Thus, the practice of carrying a lady shoulder high home amidst bridal songs was a way of protecting the egos of ladies in their so-called fear of being called cheap. It was never meant to be forced marriage. Unfortunately, miscreants came abusing it. The practice was banned by late Nab Sir Dr Azantilow as a result of the abuse of it.

John Agandin: I don’t think it was meant to protect egos in the first place. But playing shy or hard to catch is ‘traditional’ with the female gender in general and our custom may have been just a convenient one. The practice of catching women might have been banned but it was not replaced, so people have no alternative to it. Like every social activity or dominant belief or practice, criticism and banning may not work if there’s no alternative route to be taken, hence my wish for the traditional council to introduce a new custom.

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: Martin got it right. Most of the women in the catching drama ended up staying in the marriage. Before the catching the woman is usually in the market with the men. Maybe enjoying some pito. Then she is lured to a catching point.

John Agandin: Akandzenaam Linus Angabe, that may be so, but our custom is not a consequence of women not wanting to show open affection for a man. The tradition was not developed at the convenience of women but at that of men I would argue!

Gilbert Adum: John Agandin, you are right about finding an alternative option to the practice…I think there is already one….EDUCATION…in your own words from your earlier submission: “many people (including myself) have been able to negotiate this process peacefully”….the many people are the EDUCATED…We must agree with Nelson Mandela that “education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world”. Above all things, let’s promote education, in whichever way we can help our younger ones have better (formal) education, and all these practices will be but things of a distant past.

James Amoak: Eloping is an age-old Bulsa traditional practice even though legally it’s a crime. Some parents double-cross potential suitors by throwing their weight behind those who shower them with more gifts even though those might not be the girl’s first choice. So, elopement becomes the only option. Some girls weep profusely and try to resist their elopers but they lack the strength to elude them. That’s an issue that needs serious debate among all stakeholders in the district.

Akonde A. Evans: Yes, it’s a bad practice among us and must be dealt with.

Anuegabey Simon Gibson: What an interesting topic there! I think Martin Akandawen was actually on point, but Akandzenaam Linus Angabe got me laughing with his frank submission. See, none of the things that were practised by our forebears were/ are bad as modernity is trying to make us cast a slur on all, (even FGM [Female Genital Mutilation]). Like Akandzenaam Linus Angabe said, some of the ladies’ parents and brothers would like the lady to stay long with them so that more suitors will come and they will gain more, forgetting that the one who would eventually marry the lady might have sold out every food particle in the process and the lady would go to the man’s house to suffer to feed. So, the reasons behind the act then, were good, but, they knew what they were doing. Our generation, is perhaps just engaged in the act minus the reasons, hence the callousness. There is no real need these days in elopement since ladies are more open to love issues now than then. In fact, let’s not always be quick to condemn the then actions of our forebears, many of us are products of their actions, let’s only talk of refining them because of the change in time and taste, tnx [thanks].

John Agandin: Being the product of an action does not legitimize that action. Nobody is out to condemn the actions of our forebears, but some of those practices are inimical to life today and need to be condemned in clear terms. And how do you know the intentions of our forebears in those practices? Do we know if those practices were introduced after observing the behaviour of parents with regards to their daughters’ marriages? Just because something is not directly affecting you doesn’t mean you should close your eyes and say let us pause and look for any hidden good in it first. Tell me the good of those practices that “modernity is trying to make us cast a slur on” including FGM? Why is there no real need today for elopement? Aren’t both ladies and parents still exploiting potential suitors? Has ladies’ openness to love issues today curbed the desire of them and their parents to gain more goods from their suitors? If you have participated in such detrimental acts and do not wish to condemn them, don’t say others are quick to do so if the said practices are negatively affecting their lives and society.

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: John, you are going too far. It is not about people participating. Fact is, many reasons accounted for this act. Truth is that some women connived the act for some liberty. If we refuse to investigate this catching we may be insulting a tradition. I insist that there is this love catching. I also know that some folks especially from chief houses abused the system.

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: I don’t think bride capture is an issue today. It is rare.

John Agandin: Not true, Linus Angabe. It only seems so because it is removed from the main towns! It is still the order of the day in the villages and other ‘far off places’. The trend in the towns is more of cohabitation than capturing.

Akandzenaam Linus Angabe: John. We have many wide mouths. They want to chop left, right and centre. That is also another factor for the catching. In many cases the lady wanted it.

Evans Akangyelewon Atuick: John Agandin! On the contrary, that phenomenon is rare in Buluk these days and I don’t know the basis for your conclusion that “it is still the order of the day in the villages and other ‘far off places”. That is not the case but what is rather beginning to be a problem, we should be concerned about is the marriage of girls of school going age!

John Agandin: Evans Akangyelewon Atuick, I have personally witnessed the rescue of two women captured in Sandema market by people from Dogninga and locked up in the house of another person from Dogninga waiting for the cover of darkness to take the sobbing bride home. The cases were reported to the police and the women released. On another day whilst walking towards Awusiyeri through the grove around the durbar grounds, I found two guys dragging a girl away. I threatened them and they let the girl go. These cases happened in Sandema, dare you think of what is happening in Dogninga itself or beyond?

Evans Akangyelewon Atuick: They [the girls] are now desperate to get married and [there is] no need catching anybody. Indeed, women who are forcefully taken into marriage do not last there; they leave within a short while. I might agree that one or two cases may occur but it is now very rare.

