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Actes du XIVe Congrès International des Bibliothèques et des Musées des Arts du SpectacleBeograd 15-20 septembre 1980. Beograd : 1982. ISSN 0361-7500
Sophia D. LokkoThe Ghanaian Experimentation in the Reactivation of her Heritage in the Arts with Special Reference to the Performing Artspp. 129-137
One of the distinctive aspects of traditional African identity, we suggest, is usually expressed in the arts which include: verbal arts, like language; visual arts, like sculpture, carving and pottery; the performing arts, like music, dance and drama. All these forms have a style and message of their own; but they all communicate and mirror the African way of life in an intimate manner. These arts which are closely integrated with the life of a community were practised from long ago as forms of shared experience - for amusement or entertainment, or at organised public traditional functions, The arts were therefore evident on different occasions giving the performances of rites, ceremonies or festivities their recreational and social dimensions. In the recreational and social context there were occasions in days gone by when the traditional African would dress in the skin of an early catch or other costume of his choice. He chanted, sang and danced and performed certain rites for special favours and rewards like rain, good harvest, or health from the Supreme Being or the lesser gods or the dead ancestors. He sometimes danced until he projected himself outside of himself and acted as if possessed. In the process an artist emerged depicting himself as an animal or another being. Through the medium of verbal arts - poetry, music, dance and sculpture - he communicated his message to the audience. Such activities showed an awareness, albeit informal, of the arts in traditional African society. Thus it could be said that by the time the Europeans arrived in the early fifteenth century the practice of the arts was quite solid and pronounced in the daily activities of Africans. In fact, the practice of the arts was part and parcel of the people's cultural heritage. This was clearly borne out by the cult of iron and gold usually performed with pomp and pageantry. Mothers and daughters took promiment roles in the cult which also embodied and projected the performing arts - music, dance and drama as important ingredients in our culture. Societies were organised through the cult of iron and gold, making the performing arts a fundamental part of the social life. We could also refer to the popular and frequent moonlit night interactions where oral traditons in the form of folk tales and other narratives presented in the choicest rhetoric adorned with proverbs formed part of the activities. (It is no wonder then that even today indigenous African languaqe that is considered good adopts the use of proverbs and metaphors). As a matter of convenience such activities usually took place on moonlit nights. As soon as word went round, male and female, young and old converged under the shade of trees or in their courtyard for the sessions. What added to the popularity of the activities was the knitted community relationship and the environment. Villages were not spread out and houses were so structured that people could easily and readily call on each other promptly when the need arose. There was a genuine concern for each other, probably because of ethnic links and ethics of the society. They also lived in an environment of lively action: there was some sort of action going on continually, for happenings like births, marriages, deaths, were considered to be public events usually attended with ceremony. Singing and dancing featured at such occasions. Some education or insight into the social norms and sanctions permeated the functions. We give as an example "Kpashimo" a form of song and dance with feet stamping body movements from side to side. It is observed as part of the annual festival celebration of the people of Labadi,1 and marks the time when the deity "Lakpa" of Labadi is said to have wedded every woman, consequently every man has the liberty to embrace, hug and fondle (Shakamo) all women without an infringement of conjugal rights. The women, as custom demands, should not show any resistance or reluctance at the gesture. Should that happen, they are forced into yielding. The "Shakamo" should not be confused with adultery or indecent assault. The Kpashimo is a form of social sanction as found in the philosophical songs which are both negative, - a sort of tongue-lashing - but may be also positive when mainly focused on praise of individuals and even the community. It is also an opportunity for letting off steam. The songs are usually based on social and current events of the year. The initiators are people who are well versed in composition of philosophical words and creating songs for situations, and people spontaneously. This example and other activities like enstoolment and dedestoolment of chiefs were also and still continue to be occasions for artistic display. The absence of formal education was not a handicap for the average traditionalist. In the social interactions he learnt some science, medicine, philosophy and logic. Now there are schools, Western type, where formal education is pursued. Formal education endeavours we may say are supplemented by the traditional informal training given in the home. The functional art objects like the stool had (and still continue to have) a distinctive role in the life style of the Ghanaian. For example at the time of marriage the bride is presented with a traditional stool signifying that she should stay on in marriage life as long as the lifespan permits. "Woa ba tra fie" literally meaning "stay on if you are here". (No divorce.) An institution like "Chieftaincy" goes with "Stool polity". In general, through the performing arts and the other art forms, ideas were