Ghana, Africa

Ghanaian Culture

About 98.5% of all Ghanaians are black Africans made up of different tribesThere are 56 different languages spoken in Ghana. Languages follow the tribal divisions-the most prominent being the Akan languages “Twi” and “Fanti.” English is the official language and is taught in all the schools, though Ghanaians use a West African form of English. For example “chop” means eat, and “dash” means gift. English is generally the second language for most Ghanaians.

Women play a prominent role in agriculture and domestic trade, and are represented at the highest levels of political life. Traditional customs violate the human rights of children, including facial scarring and female genital mutilation. Among the Ewe, a criminal may only be forgiven by the community if his or her young daughter is given as a slave to a local priest.

In terms of religion, Christianity, Islam, and traditional African religions make up generally equal parts of the religions in Ghana. Some Christian sects incorporate African elements, such as drumming, dancing, and possession

The recorded history of Ghana began in 1471, when Portuguese traders landed on the coast in search of gold, ivory, and spices. After the Portuguese came the Dutch, the Danes, the Swedes, the Prussians, and the British. Commerce in gold gave way to the slave trade, until it was outlawed by Great Britain in 1807. After all European powers except the British withdrew from Ghana in the 19th century, there were many wars involving the Ashanti, who had made themselves into a powerful military confederacy. Their position as the principal captors of slaves for European created a great deal of tension between them and the coastal tribes. British troops fought seven wars with the Ashanti from 1806 to 1901, when their kingdom was annexed by the British crown.

the growing demand for self-government eventually led to a resolution calling for independence, and on 6 March 1957 the Gold Coast, including Ashanti, the Northern Territories Protectorate, and the Trust Territory of British Togoland, attained full independent membership in the Commonwealth of Nations under the name of Ghana. The nation became a republic on 1 July 1960.

People throughout western Africa have developed various types of traditional music to suit different religious, political, and social events. The Songhai perform a style of religious music called follay, where each of their divinities is honored with its own special melodies and rhythms. Songhai teenagers sing to one another when dating, and music is played at wrestling matches as well as at dances. Among many groups, music plays a central role at funerals. For the LoDagaa of Ghana, funerals include special songs and dances, each specific to a certain part of the event. They use one style of performance for funerals of men and another for those of women.

In other places of Western Africa, popular music blends local elements with influences from Europe and the Americas. Many of the European and American genres that have come to Africa—such as American ragtime and rap and Caribbean rumba and reggae—were developed by people whose African ancestors left Africa as slaves. These blended forms are very popular with the young people of urban areas.

IB Rubric for Miwoe Nenyo

Miwoe Nenyo performed by Dennis Allen, A. Kdjo Tettey, W.K. Amoaku

Musical

- constant drum beat created by 3 different percussion instrument

- female solo voice supported by a male voice

- repeated text

- Melody repeated

- Only 1 section

- Melodic Music created by the voices

- Rhythm created by the percussion

Structural

- 1 section

- 1st percussion at 0:01 until end

- 2nd percussion begins at 0:08 until end

- 3rd percussion enters at 0:14 until end

- Female Voice enters at 0:49 – 1:53

- Male Voice sings from 1:20 – 1:53

- ends with a fade of the drums

Contextual

- For Children

- Recorded in 1990

- From Ghana, Africa

Unique Aspect

Pentatonic Scale-The scale used in West African music.

Scale consisting of only 5 notes; do re mi so la

Example-This is the pentatonic scale you would get by playing all black notes on a piano-Fsharp, Gsharp, Asharp, Csharp, Dsharp, Fsharp

The “rules” for a scale to be pentatonic are:

• the scale must consist of five tones between the root tone and its octave

• there must be at least two half-steps and no more than three half-steps between adjacent tones of the scale, which means,

• given twelve half-steps in an octave, that the scale will have two tones separated by three half-steps and three tones separated by two half-steps

• the two intervals of three half-steps cannot be adjacent to each other.

The pentatonic scale was later used by composers like Debussy, and Dvorák.

Djembe - Ghanaian Instrument

A Guide to the Dgembe

The Djembe is a skin covered drum shaped like a big glass and is played with bare hands.Many historians believe the Djembe is/was a form of communication, or a cryptic message system for tribes in West Africa. It is believed to have been chosen because it is able to play both high and low pitches which creates a good variety for a language. During oppressive times in African history, djembe players would get together and drum to each other, passing information in a way that couldnt be detected by those who were not aware of the language.

The Djembe is on the verge of achieving world status as a percussion instrument. A few decades after its big debut in West Africa in the 1950's with the world tours of "Les Ballets Africains" the jembe was only known by a small group of musicians and people devoted to African music and dance. In the U.S. interest in the jembe centered around Ladji Camara, a member of Les Ballets Africains in the 1950s, who since the 1960s has trained many American players.

Since the late 1980s international interest in the Djembe has changed dramatically. Many CD recordings exclusively featuring jembe ensembles have been released in addition to as many recordings featuring the Djembe in mixed ensembles. Tours of national ballet troupes from Guinea, Mali, and Senegal, and former drummers from these troupes are playing to big crowds. Djembe teachers are finding great work and good money, some of them leading study tours to Africa, and major drum manufacturers have recently found a market for industrially produced Djembes.

Where did the Djembe come from?

Common Stories:

The idea for the djembe drum came from the mortar (mortar and pestle). The story basically goes - the blacksmiths traditionally carved mortars and pestles for women. One day a blacksmith looked at the mortar and thought it might make a good drum if it was skinned up. He skinned it and played it. It was good but he thought it might sound better if he made a hole open at bottom of mortar. He did that and thus became the djembe.

The djembe was a creation of the blacksmiths. Many don't say much more than that the blacksmiths created the first djembe. It was the idea and creation of the blacksmiths (Numu) of West Africa.

Unique Stories:

The Jewish people brought the djembe to Africa.

The djembe appeared on Friday by a river in Wassoulou (spiritual origin)

Bibliography

Biography

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SCHWIMMER, BRIAN. "Ghana." Countries and Their Cultures. Eds. Melvin Ember and Carol R. Ember. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2001. 866-880. 4 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Thomson Gale. Bloomfield Township Public Library. 30 Nov 2006. <http://find.galegroup.com/gvrl/infomark.do?&contentSet=EBKS&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=GVRL&docId=CX3401700097&source=gale&userGroupName=lom_blfield&version=1.0>.

"The Royal Obonu Group of Ghana and Mustapha Tettey Addy." AFRIKAMUSICA.COM. 6 Dec 2006. <http://www.afrikamusica.com/obonu2.jpg>.