MOBILE TELEPHONY IN GHANA

Mobile telephony has come to stay in this part of our world, Ghana. It is quite interesting to see the evolution of the telecom industry move so fast in Ghana. Most people now wonder as to where we're going to be in the not too distant future.
Not until 1995 when the then Spacefon came into being, there was only the fixed line communication and the Analogue (Walkie Talkie) system operated by only one company, Millicom Ghana Limited. But with the introduction of the Spacefon into the system, people who were deemed to be of the 'higher class' possessed such a phone. Fortunately, towards the mid 2000's Ghana Telecom introduced the 'One Touch service, Millicom also introduced the "Buzz" which were all Digital Telephony. One could hold a phone without a chip, whilst others bought the chips at (360, 000 cedis), now 36.00 Ghana Cedis and resold it for as much as (1,200.000.00) now120.00 Ghana cedis.
Today, thanks to the liberalisation of the telecom systems, there is greater competition and the end users are benefiting from it. They enjoyed monopoly, (the first mobile phone operators), but Millicom Ghana ltd decided to break the 'chip monopoly' by reducing its cost drastically to as low as (99, 000.00), now 9.90gps which forced the others to reconsider pricing their chips.
I used to tell fellow brothers that we shall have a day when the telecom companies shall offer unto us fully connected mobile phones for free, and that we shall only be asked to buy credit. It is coming gradually, with a chip being sold for as low as 1.00 Ghana cedi.
Have you realised that people no longer replace their screens, housing, and other minor repairs as frequent as it used to be? Why? It is just simply because mobile phones have become so cheap that there isn't the need for you to spend money capable of buying you a new phone on phone repairs. The business is dwindling and it is keeping a lot of guys out of the repairs business.
One funny thing creeping into the use of the mobile of late is the way we speak. You would realise upon serious observation that instead of guys and gals putting the phone close to their ear, they rather move it closer to their mouths when communicating with someone after which they move it back close to their ear to listen. That to me is funny, looking at the technology used in the manufacture of a digital mobile phone. The Phone is a "FULL-DUPLEX" system, which means that you should be able to talk and listen at the same time. But it baffles my mind to see guys and gals moving the phone 'to and fro' each time they are talking. That's wrong and we should rethink how we use the mobile phone.
In a Half-Duplex system, two parties can communicate, but one at a time. An example of a half duplex system is the 'Walkie-Talkie' or the (Motorola) as popularly known in the Ghanaian society. So if your phone is not a walkie-talkie and you are moving it back and fro, it looks to me as if you don't really understand the usage of the system you are holding. A Simplex communication system is where by one transmits and one receives without being able to send a feedback (eg TV or Radio). We are in a digital world, we ought to move the way and manner the digital community is moving. You and I can help make the use of digital systems more meaningful for the advancement of human race and for the uplifting of the people who live by you. Let the mobile phone you are using be a tool for development; not for gossips, lies, threats, and any other thing which is illegal. How come upon using a mobile phone you have become a liar? When you are suppose to tell someone exactly where you are, you prefer to lie about your location? You can do better than the way you are doing  now. Tell someone by you not to use the mobile phone to lie. Use it to help someone's life. Share the Good News of God. You know you can definitely do better than you are doing now. Wise up. Thank you.

EFFECTS OF ALCOHOLISM

Health experts agree that alcohol do have effect on human beings ranging from headaches to heart failures and abnormal behaviours . It is true that alcohol can make people feel confident, less inhibited and more euphoric. This stimulant effect is the main motivating factor for the increasing popularity in alcohol consumption. Alcohol is credited for its notoriety in inducing depression, sleep disturbances and sometimes make people fall into coma thereby making the drug a dangerous depressant. Alcohol affects the liver, pancreas and the entire cardiovascular system with women at a greater risk. The sad aspect is that a woman who drinks passes on the effects to the unborn child. In Ghana there is ample evidence of broken relationships, disintegration of families and untimely deaths as a result of alcohol. Several lives have also been lost on the roads due to drink driving.

