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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Folk Songs Of Ghana: The Mosomagor Song Book, Julia Christensen
Folk Songs Of Ghana: The Mosomagor Song Book, Julia Christensen
African Diaspora ISPs
This project is focused on the traditional songs of Moscmagor, a village at the Eastern entrance to Kakum National Park. I was interested in learning to sing the songs, the meanings of the songs, as well as their histories and origins. I was also very interested in the singing techniques that are used, and how the singing of the songs is naturally effected by the fact that they have been learned within this oral culture. The fact that these songs are rarely written down gave me the idea of attempting to do so, using the Western process of notation. This …
The Meanings Behind The Marks: Scarification And The People Of Wa, Lauren Cullivan
The Meanings Behind The Marks: Scarification And The People Of Wa, Lauren Cullivan
African Diaspora ISPs
My research on scarification took place in Wa, the capital of the Upper West Region of Ghana. By interviewing some of the different ethnic groups in Wa, I came to understand the varying purposes scarification serves. Additionally, I discovered some of the culture beliefs, values and myths of the Wala people. The following report looks into four main aspects of scarification: marks of identification, medicine, protection, and decoration. Furthermore, it investigates the impacts of the slave trade on the practice of tribal marking. Lastly, this paper will describe current opinions and the future implications of the practice of scarification in …
Adowa: Funeral Dance Of Asante As A Vehicle To Express Ethnic Identity, Katherine Moss
Adowa: Funeral Dance Of Asante As A Vehicle To Express Ethnic Identity, Katherine Moss
African Diaspora ISPs
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of Adowa as a vehicle to express ethnic identity in Asante society. First, background information regarding African music is presented, bringing to light the concept of African music as an integrated, 'total art' and highlighting the distinction between traditional and contemporary African music. Traditional music is discussed in terms of its defining features, continuity through enculturation, and imitation of natural patterns of African speech. Based on such conceptions of African music as both 'total' and traditional (as the section heading suggests), Adowa as a socio-music form is introduced and detailed …