An Ashanti drum poem from Ghana (see The Drum-History of Mampon for more about drum poems). The poem is praising the Earth which supports us in life and receives us in death.
Earth, condolences,
Earth, condolences,
Earth and dust,
The Dependable One,
I lean upon you:
Earth, when I am about to die,
I lean upon you:
Earth, while I am alive,
I lean upon you:
Earth, while I am alive,
I lean upon you:
Earth that receives dead bodies,
The Creator’s drummer says,
From wherever he went
He has roused himself,
He has roused himself!
by K.A. Busia
translated by Daryll Ford
from African Worlds: Studies in the Cosmological Ideas
and Social Values of African Peoples
Oxford University Press (1960)