One can therefore comfortably conclude that alcohol presents a fatalistic prospect for the future and at best a pessimistic and deceitful bliss for its users. Unfortunately, Ghanaians on one hand condemn alcohol intake especially among children and at the same time demonstrate pictorially yet falsefully that alcohol is simply a sign of good living. The media continue to associate alcohol with beauty, success, love and worse of it all, an antidote to all sexual disorders with impunity. The National Media Commission, the Advertisers Association of Ghana, the Food and Drugs Board and other state agencies, which are supposed to correct this anomaly, look on helplessly. Are we by this admitting that the monetary gains in these adverts are more important than the potential dangers to society? The laws of Ghana make it criminal for anyone to send a minor to buy alcoholic beverages as well as sell alcohol yet this practice goes on day in day out across the country. May be the time has come for the state to take a second look at how alcohol is dignified in the country. Alcohol affects Ghanaian society everyday, yet the battle against drugs seems to be centred on only cocaine.

The question as to whether one drinks alcohol or not is immaterial since drinking has a trickle down effects on the entire society. This makes it mandatory for all to help wage a relentless war against alcoholism. Many are those who have never taken alcohol before yet have died from alcohol induced lorry accidents. Those who drink in the hope of forgetting their worries must remember that the same problems will resurface after sometime, with additional health hazards. Those who have conditioned their minds to remain alcoholics should stop blaming witches and other unseen spiritual powers as responsible for their actions. They must make conscious efforts to quit or start preparing their wills, if any, because alcohol is a hidden magnet that attracts its cohorts to the grave. A word to the wise is enough.
Courtesy: George Asekere gbcghana.com

WE STILL HAVE MARVELOUS PEOPLE AROUND

QUESTION one usually asks is: Are there still generous individuals among us in Ghana and the world as a whole? I will DARE today say we still have some individuals who are willing to offer the little help in whatever form they can. There are people who despite the economic hardships they are facing and the level of demand on them still have the "hearts" to cater for the less privileged in society by taking care of them in so many ways.
Some of them cloth, feed, school and sponsor them in a way that even billionaires are not willing to offer in any form.
I have enjoyed a MARVELOUS help from such a wonderful person, who despite the fact that he has so many things to cater for, STILL SACRIFICES and squeezes something for me to enable me pay my school fees. The person is equally a civil or public servant as you are, whose salary is nothing to write home about; but yet he/she is able to help. How many people have you helped so far? How many girls have you changed so far and how much have you spent on them in boutiques and hotels? How many times have you paid someone's fees in the school, whether in the senior high or tertiary institution?
Do you really think you are not there yet? When will it be?
In order to build the manpower needs of our country, we must try to empower individuals by training and educating them well, rather than partying with people on weekends and during social gatherings or birthdays. For any village or town to develop, it is the human resource base which ought to be tackled. That is why as individuals, we should endeavour to put in every effort at helping people who have the desire to further their education to any level. You can start today by doing something for someone who needs your assistance in paying his/her school fees and I tell you, you are going to see the extent of GRACE that will be your portion to carry/spill over.
Equally, if you are a beneficiary of any support from anywhere, be mindful of your obligation to say 'thank you,' and to work hard at achieving the purpose for which money and resources are being spent on you. Ingratitude is the bane of Ghanaians. We must appreciate whatever government, individuals, institutions or even our parents offer us and diligently work at paying back in one way or the other. Even our creator admonishes us to; so it is important to to go back and work harder than before in whatever form as much as possible.    
Whoever has helped someone before, I wish to say that you should keep it up. Whoever it is that is doubting as to why he/she should help someone, I say the returns are numerous. Whoever it is that has enough to eat and spillover and yet has not helped anyone in any good form, I wish to say you are losing benefits and protection. Whoever it is that is receiving help from people, remember you have a duty to be productive, appreciative, sincere, work hard and emulate the good things others are doing for you now. Remember others have been put in your hands to cater for them as you are being catered for now, so do not let the resources being poured on you now be in vain. Those who have been sponsored by others and they have been ungrateful, please it is not over yet. You can still help someone out there. Numerous people have been to you and you refused them help. Why? What happened? Have you forgot of where you came from? Have you no conscience that someone did sacrifice for you to make you who you are today? Then please mend the holes you have created for yourself.
I just hope that someone is touched upon reading this material and is feeling the guilt of not living up to expectations and will try as much as possible to rectify his/her shortfalls.
Thank you. 

CHRISTIANITY AND CHURCHIANITY IN GHANA: WHAT HAS BROUGHT ABOUT IT ALL?

