Ghana: Ancient Ceremonies, Songs & Dance Music, is a 1979
Elekra Entertainment Explorer Series release recorded by Stephen Jay. Located
in West Africa, Ghana as part of an area known as the Gold Coast — rich not
only in gold, but regrettably also in slaves, many of whom were brought to America where
they shared their musical traditions.
According to the liner notes,
these recordings were made in the Eastern, Western, and Upper Regions of Ghana in
the Brong-Ahafo at festivals, markets, schools, street corners,
and other public venues. Rather than a canned performance in a studio, the naturalistic
expression of the Ghanaians’ live music captures the essence of the
indigenous African sound.
Track List
Note: The cities/towns where the recordings were made are in parentheses.
Instruments: Voice, donno, mpintintoa, rattle.
Performed
by a wandering music group in a weekly outdoor market in a remote area of northern
Ghana. “The vocal style of this song,
with its intricate, overlapping phrases sung in parallel harmonies, is
characteristic of northern Ghana” (Ghana).
2. Dzil Duet (Accra): 2:28
Instrument: Dzil.
The
dzil is also known as the madimba in some parts of Africa, leading some to
suggest that it is the
ancestor of the South American marimba (Ghana).
3. Gonje Songs (Achimota): 4:15
Instrument: Gonje.
Instrument: Gonje.
Performer
Adolphus Micah plays the gonje on three songs in this track: “a Christmas song, a
song of praise for the
chief, and . . . a war song” (Ghana).
4. Donno Drummers (Yeji): 3:17
Instruments: Donno, gyamadudu.
Four
musicians play donno drums while a fifth keeps a steady rhythm on the
gyamadudu. The four donno drummers blend their sound together to create an
intricate pattern none could execute alone (Ghana).
5. Kassena-Nankani Festival (Navrongo): 2:34
Instruments: Namuna, wiik, gulu.
Recorded
at a Ghanaian Independence Day celebration in Navrongo, this performance features
a wind and drum ensemble. Gulu drums hold the beat while two groups of wiik
players alternate between pitches C and D. Two other groups play the namuna, alternating
between pitches E and F (Ghana). The dissonant sound creates an effect somewhat
evocative of an African calliope.
6. Ahanta Chant I (Dixcove): 4:48
Instruments: Voice, axatse.
The
Makaba sect in Western Ghana performs this piece in a ritual that starts at
sundown and continues through the night. Eighteen women and girls sing and play
the azatse and repeat the choral phrase over and over until a meditative state
is achieved (Ghana):
I am standing before the
crucifix. I am very quiet
but the tears are streaming down
my cheeks.
Peter and Martha
are here too;
they also have tears in their eyes.
Chorus: Holy Mary
is Adam’s grandchild.
7. Ahanta Chant II (Dixcove): 3:52
Instruments: Voice, axatse.
This
performance is noteworthy as it features women drumming in a public
performance. Prior to the cultural changes brought on by colonialism, Ghanaian
women traditionally did not play the drums, at least in public (Ghana).
8. Wiiks and Mpintintoa (Wiags): 2:51
Instruments:
Voice, mpintintoa, wiiks.
This
recording features a performance of five school boys of the Bulisa tribe
entertaining their teacher and fellow
schoolmates. Two students play the mpintintoa and three play the wiik (Ghana).
9. Marilli (Yeji): 1:59
Instrument:
Voice.
One
of my favorite pieces on this album, a young girl sings with a unique technique
of utilizing a controlled buzzing in the back of the roof of her mouth. This allows
her to generate two or three pitches at the same time (Ghana).
10.
Chohun and Gyamadudu (Nima): 4:28
Instruments:
Chohun, gynamadudu.
Another
one of my favorites, this recording was done in Nima where the drumming
accompanied street dancers. The faint chanting in the background adds a light,
lyrical layer to the syncopated rhythm (Ghana). This piece is a quintessential example
of indigenous West African percussion.
11.
Donno Drummers (Yeji): 1:50
Instrument: Donno.This piece demonstrates melodic improvisations on the donno drum (Ghana).
Total time: 34:53
The following instrument descriptions are taken verbatim from the liner notes to Ghana: Ancient Ceremonies, Songs & Dance Music:
Axatse: A large rattle consisting
of a hollow gourd surrounded by a loose net with many small beads or shells
attached. Tension of the net is controlled with one hand, while the player
shakes the gourd and strikes it against his leg. The rich sound of the axatse,
believed to be highly favored by the gods, is closely associated with religious
music.
Chohun: A xylophone, like the
dzil, but slightly larger and with a greater number of tuning keys.
Donno: A variable-pitch
double-headed drum with an hourglass-shaped body made of wood. Held under the
armpit, the donno is struck at one end with a single curved stick. By squeezing
the instrument between his arm and his side, a player can produce a wide range
of pitches with remarkable control. The donno’s combined melodic and rhythmic
capabilities make it an excellent "talking" drum.
Dzil: A xylophone consisting of
15 to 18 tuned hardwood keys mounted on a frame made of sticks; an acoustically
matched gourd resonator is suspended beneath each key. Over a small hole at the
bottom of each resonator is a thin membrane made from spider webs which produce
a buzzing timbre when a key is struck. The dzil is played with rubber-tipped
wooden mallets.
 |
| A dzil-type instrument. |
Gonje: A bowed lute with a single
string made of horsehair. Its resonator consists of a bowl-shaped section of a
calabash, with lizard skin stretched across its open side and a sound-hole cut
in the skin. Players stop the string on the side with their fingertips;
delicate "pitch bending" on certain notes of a tune is achieved by
pulling or pushing on the neck.
 |
| A gonje |
Gulu: A double-headed cylindrical
drum suspended from the shoulder and played either with one hand and a curved
stick, or with two curved sticks.
Gyamadudu: A double-headed bass
drum with a cylindrical body made of wood. It hangs vertically in front of the
legs and is played with one hand and with one heavy, straight stick.
 |
| Mpintintoa |
Mpintintoa: A single-headed drum
made from a large gourd, with goatskin head. The mpintintoa hangs against the
player’s chest and is played with both hands.
Namuna: A transverse trumpet made
of animal horn, with a raised lip surrounding the tone hole.
Wiik: An end-blown vertical flute
with three finger holes. It is most often used in ensembles of three or more,
with the players alternating notes hocket-style to produce a melody.
Photos of instruments from the album.
Work
Cited
Ghana: Ancient
Ceremonies, Songs & Dance Music. Elektra
Entertainment, 1979 & 1991. CD.
Entertainment, 1979 & 1991. CD.
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May I ask where can I buy the best Mpintintoa drum? It's so great for me.
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