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44-603: The origin of the Bugum Festival dates back to the time when one king lost his dear son. The name of the king and the said son are no longer known. It is thought that the event took place before the unification of Dagbon by Naa Gbewaa . Naa Gbewaa and his descendants started chieftaincy in Dagbon , Gmamprugu , Nanung , Wala , Mossi , Bouna , etc. The story has it that a child went out to play with his colleagues and as they played, he became tired and went and laid down under

88-638: A bass drum or marching rig. They can be single- or double-headed. A crucial factor in achieving superior tone quality and insuring durability, especially with wood, is the creation of perfectly round shells and much research and development has been put into this manufacturing technology. Shells are often constructed of 6–8 wood plies (often using different woods e. g. mahogany and falkata — birch or maple are commonly used for single-wood plies), solid wood (turned) or man-made materials (e. g. fibreglass, pressed steel, acrylic glass , resin-composite). Wood or composite shells can be finished by laminating in plastic in

132-417: A large variety of colours and effects (e. g. sparkle or polychromatic); natural wood may be stained or left natural and painted with clear lacquer. Steel is usually chromed, fibreglass self-coloured and acrylic glass tinted or clear. For drum hardware , one or two cast or pressed metal rims attach by threaded tension rods or lugs to nut boxes bolted onto the shell and hold the heads onto the bearing edges of

176-430: A single head and a steel frame. Unlike most other drums, they have a variable definite pitch and some composers write for them as a tuned instrument, demanding specific notes. They can be tuned quickly by rotating the head. Since the head rotates on a thread, this raises or lowers the head relative to the rim of the drum and so increases or decreases the tension in the head. A gong bass drum (also known as "gong drum"),

220-403: A stand. "FAST" sizes are 10×8, 12×9, 13×10, etc., a marketing term used by DW, although not unique to DW, but with all drum manufacturers. The "New standard" sizes - 10×9, 12×10, 13×11, etc. are 2" deeper than what was considered "standard" in the 1950s. "Power" toms are one inch deeper than standard, with sizes of 10×9 or 10×10, 12×11, 13×12, which overtook the classic setup in popularity during

264-458: A tree. He soon fell asleep. The other children forgot of him and went home when they finished playing. In the evening, the parents (king and wife) did not see him. The king thought he was with the mother and the mother also thought the child was with the father. After supper that the mother called on the king to take the child to bed. It was at that moment that they found that the child was not with any of them. The king ordered his subjects to go round

308-515: Is a Gur language and all tribes who celebrate the festivals are Gur: Mamprusi , Nanumba , Gonja , Waala and Chakosi/Anufo. One may argue that because they are among the Gur people that they adopted the festival. When the people are celebrating Bugum Chugu, they dance ziem even to this very day. Ziem is a dance for the tindaamba. It is older than any other dance in Dagbon. It is played with gungong, which

352-454: Is a double-skin drum, most often but not always as deep as its diameter, traditionally mounted on three legs and to the drummer's right for a right-handed drummer. It is normally the deepest-toned drum played by sticks in the kit, above the bass drum but below all others, and the most resonant, more so than even the bass drum. Typically, a tom consists of a shell, chromed or plated metal hardware and head . Shell depth standards vary according to

396-537: Is a large, single-headed tom often sized at 20 in (51 cm) or 22 in (56 cm), with the drumhead being 2 in (5.1 cm) larger than the shell. The sound produced is similar to a bass drum , though it is more open and has longer sustain. They can be mounted with standard floor tom legs, though many drummers mount them at an angle next to the floor tom(s). Notable users include Neil Peart , Stewart Copeland , Bill Bruford , Simon Phillips , Jason Bittner , Mike Portnoy and Dom Howard . A floor tom

440-566: Is about six hundred years old. Bugum Chugu was celebrated before the arrival of the Islam. Now, the festival is celebrated by both Muslims, Christians and Traditionalists alike. The celebration of the festival starts on the ninth day of Bugum Goli. Normally, except essential services such as fetching of water, grinding of flour, sale of meat and taking care of the sick, no work is allowed to be done on any Dagomba festival day. So on this day everyone (men, women and children) stays at home. The men start

484-556: Is heavily charged and it may appear ominous to any person who has never witnessed the occasion. Naa Gbewaa Naa Gbewaa (also known as Nedega or Kulu Gbagha ) is the founder of the Kingdom of Dagbon , in what is now northern Ghana . His sons and daughters are credited with founding several states⁣, including the Mossi Kingdoms of Burkina Faso . He established a stable and prosperous kingdom. Naa Gbewaa's shrine

