Nketia, Kwabena - Changing Traditions of Folk Music in Ghana

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Changing Traditions of Folk Music in GhanaAuthor(s): J. H. NketiaSource: Journal of the International Folk Music Council, Vol. 11 (1959), pp. 31-36Published by: International Council for Traditional MusicStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/834852Accessed: 10/11/2010 20:20

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CHANGING TRADITIONS OF FOLK MUSIC IN GHANA 31

CHANGING TRADITIONS OF FOLK MUSIC IN GHANA

byJ. H. NKETIA (University College of Ghana, Achimotu)

AFRICAto-day is a scene of rapid social changes. Not only is the physical appearanceof towns and the countryside undergoing transformation which is affecting the livesand outlook of the inhabitants of the continent, but also tribal groups are beingwelded together into new political and cultural units. In this process of change,our folk music traditions have not remained unaffected. New musical styles areemerging, while the traditional organisation of music and dancing is being modified.A study of our folk music traditions shows, however, that what is happening nowis not an entirely new phenomenon. It is but a continuation, though in an accen-tuated form, of an old process of change. In this paper I shall discuss both the oldand the new type of musical change in order that we may see how they are linkedtogether in the contemporary situation. For convenience of illustration, I shalllimit myself to Ghana, where I have been carrying out much of my field work inAfrican music.

From a study of this area, three types of changes may be noted. First, thereis the change resulting from the cumulative effect of the creative efforts of individuals(largely anonymous) or groups of individuals within a given society of a fairlyhomogenous character. Second, there is the change resulting from the interactionof such homogenous African societies through geographical contiguity facilitatingeconomic or other pursuits, through religion, or in the past, through war. Third,there is the change resulting from the impact of an alien culture-Western or Oriental-on the practice of African folk music. All these types of changes are operativein Ghana to-day, though, of course, not to the same extent.

Homogenous groups, such as Ashanti, Ewe, Ga and Dagomba, consist of inter-acting communities speaking the same language, performing the same types of dancesand songs and keeping to the same range of instruments. They may differ in extentof repertoire, or in their general level of performance, but they are bound together

bya common

musical tradition. Many such homogenous groups in Ghana havea variety of musical forms which are organised to meet the requirements of theirsocial life. There are musical types set aside for recreation and events in their dailylives, and musical types set aside for various ceremonial occasions through which thesolidarity of the society, as a whole, or of associations and kinship groups is main-tained.

Where the framework of each of the musical types used is not greatly modified,its content or repertoire may be modified, or expanded as time goes on. Thus therepertoire of folk songs involving genealogical references which continue to the present,or references to historical events such as the praise chants of the Dagbomba or dirgesof the Akan, or adowa songs about people, may be built up

gradually.Similarly, one finds creative additions being made in the field of drumming throughthe formation of new ensembles, re-creations of old ensembles, acquisition of new typesof drums, and the creation of new dances. Thus the war between the Gyaman andthe Ashanti inspired the creation of a piece by the Ashanti, portraying the deter-mination of the Ashanti to rout their enemies. This piece, entitled "Slowly but



32 INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNAL

surely we shall kill Adinkra," has remained as a set piece which is played as a dancepiece, or in certain situations as a form of insult. Similarly the last British-Ashantiwar (1896-19oo) gave rise to the drum piece "The White man will die upstairs," a

piecewhich was created in

jestto mark the

siegeof

the Britishfort in Kumasi.

It has continued to be used as a processional piece for important chiefs eversince.

It is interesting to note that in oral narrations of history, references are made tosuch innovations or creations, particularly if they are regarded as signposts in thedevelopment of the folk music tradition of a given area. One frequently hears:"It was in the reign of such and such a King that this dance was introduced."

The examples which I have given so far are examples of new "court music."The more dynamic type of change, however, is in recreational music. In manyplaces in Ghana new forms of music and dancing based on the old indigenous stylecome in vogue and gradually disappear as new ones are created, or old ones arerevived.

The emergence of new popular creations depends on the extent to which existingforms enjoy the support of a community or of its elders, or their continued suitabilityfor use on various social occasions. There may be three or four creations of newdances within a person's lifetime. When I was a little boy, the dance in vogue, in myarea was utan. Later it was replaced by sika-rebewu-apers: then adakam, thenkenhema. The most recent still in vogue are asaadua, ahyewa (akosua tuntum). It isin such new creations that significant elements constituting a new departure fromthe old tradition, or rather a new addition to the old tradition, are found. Thusadakam, for example, introduced the use of box drums which were specially made

according to a standard design.Kenkema and asaadua in the Akan area have both introduced the frame drum

and a new technique of drumming. It is in the light of this that creative additionsto the folk music of a homogenous African group are considered noteworthy in theappraisal of changing traditions of folk music. Some of the new musical typesmay be simply a further application of the concepts underlying the folk musictradition, while others may be further elaboration or slight departures from thetradition as established by previous creations.

