Back

Frafra paga yila

Paga yila are traditional women's songs of the Frafra. Most of the peoples in the West African savannah have such songs. Paga yila comes from the Dagbani language and literally means 'women's singing'. In some cases a discreet form of polyphony is used, for instance among the Bimoba and the Lobi. Three types of singing style have been identified:

A pure vocal style
The responsorial songs are performed in both homophonic and heterophonic versions. The leader or soloist sings the stanza and the chorus responds with the refrain. This music is usually sung in a monophonic style.
Vocal accompanied by hand-clapping
The songs are accompanied by rhythmic hand-clapping. Usually the leader also performs some dance steps during the singing. The music is fairly repetitive and responsorial.
Vocal accompanied by drums
Here, too, the songs have a responsorial structure and in some cases the women 'ululate' with their tongue.

In these songs the during plays the melody while the during player sings the call line and the female chorus responds with the refrain. The siyarik provides additional rhythm.

In most cases the lyrics are about everyday events and have a social connotation: the marketplace, work, marriage, funerals, recreation, love and gossip.