WHY THE WASP HAS A TINY WAIST
(As told by Waja Ngnalbu on 21st February, 2020 in Chamba, Ghana)
Introduction
The following story relates how the wasp's self-exile from his community eventually deformed him. It presents the wasp as a loner who refuses to participate
in communal activities and thus incurs the wrath of his kith and kin. The story, grounded in the communal spirit of Konkomba funerals (particularly
the njeen and kinachuŋ cultural dances), celebrates teamwork and depicts the centrality of communal living among Konkombas. The storyteller
makes this clear at the outset of his narrative when he commences his tale with its moral lesson before relating the tale itself.
Click here to listen to the Likpakpaln narration.
Story
"Do you know why the wasp has such a tiny waist?" asks Waja.
"We don't know; tell us; why?" audience respond variously.
Waja then continues as follows:
It is important to participate in communal activities with others whenever the occasion arises. Once upon a time, there lived a wasp and his kin.
They lived together with other members of the community in peace and unity. The wasp however decided to be a loner, excluding himself from all communal
activities. He neither attended any funeral nor participated in any nkpaawiin. One day the wasp received news about the demise
of his in-law and had to leave for the funeral. Unfortunately, because he had not been attending other people's funerals, no one wanted to accompany him to
his in-law's funeral. Left with no other option, he decided to go alone, carrying with him all the instruments needed to perform the njeen
and kinachuŋ: he picked up ligangaln; he tied tibaln around his ankles;
he strapped kiloŋ to one shoulder; he slung an axe over the other shoulder; he picked up his uduun in his hand; he tied all the
other tinachinchen around his waist and hit the road running. 1 As he
journeyed, he sang this song:
Likpakpaln transcription |
English translation |
|---|---|
Chorus |
|
M faa mbiin ee |
I've let out a loud cry |
Garwa si ee, ki u si ee garwa. (2x) |
[But] the world stands aloof; he stands aloof. (2x) |
Gum gum gum gum (hits ligangaln) |
|
Garwa si ee, ki u si ee garwa. |
The world stands aloof; he stands aloof. |
Tou tilouti (blows liwul) |
|
Garwa si ee, ki u si ee garwa. |
The world stands aloof; he stands aloof. |
Chakta chakta (dances with the tibaln around his ankles) |
|
Garwa si ee, ki u si ee garwa. |
The world stands aloof; he stands aloof. |
Chorus |
|
M faa mbiin ee |
I've let out a loud cry |
Garwa si ee, ki u si ee garwaaa. |
[But] the world stands aloof; he stands aloof. |
As he drew closer to his in-law's house, he intensified his singing, drumming, and dancing:
M faa mbiin ee |
I've let out a loud cry |
Garwa si ee, ki u si ee garwa. (2x) |
The world stands aloof; he stands aloof.(2x) |
Tou tilouti |
Tou tilouti (blows liwul) |
Garwa si ee, ki u si ee garwa. |
The world stands aloof; he stands aloof. |
Gum gum gum gum |
Gum gum gum gum (hits ligangaln) |
Garwa si ee, ki u si ee garwa. |
The world stands aloof; he stands aloof. |
Chakta chakta |
Chakta chakta (dances with tibaln) |
Garwa si ee, ki u si ee garwa. |
The world stands aloof; he stands aloof. |
Gang galaang ga (hits dawul) |
|
Garwa si ee, ki u si ee garwa. |
The world stands aloof; he stands aloof. |
From a distance, his in-laws heard the singing and drumming and speculated that the wasp and, perhaps, his kin were arriving.
Some of them remarked sarcastically, in reaction to the wasp's appearance at the funeral grounds – the first of its kind – that:
"Bo! Today the wasp is coming; the earth will explode." Out of curiosity they rushed out and fixed
their eyes in the direction of the singing and drumming. The wasp soon emerged, staggering under the weight of all the kinachuŋ
musical instruments he was carrying and playing. On helping him take the musical instruments off his body, the wasp's in-laws discovered that
the tinachinchen around his waist had compressed his waist into a tiny size. All their efforts to get his waist
to return to its normal size proved futile.
That is why to date, the wasp's waist is so tiny. Tiin tiin kolb.
Maa tiin gur, ki gur, ki gur, ki m muun, ki muun ke n-yaajatiib aapoagbem na.