The second type of change-the change which results from the interaction ofhomogenous societies through geographical contiguity, trade, religion and so on-

was more radical in the past than it is now. Here the interacting societies areAfrican societies separated by differences in language and music.The scene in Ghana before the effective intervention of the British was not a

quiet one. The composite tribes did not live in complete isolation. Ashanti hada vigorous trade with northern Ghana in kola and slaves, and obtained salt and othercommodities from southern Ghana. Wars between Ashanti and the societies inboth of these regions were a notable feature of eighteenth- and nineteenth-centuryGold Coast. There were similar forms of interaction between the composite groupsin the north or those in the south. The result of all interaction of these societiesis apparent to-day in the musical traditions of Ghana; in the distribution of musical

instruments,musical

typesand dances. Thus the Akan

(Ashanti,Fante, Akwamu,

etc.) atumpan (talking) drums are found in many places in Ghana-on the coast(among the Ga), along the Volta (among the Ewe and the Adangme), in the north(among the Dagomba, Mamprusi, Wala and Gonja). The language of the drums(which are also used as musical instruments) has remained largely Akan in thesenon-Akan areas. The music of the Akan court-fontomfrom, horn music and the



CHANGING TRADITIONS OF FOLK MUSIC IN GHANA 33

music of warrior organisations-will be found in non-Akan areas in southern Ghana,while in Dagomba area the music of Akan warrior organisations has led to the creationof a dance called kabenwaa (Ashanti dance). This music is still played in imitation

and,one would

say,in

jestof the Ashanti whom the

Dagomba grewto hate

astheir neighbours. The Ashanti in turn have borrowed hour-glass drums and gourddrums from the north. These have passed on subsequently from them to someparts of southern Ghana.

In some places, this type of cultural situation has resulted not only in the borrow-ing of instruments and musical forms, but also in the adoption of new scales. Thuspeoples with a pentatonic tradition such as the Ga and the Adangme now singsongs in this scale as well as in the heptatonic. In Adangme the heptatonic isrestricted mainly to songs from the Akan area.' In Ga society the change has beenmore radical and the heptatonic is now the more frequently used scale; the penta-tonic has survived

mainlyin ritual music.2 Another

aspectof this

changeis that

whereas in Adangme society the musical intonation of the old pentatonic (which hasbeen retained) tends to be transferred to the heptatonic, in Ga society it is the otherway round.

Examination of the music of various societies shows that not only scales maybe adopted, but also harmonic usages. The adoption of the heptatonic and itstradition of singing in parallel thirds by a pentatonic people who sing in unisonor in parallel fourths or fifths brings a new conception of harmony which affects thefolk music tradition of such a people. This is again evident in the Ga-Adangmesocieties to which I have already referred.

Thegeographical contiguity

ofinteracting

societies with diverse musical traditionsis then an important factor of change. African societies in Ghana have stimulatedeach other through their own specialisation. War has ceased, but the greater facilityfor trade and travel is giving this process further impetus in new Ghana. The visitorto northern Ghana will find modern importations from the south in the form ofsimpa bands playing, a variety of the modern folk music popularly called the highlife.3

This leads on to the third type of musical change-the change resulting from theimpact of an alien culture or an alien religion-in particular Western culture andChristianity and the culture of Muslim religion. These have penetrated Ghanafrom different points.

Muslim culture has approached Ghana mainly from the north, where its influenceis exerted through the Hausa. The adoption of Mohammedan festivals and Moham-medan forms of marriage in some areas in the north has meant a re-organisationof folk music. In the Dagomba area where this is most noticeable, different songshave been set aside for the various festivals and there are some dances which areperformed only during those festivals. There are also striking similarities betweenthe musical tradition of the Dagomba and that of the Hausa, as for example, in thecustom of praise chanting, and the use of the one-string fiddle. Dagomba playersof the latter sing some of their songs in Hausa.

In southern Ghana, Muslim culture has not affected folk music traditions toanyappreciable extent. The adaptation of Fante lyrics for Muslim worship (incorporating

features of Muslim style of chanting) has already begun. It is difficult to see at presentwhat effect this will ultimately have on the Fante style of singing.

