Female Song Tradition and the Akan of Ghana: The Creative Process in N. Ashanti: Music & Dances - Ghana Goods. Adowa: Adowa is by far the most widespread and frequently performed social dance of the Akan people of Ghana. The Akan are located in Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Eastern, Central and parts of the Volta Regions of Ghana.
It is best described in Akan musical traditions as a women’s dance because they dominate the performance. The few men that are seen during any performance handle the musical instruments. This dance is mostly performed at funerals, but can also be seen at yearly festivals, visits of important dignitaries, and other celebrations. Adowa Drum and Dance. Nnwonkoro – A Female Song Tradition of the Akan of Ghana Adowa Singing with bells.
Adowa Singing and Drumming. Asaadua: Asaadua was once a popular recreation musical type among the Akan people of Ghana. InstrumentationNnawuta Double BellFirikyiwa Pod BellAdawura Slit BellTorowa RattleDonno Hour glass drumTamalin x 3 Small, medium and large. Fontomfrom: Fontomfrom or Bomaa is the most complex of all musical types of the Akan of Ghana. Ashanti Mythology – OCCULT WORLD. How Anansi Became a Spider | African Stories, Myths, Fables. There was once a African king who had the finest ram in the world. When this ram happened to be grazing on Anansi's crops one day, Anansi threw a rock at it, hitting it between the eyes and killing it. Anansi knew that the king would punish him for what he had done to the prize ram, and he immediately schemed how to get out of the situation.
Needless to say, Anansi resorted to trickery as always. Anansi went to sat under a tree to think of an escape when, all of a sudden, a nut fell and struck him on the head. First, he took the dead ram and tied it to the nut tree. The spider was delighted and immediately went to the tree. The king thanked Anansi and offered him a great reward. Anansi told the spider to go to the king and plead for mercy, and perhaps the spider's life would be spared. The wife just laughed and said, "Have you lost your mind? The king was angry that he had been deceived and told his court to fetch Anansi immediately. Ashanti: Music & Dances - Ghana Goods. African Mythological Creatures. African Mythological Creatures Given the abundance of cultures and civilizations that inhabit the African continent, it is no surprise to learn that this variety of mythological traditions has yielded a multitude of fabled creatures.
This lesson is but a small sample of the most frequently mentioned creatures. Let's examine these creatures according to their mythological regions of origin. West Africa Adze In Togo and Ghana, the adze are vampires. Asanbosam The asanbosam is a vampiric creature found in West Africa. Ninki Nanka The ninki nanka, also called the Devil dragon, is a river monster, known to frequent the Gambia River.
Yumboes The yumboes are fairies native to Senegal. Central Africa Abada According to Congo mythology, the abada is an African version of the unicorn, with a few distinguishing features. Eloko In Zaire, the eloko (or biloko) are restless spirits of the dead: they rise from the grave as dwarf-like creatures covered in leaves. Emela-ntouka Jengu Kongamato Mokele-mbembe Popobawa. 10 Historical Sites In Ashanti Region | Mr. Pocu Blog.
Ashanti mythology | Myths and Folklore Wiki | Fandom. Ashanti Mythology is the lore of the Ashanti people of Ghana. the most important god in the pantheon of the Ashanti is Nyame (also Nyankopon), the omniscient, omnipotent sky god. His wife is Asase Ya and they have two children, Bia and Anansi. Asase Ya is an earth goddess of ferility. Anansi is one of the most important and famous gods of Ashanti lore. He is a trickster and a culture hero, who acts on behalf of Nyame and brings rain to stop fires and performing other duties for him. In some beliefs, Anansi created the sun, stars and the moon. See the Wikipedia article on Asanti Mythology. Maame, the Storyteller - 1: Tales from an Ashanti Grandmother (An African Folk Tale Book, set in the Culture and Traditions of the Ashantis in Ghana): Byrne, Mrs Roselyn: 9781517112820: Amazon.com: Books.
Art of the Asante Kingdom. Alexander Ives Bortolot Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University October 2003 In the seventeenth century, the region of West Africa known as the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) was dotted with several small-scale principalities populated by peoples belonging to the Akan cultural group. Linked by trade routes, a shared language, and similar belief systems, these states nonetheless remained separate entities until the early eighteenth century, when Asante, an inland kingdom ruled by a chief named Osei Tutu, embarked on a process of territorial expansion that united them as one kingdom.
