Babasiko is a recreational music and dance of the Southeastern Anlo Ewe of Ghana, performed mostly at social gatherings; festivals and funerals. Babasiko is flirtatious in character. Its characteristic form is the strutting and bobbing up and down and a display of theatrical elegance. The dancers portray courtship through movements of the arms, eyes and total facial expression. Proposals of intimacy can be seen accepted or rejected through bodily gestures.
Atsokla
Atsokla is one of the movements of Adzogbo music and dance ceremony. Adzogbo originated from Benin as a dzohu (spiritual/religious music and dance). It was then called adzohu, in that during any performance, the men participants/dancers (leshiwo) would display their dzoka (juju/charms) especially the so-called “love charms” to seduce women. When this music was brought to Togo and later Ghana in the late 19th century, its function changed. The southeastern Ewe of Ghana, Togo and Benin now perform it for entertainment during festivals and other social occasions. There are five stages of Adzogbo dance ceremony: Gbefadede (announcement), Adzokpadede (warm up), Tsifofodi (purification rites), atsokla/kadodo (dance for the women) and atsia (main theatrical display of drama, dance and virtuosity of dance skills by men). This presentation features only atsokla, a “show off” dance for women. Mirrors and other props are used to tease, show or bluff during the performance.
Atsiagbekor
Atsiagbekor is among the oldest traditional dances of the Ewe-speaking people of Southern Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Originally a war dance performed after battle when the warriors returned to the village, it is now performed on many social occasions.
One of the outstanding features of the dance is the interaction between the master drummer and the dancers: ‘every rhythmic theme played on the master drum has a corresponding sequence of dance movements which is timed to precisely match the drum rhythms” (Locke, 1978).
Atsiagbekor songs constitute an important heritage of Ewe oral tradition. Most of the songs contain historical references to their chiefs, war leaders, migration stories, themes relating to the invincibility of the Ewes against their enemies, themes of loyalty, bravery, and death etc. To watch an Atsiagbekor performance today in Ghana is to watch scenes, which may have their actual origins in battles that were fought as the Ewes trekked through hostile countries in search of peace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_lLD7aKFls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMRQ8_P1u_U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHDvwWBJ0NQ&index=3&list=PL60AC2A77353FB85F
Atrikpui
Agbadza
Agbadza is among the oldest musical types performed by the Southern Ewe of Ghana, Togo, Benin, and parts of Southwestern Nigeria. Agbadza is derived from an older war dance known as Atrikpui.
As a social and recreational music and dance, its performance is open to everybody in the comm unity, irrespective of class, age, sex, and religion. There are other varieties of this musical type that have different names: Kini, Akpoka, Ageshie, and Agba– tempo being the main distinguishing factor among these varieties.
There are five sections or movements in Agbadza performance:
- Banyinyi- a short introductory piece that is performed as a prayer to the gods and the ancestors
- Vutsortsor- the main dance section
- Adzo- a less-vigorous dance section, during which only the master drum, Sogo, accompanied by Gankogui and Axatse are used
- Hatsatsa- song cycle, during which topical, historical, philosophical, and reflective songs are performed accompanied by Gankogui and Atoke
- Vutsortsor- another round of the main dance section, which may last for several hours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDdj1CseWzE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlfR6qanaXM
Adzogbo
Adzogbo originated from Benin (Dahomey) as a Dzovu (spiritual/religious) music and dance). It was called Dzovu, in that during any performance, the men participants would display their dzoka (juju/charms) especially the so-called “love charms” to seduce women. When this music was brought to Togo and later Ghana in the late 19th century, its function changed. The southeastern Ewe of Ghana now performs it for entertainment during festivals and other social occasions. The women’s’ section or phase of the dance is called Kadodo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjxl2gJshtI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KUMtUP5c_E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZINQqCfOM_8
Sikyi
Sikyi originated in the 1920s as a dance of the youth became very popular at Ghana’s Independence from Britian in 1957. It is similar to Kpanlongo and Boborbor in how it performed by the youth, expressing their experiences in life, from covering such areas as love and the dramas of daily life.