Western culture and Christianity on the other hand have entered Ghana fromthe south. Their influence on the lives of Ghanaians-which has been far-reaching



34 INTERNATIONAL OLKMUSIC OURNAL

-has been greatest in Ashanti and southern Ghana, but it is rapidly spreading inthe north. It is to be seen in changes in our material culture--in the use of theproducts of Western industry. It is to be seen in the social life of contempoaryGhana

(inthe form of new means of recreation such as cinemas and dance

halls),or in our new political life (with its institutions of the army, and the police playingWestern band music). It is to be seen in Western religious and educational "institu-tions" implanted in Ghana, which also propagate not only new values, new ways oflife, but also Western music.

The change now taking place in our folk-music traditions must be looked atagainst this background of social change. It reflects the growing acceptance of thematerial culture of the West and of a number of Western institutions. You willfind this change in the ingenious use of new materials for the manufacture of instru-ments, or in the use of improvised substitutes. Thus the skin stretched across thecalabash resonator of a one-string fiddle, originally glued, may now be nailed down.Strings used for lutes or for lacing drum heads may now be the imported string ora bit of metal wire. Instead of a gourd resonator, an old can may be used by thecity dweller.

The impact of the West can also be seen in the growing adoption of some ofthe instruments of Western industry now available in shops in Ghana. The Westernlute or guitar and the accordion have both been adopted for playing traditionalfolk music. Western wind instruments, particularly brass instruments, are growingin popularity in Ashanti and southern Ghana, where they are used for playing thenew type of folk music to which I have already referred.

The impact of the West is perhaps most evident in the growing popularity of the

diatonic scale among certain sections of communities in areas with pentatonic tradi-tions, and in the enlargement of the harmonic ideas of societies that are already usedto singing in thirds and sixths and make occasional use of other intervals and triads,or of societies that previously only sung in unison or in parallel fourths. The diatonicscale and the new forms of harmony, however, are again used, not in the music ofthe old tradition, but in the new form of popular folk music. Radical innovationsare thus being channelled into the development of new music, and not in theadulteration of the old.

In contemporary Ghana, therefore, old and new forms of folk music exist sideby side. The surviving strength of the older and much more virile type of folk

music has been in its close identification with our social life. Forms borrowed byinteracting communities or societies were organised as part of the old pattern ofsocial life. The performance of ceremonies and rites, and the celebration of time-honoured festivals in which this music is used, has contributed to its perpetuationin modern Ghana. The new type of folk music of which the greatest exponents areliterate or urbanised Africans is mainly for recreation.

Whereas in the past each society formed also a "community of taste," in thecontemporary situation different "communities of taste" have emerged. The oldis what the African genius was able to produce through the stimulus it receivedwithin itself. The new is what the African is producing through the stimulusreceived from without.

For some time there has been a danger of the music of the older type of folkmusic being abandoned by literate and urbanised Ghanaians as Ghana gets moreand more "industrialised." Nationalism, however, is fostering a new pride in ourfolk music, and efforts are now being made to preserve or encourage the practice ofthe best in the older type of folk music throughout the country.



CHANGING RADITIONS OF FOLK MUSIC IN GHANA 35

NOTES

x. See J. H. Nketia, "The Organisation of Music n Adangme Society," Universitas, IV, No. I.2. See J. H. Nketia, "Traditional Music of the Ga People," Universitas, III, No. 3.3. For a note on this see: (a) J. H. Nketia, Modern Trends n Ghana Music (African Music

Society, 1958); (b) J. H. Nketia, "The Gramophone and Contemporary African Music in theGold Coast" (Proceedings of 4th Annual Conference: West African Institute of Social and EconomicResearch, 1956), pp. 191-201.

Dr. W. BASCOM University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.) regarded Mr. Nketia'spaper as an important contribution, because it showed that change had been takingplace not only recently and that it was not only due to Western influences. He askedwhether we were opposed to internal or only to external change.

Dr. GEORGE HERZOG Indiana University, U.S.A.) asked who it was that decidedwhat should be preserved. Was it the tourist, the ethnomusicologist, this present group,or who? What was being done now in Ghana towards preserving and documentingthe changes ? What did we wish to preserve ? He said that detailed and solid work wasneeded from the Europeans, not vague generalisations. Dr. Herzog complimented theauthor on the fact that he had approached the subject not only intuitively, but also asa well-trained social scientist. He asked whether Mr. Nketia saw signs of a new nationalGhana music. If so, would local traditions contribute to the new style or would it allcome from "high life ?" Were there any national composers who wished to developa new art music as Bart6k had ?

