Introduction and Profile

Alexis B. Tengan is an independent anthropologist resident in Belgium and a former teacher of Religious Sciences. He has taught for many years, both in Ghana and in Belgium. He has carried out research on farming systems throughout Northern Ghana, including investigation into the relationship between art, medicine, and religion, especially dwelling on the Dagara Bagr secret society and myths. His other publications include Mythical Narratives in Ritual: Dagara Black Bagr (2006) and Of Life and Health: The Language of Art and Religion in an African Medical System (2018). He has established studios in Belgium and Ghana and is now curating a private museum of sacred art objects in these two places.

Dagara Bagr: Ritual Calender

Bagr rites and ceremonies are designed to accomplish many things at the same time. They are arranged as series of religious events that are following a very strict seasonal calendar. They are designed to be therapeutic and healing rituals as well as informative and educative at all levels (cultural, social and scientific). Bagr rites in all their varieties and forms cover all aspects of life in society by documenting them as script that is akin to writing a complete ‘Bible’ for the Dagara people. The difficulty of getting participatory access to the rites and ceremonies that are relevant for documentation makes it impossible to have a complete overview of all the rites and ceremonies within the three-year cycle. A reliable documentation still has to focus on the limited rites that I have been able to participate in and to, most importantly, to properly document according to a scientific method

Timing	Luna Period (English)	Lunar Period (Dagara)	Bagr Ritual	Bagr Public Event	Location
Nov/Dec	Dry season begins. Harvesting Season	Uon-yi-paala saŋ Ka-paala Bon-paala	Kukur Bagr (Rites of hoe-handle) Bagr Chur (Black Bagr rites) Bagr pla (White Bagr final rites)	Bagr Masquerade, Rituals, and Dance	Land of Mythical Origins (Téngkur) Land of Current Settlement
Jan/Feb	Dry windy season Harmattan	Uon-siɛsɛb saŋ Ka-ŋmɛp Kyi su Bondini	Potibr Bagr (Rites of the Farm)	Bagr thanksgiving rites on the farm	Crossroad within the farm (Puo Puͻ)
March	Dry hot season Flowers/Fruits Hunting	Uon-tulu Saŋ Ti-puuru/Womɛ Muɔ-yɔp	Téngan wiɛ bagr (Village hunting rites) Kͻntͻn bagɛ (Rites to the nature spirit) Puuru ni Uuru bagr	Bagr Initiation rite: First meeting for all Neophytes	Ancestral Home (Kpĩĩdaaru yir)
April	Hot Season	Tulò-Saŋ	Wulu ni Tulu kɛɛ ŋmɛb	Bagr rites: second meeting on the roof terrace.	Lizard road leading to big tree in the bush
May	Begin Rainy Season	Sàbié Saŋ	Bagr bɛŋ-sɛbla (Bagr of black beans)	Bagr rites: third meeting for neophytes around the house	House Environment
June/July	Rainy Season	Siɔŋ saŋ	Bagr bɛŋ-pla (Bagr of White Beans)	Bagr rites: fourth meeting of neophytes	House environment, Forest, River Bed
August/ September	Tropical Rainy season (Heavy rains)	Sàkuò saŋ	Bagr bɛŋ-kolé (Bagr of White Beans)	Bagr rites: Fifth meeting of neophytes	House Environment: Fireplace, Roof Terrace as sleeping place
September October	End of Rainy season	Kavaar /Sàpuurɛ saŋ	Bagr bɛgr: rites of the Vanvankpeli (Bagr of Bambara beans)	Bagr rites: Sixth meeting and masking of neophytes as living dead	On the Roof Terrace of the House; In the Long Common Room
October/November	Dry Season bagins	Kpaŋkyããn saŋ	Sɔr-tu bagɛ Vanvankpeli	Village Masquerade of neophytes	House Environment: Front Yard, Long Common Room,
December/January	Dry cold season		Bagr of Dance	House Bagr community, Bagr Community as Joking Partners, neophytes, The Earth Custodian, Uninitiated (Dérkumé), General Public.	River side, House Environment

Dagara Bagr: Introduction (Shrine and Cult)

In oral cultures, ritual is undoubtedly one of the most important mediums via which society religiously and officially celebrates the narration of myths of origin and other knowledge systems of social and cultural importance worth remembering. Among the Dagara peoples of Northern Ghana and Southern Burkina Faso, rites of narration of myths and other composed texts tend to occupy central position in all social and cultural practices, not only in terms of religiously communicating with the sacred but also as a means of transmitting cultural knowledge. As a result, a cult devoted to the development and ritual recitation of oral narratives feature as a central institution in the social and cultural life of the people. The cult, as institution, including the rituals and the narratives that are associated with it and the initiation rites via which individuals become attached to the institution, is known as bagr. These blog posts, as a first series on the study of bagr, are a presentation of a narrated version of the black bagr the first of the two types of mythical narratives that together constitute the central focus during the seasonal performance of the rites of initiation into the bagr cult. The second type, the white bagr, consists of four narrative segments and far greatly exceeds the black bagr in terms of length and textual content. Hence, it is not possible for me to publish the two narrative types together in one common volume. The version of the black bagr narration being published here together with the white bagr segments that are not yet published, as is normally required during the rites of initiation, were recited in sequence following a prescribed order. In this particular instance, the black bagr was recited first by one reciting specialist then followed by the four segments of the white bagr. Theoretically four reciting specialists were originally designated to recite a segment each of the white bagr. This did not happen during this occasion, and hardly ever happens, as people tend to make serious errors, and according to the rule, have to step aside to give a chance for the one who has pointed out the error to make the needed correction and subsequently continue with the narration.