A Glimpse of Ghana

A GA LIBATION

From my field notes:

We saluted the chief and his advisors and took our seat on a low wooden bench. The drummers played at intervals and there was some dancing. I turned on the tape recorder from the outset, but when we asked if we could take some pictures, it triggered a problematic incident. The woman who was helping us made the request to the elders, but one large woman stirred up a bit of a ruckus, and there was some talk that we would take the photos and use them for a calendar. A few people came by to require a donation, but Kwesi was adamantly opposed to this idea. He feels that donations are fine but they should be purely voluntary. For a little while things were a bit tense and we considered beating a retreat, but eventually we secured permission to take the pictures, which they understood to be a request for posed portraits, of the fetish priestesses, of the chief and his advisors, of the drummers. By the time all this fell into place, it was getting a little dark -- Pat had to downstop to 60 and even so the light meter indicated barely enough light available.

I think the mood changed when I suddenly jumped up, saluted the chief, and performed a dance solo to one segment of the drumming. My clumsy efforts produced a great shout of approval, and the chief requested Pat to dance the next segment, which she did to even greater shouting of approval. After that we felt quite at home and the tension of the previous hour evaporated. As it was getting late, I offered to contribute some 800 cedies to the welfare of the village. The woman helper took this money and handed it to the Linguist (a counselor of the chief) who immediately sent out for a bottle of gin. They insisted that we stay long enough for libations, and that turned out to be very interesting. The Linguist (who had a wooden staff painted red, as an emblem of his office) intoned a libation prayer, spilling gin from a small cup made from a cocoanut, but the real libation poet was another advisor to the chief who recited two libations to the accompaniment of quiet handclapping and a choral background. I have all this on tape and hope to work with a Ga speaker to obtain a transcription and a translation.

The libation complete, we took our leave, promising to return with copies of the photos we took. On the way back I chatted with some high school boys from the village whom we gave a lift to into Accra. They said the name of the village is Oshieye and the chief’s name is Oshieye. Each of the fetish princesses dances for a different deity. They are chosen mostly through possession by the god. I have been surprised how alive the traditional gods are, in spite of a very visible surface of fervent Christianity. At the first village we visited on Sunday (in the Aburi hills) Kwesi’s friend and our guide pointed to a wooded grove at the edge of town and said: “Our Gods live here.” Traditional village culture persists here, even in this cultural haven of West Africa.

Text of Ga Libation

Elder: Agoo! Agoo! Tsemei

Agoo! Agoo! Fathers

Amee!

Response: Amee!

Elder: Mene ashi me?

Today is what day?

Response: Mene ashi hכgbaa [5]

Today is Sunday

Elder: Miimi ahכgbaa

Our Father’s Sunday

Maame ahכbaa

Our Mother’s Sunday

Mawu bo kenklen baa tsכnaa oha wכni eyi obכn

God you be the first to taste that it may be full to the brim

Ei! Odכ baa he eko onu okwashi okwa den ^[1]

Ei! Odכ , come for some and drink that you may protect us

Shikpכn tse baa he eko onu [10]

Owner of our earth, come for some and drink

Mene baa he eko onu

Mene come for some and drink

Nana Otu Kwadzen baa he eko onu ^[2]

Nana Otu Kwadzen come for some and drink

Maa כokכ bi, Maa Amerbey

Maa כotכ’s daughter, Maa Amerbey

Ten bi Ten

Ten’s son, Ten

Nye fee nyeba hea eko nye nua [15]

All of you come for some and drink

Máa! Màa Saafia baa he eko onu

Máa! Mother Saapia come for some and drink

WB tse Kwoshie baa he eko onu ^[3]

Our father Kwoshie come for some and drink

Máa! Màa Sakumכbaa he eko onu ni okwa den ^[4]

Maa! Mother Sakumכ come for some and drink and protect us

Ke dze ne_ma ke ashi adasurכ wכskee moko, wכshii moko

From south to north we call no one yet we leave no one out

Leele! Nii nidzi Mii Oshie etsofa dzin ekwe Ga me [20]

