A Maraaba (Welcome)
A maraaba, you are welcome to The Songs of Afa Ajura, a website dedicated first and foremost to the preservation of a collection of culturally and historically significant songs composed by Alhaji Yusif Soalihu, better known in Ghana as Afa Ajura. These little-known songs have been preserved in written form in a format referred to as Ajami—written texts in an African language using Arabic script—as well as through the performances of Baba Issahak Yusif. Baba Issahak has maintained copies of 19 of Afa Ajura’s compositions, which include 14 Dagbanli-language songs as well as one song in the northern Nigerian language of Hausa and another three in Arabic.
The Songs of Afa Ajura is a project that is still very much in development. New materials, including texts, recordings, and analyses, will be added as they become available. Please check back often for new updates.
Visitors to this website can use the drop-down menus at the top of this page and the menus at the bottom of the page. You can learn about the project and the researchers, view the manuscripts in Dagbanli Ajami, view Baba Issahak’s performances of select songs, and explore the composition “N Sabi N Sabili Ŋo” through:
- Translations
- Interviews
- Video performance by Baba Issahak
- Historical context
- Inline audio that plays along with the text
At present, the only context and analysis available pertains to the composition “N Sabi N Sabili Ŋo.” We hope to have more available soon, but transliteration, translation, historical research, and musical analysis take time and, often, money. Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date on new materials on The Songs of Afa Ajura.
It is the sincere hope of the project team that this website be utilized and shared by members of the Dagbamba community, and that Dagbamba individuals with insight into these songs, their histories, meanings, and interpretations can contribute their knowledge to this project. Translations are especially welcome. Ultimately, this site is meant to be of service to the Dagbamba community. Feedback on its content and accessibility are invited from all stakeholders.
Alhaji Afa Yusif Soalihu Ajura
Founder of the Anbariyya Mosque and the Islamic Institute, both in in Tamale, Ghana, Afa Ajura may well be the most famous non-political individual in the history of the very old Dagbamba culture. His preaching in colonial and Independence-era Ghana was instrumental in spreading Salafism (Sunni Islam) in northern Ghana, an area where the Tijaniyya Sufi order had dominated for decades.
Afa Ajura’s position in history is complicated. His legacy is tied to a conservative Islam in northern Ghana that has been aligned at times with the controversial Wahhabi movement and which has called for expunging a great many Dagbamba customs and traditions from modern life in Dagbon. Given the oppositional nature of many 21st-century Salafi preachers in Ghana towards music, the acknowledgement of Afa Ajura as both a composer and performer of songs may come as a surprise to a great many Dagbamba people and scholars.
The authors and editors of this website seek to neither support nor condemn Afa Ajura’s teachings and legacies. We regard his songs and writings as important cultural artifacts that constitute the Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Dagbon and of Ghana as a whole. Our intention is to preserve them for the people of Dagbon and interested parties around the world, seeking, wherever possible, to contextualize and better understand the songs and their implications for contemporary life in Dagbon.
The materials on this website are free and open to the public. Free feel to download, share, and otherwise engage with the texts, videos, sound files, and other materials. We ask only that you properly attribute the analyses and recordings to the contributors to this website. Feel free to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns.
Great! I am definitely going to ask more about these. The first script has interesting information. Talks about Nigerian independence celebration.
Thanks for leaving a comment. Stay in touch!
This is a very good and beneficial site. There is a suggestion I want to give, that is, I think it’s good that you use “poems” in place of “songs”
Because some songs are haram in Islam, an in general, when someone hears “song” the mind comes on those morden songs. And some ignoramus individuals may try to use this to justify their haram songs, by saying Afa Ajura was a singer. But as for poems, a lot of Islamic books are written in a form poem to make it easy for memorizing, and Afa Ajara’s can be also categorized as a poem. Wassalaamu’alaykumu warahmatullahi wabarkaatuh
This is a very good and beneficial site. There is a suggestion I want to give, that is, I think it’s good that you use “poems” in place of “songs”
Because some songs are haram in Islam, an in general, when someone hears “song” the mind comes on those morden songs. And some ignoramus individuals may try to use this to justify their haram songs, by saying Afa Ajura was a singer. But as for poems, a lot of Islamic books are written in a form poem to make it easy for memorizing, and Afa Ajara’s can be also categorized as a poem. Wassalaamu’alaykumu warahmatullahi wabarkaatuh
This is idea is great. I call on all dagbambas especially those that can contribute to this project to come on board. This is an attempt to scientifically reconstruct who we are and how we’ve revolved over the years. Kudos Karl Haas
Thanks, Abass! Please share widely and encourage others to interact about these materials. I’m hoping for Dagbamba people to share knowledge here and help better understand these materials. Take care.
Maa shaa Allah to your work-done and may Allah bless your effort. Frankly,it has been my worried as how to preserve the poems of our beloved Shaik but We thank God for this website that is meant to preserve and analyse the poems of Afa Ajura.
So far so good in all the efforts but my comments wll first go to the title of de website:
I would’ve suggest that, “poems”should’ve been used rather than de “songs”.
:poemsofafaajura.com.
Is jx a suggestion that I made
Thank u once again.
M paya! I appreciate you taking a moment to connect. I am very aware of the issue you address, and have been planning to write a post on this site about why I chose “songs” rather than “poems” or some other word that would perhaps be less controversial. In brief, I chose “song” because Baba Issahak and my fellow Dagbamba researchers used the word “yila” in Dagbanli and “song” when speaking English. My intention for this and other such issues on this site is to remain true to the voices that made this site possible. I understand that some people may find this an unsatisfactory response, and I can say that I am open to hearing more opinions in future.
Thanks again. Please stay in touch, follow this site, and Like us on Facebook to stay on top of new materials and developments. Best to you and yours.
-Karl
Salamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakaatuh.
Great work done, brother. May Allah bless you and the effort.
However, I also want to add my suggestion which is almost the same as that of Sheikh Mubarak Husein.
Titling the website as “SongsofAfaAjura” I think must be looked at……….
To me, we would need to look at the meaning contained in these works vis as vis the concept of songs as perceived by many today and what actually the Author intended with the work.
And if you study the meaning and the message critically you would agree with me that everything of the text suggests that, it’s poetry instead of songs Afa Ajura himself intended. So, I would be happy if the designer of this great website could replace the Songs with poetry.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for getting in touch. I hear you, and I’m thinking about it a lot.
As I wrote to the other commenter on this topic, I plan to write a longer explanation of my choice in English words in the next few days. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this matter once I have fully explained my rationale, and see how you feel then.
Best to you and yours,
Karl
Salamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakaatuh.
Great work done, brother. May Allah bless you and the effort.
However, I also want to add my suggestion which is almost the same as that of Sheikh Mubarak Husein.
Titling the website as “SongsofAfaAjura” I think must be looked at.
To me, we would need to look at the meaning contained in these works vis as vis the concept of songs as perceived by many today and what actually the Author intended with the work.
And if you study the meaning and the message critically you would agree with me that everything of the text suggests that, it’s poetry instead of songs Afa Ajura himself intended. So, I would be happy if the designer of this great website could replace the Songs with poetry.
Thank you very much.
See my response to your other comment.