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528-498: Is led a little distance from where the crowd is gathered to cast away his lit-up torch. He moves back into the palace as the multitude of people yell and chant in a war-like manner amidst the deafening sound of the tom-tom and drums. There is usually a spot at the outskirts of the town where the multitude of people move to for the celebration of the Bugum Festival. Everybody holds high his or her burning torch. To prevent drops of fire from falling onto their clothes and burning them, many of

572-480: Is located at Pusiga , 90 km east of Bolgatanga . His descendants continue to pay respects at the shrine. Naa Gbewaa fathered the following children: When Gbewaa grew old, he preferred Fɔɣu, who was not the eldest son, to be his successor. Zirile, the eldest son, learnt of his father's intentions, and went on to murder Fɔɣu. When Gbewaa was informed about the death of his preferred successor, it did not take long for him to die. The historians of Dagbon,

616-415: Is no attachment to the shell, instead a frame clamps to the tuning lugs. Another sort of rod clamp system allows attachment of the drum to the tom holder without the need of a hole in the drum shell for the rod to pass through. The clamp is attached to the shell at the nodal point with two bolts so as to allow the shell to vibrate freely without degrading the shell's dynamic range and sustain. The nodal point

660-513: Is older than any instrument in Dagbon. The people also play ziem when they are going to war. It is played when there is a communal labor. They again play ziem when a tindana 'land priest' dies. The early kings quickly adopted the playing of ziem during the installation and death of Yaan Naa and chiefs to make them acceptable to the aboriginal Dagbamba. In the olden days not all villages had the gungong, because of that villages which were closer to each other used to meet in one village where they celebrate

704-896: The "standard" for many decades and they were 13 × 9″ (mounted) and 16 × 16″ (floor). Later, mounted on three (or, if larger than 16 × 16″, four) legs were attached to the floor tom designs. Together with a snare drum and a bass drum of varying size, the combination of the four drums became a "set". (The term "kit" did not appear until the mid 1960s. ) Later, the mounted toms, known as hanging toms or rack toms , were deepened by one inch each, these sizes being called power toms . Extra-deep hanging toms, known as cannon depth , never achieved popularity. All these were double-headed. A wide variety of configurations have been available and in use at all levels from advanced student kits upwards. Most toms range in size between 6 and 20 inches (15 and 51 cm) in diameter, though floor toms can go as large as 24 inches (61 cm). In

748-539: The 14" in a fusion setup could have depth 10, 11, 12, or could be a 14×14 floor tom. The terms "fusion" and "rock" are marketing terms invented by drum manufacturing companies, and there is no absolute definition for them; more a case of an accepted norm. In the 1950-1980s the standard depth rack toms were 12×8 and 13×9. This "classic" configuration is still popular. Concert toms came in the early 1970s, with Ludwig producing single headed toms in 6x5.5, 8x5.5, 10x6.5, 12x8, 13x9, 14x10, 15x12, 16x14, etc. mounted in pairs on

792-399: The 1980s. Square - 10×10, 12×12, 13×13, etc., have been common in the 1980s and 1990s. Hyperdrive are shallow depths made popular initially by Tama: 10×6.5, 12×7, 13×7.5, etc. Single-headed tom-toms, also known as concert toms , have also been used in drum kits, though their use has fallen off in popularity since the 1970s. Concert toms have a single head and a shell slightly shallower than

836-513: The 50s and early 60s, it was common to have only a single hanging tom (a 13") and a single floor tom (16"). A basic rock configuration consists of 12" and 13" hanging toms, and a 16" floor tom with diameter × depth in inches used throughout this article. For a more detailed description of the conventions and their usage, see drum size conventions . A basic fusion configuration refers to a set-up which has 10", 12" and 14" diameter toms. Note that these terms do not imply drum depths, so for example,

880-645: The Aad, a prehistoric Arab tribe that succeeded Noah and his people. This version of the festival's origin is problematic for several reasons. First, such a festival is not celebrated by the Muslim world. Second, the Mamprusi who are related to the Dagomba through their common ancestor Naa Gbewa believe in the traditional story. Finally, Dagbamba (Dagomba) do not originate from Aad and had nothing to do with Arabs. Dagbani

924-532: The Bugum Chugu and danced Ziem. Even now, it is still happening. Bugum Chugu is a typical traditional festival celebrated with traditional and local tools such as torches and the celebrants dress like warriors and they often carry cudgels and cutlasses along. They play and dance ziem as they celebrate the festival. On the night of the festival, people gather in mosques for prayers. Walgu is then shared among participants and children who drink it for blessings for