Truly! Nii, that’s Nii Oshie using his medicines to nurse Ga people

Leele! Nye see, otsi le, wכgbe fee na

Truly! Before yesterday, last week, we finished all

Wכ dzi enaa gbee

Tomorrow we bring it to an end

Hewכ nye kenklen nye ba hea eko nye nua

So you all be the first to come and drink

Aye כtampo abonsam ni le ekee ekplee wכ ye mã

The witch and enemy of a devil who would not let us have our peace in this land

Wכ dzככ le, wכ dzככ le [25]

We bless him, we bless him

^[1]Odכ is the name of a river that flows into Klore Lagoon.

^[2]Nana is the term for “king.” Nana Otu Kwazden is an important ancestor.

^[3]Kwoshie was perhaps the founder of the town.

^[4]Maa Sakumכ is a godess of the Sakumכ Lagoon.

^[5]A festive dance featuring songs of verbal abuse.

			folklorist
			john h. mcdowell
			john h. mcdowell
			- a glimpse of ghana

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			It was through a wonderful group of Ghanaian students at IU, especially Owusu Brempong, Kwesi Yankah, Kofi Anyidoho, and Daniel Avorgbedor, that I became aware of the treasures of Ghanaian folklore. And it was through the good offices of Professor Yankah, in particular, that I sought and received a Fulbright Lectureship to spend a half-year in Ghana as a visiting lecturer at the University of Ghana in Legon. My wife, Patricia Glushko, a skilled photographer, traveled with me to Ghana in September of 1987 and there we remained through February of 1988. My assignment was to teach, not to conduct research, but it chanced that the students were on strike for much of the remainder of 1987, which left us free to explore the byways of Ghana until classes resumed in mid-December. Our trips took us to several regions of Ghana: to a Ga village; to Duakwa, Kwesi’s town in the Fanti region, where something interesting always seemed to await us; to the Ewe region across the Volta River; and to Kumasi, the Asanti stronghold. Because we were well-attended and well-received, we were able to witness and document many traditional events, including festivals and funerals, with their welcome quotas of libations, drumming, singing and dancing.