Many were those who found joy worshipping their new found faith, throwing away and putting aside anything contrary to what they had learned, believed and practiced. Many were those who sacrificed their lives for the propagation of the word of God. They lived their lives building the church of God. Others lost their lives through the construction of God’s church. Many indeed are those who moved day and night, whether rain or shine to ‘catch men’ into the kingdom of God. Many are those who traveled hundreds of thousands of miles, being led by the spirit of God into our land some three hundred to four hundred years ago, to share the light of the Kingdom of God with those who knew nothing about it. Yes, many are those who had to learn our languages and took pain to try to translate the word of God for us to read and understand. Many are those who carved the stones to put up buildings as classrooms and encouraged people to learn a foreign language. Oh yes! Many are those whose souls are in great ‘ANGUISH’ for the church of today! My brothers and sisters, indeed again, many are those who preached the WORD of God without asking for water to drink or food to eat, because they had been filled with Heavenly food and water. Many are those who considered the word of God first, before any other thing.

But what are we seeing today? Is it Churchianity or Christianity that we are practicing? I am ashamed to ask this question, since I profess myself to be the ‘follower of Christ’ without living and exhibiting the examples of Christ.

This question is no where answerable by me, a mere JSS graduate, since it has been tackled by many learned and experienced people. But I am only attempting to pose some questions for our deliberations as we try to adjust to the happenings around us.

Who is to blame? Society or ‘Men of God?’

Majority of us people who fervently pray every now and then. Others hurriedly and briskly walk to church on Sundays to thank God for several reasons. Yes, we all go to church, but why the rampant and incessant  increase in crime rate, sexual immorality, alcohol abuse, pornography, lesbianism, gangsterism, hypocrisy, murder, jujuism, nepotism, sectarianism, jealousy, egoism, fraud, and hard-heartedness?

Churches are more than schools we have in Ghana at present. Preachers are more than preachers we had during the introduction of Christianity into our land.

Many are the ‘Prophets’ than during the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Many are really the communication media we have at the moment than the early preachers.

Many are those who have learned church history, Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology and so on and so forth. But why?

 Men of God

People who have the opportunity to speak and touch people’s hearts fail woefully due to the fact that they themselves have failed to follow the Commandments of God. How can a man of God tell his congregation to listen to him, accept what he is teaching and ignore his “IMMORAL LIFESTYLE?” Did any of the followers of Christ (apart from Judas Iscariot) speak about Him and lived a different lifestyle?

Christ is the light of the world, so therefore you being the follower of Him ought to have light in you, so that the past and dirty linen you used to wear would be replaced with new and you shall be a light unto others. So how come today, we are forced to ‘compete with men of God’ with our wives? How come we are forced to rival with them who preach to us that the Kingdom of God is at hand and for which reason we must refrain from doing evil? Aren’t they the ones who are supposed to live and lead a chaste life? Aren’t those who prepare the soup supposed to taste the soup before anyone else? How palatable is the soup that you want us to taste and yet you who have prepared it have refused to take it? Men of God must remember that they are the leaders of the flock and must therefore strive to live above reproach. It is a calling you are responding to, so it shouldn’t be a nine day wonder whereby you get in, swear an oath to the Creator of Heaven and Earth before His chosen men and women not to do ABCD and renege on your promise to uphold your integrity and the sanctity of the dwelling place of God.

 Church Elders and their Roles.

Just like how political leaders come into office and promise to serve the interest of their people and immediately after tasting power get corrupted, that is what has crept into the church now. People have now taken the church to be a ‘Bonafide’ property. Without them nothing works in the church. When they even flactulate, they expect others to take it as normal, but when the ordinary coughs, it is seen as disrespect. The way and manner in which activities are carried out in the church depicts that there is ‘selectivism’ in God’s church. Let the rich have a problem and you will see how it will be carried shoulders high, but when the ordinary man who rather needs help and publicity is in trouble, they behave as the ostriches do, hiding their heads and pretending not to see anything at all.

People go to church and are very eager to leave because something is awaiting elsewhere. Is it a mockery of God or what? He has given you six days in a week to live and do whatever you desire and recognize that the last day is His, so therefore you should relax and show unto Him your gratitude. But what do we see nowadays? During announcements, that is when we want everyone in the church to see the new things we have worn to church and our style of walking. You will see others leaving before the final blessing is said by the officiating priest.