communicated to people. The art of story-telling, which in Ghanaian society used to help in the training for life, is full of drama. It is usual to have history, oral literature, and oral traditions told with or in drama. These interactions and informal instruction in dramatic language were considered to be challenging but refreshing and relaxing, Mention should be made here of the traditional religion which also employed music, dance and drama. The colonial and missionary influences did not advance the traditional importance of the arts. In sum what transpired was an attempt to make the African look down on his traditional heritage. Indeed everything African bore the label primitive, anti-Christian, heathen or pagan - clearly an attempt at subverting things African, Caine has observed that, "We are taught that African ancestor 'worship'2 which calls for offering food and drink to the dead in return for blessing is a primitive, superstitious idea; but that the practice of putting flowers on the graves of dead relatives and friends by the Christians is religious, The result of this attitude has been to kill the African psychologically, and make him ashamed of his background".3 Dancing which had featured prominently in practically all ceremonies was now supposed to lead to fornication. Khasa has summarized the effect of the attack on tradition in the following words: "Since African culture was like a well-balanced troupe of snake dancers, damage in one area was reflected in all the other areas. African culture was then left standing like a hollowed tree whose inner fibre had been eaten away by termites, waiting defencelessly for a small wind to topple it,"4 The foreign cultural domination and influence consequent upon the condemnation of African culture almost crippled the indigenous forms of performing arts. It is no wonder then that at the time when the facilities for it existed, very little documentation and cataloguing of traditional forms of drama were done. Moreover, the attempts that were made in this direction tended to be distortions mainly because, in the absence of mutual trust between the foreigner-recorder and the traditionalist-informer, the relevant information was not easily forthcoming. This lack of reliable documentation makes more difficult the efforts now being made at reactivation in Ghana in particular and Africa generally. From the colonial times through independence and shortly thereafter, Ghana depended on European-orientated themes and materials in the performing arts. Patronage at play performances especially was not encouraging. We attribute this partly to the difficulty to grasp the humor and wit in the lines of the plays, and the fact that, unlike traditional performances, there was little, if any, audience participation. Another contributory factor to the poor attendance was the regulation about dress. The audience were required to be in evening wear and not in their "traditional outfit".5 In a long discussion about clothes with Genoveva Marias, Nkrumah6 pointed out that "many years ago Herbert Spencer recorded a remark someone had made - that the consciousness of being perfectly well dressed may bestow peace upon the person that even religion itself cannot give".7 "The remark is tantamount to the peace and pride enjoyed by most Ghanaians from their clothes."8 In Ghana and even in contemporary Africa as a whole, art is now a National issue; it is on the air, on television and even in the dailies. In the young parliament of the 3rd Republic of Ghana discussions touching on art as it relates to development have already begun and continue to receive lively attention. In a recent Parliamentary Debate the following reference was made concerning the arts: "A retrospective analysis of the policies of [the Nkrumah] Government seems to indicate that it was guided by a concept which was drawn from culture, I mean the African Personality ... Ghanaian traditional forms of cultural expression have, admittedly, always been deeply interwoven with our social life. My Government will, therefore, ensure that our culture is not adulterated or de-personalised by vulgar commercialism. The thrust of our policies will be to encourage the developmental and promotional aspects of the different forms of our traditional artistes be they drummers, dancers, sculptors, writers or musicians to develop their talents."9 We are not suggesting in this paper that the activities of the past no longer form a part of our life style. Indeed there seems to be a remarkable awareness of what the past has to offer to the present. There is a resurgence of interest in the arts generally and the performing arts in particular, as evidenced in the great number of cultural groups that have been formed in recent times, There are also drama groups like the Ghana Playhouse, Dawn Theatre, Kusum Agoromba, Adabraka Drama Troupe and many others. There is the "School of Performing Arts"10 based at the University of Ghana. It was initiated in 1962 by the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah together with the "Ghana Dance Ensemble".11 We also have musical groups like the Orpheus Choir (now Manyina Choir), Damas Choir etc. We suggest that the success of the various groups is based on the fact that they take their materials from traditional sources. The audiences are therefore able to identify with the characters and to appreciate the solid message of the performances. In the small community like the University of Ghana we can clearly see the success of the reactivation process. Interest in the performing arts has been kindled. Performances are now so popular that even having to stand for more than an hour to watch a production does not pose problems. Other new experiments in Ghana include the story-telling otherwise known as Anansegro. The play The Marriage of Anansewa by Efua Sutherland - based on Ananse (Spider) folk tales, was successfully performed in Ghana and