Mr. NKETIA eplied that during the past six years he had made a study of variousstyles of tribal music. Recordings had been made and there was now a large collectioncovering every part of the country. In co-operation with Radio Ghana, archives werebeing set up both for radio use and for university purposes. The Government had setup an interim committee which would seek to promote folk music in the country, and itwas intended that a statutory Arts Council should be formed with Government funds.Festivals had been organised in various parts of the country, and in Accra particularly,items from a number of different tribes had been popularised in this way. There werevoluntary societies which were interested in cultural preservation and development.For instance, in Kumasi there was a museum of art and a centre for the teaching andcultivation of drumming and dancing. Here, two of the teachers were lecturers at theSchool of Technology, while other teachers were unlettered. People such as office clerksand even some politicians came to the centre after working hours to improve their drum-ming and dancing. There were, Mr. Nketia continued, certain things which the peopleof Ghana wished to preserve, things which they valued. They did this firstly throughmuseums and archives, and secondly by giving recognition to cultural activities andensuring that they were passed on to others. Education could be used both for thepreservation of existing forms and for giving guidance to future practice.

Mr. DAVID RYCROFT (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London)said it was heartening to hear that the people of Ghana, even in towns, valued theirtraditions and were taking steps to perpetuate their own music and dancing. He thoughtthat town life in Ghana must be more closely in touch with country life than in SouthAfrica, where white men's towns had sprung up, bringing an un-African way of life.Africans who took up residence in such towns came to despise their own background andstrove to adopt popular Western music and choral music or to produce modified vernacularsongs based upon Western models. Attempts to stir up interest in their own culture

amongst town Africans were made almost entirely by Europeans, and such efforts weregenerally suspect among educated or partly-educated Africans, who felt that they werebeing forced back towards tribalism. It would seem to be impossible to find perpetuationof folk music amongst educated Africans in South Africa, and it was only amongst un-educated people who retained their allegiance to tribal society that traditional musiccontinued to be practised.



36 INTERNATIONAL OLK MUSIC JOURNAL

Mr. HUGH TRACEY Johannesburg, South Africa) stated that Mr. Nketia's review wasthe most remarkable yet undertaken by any African. It contained what we most needed:the detailed appreciation of music-old, new and modern, including jazz, which wasreally no more modern than folk music but which happened to be fashionable. Ghanawould appear to be culturally strong in that all that came in from outside was Africanisedand fitted into the existing social structure. Other parts of Africa tended to be culturallyweak and were in danger of having their birthright destroyed. We must do all wecould to prevent this happening.

Dr. E. GERSON-KIWI Hebrew University, Jerusalem) said that a similar situationwith regard to acculturation existed in Israel. Dozens of races and communities wereto be found and new ones were constantly coming in. It was nearly impossible to preserveentirely the traditions originating in other countries. When the background of folkways and folk life was taken away there was no way back. The problem was one ofrenaissance: not a return, but a going forward to something new. The old might comeback in a stylised way. We must face this stylised renaissance of folk ways and accept it.

Mr. SAM GESSER Montreal, Canada) said that in South Africa it was the white manwho was emulated and not the chief. Among the Iroquois in Canada the solution layin instilling the people with a new idea of their culture and a new attitude towards it.

Miss KARPELES London) said that in most countries-in Europe as well as Africa-there came a time when people lost faith in their traditional cultures. Our businesswas to try to restore their confidence, not by dictating to the "folk" but by educatingourselves to appreciate the value of traditional arts and endeavouring to restore a com-munity of taste. She considered that the most immediate task was to preserve whatremained of the older traditions for our own and future generations. She was confidentthat sooner or later people would rediscover the value of these traditions and, although

they mightnot

adoptthem in

exactlythe same form,

theywould need them as a basis

and a point of departure for further creative developments.Professor ETA HARICH-SCHNEIDER Vienna) asked what percentage of people who

had had a Western education still chose to learn tribal forms of dancing. She said thatin Japan there were hardly any educated people who cared for Japanese music of theold type.

Mr. NKETIA eplied that he did not know the exact percentage, but could only givehis own impression. Among the Ashanti people, amongst whom education was takenup much later than in other parts, old dances were still retained. In the more southernparts of the country, among the Ga and the Fante, education was well established. Ithad been started by the early missionaries. Here the pattern of life had been more

strongly influenced and fewer people maintained the old forms.

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Nketia, Kwabena - Changing Traditions of Folk Music in Ghana