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968-581: The Lunsi, uses a euphemism, that, Gbewaa disappeared in to the ground. When a King dies in Dagbon , Gmamprugu , and Nanung , euphemisms are used to announce their death. Kachaɣu, the eldest child, took on the regalia of Gbewaa and made herself Queen, but Zirile forced her to give it up. Not much is recorded about Zirile by the Historians of Dagbon. After Zirile, most of the children, including Kachaɣu , followed Shitobu , and they maintained Dagbon as

1012-704: The Sinhala people of Sri Lanka, is used in a number of Buddhist rituals in that country. It is commonly heard in Buddhist temples paired along with the reed instrument called horanava. This may be etymologically derived from the Tamil term "Thappattam" or "Thappu", a frame drum associated with South Indian Tamil culture. However, the tom-tom drums on the Western drum set clearly resemble the Sri Lankan version more than

1056-448: The boys take them to the homes of the recipients. As the afternoon approaches most house owners kill fowl, guinea-fowl, goats or sheep to feast on. The feast is done both in the afternoon and in the evening. Homes that cannot afford animals or fowl may buy meat from the butchers. The most common soup for supper on the night of the festival is made from the leaves of a tree called puhuga (Tamaridus Indica). Even though every home cooks food for

1100-426: The celebrators wet their clothes. Except for a few girls who are daredevils, women are hardly seen in the crowd. They usually stay in their homes or at the outside of the palace until the crowd returns. Then they join in the closing chants and dance for the evening. The people hold not only their torches but also swords, cutlasses , knives, bows, arrows and cudgels . The mood of the people is war-like. The atmosphere

1144-407: The corresponding double-headed tom. Phil Collins used four single-headed rack-mount toms and two floor toms (Gretsch) in his setup. They are generally easier to tune as they have no bottom head to adjust. The term concert tom has also been used to describe double- or single-headed tom-tom drums designed for use in a concert band rather than in a drum kit. Rototoms have no shell at all, just

1188-434: The day and the night, everybody distributes food to friends and relatives. There is so much food for the day that not even half of it would be eaten. After eating the evening meal, morsels and pieces of meat are cut and placed on the short walls in the house. This food is said to be for the dead ancestors of the person who put it there. The food is also said to be for God. The people make their vows and declarations while placing

1232-423: The day moving round each other's homes to say good morning and Happy New Year. Everyone is heard saying "Ni ti yuun palli" (literally and our new year ). After a brief exchange of the new year greetings, people sit at home and engage in normal conversation. The young boys look for dry grass to prepare long torches for distribution to their grandparents, grand aunts, grand uncles and maternal uncles. After preparation,

1276-603: The elephant as its symbol. Today, both Dagbon and mamprugu uses a succession by competition rather than primogeniture. Tom tom drum A tom drum (also known as a tom-tom ) is a cylindrical drum with no snares , named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language . It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between 6 and 20 inches (15 and 51 cm) in diameter, though floor toms can go as large as 24 inches (61 cm). The drum called "Thammattama", played by

1320-425: The era of manufacture and drum style. Tom-toms are typically made in diameters of: 6 in (15 cm), 8 in (20 cm), 10 in (25 cm), 12 in (30 cm), 13 in (33 cm), 14 in (36 cm), 15 in (38 cm), 16 in (41 cm) and 18 in (46 cm), with heads to fit. Tom-toms can be fitted with an adjustable mounting for a floor stand, or attachment to

1364-579: The festival states that it dates back to the time the Prophet Noah landed his Ark on Mount Arafat . According to this tradition, when the Ark of Noah landed at the end of the floods the passengers lit torches to 1) find their way around and 2) to find the son of prophet Noah who failed to enter the Ark when it set out with the believers. To buttress this claim of the origin of the Bugum Festival, some Muslim Dagombas further claim that they are descendants of

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1408-468: The first, in 1936, to begin offering fully tunable tom-toms (top and bottom heads) with metal or wooden rims, tension rods, and lugs. Most Chinese toms were 10 to 14 inches in diameter, but the American drum companies were eventually producing a wider range of diameters and depths. These drums were usually clamped to the bass drum rims or sat in cradles as floor stand drums. The sizes that Krupa chose became

