African Journal of Culture, History, Religion and Traditions (AJCHRT)

Geographies of Gomoa Fetteh Ahobaa Festival: Origin, Musical Performance and Socio-Cultural Impact

Abstract

There has been a remarkable rise in documentation of festivals in Ghana in recent decades. Specific historical accounts as well as music making activities of some festivals in the Fante communities have not received sufficient scholarly attention, especially, in social and cultural terms. This paper was a qualitative research to document the of Gomoa Fetteh Ahobaa festival: Origin, musical performance and socio-cultural impact geographies of one of the Fante communities; Gomoa Fetteh in terms of its origin, festival, musical performance as well as the socio-cultural impact of the festival on the people. In gathering the data for the study, the chief, chief priest, elders of the chief palace, the musical ensembles as well as a cross section of some citizens were selected. Interview and observation were used to garner the needed data to answer the research questions. Indeed, while the Gomoa people found themselves in the present location from the major Fante ethnic group, their Ahobaa festival is a vehicle of economic generation and development of tourism. Ultimately, celebrating the festival with its enchanting spontaneous music making brings unity and improve their quality of life.

The Organization of Melodies in Ebibindwom: A Case of Jehovah Nissi Awoyow Garden, Winneba

Abstract

Some centuries ago, the contact that was established between Ghanaians and the Europeans aided the creation of some hybridized musical types using the existing traditional tunes such as Asafo, Adenkum, Adzewa, Ͻmpɛ and others as the main source materials for such creations. Ebibindwom, an example of such hybridized musical types has evolved over the years due to the melodies that drive the music. Using a case study as a design, this paper sought to examine the melodies in Ebibindwom, focusing on how they are organized with texts. With the Donald F. Tovey’s descriptive communicative type of formal analysis as the analytical stance, the paper sought to analyse the Ebibindwom melodies under specific boundaries of analysis for academic purposes. Interview and observation are the main instruments for data collection. Indeed, while some melodies of Ebibindwom are dependent on the speech surrogate and the rhythmic inflections of the spoken language of the indigenous people, some are not. Due to the simplistic nature of the Ebibindwom melodies, children play songs and simple instructional materials can be composed out of the compositional elements for educational purposes.

A Socio-Ethnographic Analysis of Songs and Chants in Akínwùmí Ìṣọ̀lá’s Agogo Èèwọ̀

Abstract

The Yoruba people are well-known for their ability to make use of songs and chants for different purposes. This is why many scholarly works have been done on the use of songs and chants in traditional and religious activities. However, very little has been done on the use of such for political activities, especially as projected in films. This paper is aimed at filling this gap by examining the use of songs and chants for political satire, with particular reference to Akinwumi Ishola’s Agogo Eewo as adapted by Tunde Kelani in his film. The theoretical framework used for the analysis of this work is an adaptation of Fishman’s definitional template of sociolinguistics as the study of ‘who’ says ‘what’, ‘to whom’, ‘when’ and ‘to what end’, as well as Dell Hymes’ ethnographic theory summarised in the acronym ‘SPEAKING’. Twelve songs and three chants were selected for analysis in the film. The first two songs were used by Elder Opalaba, the wise man in the palace to mock the dubious and shameful practices of the politicians in secret and their perpetual effects on the masses. Two were used by Amawo to condemn the corruption of the politicians as they loot the treasury of Jogbo and assure them of nemesis. One was rendered by Bashira to mock Baba Sesan for his habit of polishing and garnishing his car with pride. The next one was used by the chiefs to congratulate Bosipo on his ascension to the throne. One was used to protest against king Bosipo for the failure of his government to entertain the people of Jogbo at his coronation, not minding the fact that the people paid for that. Another one was used by thugs hired by Chief Balogun to disrupt the oath-taking ceremony. Two were used to criticise the king for his hesitation to remove the corrupt politicians in his cabinet. The last two were used to assure him of the singers’ support for his government and their readiness to defend him. Two chants were used by chanters in Bosipo’s dream as Opalaba taught him how to fight corruption and the syndrome of ‘god-fatherism’ in his kingdom. The last chant was used by Amawo to warn the politicians against greed, corruption and get-rich-quick syndrome. Songs and chants constitute an important tool in the hands of the masses and socio-political activists to criticise or protest against politicians or to express solidarity for them.