Sikyi, pronounced SEE-chee, is a dance of the youth of Asante. It’s meant as a flirtatious dance. The rhythms played are intended to bring about romance. The Sikyi ensemble is made up of a total of nine different instruments. A basic timeline for the piece is kept by a metal bell, called a Frikyiwa. The master drummer plays with the hands on a drum called a Oprenten.
Sikyi is a form of drumming and dancing which came into vogue not only with the Ashanti, but also in the whole Akan area of Ghana in the 1920’s. It is characterized by dance postures and movements which simulate the dynamics of courtship through con- trasting demonstrations of strutting and bobbing, theatrical elegance, pastoral innocence, and abandonment.
Instruments: Lead Operenten, Support Apentema, High,
Middle and Low Tamalin, Bell and Shaker.
Ben Teaching Sikyi Residential in Kent June 2016
Sanga
Sanga from the Ashanti – Akan region of Ghana, has its roots in Northern Ghana, probably the Dabamba tribe. The dance is flirtatious, women wearing bustle around their posterior to attract the advances of men.
Ntan
Nnta is a form of drumming and dance at one time popular throughout the Akan area. The dance was descibed to me by my teacher as ‘haughty’. It laughs at the Ashatis that come back from the south. He said that the Akan met white people and now think they are better than the rest of us. They are ‘haughty’. The dance show how they walk with their walking sticks and umbrellas.
Ntan is a form of drumming and dancing which was at one time popular throughout the Akan area, including Ashanti. Like Sikyi, it is light in character. It may be performed at funerals, during the last phase of the odwira festival, and on other social occasions. The drums found in a Ntan ensemble have always been considered art objects because they are decorated with very elaborate relief carvings each of which is symbolic as well. For example, the master drum is usually mounted on a tiger; the tiger in this context denotes the power of the drum in controlling the affairs of the occasions.
Kete
The kete drum and bell ensemble is associated with the traditional chiefs of the Akan peoples of southern Ghana. The ownership of the kete ensemble is the domain of the Akan chieftains and performance of the ensemble is allowed only with permission of a chief. This type of ensemble is most frequently seen and heard in processions that form part of the elaborate funeral rites for Akan chiefs, but is also performed at funerals for other individuals with permission from a chief. The drums in kete ensembles are typically decorated in a red-and-black checkerboard pattern, which is either painted directly onto the drum shells or pieced together with patches of dyed cloth tacked onto the shells. Amongst the Akan, the colors of red and black are associated with funerals. While most chiefs today cannot afford to support full time music specialists in their palaces, most chiefs can still depend on certain families or villages under their authority to provide them with musicians on an as-needed basis.
The old kete tradition consists of three sections: drums, pipes, and vocals. However, the introduction of a central government and the accompanying reduction in the power and influence of the Akan chiefs has resulted in a reduction to only the drums in many cases. A notable exception to this change is the Asantehene, the head chief of the Akan region. The kete ensemble maintained at the court of the Asantehene includes pipes, vocals, and a large number of drums.
Kete performances, like most court music traditions, are structured and follow a traditional format depending on the occasion of the performance. A typical performance consists of eight pieces that coincide with specific rituals or moments within the funeral or event taking place. Kete also fulfills vital functions in the installment of a new chief. As part of the installment of a new chief, he is required to dance specific pieces before being presented to the regional chief.
The origin of the kete tradition and the instruments involved is an open question. The Akan people have three oral histories that explain the origin of the kete in various ways. The first story tells of super human creatures encountered on a hunting expedition. These creatures are honored by a piece (Abofoo) during all kete performances. The second story tells of a war against the Gyamang in which the piece Adinkrawas added to the performance of kete. The third story tells of a war with the Akyem. During a battle with this group all of the instruments in their kete ensemble were taken and adopted by the Ashante. While the kete ensemble remains to this day a component of Akan life and retains its primary association with traditional chiefs, in recent decades new social settings have emerged for this ensemble. In particular, some secondary and tertiary educational institutions possess a kete ensemble and provide performance instruction to present their students with an opportunity to learn about Akan drumming.
Ben teaching Kete at Residential in Kent 2016