1452-454: The food on the walls. They ask God to give them a long life, or a husband, or children or any other thing. They vow to do or abstain from some action. The actual ceremony for the festival starts after the evening meal. The drum beater comes to the palace to sound the drum. He, through the drumming, summons the tom-tom beaters and the Elders of the state the in palace. As they arrive one after

1496-606: The frame drum. The British colonists complained loudly about the noise generated by the "tom-toms" of the natives throughout South Asia. It is likely that the term tom-toms thus comes from their experiences in colonial Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) or South India. The term "tom-tom" also has variants in the Telugu and Hindi languages, but only in Sri Lanka is there an indigenous drum with the same name (thammattama). Perhaps because of Westerners' lack of experience with Asian cultures,

1540-461: The king or the chief used to be the first to lite the fire with his torch. The chief did not go far and dropped his torch and returned home. The people continued the practice and used to go to the evil tree and threw their torches on it. While marching to the evil tree, they played and danced ziem, a dance for the tindaamba 'land priests'. The people used to and still dress as warriors when celebrating Bugum Chugu in Dagbon. An alternate origin story of

1584-725: The name Dagbon, maintained the Lion of Gbewaa as emblem, and today, the ruler of Dagbon resides in the Gbewaa Palace . Shitobu's tomb is located in Karaga guarded by the Tindana of Baɣli. The Mamprusi claim to eldership is based on male-preferred/cognatic Primogeniture , where succession is through the oldest male child. However, Gbewaa did not practise this, as he designated the younger Foɣu/Kufoɣu to rule over his oldest child Kachaɣu and his eldest son Zirile. The Mamprusi adopted

1628-414: The name of the lands they ruled. Tohagu, who shared the same mother as Zirile, ruled over a small portion of land in what will become Gmamprugu . Kachaɣu became the first Gundo Naa , the most senior female royal title of Dagbon . Yennenga (Yemtori) travelled northward and established the Mossi Kingdoms . Gmantambo moved further south and founded Nanung . Although Dagbon is largely recognized as

1672-471: The neighborhood in search for the son. They did not find him. Even, the children he went out with could not remember. The king quickly assembled his warriors and told them what had transpired. The warriors were instructed to look for the son. Because it was at night and dark, the people lit torches in search of him. Finally they found him under a tree deeply asleep. They sent him to his parents who were desperately waiting for his arrival. The parents thought that

1716-463: The new year. On the morning after the celebration, prayers are again said at various chief palaces and prophecies are said about the upcoming year. Prophecies include possibility of bumper harvest, drought, fires, births, diseases and deaths. Islam became a state religion in Dagbon by Naa Zanjina . However, there is evidence of Islam in Dagbon prior to Naa Zangina. For example, the Larabanga mosque

1760-503: The oldest kingdom in Ghana, many regard Mamprugu too to be equally old. Both Shitobu and Tohagu were not the oldest of Gbewaa's sons. Kachaɣu, Zirile and Kufogu were older than these two brothers. Most of the children of Gbewaa including his eldest child Kachaɣu (female) took Shitobu as the leader of the post-Gbewaa Dagbon. Kachaɣu became the first Gundo Naa . Shitobu retained the royal regalia of Gbewaa, his kingdom continued to bear

1804-420: The other, the commoners also come along. When everybody is gathered outside the palace, the Elders of state led by a wulana, the chief linguist, enter the chief's court to invite him outside. Some of the Elders lead the way and the chief follows. The rest of the elders follow the chief. Before the chief comes out, everybody is ready with his or her torch of grass. The chief is the first to light his torch. The chief

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1848-465: The shell. The tension rod assembly needs to be precision-machined, cast and fitted to enable predictable and secure tuning without inhibiting resonance or introducing extra vibration. All components will be placed under great tension and experience added stresses from playing. Mounting systems vary greatly, from a simple cast block on the shell which accepts and clamps to a rod attached to a clamp or holder to much more sophisticated arrangements where there

1892-537: The term is often misattributed to the Chinese, given that "tam-tam" in Western classical music refers to a Chinese gong. The first American drum set toms had no rims and were usually what were referred to as "Chinese" tom toms. The pigskin heads were tacked to the wooden shells with metal tacks. Through close collaboration with Gene Krupa 's concept of fully tunable toms, the Slingerland drum and banjo company were

1936-432: The tree stole the child and hid him. They therefore considered the tree an evil tree and threw the torches they were carrying on that tree and shamed it. The community at that time regarded that particular tree as an evil tree and many feared it. The king decreed that the event should be marked yearly to commemorate the event. Every year they assembled in front of the king's palace to celebrate the festival. When they set fire,

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