What is in this world that we are chasing? Haven’t we learnt enough to guide us the rest of our lives? Haven’t we learned that we are only toiling on earth here for nothing? Haven’t we learnt that people who were laid with gold have had their tombs excavated for those ornaments? We have refused to learn. Those of us who go to church to show off what we have must start to rethink our behaviour. Those who go to church because they think others will enquire as to why they could not attend church must rethink their stance.

Those who do not take the Day of the Lord seriously must wise up. We are all guilty of this. Once you are the creation of God, please do remember that you are answerable to your Creator one day.

So the question is:

Are you a Churchian or a Christian?

Think about it.

THE DAGAABA-FRAFRA JOKING RELATIONSHIP - Joseph Yelepuo Wegru

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Introduction

The present article concerns inter-ethnic humour and its development between the Dagaaba and Gurune (or Frafra) tribes in Ghana. This is but one aspect/dimension of the total socio-cultural richness of these people, which needs to be researched and recorded for succeeding generations. For instance, Kropp-Dakubu (1988) deplores the unsatisfactory state of knowledge about the origins of the various languages of northern Ghana and the small number of people qualified to write about them. Kropp-Dakubu's lament about the state of northern Ghanaian languages can be applied, to some extent, to our present discussion. None of the works on the life of these two tribes addresses the present topic. It is also important to note that until well into the 1960s, when Dagaaba intellectuals entered the scene, little new historical research was being carried out on the Black Volta¹ region, either in Ghana or in Burkina Faso. The attention of earlier scholars was concentrated on only pre-colonial states such as Dagomba, Gonja, Wa and Mossi. The so-called 'stateless societies' remained marginal to the interest of most historians (Lentz 1994). This neglected area of academic research includes the two tribes of our present discussion.

The crucial matter of this article is based on a legend, narrated by Anthony Atarebore² during an interview³ conducted by the writer himself, in the quest for an explanation to the Dagaaba-Frafra joking relationship in Ghana. However, it is essential to trace this development in the context of history, mythology, folklore, culture and traditions of these peoples. Aware of the limited and debatable documentary evidence available on the origins of these peoples, the article does not claim to be a final authority on the subject. Research on oral tradition regularly points out that migration stories and genealogies cannot be taken at face value. We can only attain certain levels of plausibility (Lentz 1994).

The first comprehensive ethnographic survey of the western Sudan, which includes the two tribes under our discussion, was made by Delafosse at the instigation of Clozel, Governor of the Colonie du Haut-Sénégal-Niger, within some twelve years of the final occupation of the area by the French (Goody 1967). Following this pioneering work, many other scholars, including Jack Goody, have done further extensive work on the Dagaaba at different times. Greenberg, Westermann, Wilks, Labouret, Rattray, Hamilton and Cardinall, Lentz, Somé, to mention a few, have done some general anthropological and historical work on the people of northern Ghana. St. John-Parsons D. has also compiled Legends of Northern Ghana. However, there is very little exclusive literature on the Frafra people in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

The origin of the Gurune and the Dagaaba

The Dagaaba is a predominantly agricultural tribe of a little over one million, living in the northwestern part of Ghana called the Upper-West Region, and in southwestern Burkina Faso. Although they speak a continuum of several dialects (Dagaare, Waala, Birifor), Dagaare appears to be the umbrella language for the dialects. The major towns of the Dagaaba in Ghana are Wa, Lawra, Jirapa, Babile, Nandom, Hamile, Nadawli, Kaleo, Daffiama, and Tuna. However, there are also many Dagaaba communities in Accra, Kumasi, Cape Coast, and most major towns and villages throughout the country.

Until recently the Dagaaba were subsistence farmers and hunters (Goody 1962). Farming is so central to the economy of Dagao that more and more people migrate southwards in search of better lands. It is fashionable for adolescent Dagaaba to move down south in the dry season to farm for money and the success of their first trip has become more or less a yardstick for measuring their growth to adulthood and their ability to live independently and raise a family.