			A GA LIBATION From my field notes: We saluted the chief and his advisors and took our seat on a low wooden bench. The drummers played at intervals and there was some dancing. I turned on the tape recorder from the outset, but when we asked if we could take some pictures, it triggered a problematic incident. The woman who was helping us made the request to the elders, but one large woman stirred up a bit of a ruckus, and there was some talk that we would take the photos and use them for a calendar. A few people came by to require a donation, but Kwesi was adamantly opposed to this idea. He feels that donations are fine but they should be purely voluntary. For a little while things were a bit tense and we considered beating a retreat, but eventually we secured permission to take the pictures, which they understood to be a request for posed portraits, of the fetish priestesses, of the chief and his advisors, of the drummers. By the time all this fell into place, it was getting a little dark -- Pat had to downstop to 60 and even so the light meter indicated barely enough light available. I think the mood changed when I suddenly jumped up, saluted the chief, and performed a dance solo to one segment of the drumming. My clumsy efforts produced a great shout of approval, and the chief requested Pat to dance the next segment, which she did to even greater shouting of approval. After that we felt quite at home and the tension of the previous hour evaporated. As it was getting late, I offered to contribute some 800 cedies to the welfare of the village. The woman helper took this money and handed it to the Linguist (a counselor of the chief) who immediately sent out for a bottle of gin. They insisted that we stay long enough for libations, and that turned out to be very interesting. The Linguist (who had a wooden staff painted red, as an emblem of his office) intoned a libation prayer, spilling gin from a small cup made from a cocoanut, but the real libation poet was another advisor to the chief who recited two libations to the accompaniment of quiet handclapping and a choral background. I have all this on tape and hope to work with a Ga speaker to obtain a transcription and a translation. The libation complete, we took our leave, promising to return with copies of the photos we took. On the way back I chatted with some high school boys from the village whom we gave a lift to into Accra. They said the name of the village is Oshieye and the chief’s name is Oshieye. Each of the fetish princesses dances for a different deity. They are chosen mostly through possession by the god. I have been surprised how alive the traditional gods are, in spite of a very visible surface of fervent Christianity. At the first village we visited on Sunday (in the Aburi hills) Kwesi’s friend and our guide pointed to a wooded grove at the edge of town and said: “Our Gods live here.” Traditional village culture persists here, even in this cultural haven of West Africa. Text of Ga Libation Elder: Agoo! Agoo! Tsemei Agoo! Agoo! Fathers Amee! Response: Amee! Elder: Mene ashi me? Today is what day? Response: Mene ashi hכgbaa [5] Today is Sunday Elder: Miimi ahכgbaa Our Father’s Sunday Maame ahכbaa Our Mother’s Sunday Mawu bo kenklen baa tsכnaa oha wכni eyi obכn God you be the first to taste that it may be full to the brim Ei! Odכ baa he eko onu okwashi okwa den ^[1] Ei! Odכ , come for some and drink that you may protect us Shikpכn tse baa he eko onu [10] Owner of our earth, come for some and drink Mene baa he eko onu Mene come for some and drink Nana Otu Kwadzen baa he eko onu ^[2] Nana Otu Kwadzen come for some and drink Maa כokכ bi, Maa Amerbey Maa כotכ’s daughter, Maa Amerbey Ten bi Ten Ten’s son, Ten Nye fee nyeba hea eko nye nua [15] All of you come for some and drink Máa! Màa Saafia baa he eko onu Máa! Mother Saapia come for some and drink WB tse Kwoshie baa he eko onu ^[3] Our father Kwoshie come for some and drink Máa! Màa Sakumכbaa he eko onu ni okwa den ^[4] Maa! Mother Sakumכ come for some and drink and protect us Ke dze ne_ma ke ashi adasurכ wכskee moko, wכshii moko From south to north we call no one yet we leave no one out Leele! Nii nidzi Mii Oshie etsofa dzin ekwe Ga me [20] Truly! Nii, that’s Nii Oshie using his medicines to nurse Ga people Leele! Nye see, otsi le, wכgbe fee na Truly! Before yesterday, last week, we finished all Wכ dzi enaa gbee Tomorrow we bring it to an end Hewכ nye kenklen nye ba hea eko nye nua So you all be the first to come and drink Aye כtampo abonsam ni le ekee ekplee wכ ye mã The witch and enemy of a devil who would not let us have our peace in this land Wכ dzככ le, wכ dzככ le [25] We bless him, we bless him Hoo! Hoo! Response: Wכ dzככ le, wכ dzככ le We bless him, we bless him Hoo! Hoo! Elder: Wכ ke wכ kpa dzna le We bind him with our rope Response: Egbo [30] He is dead Elder: A wa eyi Hoot at him Response: Hoo! Hoo! Song Elder: Kpãã wכ noni ^[5] The Kpãã is for us Wכ shee le gbeyee Kraa So we are not afraid of it at all Omu ni oke noko shwee shi oke shwee eflo Whosoever put something on the ground does it in vain Response: Eflo In vain Elder: Hee! Kwa! Fante me kee ‘kwa” [5] Yes, Kwa! The Fanti say “Kwa” Twa! Omanye aba Twa! Let there be peace! Response: Yao! ^[1]Odכ is the name of a river that flows into Klore Lagoon. ^[2]Nana is the term for “king.” Nana Otu Kwazden is an important ancestor. ^[3]Kwoshie was perhaps the founder of the town. ^[4]Maa Sakumכ is a godess of the Sakumכ Lagoon. ^[5]A festive dance featuring songs of verbal abuse.

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			Last Modified May 29, 2007