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Glossary of Musical Terms

Compiled by Julie Hunter & Mark Braun

Calabash jongo — A variety of jongo dance music that is accompanied by calabash drumming and singing. Also referred to as juntulla.

Guem – Special Kasena flute and drum ensemble music that is used to accompany musicians as they process from one place to another, either before, during, or after larger performance events. Also known as venga and ninonga.

Gullu (also spelled gulu, ngulu) – double-headed laced cylindrical drums struck with either two curved sticks or a hand and stick. They are generally played in sets of four and vary in size. From smallest to largest, gullu are known as: gulbala, gulsanga, gulsoro, gulnia. Although traditionally made from wood, gullu are now often constructed from metal containers such as oil drums.

Gungonga (guŋoŋa) – An hourglass-shaped tension drum played with a single curved stick. Hourglass tension drums, though they may vary in size and use, are common in many areas of Ghana, where they are also known as lunga, dondo, and donno

Gungongbala - Higher pitched gungonga, or hourglass tension drum, in a set of two.

Gungongnia - Lower-pitched gungonga, or hourglass tension drum, in a set of two.

Gungwe (guŋwe)– Plural form of gungonga.

Gwea – A special walk that is done to guem music. What musicians do when they perform guem.

Jongo (joŋo, dzoŋo)- Kasena recreational music and dance genre performed during festive and celebratory occasions such as for a wedding, at the funeral of an elder, or for a festival marking the end of the harvest season. Jongo is performed by men and women, and can be played using a variety of flute, drum, and idiophone combinations. The dance involves a stomping movement and is often performed by groups of individuals.

Juntulla – A dance music, also referred to as calabash jongo, performed by vocalists who accompany themselves on calabashes and metal pails. It is considered to be a light form of jongo and is often performed following a jongo session.

Kaaku – A millet-stalk reed instrument found in northern Ghana. Often used as a toy.

Kalenge – An old “spoiled” metal pail that is often used to accompany Kasena flute and drum ensemble music. Also known as keriga-keriga among other names.

Kasem – The language of the Kasena people of northern Ghana.

Kasena Flute and Drum Ensemble – An ensemble, ranging in size from about 5 to 20 performers, that consists of combinations of flutes (wui), double-headed cylindrical drums (gullu), calabash drums (kori), double-headed hourglass tension drums (gungwe), basket rattles (sinye gule), and metal pails (kalenge). Koetting notes that standard ensemble arrangements include a set of wui paired with either a set of gullu or kori, among other instruments. Flute and drum ensembles perform music and dance for a variety of events such as funerals, weddings, harvest celebrations, durbars, and community gatherings in Accra.

Kono (kɔnɔ) – A popular three-stringed strummed lute that is commonly used by praise-singers to accompany their music in northern Ghanaian Kasena communities.

Kora – A drum constructed from a calabash frame and a goat or sheep skin head. It is played with hands. Bits of metal or other material are often positioned inside theinstrument to enhance its timbre.

Kori – The plural of kora. Kori are played in pairs within flute and drum ensembles. In a pair, the korbala drum is pitched slightly higher than the kornia.

Len yoro – A type of praise song performed by a flute and drum ensemble as a prelude or warm up to a performance of jongo and other dancers.

Lilara – A type of Kasena music associated with war.

Linle – A generic term for several kinds of female games or dances with music. Koetting notes that a number of songs within the jongo repertory originated as linle songs.

Nabona – A set of six or seven side-blown ivory trumpets. Koetting notes that nabona-playing was rare during his fieldwork in the 1970s, a time when there were only several ensembles in existence.

Nagila (also spelled nagilla or ngla) – A Kasena dance for men that is accompanied by flute and drum music and described by performers as particularly challenging. Nagila is also commonly found in the repertoire of non-Kasena drumming and dancing ensembles in northern Ghana as well as cultural troupes throughout Ghana.

Nagoro – A special war music performed at Kasena funerals.

Niguri – Kasena war music.

Nunonga – Like guem or venga le, this is a type of walking or processional music.

Pe zara (p zara) – A Kasena music and dance genre that is often played at weddings or funerals (before jongo), at the request of dancers during music events, and on royal occasions. According to Koetting, performers consider the dance to be more stately than other dances such as jongo.

Sinye gule (siny gul) – a pair of shakers constructed from a cut gourd that is filled with pebbles and covered with a woven basket.

Wua (also spelled hua) – The generic term for a Kasena vertical notched wooden flute. Most instruments have two or three finger holes and are performed in sets of three, six, or more within various types of flute and drum ensembles. A wua might also be played solo by sheepherders or hunters.

Wubala - Higher-pitched flute, or wua, of Kasena flute and drum ensembles. The wubala usually plays the first part of a melody, which is then answered by two lower-pitched flutes.

Wugwe – Pairs of small flutes (wui) that are played together. Koetting explains that these flutes often have more than three finger holes and generally perform longer melodies than other wui, where melodic parts tend to be divided across instruments in a stronger hocket fashion. Also known as wusile and tagale.

Wui (also spelled hui) – Generic term for the vertical notched flutes or whistles of the Kasena. Most instruments have two or three finger holes. In jongo, nagila, pe zara, and other flute and drum music, flutes are generally played in sets of three, or six or seven. The three primary instrument types and parts found in much flute and drum music are wubala (highest pitched instrument with a leading role), wusanga, and wunia (lower pitched instruments with response parts).

Wunia - A lower-pitched flute, or wua, of Kasena flute and drum ensembles.

Wusanga - A lower-pitched flute, or wua, of Kasena flute and drum ensembles.

Venga – A type of Kasena processional music often performed before jongo.

Yongo (yoŋo) – An ensemble consisting of a pair of large notched flutes (yongo wui) and a set of metal gongs which are played using iron finger rings. Koetting notes that yongo was only performed by Kasena musicians in northern Ghana at the time of his fieldwork.

Zunga (zuŋa) – Kasem term for calabash. Also used to refer to calabashes that are played as musical instruments. The calabashes are usually struck with hands. Different sized instruments include zunnia and zumbia.