Cornelius Adumpo: …In the Bulsa tradition we have “handing over”. There are two ways through which a man can get a wife. These are: Dogleenta and Dueni deka. In the case of dogleenta the parents of the girl will willingly give her out to their relative, friend etc who may later give her out in marriage to someone closer to them when the lady is of age.
Now when we talk of “dueni deka” (courtship), before such type of marriage is properly contracted the young man and his kinsmen have to visit the house at least three times. The first visit should be the suitor and his friends while the subsequent visits will be [to?] the young man’s father (if he is alive and strong) and some elders. So, on the day of the marriage (often determined by the bride’s parents) the mother of the lady will remove a fresh calabash from the “zaaning” (pieces of rope fastened together used in keeping calabashes) and lead her daughter together with her suitors out of the house before she hands it over to her. This is what we call “nisa nari pai teka“. Why capturing of women has come to be part of marriages in Bulsa custom is that, in those days women were fewer than men. So it was common to have more than five men seeking the hand of a young girl. For that matter, in order to outdo one another others would employ that as a measure. Sometimes the ladies themselves can compromise to it. This is when the parents are forcing her to marry someone she does not love.

John Agandin: Indeed, Baba Cornelius, I do like the traditional feeling you have introduced to the conversation, but I am not convinced and here is why. “Dueni deka” does not preclude bride capture. Traditionally, bride capture seems to start with dueni deka. … I have participated in a couple of those in the past and though the bride’s mother did not hand her over to us as your example illustrates, the family did pretend to be asleep to allow us exit the house with the girl. The other point I find it hard to believe is that women were fewer in number than men. In fact, I can’t accept it. Most men use to have more than one wife. There is nothing in the population history of Ghana to suggest that such a case was possible. I would rather say it developed out of greed! The other tradition of “dogleenta” cannot be rightly considered as a handing over ceremony. By handing over here, I mean a parent setting the hand of their daughter into the hand of a man with whom she’s in love or the parent of such a man. But we know this rarely happens in dogleenta. Instead, the aunt of a young girl gives her to her own husband (sometimes in order to prevent him from bringing home a strange woman as second or third wife). Dogleenta is one of the worse evils of our culture! It is when a girl is most restricted in the choice of a marriage partner. I wouldn’t call that handing over.

Cornelius Adumpo: John, I like that angle that you have brought into the issue but when we talk about “dueni deka” it simply means seeking a lady’s hand in marriage. So you said you have ever participated a couple of times and parents pretend to sleep and you eloped with her. That is only another way of getting the lady out of the house. In Buli we call that “siak zi yalika” [agree to marrying]. This is when the lady willingly follows you home. This cannot be considered as “capture”. For talking about women to men ratio in those days, though I don’t have statistics to that effect, talk to any elderly person and they will tell you that women were rare to come by. When we talk of “dogleenta” it does not only mean giving a lady to her aunt. It comes in different shades. We have what we call “soam pok” [daughter-in-law]. This is when a man willingly gives his daughter (whether grown or little) to either his friend or his friend’s son for marriage. A soam pok can also be the case where a man who is closer to a married woman in her community (nong pok) would go to her house or relative house in another community to seek a hand of a lady for her male friend. We also have what we call “Tangbain biik pok” or “Noi duenka pok” [woman of promise]. In this instance a lady is given out in marriage to an earth priest in return for some favour from a shrine. There is also what we call “Tebika pok” [woman of healing]. In this situation a lady is given to a man in compensation for treatment received from a “medicine man”. Sometimes it could be the very lady who received the treatment or any of her relatives. In all these instances, I accept that they limit the choice of the lady, but that does not mean that the parents of the lady did not willingly hand over the lady.

John Agandin: Baabaaa! Cornelius, you’re indeed well versed in our culture and traditions. I totally agree with you that in most of these instances, the parents ‘willingly’ give out their daughter’s hand in marriage. But it still proves what I am trying to show; that those traditions degrade women in our culture. Women were given out as ‘goods’ or payment for some favour or service. In fact, I don’t think we can, properly speaking, consider those ‘methods’ as ways of acquiring a wife. They are usually occasional and irregular.
But what I am advocating for is a more formal kind of ceremony where the two lovers can publicly or within a family setting accept each other in marriage. For me, that should be the logical conclusion to ‘dueni deka‘ instead of elopement or secret giveaways! For when a man publicly proclaims interest or love towards a woman by approaching her parents to seek her hand in marriage (dueni deka), it is only logical that she should be allowed to accept or reject him openly instead of some undercover deal.

Evans Akangyelewon Atuick: Cony Adumpo, you are on point here but you left out one of the ways of marrying, pukogni deka! [pukong/pokong, ‘widow’]

John Agandin Evans: You’re on point. But as you hinted the reasons or causes of bride capture / elopement are many and varied and like you said, these days, some parents hardly even get a visit before their daughter is captured or impregnated.

John Agandin: …You know that when a girl is ‘caught’ and spends a night in the house of the catcher, the ‘marriage’ would be considered to have been consummated (Whether or not it actually happened) and thereafter, she cannot marry any other man from the clan of the first man who caught her. This limits the marriage market for the girl now no bi so?

Fidelis Landy: You are right John, this clan limitation is causing havoc. Do the youth adhere to this anymore? I don’t think so. I think the limits to her marriage basket is not diminished but enhanced because I would personally not abide by this clan limitations

John Agandin: If you don’t adhere to it, you would stay abroad forever!

Abass Emma: I used to enjoy the catching especially [on] the first day when the girl [will] be pretending not to like [the] deal.

Samuel Anyamasah: Great, write up.