Cardinal Peter Poreku Dery Profile
A DAGAO WITH THE DAGARA, A SISALA WITH THE SISALA
"I have heard it said of me that "as for Archbishop Dery, he has no fixed identity. He has brothers and sisters everywhere, in Tizza, in Ko, in Zemuopare, in Konguol and even among the Sisala. He is related to everybody". For many, it is only a pious pretension on my part to try to appropriate the words of St. Paul who claims to be a Jew with the Jews and a Gentile with the Gentiles. But there is more to the matter than mere spiritualism.
I grew up to learn from my elders that my people originally moved from Dagbong to Mossi country (Moo-tenga). How long they stayed there, I do not know. What I gather is that there was fission in the family after some time and a large portion of it moved away from there. They are said to have moved South. None of those of us still living remembers ever having been told the reason for the move from Moo-tenga. Was it due to a quarrel or some family disagreement? I do not know. As the group descended southward from Moo-tenga, it came into contact with some Kasena and some Gurunshi. My family must have stayed among and mingled with these people for a short while before moving further South. Further down, they came into contact with the Sisala. Their stay among the Sisala must have been quite long and their interaction with them intensive. For Isaaleng gradually replaced More as a medium of communication for my people.
The final phase of their move brought them through Tumu, Gbal, Wiiro, Fielmuo, Nabing and Zoole. They eventually arrived at Konguol where they settled. I do not know what special event took place in Nabing and Zoole. But my family has always felt emotionally attached to these places as the terms nabing-ma and zoole-ma continue to be used as praise-names for the daughters of our patrilineage. These two terms are clearly composites of Sisaala and Dagara words. "
"I have heard it said of me that "as for Archbishop Dery, he has no fixed identity. He has brothers and sisters everywhere, in Tizza, in Ko, in Zemuopare, in Konguol and even among the Sisala. He is related to everybody". For many, it is only a pious pretension on my part to try to appropriate the words of St. Paul who claims to be a Jew with the Jews and a Gentile with the Gentiles. But there is more to the matter than mere spiritualism.
I grew up to learn from my elders that my people originally moved from Dagbong to Mossi country (Moo-tenga). How long they stayed there, I do not know. What I gather is that there was fission in the family after some time and a large portion of it moved away from there. They are said to have moved South. None of those of us still living remembers ever having been told the reason for the move from Moo-tenga. Was it due to a quarrel or some family disagreement? I do not know. As the group descended southward from Moo-tenga, it came into contact with some Kasena and some Gurunshi. My family must have stayed among and mingled with these people for a short while before moving further South. Further down, they came into contact with the Sisala. Their stay among the Sisala must have been quite long and their interaction with them intensive. For Isaaleng gradually replaced More as a medium of communication for my people.
The final phase of their move brought them through Tumu, Gbal, Wiiro, Fielmuo, Nabing and Zoole. They eventually arrived at Konguol where they settled. I do not know what special event took place in Nabing and Zoole. But my family has always felt emotionally attached to these places as the terms nabing-ma and zoole-ma continue to be used as praise-names for the daughters of our patrilineage. These two terms are clearly composites of Sisaala and Dagara words. "
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