Dɔmɛisia are rarely performed singly or by lone performers. Except in the case of the dɔmɛigbuamɔi, dɔmɛisia are performed in sets by several narrators before a mixed audience of adults and children, most of whom are themselves potential performers. Unless a narrator of extraordinary reputation is present, the audience is likely to be limited to members of the mawɛɛi or the kuwui. This communal aspect of performance is extremely important to the shaping of the dɔmɛi, for an initial narrative may establish an argument which will condition all the narratives which follow in the session. Just as the relationship of the dɔmɛi to the dunyɛi is crucial to deciphering its ‘message’, so too the dɔmɛi must be understood as part of a cluster of dɔmɛisia, each independent but contingent upon others for the full disclosure of its meaning.

This dual function of the dɔmɛi, its integrity as a work of art, and as an integer in a larger composition, was most dramatically revealed through rival performances of three women of the Samba compound. These women – Hannah Samba, Mariatu Sandi, and Manungo – were united in acting as our superb hostesses in the compound and in Mattru, but in every other way they were locked into a permanent state of mutual suspicion which erupted frequently into hostility. Their harsh feelings towards each other gave rise to endless backbiting and were notorious throughout Mattru.