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W. TABMEiM « DILriTK(GiO IN BiJl CULTURE coi^teitts ,. Table of ^T t^ , - acknowledgements . ^^^^ Jr^/c'.^ INTRODUCTION !• HOW DEi^wTH (GA) CixME INTO TIIS \/ORLD 1 - S Death and evil Ordeal trial by sassywood How Ga once carie to Deinplay tovm 11, HETiVPHYSIC'JL CONCEPTS OF THE DiJT TRIBE , 6 - 11 Soxil; spirit; breath;- body; life; life beyond the gtave 111. CUSTOMS AND BELIEFS RELATED TO DE-aTH ,.,.... 11 - 22 !• Synbolic reincarnation cerenoi^ •. • 2» Death of a young baby 3» Death signs A., Gd. Kuu (premonition) 5, Rules to announce death ^" ^, 17 ways of dying, their characteristics and names •- 7« Death descriptions 8, Death judgements 9» -Death greetings and condolences 10. Of ghosts (Glebors) 11, Research of fertility as. connected with the spirit of the dead IV, N'NUU S^iNSU (Humorous death draca) .,.,.,,,,.,, .,22 - 24 V. DAN BURIiJ. ., ,, 24 ^ 2? VI. COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE LIVING AlTD THE DE^D /« C ON Ei-JRTH AND THE REiJLM OF THE DExJ) . , . , , ,2? Resurrection A return trip fron Glebor-or to Kpo-nla Return trip fron earth to Glebor-»cr Nanluo (heaven) Vision that led to heaven Direct trip to heaven and back To heaven and back through vision Xlan and Spider's Hweh-ehleh Birth of religion froa heaven Vll, PROVERBS RELiJ?ED TO GA.,..,». ..4...... ^ *• 51 3031G97 CHAPTER T W 70 Ha^»" DEi.TH CiJlE TO ZOE VA TiJBKElj *.. 52 - Tabnen's "brief biography Partaking Tabmen's spiritual inheritance Moiirning for the death of a husbeuid Farewell feast The traditional cow feast The performers The Dan nystical concepts interpreted as a religion 70-72 A C £ IT W L 3 D G E ri ^ IT T IS Acknov/ledgements and thanlcs are due to: Informants Koazy Zaynsty, Duo Gbor-orcbe, David Toe Tabmencbe, David Zcagou Uandahgbe, Nanlcasir Gblor- gbe Tabnen and others for their invaluable information. To Clan Chief niane Diagbe, the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Photographer Ilr. iitanely 31ay, the people of ITyor Diaplay, and all the performers who were good enough to make the feast a success. To Iiadam Layanon Tabmen,. whose swift errand enabled Uoboa to see his father's corpse before burial. Last but not least, to the unknown taxi driver who gave me a free ride from Tionrovia to Bahn Mission that Sunday night - this kind Dan man refused to give me his name and address. G T IITTRODUCTION PRESElTATIOn OF THE Mil THIBE The Dan Po-ae are the people of the Dan tribe who claim to have derived from the North and now occupy parts of Liberia, Gimiea, and Ivory Cosist, The tribe is known by two different names: Gio for Liberia and Yakuba for those in Ivory Coast. Gio is merely a name of a Dan section in the Tapehta zone in Liberia and not the proper name for the tribe. The Gio section out of which the name Gio emerged comprised of the following towns: Lor-u-play, Gbaaplay, Sahlay, and Slangonplay, Yaioiba is also a Ilandingo name given to the Dans in Ivory Coast by the Mandingoes. It is said that the word Yakuba derived from the Dan word "yapobaa", meaning, "he or she says," The former Pa- ramount Chief Lororgehyagbe of the Loe Chiefdom in Ivory Coast explained that the name Yakuba was erroneously given by a French explorer who discovered the Dan tribe after hearing "yapobaa" repeatedly by his Dan interpreter, 'i^e people are Dan by tribe and sometimes call themselves Dan Po-me and Aponen, (Aponen means "I say," and MS in Po-me is human being or person), Dan is a tonal language which comprises about eleven major accentual groups. THE LIH£HI.\IT GROUPS OF LUUZINYA-I-IE (upper Nimba County Dans): (1) Niquia-ne, (2) Uyor-me, (5) Yao-me, (4) San-me, (5) Beyo-me, (6) Gbeh-me, and (7) Gouzinya-ne or Gbehya-me; one large Dan group living in the lower ITimba County, This group speak one common accent. The people of c-uila Clan among this group speak with the oan idioms and accents due to the common border with some San towns, '' Th© Bo© 'clan in -li- the Gouzinya-me group also speaks 7/ith thy Yao-me idioms and accents for having close border with them. The pure Gouzinya- me are considered to be the people living in Gbehya, Doe, and Gblor-or Clans; they speak the correct Gouzinya Dan v/ithout any Saan and Yao accents and tones. The Ivory Coast Dan groups are: (1) Loe-me, comprising Don-me, Nyor-orme, and Mlorr-me groups; (2) Bloe-me; (3) Wao-me, and (4) riaj>4ae - Every Dan group is subdivided into family circle. The language differs in some spoken words and accents according to the distances that separate one group from another. Neverthe- less, the Wao-me and Bloe-me altered idioms are complicated. There is no characterized syllabic accent in the Dan spoken by the Nyor Dans; they speak the plain Dan ]To (wo is language or word) and sometimes the spoken accents inherited from the neigh- "boiirins accentual Dan group? -chrough inter-marrioges. The follov/ing are the ii^/e Dan chiefdoms in Liberia: (1) Gbeh-le Dan Chiefdom, mifstakj.ngly known as Gbehlay Geh Chiefdom, The chiefdom is occupied by the Gbeh, Soe, Slor, Sor, and the Beyo elements. (?) Zoe Dixd. Chiefdom, mispresented as Zoe-Geh Chiefdom. The chiefdom is occupied by the Uyor-me, Niquia-me, Yao-me, Saan-ne, including Zoe, Gbao, Gbor-or, and Weeyay clans. (5) Boe and ^uila Chiefdom, consisting Boe and ^uila clans, with the Maar-me and Yoe-me sub groups. (4) Kpeahplay Chiefdom, in- habited by two iliquia towns, Becyaytuo and Podor-u-glay with some Gehs that speak: and understand both Geh (Krahn) and Dan. (5) Doe Chiefdom; inhabited by Gbehya-me, comprising Doe and Gblor-or - Ill - families. Gbehya-me is the correct name for the Dans in the Tapehta District. Tapehta or Tapohplay is the name of a town built "by the late powerful chief Tapeh; the town is the head- quarters for the Doe Chiefdom and for the district. The people who live in this territory ore called Gbehya-me or Gouzinya-me. There is another chiofdom cedled Gbii and Lorwulu Chiefdom in the Tapehta District which was recently annexed to the Dan chief- doms for administrative reason. The chiefdom brought the Liberian Dans to the total nuiaber of six chiefdoms. The Gbii and the Lorwulu speak a dialect that is understood by them alone; they also understand and speak Dan, Geh, Mano, and Bassa influent ly. The four Dan groups in Ivory Coast consisted six chiefdoms. Some clans or family groups within those chiefdoms mentioned above are Lor-or»» ae, Win-enae, and Kah-me. Danane town is the .. administrative headquarters for the Ivory Coast Dans while San- niquillie town in Liberia is the local Government seat for the Liberian Dans. Sayingbay (Sanniquillie) is a Mano town, central administrative seat for both Mah-mo (Mano) and the Dan tribes. The Zpeahplay Chiefdom forms boxindary with the Tchien Gehs (Krahns).