By 1750, Asante had become a large empire whose borders were roughly congruent with those of Ghana today. The kingdom’s active role in the gold, cloth, and slave trades brought vast wealth that fostered especially rich artistic traditions. Bortolot, Alexander Ives. Blier, Suzanne Preston. Cole, Herbert M., and Doran H. Ashanti tales (Writer) (1400s-1800s) folklore The Ashanti (or Asante) built an empire in the region of present-day Ghana that flourished for several centuries and reached its peak of influence in the 18th century. The Ashanti kingdom, one of the most powerful in West Africa, interacted with the increasing number of Europeans, and was famous for its wealth in gold, its well-armed military, and its efficient administration. Ashanti royalty had court poets to compose songs commemorating their ancestors and accomplishments, while the folktales circulating at all levels of society provided a method of social cohesion by formulating and communicating cultural values, mores, and customs.
The Ashanti folktales often tell a moral lesson, describe a myth, or answer a question about the natural world. In the tradition of fables from those of Aesop to the Panchatantra, most of the Ashanti tales use animal characters to represent human qualities such as jealousy, honesty, greed, and bravery. Appiah, Peggy. Larungu, Rute. Ghana: The Asona clan, including languages, geographical locations and whether men are forced to marry their uncle's daughter, age of marriage, reasons for marriage, consequences of refusal and state protection available (2003-2005) The Website Asante.co.uk, which is dedicated to "Asante history, news and literature," (n.d.a.) provides information on the geographical areas covered by the Asona clan of the Asante kingdom, a "polity" of the Akan people (Researcher with the University of Finland 25 May 2005): The eight [Asante] clans are Oyoko, Bretuo, Agona, Asona, Asenie, Aduana, Ekuona, and Asakyiri. [...]
It is said that more people generally, belong to [the Asona] clan than to any other clan. The principal towns are Edweso and Offinso. [...] Other towns of the clan are Ejura, Feyiase, Manso-Nkwanta, Bonwire, Atwima-Agogo, Abrakaso, Taabuom, Beposo, Toase, and Odumase (n.d.b.). A researcher with the Linguistics Department of the University of Hong Kong confirmed that the Asona were found in all these towns (27 May 2005). Lineages of the Asona clan can be found in almost all Akan chiefdoms. Geographical locations and languages spoken The Akan people live in the coastal and forest areas of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Ashanti People. The Ashanti live in central Ghana in western Africa [map of Ghana ] approximately 300km. away from the coast. The Ashanti are a major ethnic group of the Akans in Ghana, a fairly new nation, barely more than 50 years old.
Ghana, previously the Gold Coast, was a British colony until 1957. It is now politically separated into four main parts. Ashanti is in the center and Kumasi is the capital.To the Ashanti, the family and the mother’s clan are most important. A child is said to inherit the father’s soul or spirit (ntoro) and from the mother a child receives flesh and blood (mogya). This relates them more closely to the mother’s clan. Marriage is very important to Ashanti communal life and it can be polygamous. Ashanti Stools As a symbol of nationhood, and because if contains the sumsum or Soul of Ashanti (Asante), the Golden Stool is considered to be so sacred that no person whatsoever is allowed to sit upon it.
Kente Cloth. Ashanti people, tradition culture. Ashanti The Ashanti live in central Ghana in the Rainforests of West Africa approximately 150 miles away from the coast. The Ashanti are a major ethnic group of the Akans (Ashanti and Fanti) in Ghana, Ghana is a fairly new nation, barely more than 50 years old, and Ghana was previously called the Gold Coast. Much of the modern nation of Ghana was dominated from the late 17th through the late 19th century by a state known as Asante. Asante was the largest and most powerful of a series of states formed in the forest region of southern Ghana by people known as the Akan. Among the factors leading the Akan to form states, perhaps the most important was that they were rich in gold.
It is now politically separated into four main parts. Ashanti is in the center and Kumasi is the capital. The Ashanti are the largest tribe in Ghana and one of the few matrilineal societies in West Africa. The Ashanti people have always been known as fierce fighters.