LESSON FOR TODAY-060920- ROYAL CEREMONIAL MUSIC AND DANCE

Dance is an important aspect of the culture of the Ghanaian (African). Dance embodies and articulates the philosophies of the culture, the origin, and serves as a unique symbol of identity. Our increasing interaction with various world cultures has undermined certain aspects of our dance heritage. We incorporate ideas which threaten our indigenous philosophies and symbols of our identities to the detriment of our uniqueness as Ghanaians or Africans.

Kete royal court dance-drumming originates from the Akan people of Ghana, West Africa. The term Kete simultaneously refers to a specific set of instruments, the music played by those instruments, and the dance performed to that music. Originally existing exclusively within Asante royal court system, Kete is now heard at funerals and weddings, as well as royal palace events. Kete constitutes one part of the broader Asante dance-drumming repertoire – including Adowa, Akɔm, Apirede, Fɛntɛmfrɛm, Mpintin, Nnwonkoro, Sikyi, and others

The Kete dance has gone through many changes since its break away from the older Adowa form. Joseph Kaminski (2007) states that the music of Kete is reputed to possess the power of attracting good spirits…[Nketia] explains that the surrogated texts extol high moral values through the telling of heroic ideals and aKete dance must be developed with the involvement of symbolic hand gestures reflecting these values. It is danced barefooted and trained male dancers dance with their Lapacloth lowered beneath the chest

KETE ADABAN

KETE MUSIC AND DANCE AT AHOBAA FESTIVAL

KETE DANCE MOVEMENTS AND GESTURES

5 YEAR OLD BOY MESMERIZES ELDERS

CULTURE IS PRESERVED WHEN WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN

SMALL BOY DANGER

KETE DANCE HISTORY IN LOCAL LANGUAGE

KETE

YOUNGEST KETE DANCER IN GHANA

KETE DRUMMING

KETE DANCE HISTORY PART II

AWENANDZE CULTURAL TROUPE

CHOREOGRAPHED KETE AT THE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER KUMASI

Comments

LESSON FOR TODAY : THE CEREMONIAL CLOTHES OF THE AKAN

Traditional Clothing of Akan People Akan people of Ghana wear outfits of many different styles and materials. Their clothing choices depends on their status and local resources. Early fabrics were derived from wool and tree bark. Cotton became widespread around the 10th century, grown on northern savannas and traded along forested coasts. As the power of the Gold Coast grew with trade, materials like silk became more plentiful among the upper classes. Men who worked as farmers, fishermen, and laborers tended to wear tunics with trousers, or fugu . Upper class men wrapped themselves in large cloths called ntoma . These restricted their movement, asserting their status as men who did not need to work. Women wore skirts, or lappas , wrapped around their waist, leaving the top bare. Christian missionaries encouraged the use of a blouse. A second lappa covers the upper body of married women, leaving the right shoulder bare. Akan women may wear pants beneath their lapa

LESSON FOR TODAY-060320-CEREMONIAL UMBRELLA FOR GHANA'S TRADITIONAL LEADERS

One of the interesting observations we should be making in most of the previous lessons and the videos are the use of special Umbrellas called AHENFO KYINIE. Used by almost all Akan or Southern Ghana Chiefs as well as some parts of Ghana, the Ceremonial Umbrella is a symbol of true Cultural Heritage, Pride, Communication, Authority, Grace, Peace, Unity, Power, Intelligence, Humility and many others. The use of Ceremonial Umbrellas is the exclusive of the Royal courts/palace, and honorary community chiefs. Private individuals CANNOT own Ceremonial Umbrellas but Professional Cultural Troupes CAN with permission from community Chief make prototype for use during cultural performances. This lesson is very important because of the Africussion Percussion Discussion group, an independent performing arts group at The Smith Center. The group is one of the leading School Assembly Performing companies for Southern Nevada's Area Schools and is

LESSON FOR TODAY- ROYAL CEREMONIAL MUSIC AND DANCE -ASAFO WARRIOR COMPANIES

Asafo are traditional warrior groups in Akan culture. The word derives from sa , meaning war , and fo , meaning people . The traditional role of the asafo companies was defence of the King and the state. As the result of contact with European colonial powers on the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), the Fante , who inhabit the coastal region, developed an especially complex version of the concept in terms of its social and political organization based on martial principles, and with elaborate traditions of visual art, including flag banners with figurative scenes. For the purpose of this lesson, we will focus on the Fante Asafo companies based at Cape Coast and other communities in the Central region. Each asafo company has designated uniform colors that have been historically established identifies these in Cape Coast as: No. 1. Bentsir – red No. 2. Anafo – blue and white No. 3. Ntsin – green No. 4. Nkum – yellow No. 5. Amanful – wine and black No. 6. Abrofomb

FOLKLIFE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM-GHANAIAN ROYAL ARTS AND FOLK EXPRESSIONS

Search This Blog