also presented at "Festac"12 in Nigeria in 1978. There are original plays and adaptations using both English and the local languages, but the material is authentically Ghanaian. Thus bringing out patterns of customary behaviour, costuming and other social norms. Other experiments in the reactivation process is the joint effort of The Arts Council of Ghana and "Faisal Helwani Productions"13 at the combined use of two different sets of musical instruments (traditional and modern) in fusion. This has produced very satisfactory results - an evolution in African sounds. In this experiment as many as seventeen traditional dance tunes have been re-arranged. The band featured at the "National Highlife and Traditional Dance Competition."14 Another feature is the First International Cultural Festival under the patronage of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was organised in July this year. There were more than ten participating countries. It is intended to be an annual affair. In effect the Festival was presented as a sort of 'Cultural Fair' to afford an opportunity of projecting the rich cultural heritage of the participating countries. The serving girls added the typical Ghanaian personality in their rich colourful traditional clothes; with matching hair styles, also in the traditional fashion (the hair was parted and plaited or tied with black thread). The fair encouraged the appreciation and understanding of each other's culture for their mutual benefit. For some ten years 'Kumasi'15 has hosted the National Annual Festival of Arts and Culture usually organised by the Arts Council of Ghana. The decision now is to rotate the festival round the regions in Ghana . (There are nine recognised regions in Ghana: Greater Accra, Eastern, Central, Western, Northern, Upper, Ashanti, Volta, Brong Ahafo. There is a move to have an additional region - Upper West - to make ten.). The idea being to make participants, regions and the general public aware of the sense of belonging and thereby inculcate in everyone, the spirit of development, encouragement and pride. Ghana's attempts at reactivation are laudable. However, as of now sufficient attention has not been paid to ceremonial and ritual drama, This is unfortunate because quite apart from their artistic qualities, ceremonial like durbar - (phase of ceremonial or ritual drama, for it has many phases); has a lot to unfold. At such a durbar, history is unfolded; the structure of society revealed and elements of political organisation and socialism displayed. So that the reverential attitude towards the stools laid by as monuments of dead chiefs - the historical charters, the display of ceremonial stools, the drum language, the stool complex conjure definite overt behaviour patterns. They include attitudes of gestures of obeisance and reverence, deep and mixed feelings of awe, grief, and felicity - showing of overt behaviour forms."16 But the wind of change may be catching up with the ceremonials after all. Recently, the media, particularly television, has been paying attention to festivals and the phases like durbars as a source of education about our heritage. It is our hope that the traditional arts will be kept alive through the continued experimentation in the reactivation process. Without a firm foundation in our own cultural heritage it will be difficult for us as a nation to accommodate materials from other cultures in such a way as to enrich our lives.
Footnotes: 1 A town outside Accra the capital of Ghana. There is a Mantse as well as a deity in the town. The Labadi people in one of their internal wars - The Kotoku Twrebo War of 1777 fought as allies of the Danes. [Return] 2 The practice is more of reverence than worship. [Return] 3 Caine, A. quoted by Khasu Koma in, "The emergence of drama in the African Culture Reconstruction", Liberian Studies Journal. Vol.1, No. 1, December 1967, p.39. [Return] 4 Khasu Koma, ibid., p. 39. [Return] 5 Cloth - and cover-shoulders or blouse. The entire oufit is in three sets; the lower bit of two yards which traditionally is intended to be wrapped round the waist down to the foot, and held in place with a cord. Some people prefer to sew it in a skirt style. The blouse is allowed two yards depending on the style. The other two yards serves as an extra cloth or stole usually added on by adults. "Mama and Kaba" - cloth and blouse or cover shoulders (since it covers the shoulders). The men use eight to ten yards of cloth depending on the stature. The cloth is thrown round round the body from shoulders down to the feet like a toga. [Return] 6 First President of the Republic of Ghana. He steered Ghana - then Gold Coast - to independence in 1957. [Return] 7 Genoveva Marias: Nkrumah as I know him. Chichester: Janay Publishing Company 1972, p.53, quoted by S. D. Lokko: The Ga of Ghana and Homowo. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, California 1973, p.43. [Return] 8 S. D. Lokko: The Ga of Ghana and Homowo. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, California 1973, p.43. [Return] 9 Arthur, A. (M.P.) Parliamentary Debates, Ghana, 13th December, 1979, pp.286-287. [Return] 10 Runs both diploma and degree courses, duration for both is three years each. [Return] 11 Attached to the Institute of African Studies. It represents a significant achievement in creative effort at preservation and development of the traditional arts and culture. [Return] 12 All African Arts Festival. [Return] 13 Musical recording group based in Ghana. [Return] 14 10 regions in Ghana participated from 1st February - 29th March, 1980. As many as over 100 couples took part in the competition. The finals was held in the capital, Accra. There were cash prizes. [Return] 15 In the Ashanti region of Ghana. [Return] 16 Quarcoo, A.K. "Art and Ghanaian
Social Behaviour," Institute of African Studies, Ghana, 1970,
p.6. [Return]
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