The Gurune or Frafra⁴ are also predominantly agricultural people in the north-eastern part of Ghana called the Upper East Region. Major Gurune towns include Bolgatanga, Bongo, Zuarengu, Somburungu, and they also live in surrounding villages. Today, the Gurune can be found in many major towns and villages all around Ghana including Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Sunyani and Cape Coast. They are also highly mobile, often travelling south to look for work during the dry season. There are also some Gurune-speaking people (the Nankani) in Navrongo District, which is generally a Kasem-speaking area. Native Gurune are also found in Burkina Faso, in the Nahouri province, Eastern part of Tiébélé and in the region of Pô.

Gurune, Nankani, Booni, Talni, and Nab't together with some others are considered the major dialects of the Frafra people. However, Nab't and Talni could also be considered dialects of Mampruli; Mampruli, Kusaal, and Dagaare are in turn considered to be sister languages to Gurune. There are obvious linguistic similarities among these and the other languages of the Mabia language group (Bodomo 1994; St. John-Parsons 1960).

Playmates

It is common knowledge in Ghana that the Dagaaba and the Gurune have an admirably cordial relationship. They can joke and tease each other in the public without either taking undue offence as they have mutual understanding as Mabia, or playmates.⁵ Either party's age, sex, religion, educational or social status does not influence this cordial relationship; being born in either tribe is the sufficient prerequisite. Active participation in the jokes is, however, not compulsory. Although there are some who neither initiate nor participate in the jokes, neither do they prevent others from joking.

The concept of playmates is not confined to the Gurune and Dagaaba tribes in Ghana. Several other tribes in the country share this concept and exercise it among themselves. For instance, the Kasena and the Sisaala are playmates. Playmates can also be members of the same tribe (Goody 1967). For instance, the Zage and the Naayile are two Dagaaba clans who are playmates. Similar groups can be found also among other tribes. Playmates are often in the position of an intermediary resolving conflicts and restoring peace among community members.

However, the focus of this article is not on the concept of playmates as a whole (a field that has been intensively studied in anthropology), but on the Gurune-Dagaaba playmate relationship, which recently has gained both national and international attention. Fraternity between these two tribes is a positive phenomenon amidst the growing number of ethnic and tribal conflicts that plague the African continent today. Having a relationship of playmates is healthy for ethnic groups, diffusing tensions in potentially dangerous situations.

The Origin of the Relationship

The origin of the Gurune-Dagaaba relationship is as yet undetermined. Little is known as to its origin. People accept joking as a common practice between the two tribes, their general concern is but to enjoy the jokes and live in harmony. However, fascinating stories and legends are told in connection with its origin. Many ethnic groups or sub-groups in northern Ghana have legendary history telling how their ancestors came from Mamprusi or Dagomba lands, but it is not clear whether these narratives reflect migration of whole peoples or the arrival of chiefly families to rule over previously chiefless peoples (Kropp-Dakubu 1988).

According to a legend narrated by Anthony Atarebore⁶, the Frafra and the Dagaaba were both linked with the Dagomba. This Dagomba connection re-echoes Hébert's legend about the first Dagara, an orphan who was accused of witchcraft and expelled by the Dagomba chief. The orphan accordingly fled towards the Black Volta and stayed near Babile, across the river. However, both legends do not account for the relationship with other ethnic groups⁷, which are shown to belong to a common Mabia ancestry (Bodomo 1994).

Bodomo (1994) rejects the hypothesis put forward by Tuurey (1982) and Hébert (1976) that the Dagaaba are a splinter group from either the Mossi or the Dagomba (or both), who moved into the present area and assimilated (or got assimilated by) earlier settlers and/or new arrivals. As stated above, the work instead suggests all these belong to an earlier and larger parent ethnolinguistic group - the Mabia that broke up into many separate tribes probably due to hardships encountered during migration. Even though there is not any known legend connected to this hypothesis, Kropp-Dakubu (1988) seems to suggest how this might have happened.

If migration separates different groups or speakers of a language, for instance, by a big river or mountain frontier, then the speech of the group will change independently of the changes in the other. Thus we find different varieties of a single language - what we call dialects. If the dialects continue to be separated and to differ more and more from each other then eventually the speakers of each will no longer understand the speakers of the other, and we will have two distinct languages derived from one original tongue. Such languages would be said to be 'related' and the analogy of human kinship is used to describe them as 'descended' from the same 'parent' or 'ancestor' language. If the two descendant languages themselves split into dialects and then into further descendant languages then we can talk of 'sub-families' and of closer or more remote relationships. In this way we consider that all the languages which we call Gur which includes the Dagaaba and the Frafra may be the result of many, many centuries of change and migration and splitting up of what was originally one ancestor language.

