?It's a Great Song!?Hal�Performance as Literary Production

Abstract

to the same goal. The definitions invariably retain and stress the essential qualities of halo: the spectacular, the unusual, the precarious, havoc, dan? ger, and challenge. These features and the rules or prescriptions governing the performance are shared and applied in a spontaneous fashion when factions engage in the war of insults and music. Halo can be summed up as a multimedia event, as well as a sociomusical drama that involves songs of insult, dance, drumming, mime, poetry, spoken forms, costume, and a variety of visual icons. Although the music is constructed mainly along Anlo-Ewe models, there are special observances, devices, and techniques that are unique to this genre. As will be elaborated later, these devices and related art forms are employed primarily to effect the purposes of aggres? sion and violence, and to establish musical superiority. A performance usually involves two villages or two wards from one vil? lage, and is characterized by direct or comic forms of provocation, aggravation, and sung and spoken insults, which are sometimes exaggerated through dramatic enactments. Each halo context is a highly emotional one, with the two factions and their supporters competing at physical, verbal, and musical levels. The numerous police arrests that result from the per? formance and its related events are further indications of the grave and wider social ramifications of halo. This search for superiority in both phys? ical and musical domains is also often accompanied by magical practices and related machinations against opponents. These practices also fre? quently involve the acquisition of singing gods (supernatural powers with whom the sources of musical creativity are identified). In addition, individuals or groups also take precautions by fortifying themselves spiritually against enemy attacks (i.e., physical and spiritual attacks). The sociodramatic aspect of halo is thus intensified through the physical confrontations, the musical and verbal exchanges, and the involvement with the supernatural realm. The performance can therefore be described as a unique context for reevaluating and qualifying social and interper? sonal relations. As with many oral genres there is no precise dating of the origins of halo, nor is there is a discernible pattern for tracing its diffusion among the Ewe over time. Statistics resulting from several years of fieldwork show that about 88% of Anlo-Ewe towns have a history of halo, and that about 40% of factions have engaged in the genre more than once. These figures, the official ban, and the lingering of veiled forms of insult in contemporary practices confirm the social significance of the art from in Anlo-Ewe society. The most common precipitates of halo are: (1) the taking of someone's wife from a