Gola Poro Society reception song

Ethnomusicological sound recording made by Cootje van Oven. Gola Poro Society reception song accompanied by two shegbureh. The meaning of the song is: "The boys have returned and may have four days rest in which the singers must make the boys happy - calling their names in joke and giving them cents". The shegbureh, apparently always played by women, is a stalked gourd surrounded by a network of beads or buttons on strings. The end of the strings is held in one hand, the stalk of the gourd in the other. Rhythmic movements of the gourd produce the desired rattle of the beads or buttons against the gourd. The shegbureh measures 13" by 13". Boys will start their training for the Poro Society at the age of 8 and return from the Poro bush to their villages at the age of 13.

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Further Information

  • Type: Sound Recording, Musical instruments
  • Object: Gola Poro Society reception song
  • Materials: No Data / Other
  • Culture Group: Gola
  • Dimensions: No Data
  • Production Date: 1966.12.23
  • Associated Places: Tuasu, Makpele Chiefdom, Pujehun District [Place Recorded] [Origin of item]
  • Associated People: Cootje van Oven [Sound Recordist]; Herb Clark [Sound Recordist]; Weya D Gosseh [Lead singer]; Tene Satmah [Shegbureh]
  • Museum: Cootje Van Oven Collection
  • Accession Number: CVO:273

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