We will elaborate further Atarebore's legend that a long time ago, Dagomba, Gurune and Dagao were brothers, or rather cousins. They lived somewhere in Southern Africa among the Bantus. From Southern Africa, they began to migrate northwards through Zimbabwe, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. Then, turning westward, they moved to Sierra Leone, Northern Nigeria, and finally to Ghana. Historians differ in their opinion as regards to the nature and scale of these movements. For instance, Lentz (1994) rejects the hypothesis put forward by Eyre-Smith's⁸ that the history of northern Ghana, indeed of the whole West African savannah, seemed to consist of 'constant' movements of people as a result of slave-raiding, internecine warfare, etc., whole sections of a tribe or family breaking away and migrating to a new territory. Instead, Carola Lentz suggests that migration took place in small-scale distances and in small groups.

In general, there are some cultural similarities between the Dagaaba, the Dagomba and the Gurune, and some peoples living in the countries mentioned. These include wedding customs, bringing up children, respect for the elderly, etc. Similar food and clothing are also fair indicators of common origin, in addition to other social and cultural similarities, which also seem to indicate the validity of the legend. This is purely the writer's own assumption.

Phonetic similarities in some person names in these countries also suggest the plausibility of the legend. For instance, the name 'Abongo' is common both among the Gurune in Ghana and among some of the peoples in Kenya. Another name, 'Bayuo' or 'Beyuo' is also common among the Dagaaba in Ghana as well as among some of the peoples in Sierra Leone. Staniland (1975) suggests that the Dagomba were pagans of Hausa⁹ origin, possibly from Zamfara, one of the old Hausa 'Banza Bokwo' states located in northern Nigeria. Atarebore's legend suggests that from here, the family began to move westward and finally reached Ghana.

Upon arriving in Ghana, the family settled in Damongo, south of Tamale, exercising trade in hides and skin. They agreed to travel in turns to Upper Volta [current Burkina Faso], to buy goods to sell in Ghana. Dagomba was the first to go. He bought goods and came back.¹⁰ Next Dagao went, but he did not return. He got married and settled in Burkina Faso. He became both the chief [Naa] and the landlord [Tendaana¹¹, or Tengansob] there.¹²

After a long time waiting in vain for the return of Dagao, Dagomba decided to send Gurune to look for him. In Burkina Faso he found the brother happily married and doing very well. He was the owner of vast farmlands and numerous animals. He was so well established that he could afford to marry fifty or more wives. Having many wives was a symbol of status in society. It turned out that the visitor like the host was not to return. Dagao kept him from going back.¹³

Consequently, Gurune settled with his brother and the two worked together in Burkina Faso. They were both prosperous and hard working. Gurune got married and the two families continued to live together in harmony.

Dagao decided to share his authority with Gurune. He gave Gurune the title of the chief, but retained the title of landowner. According to tradition, the office of the landowner is more important than that of the chief.

A time came when they wanted to perform a thanksgiving sacrifice to God. Dagao, who was the Tendaana, consulted with the ancestors as to the best sacrifice. A dog was chosen. The sacrifice was to be held at dawn on a chosen day.

As it would be difficult to kill a dog at dawn, they decided to kill it the previous evening. Only the head and entrails of the dog were needed, so they took and hid these parts. But when everybody was sleeping, the oldest son of Gurune stole the sacrificial meat. He was eating it when the oldest son of Dagao found him. Together they ate all the meat, but decided to hang the skull on the family shrine.

In the morning when the elders gathered for sacrificing, Dagao went to fetch the meat, but the meat had disappeared. The whole house was searched and the compound swept to no avail. They found only dry bones hanging over the shrine. The poor elders were drowned in fear and wondered what to do next.

Then the youngest son of Gurune came forth as an eyewitness. He had seen his elder brother and cousin eating the meat. But Dagao could not accept that his son was a thief and put the blame on Gurune's son. This annoyed Gurune so much that he decided to move out of the house and go his way together with his family. Upon leaving he threatened to go east and prevent the sun from rising. Fearing what his brother might do, Dagao decided to move his family west so that he could prevent the sun from setting.