Note
1. "... and hit the road running" is my translation of the Likpakpaln idiom, "le u fii lir nsan bo (ki cha), which
literally but nonsensically translates: "and he fell on the road going." Its closest English equivalent is "to hit the road." But because
the English equivalent does not capture the sense of urgency and enthusiasm suggested in the Likpakpaln idiom, I introduced this enthusiasm
by adding the word "running" from the English idiom, "to hit the ground running," which suggests an enthusiastic start to an activity but
does not mean to set off on a journey. To therefore communicate the idea of the wasp setting off energetically/enthusiastically, I had to
amalgamate the above English idioms into, "... and hit the road running."
A glossary of Likpakpaln words and phrases
bo:
an interjection used by Konkombas to express surprise
chakta chakta:
the Konkomba onomatopoeic words for the sound made by ankle bangles when one stomps the ground when dancing.
gang galaang ga:
Konkomba onomatopoeic words for the sound of dawul (i.e., a two-piece hollow metal musical instrument used to
produce music by alternatingly hitting both hollow metal parts with either a stick or the horn of an animal).
gum gum gum gum:
onomatopoeic words used by Konkombas to describe the sound of a big local drum.
kiloŋ:
an hourglass-shaped musical instrument with round skin coverings at both ends. Known
variously as dondo, tama, dundun, kalungu, or lunna across West Africa, it is usually placed under the armpit and struck with a stick to produce music.
One can change the pitch or tone of the sound by compressing and releasing the strings connecting the two skin coverings at both ends. This makes kiloŋ
suitable for use as a talking drum in some West African cultures.
kinachuŋ:
the cultural dance of the Konkomba people. It is a communal dance that requires the effective participation of
a large group rather than an individual. Though mostly associated with funerals, it can also be performed outside funeral occasions such
as in church, at social and political gatherings among others.
ligangaln:
a cylindrical drum with skin coverings at both ends. It comes in different sizes that determine the sound it
produces. The big drum (ligangaln-sakpeln) produces bass or a low-pitched sound while the small drum (kiganganbik) usually produces a
high-pitched sound.
Likpakpaln:
the language spoken by the Konkomba people of Ghana and Togo.
liwul:
a local wooden flute.
maa tiin gur, ki gur, ki gur, ki m muun, ki muun ke n-yaajatiib aapoagbem na:
transliterated as “May my story diminish and diminish and diminish whilst I grow and grow as tall as my ancestors’ wild Kapok tree.”
This is one of the numerous ways in which a Konkomba storyteller can end his/her story. This ending and its numerous variants suggest that Konkombas
believe that storytelling (or entertainment in general) has health benefits, especially healthy physical growth. The association of storytelling with
physical growth is so entrenched in the Konkomba belief system that it is even believed that when a child engages in storytelling at daytime – for Konkomba
storytelling sessions are held normally in the evenings after supper – he or she will have stunted growth.
njeen:
a procession. Normally kinachuŋ commences with a procession; but this is not a hard and fast rule.
nkpaawiin:
a communal activity. Among Konkombas when one is swamped with work, he or she can ask for the help of others, who would usually
respond generously in their numbers provided the "help-seeker" has been participating in ikpaawiin (plural form of nkpaawiin). Ikpaawiin are mostly called
when one has a lot of farm work, is building, flooring or roofing a house, shelling maize/corn, cracking groundnuts, or thrashing guinea corn among other
physical activities. Such occasions are not just for working but also for communal interaction and bonding.
tibaln:
ankle bangles used to dance kinachuŋ. They consist of small pieces of metals sewn unto animal skin; and are usually worn around
the ankle by dancers or performers.
tiin tiin kolb:
translated as "the end of my story." This is the commonest and easiest way to end one’s story in the Konkomba storytelling culture. However, a storyteller
can also choose to use this as a prelude to the end of the story and then finish with another statement such as the one used in the story above or a
statement nominating the next storyteller.
tinachinchen:
a collective noun that refers to all the musical instruments – such as drums, rattles, gongs, flutes, bangles, etc. – used in
the performance of njeen and/or kinachuŋ.
tou tilouti:
the onomatopoeic words used by Konkombas for the sound of a local flute.
uduun:
a round-shaped hollow metal used to produce music by incessantly brushing over its surface a small nut-like ring worn on one’s
thumb. It is shaped like a gong but consists of only one hollow metal piece.