Atumpan Talking Drums - Kofi Jatto (Ghana, 1921)
Greetings to the chief of an Akan state on the occasion of the new year
The year has come round.
I have come to greet you,
To shower blessings on you.
Live long, live long, live long,
Live to a good old age.
The drummer of the talking drums says,
He showers his blessings on you.
Live long, live long, live long,
Live to a good old age.
The God of old says,
He showers his blessings on you.
Live to a good old age, chief,
The Earth Amponyinamoa says,
She showers her blessings on you.
Live to a good old age.
Live long, live long, live long,
Live to a good old age.
May years be added to your years.
--
Akan people are a meta-ethnicity residing in the southern regions of the former Gold Coast region, in what is today the nation of Ghana.
The poem was first written down by Carl Einstein, (26 April 1885 – 5 July 1940), born Karl Einstein, was an influential German Jewish writer, art historian, anarchist and critic.