And this is why the Gurune is found in the east, the Dagomba in the south and the Dagaaba in the west of Northern Ghana.

A legend may not provide factual information, yet it entertains and stimulates critical thinking. However, it provides a possible explanation of Dagaaba-Frafra jokes involving 'dog head' as in the following two stories. The main subject of the story usually depends on the narrator. The Dagao tells the story against the Frafra and vice versa.

A Fraframan was riding his motor bike without wearing his crash helmet. Instead, he hung the helmet on the handlebars of the machine. On his way, the police stopped him to ask why he was not wearing the crash helmet but rather preferred to have it hanging on the handlebars of the machine. «You should always wear a crash helmet to protect your head», said the policeman. «Exactly, that is what I have done to the head. I am protecting it with the crash helmet», replied the Fraframan. Surprised at the response, the guard grabbed the helmet from the handlebars and a dog's head fell out.

A Fraframan was cooking dog meat in his house when his Dagao friend visited. Meanwhile, the Fraframan had taken out, from the pot, some of the meat he was cooking to taste when he heard the friend's voice in the courtyard. He was greedy and did not want to share with his friend. So, he quickly removed his hat, put the hot piece of meat into it and put it back on his head. He then met the friend at the gate with the intention of not allowing him into the house. He wanted to receive the friend casually and dismiss him quickly. But the friend was in great talking mood and kept talking for a long time. The Fraframan then became very uncomfortable and began to twist his head sideways so as to ease the pain. In the process, the dog meat fell out of the hat.

The legend also describes the roles of the Tendaana and the Naa among the Dagaaba, Dagomba and Gurune. The distinctive functions of the Tendaana and the Naa among these tribes are respectively spiritual and political.

The influence of the Hausa language on Dagaare is another example to the point. The word barika for 'thank you' in Dagaare is, in actual fact, a Hausa word, not to mention the derivation of tuo zaafi and fitoo (pito) which are, respectively, the staple food and drink of the native people of Northern Ghana. However, Kropp-Dakubu (1988) suggests this could have happened due to interactions through trade and commerce.

Growth and Development of the Relationship

Participation in the jokes has several benefits. They appear spontaneously regardless of place, occasion, or circumstance. The jokes are always similar in content and context, be it at the market place, the pito bar or the funeral house. Joking usually involves one-to-one informal play and takes place whenever and wherever members of the two tribes meet. In fact, knowing the other person to be a Frafra or Dagao gives a feeling of brotherhood. One can go ahead with play even if it be the first time they meet.

Benefit to brotherhood seems to be the main purpose of the jokes between the two tribes. Through jokes, social and moral concepts like love, peace, understanding, hospitality, generosity, concern for others, to mention but a few, are developed. Members of the two tribes have always supported each other in both good and bad times. They attend and take active part in each other's celebrations - weddings, funerals and other important holidays.

The jokes also help to lower initial communication barriers, establish trust and make it easier to approach each other. Consequently, sharing is facilitated and it takes place in the atmosphere of peace, trust and mutual understanding. Moreover, the general public also enjoys the joking. Sometimes 'foreigners' want to participate in the jokes.

As mentioned before, the Gurune and Dagaaba are very mobile. They travel to the southern part of the country in search for employment during the dry season after harvest. This common pattern makes the tribes allies in a way and probably also contributes to keeping the relationship between them alive.¹⁴

Such joking is similarly popular among members of the two tribes who are either Catholic priests or followers of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga diocese. During their annual Christmas and Easter picnics, a dog is usually killed and the head carried around in jubilation to show their unity and solidarity.

Up to this point, one may be tempted to conclude that the Gurune-Dagaaba relationship is all roses and no thorns. Unfortunately, there have been cases of conflict and misunderstanding due to the jokes. Sometimes jokes are focused on teasing, and not edifying or brotherly communication. For instance, calling somebody 'an ugly dog-head eater' is an insult rather than a joke. There was also an occasion in Bolgatanga where pieces of packing foam were mixed with scrambled eggs and served to some Dagaaba for breakfast. Extensive joking can create animosity between the best of friends. Therefore, participants have to be sensitive to the feelings of others.

