Tokay Tomah

Tokay Tomah (born 1968, died November 14, 2017) was a singer, dancer, and activist who used performance and the arts to demand disarmament in Liberia.

Personal life Tokay Tomah was born during 1968 in Buutuo, Liberia, located in Nimba County. She was of Gio descent, one of the sixteen ethnic groups in Liberia. Her father was a prominent Chief, Chief Tomah of Buutuo, and was featured in a book on Liberian arts by art historian Robert Farris Thompson. She was named "Tokay", which means "stay in the house", and was her parents’ sixth and most favored child.

She gave birth to a daughter, Jamah Ndoma, who would become a gospel singer.

Career In 1976 the President of Liberia, William Tolbert, and Peter Ballah, the Director of Culture for Liberia in the 1970s, conducted a tour of Nimba County, Liberia. They observed a young Tomah, who was about ten years old, where she trained as a backup singer for performers such as Liberian singer Fatu Gayflor.

In 1977, Tomah, along with the other members of the National Cultural Troupe, performed at the Second International Festival of African Culture, located in Nigeria. Following the onset of the First Liberian Civil War in 1989, the National Cultural Troupe’s performances focused on anti-war messages and peace-building lyrics, some of which were composed by Tomah. One of these compositions was later chosen by the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace as a theme song, “We Need Peace/No More War.”

Tomah garnered the nickname of “The Queen of the Stage" as well as significant recognition as a result of her mainstream music career. In the film, when referencing her work with combatants, Tomah states, “I’m going to pass messages over to people who are very bitter. What can I do to make them to turn sweet?” Additionally, Tomah was granted a Leeway Transformation Award in that same year. In 2016 Tomah was the recipient of a Pew Fellowship in the Arts.