Tora is a game-like dance in which two dancers knock their buttocks together in time to the cadence moment in the drumming. Dancers form a line and take turns going out into the dance stage. Each dancer knocks twice. The dancer who is in the circle knocks with the next in line and then takes the place at the back of the line. Gradually, the dancer moves toward the front position and then goes out to have the next turn in the spotlight. Dancers sing songs in call-and-response format while they are on line.
The relationship between music and dance is very similar in Tora and Takai: dancers strike each other at a key time point in the recurring musical phrase. To get their timing, dancers especially listen to the gung-gong part. Drummers organize their play to dramatize the moment the dancers knock together.
Like Baamaaya, Tora and Takai have several sections that are performed in sequence like a medley or suite. Because it is exactly the same as in Takai, the music for Nyagboli is not presented here in the Tora section of the website. In contemporary performance contexts the slow-paced music of Ayiko accompanies the dancers’ as they process to the performance area. Ayiko does not have a History Story because it did not originate in Dagbon.
Girls and young women usually perform Tora.
| Supporting Materials |
| History Story (PDF) |
| Music Analysis (PDF) |
| Common Sequence: Ayiko – Tora – Nyagboli – Ayiko |
| AYIKO (View files directly in Digital Library) Part-by-Part Sessions by Alhaji Abubakari |
Time signature: 6/8 | |||
| File Type |  |
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| Vocable – Audio | ||||
| Vocable – Staff Notation | Download | Download | Download | |
| Vocable – Transcription | Download | |||
| Drumming – Audio | ||||
| Drumming – Staff Notation | Download | Download | Download | |
| Drumming – Transcription | Download | |||
| Ensemble Rhythm | Download | |||
| Ensemble Recording Sessions | ||||
| DDD Sessions by Prof. Locke and Students | ||||
| TORA (View files directly in the Digital Library) Part-by-Part Sessions by Alhaji Abubakari |
Time signature: 6/8 | |||
| File Type | |
|
|
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| Vocable – Audio | ||||
| Vocable – Staff Notation | Download | Download | Download | |
| Vocable – Transcription | Download | Download | Download | |
| Drumming – Audio | ||||
| Drumming – Staff Notation | Download | Download | Download | |
| Drumming – Transcription A | Download | Download | ||
| Drumming – Transcription B | Download | Download | ||
| Drum Language – Audio | Play | Play | Play | |
| Drum Language – Text | Download | Download | Download | |
| Ensemble Rhythm | Download | |||
| Ensemble Recording Sessions | ||
| Multi-track Sessions by Alhaji Abubakari | Online Mixer | |
| DDD Sessions by Prof. Locke and Students | ||