Conclusion

Although there are some problems, it seems that both tribes are willing to continue the relationship; they want to know its origins and they want their children to keep it up. One way to strengthen this relationship would be via common cultural and sports events. Inclusion of cross-cultural differences in school curriculum and exchange projects of both teachers and pupils of different regions could also be organised. Such cultural and social activities have the potential of reducing prejudices among both tribes. Invitation to and participation in each other's annual festivals are also examples. Joking has also encouraged inter-tribal marrying.

Jokes should exclude elements affecting the dignity and welfare of any group. The joking relationship has the potential of resolving conflicts. Participants need to treasure and nurture it to let it mature.

This article has attempted to find origins of the Dagaaba-Frafra jokes, a modest contribution to the on-going debate about the historiography of 'stateless' peoples in the northern Ghana. It has also sought to stimulate the reader to further research in the subject: one can ask the elders, or search libraries, and when he writes down what he has learned, the rich oral traditions will be turned into well-written history.

Members of the two ethnic groups need to consciously work at reforming the relationship so as to make it more acceptable, enjoyable and dignified. They should continue to work together and organise more joint cultural and educational activities at all the levels to include their confreres in the neighbouring countries.

 Culled online by: Beyuo John Paul n July 2011.

What is Incontinence?

Incontinence is defined as the inability to control the bodily evacuative functions of urination or defecation. Incontinence can involve the loss of normal control of the bladder (called urinary incontinence) or the bowel (called bowel or fecal incontinence). Incontinence is not as uncommon a problem as people perceive it to be. Unfortunately, most people are not cognizant of this issue until this symptom affects them directly. It is reported that victims of incontinence have a tendency to feel embarrassed or ashamed and try to deal with this issue on their own.
 Causes of Incontinence
Incontinence is a symptom. Contrary to what people think, incontinence is not a disease. Individuals become victims to urinary or bowel incontinence due to a problem that exists within their body. There are numerous reasons for causing incontinence which include: damage to nervous system, abnormality in prostate glands, weakening of the bladder muscles, diseases, among others. If you are experiencing urinary or bowel incontinence, it is important to seek medical advice so your doctor can diagnose the cause.
To understand the cause of incontinence in men and women, let us examine how our body normally excretes waste. The kidneys continuously work to process blood and remove waste. This waste is mixed with extra water to form urine and is stored in the bladder. As for solid waste, the formulation of stool occurs in the large intestines, also referred to as the colon. The large intestine primarily forms solid waste by absorbing water from any undigested food. The stool stored is then stored in the rectum. As the bladder or rectum fills with waste, the nervous system signals that there is need to use the restroom. Simply put, the kidneys, large intestines, bladder, rectum, and nervous system play a cooperative role in the bodily excretory process. If a problem exists in any of these organs, our body may not be able to excrete waste as it should and possibly cause incontinence to occur.
 Recognized causes of urinary and bowel incontinence affecting men and women are as follows:
Normal Aging. As we get older our bodies steadily degenerate as part of the aging process. It takes longer to recover from strenuous exercise compared to our teen years, our skin complexion is not as soft as a child’s, and our joints are not what they used to be… you get the point. It is normal that with age, our organs, including the brain, will get weaker. For this reason, incontinence is more prevalent in older generations.
Parkinson's Disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder that breaks down control of motor skills and muscle movement. Parkinson’s disease affects the central nervous system and is commonly recognized by muscle tremors of the limbs while resting. Parkinson’s disease prevents the brain from effectively sending messages throughout the body. Not all victims of Parkinson’s disease have symptoms of incontinence as this typically appears in later stages of the disease progression.
Neurological Diseases. Any disease that affects the nervous system, like Parkinson’s disease, can cause incontinence. The primary reason Multiple Sclerosis is a disease where the body’s immune system attacks its own central nervous system. As the nervous system breaks down, the body is unable to function properly.
Abnormal Excretory Glands. There is a delicate balance to how excretory glands function and if one fails then incontinence can occur. Even surgery can result in one of the organs not functioning properly.
Although there are different causes to incontinence, it is not life threatening and many adults are still able to continue their lifestyle with some adjustments. There is a big fear with incontinence victims that an accident may occur at any time making isolation and depression a common symptom. Talking with your doctor will reveal treatment options available, exercises to minimize occurrence, and even product recommendations so a continued lifestyle is possible with adult incontinence.
Source: Google (http://www.whatisincontinence.com) with some editing by Beyuo John Paul.