Music Making and Ban on Drumming Among the Winneba People of Ghana

Emmanuel O Acquah ,Augusta Arko-Mensah ,Miriam Ohene-Okantah

doi:10.7176/jcsd/60-04

Abstract

The paper reports an ethnographic study of music making and ban on drumming among the Winneba people of Ghana. Despite the volume of research on the use of music for several occasions in the African community, much attention has not been given to the observance of complete silence as part of the life of some African Societies. This paper discusses the place of ban on drumming in a community where music making permeates the lives of the people. It sought to document how the period of silence is negotiated in the contemporary society. Through purposive sampling and snowballing, traditional leaders and priests, members of historical missionary churches, and those of the Pentecostal/Charismatic orientation were interviewed and their activities within the period of the ban observed. Observance of the ban was, however, not uniform among the Christians. While the mission churches have a policy of accommodating local tradition and to observe the ban by reducing the intensity of music making during the period, the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches, however, insist on not observing the ban, because of its association with traditional deities. The paper reveals that though music forms an important part of the life of the Winneba people in Ghana just as most African communities, ban on drumming is not only a belief that had purely been held as a traditional custom from ancestors, it also conveys the principle of silence, which is beneficial to humans in many respects. Keywords : Effutu, ban on drumming, Winneba, social stability DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/60-04 Publication date: June 30 th 2020

Highlights

In many traditional African societies, music making is generally organized as social event
In spite of the great importance attached to music and music making in Winneba community, the town has some of its traditional occasions, usually reckoned on the traditional calendar, when a temporary ban is placed on drumming and noise making, especially before any major festival
Though some argued that the ban is merely a social custom, the study revealed that, the ban, as it is observed in Winneba, is a religious custom

Summary

Introduction

In many traditional African societies, music making is generally organized as social event It is usually seen at public performances where members of a group or community come together for the enjoyment of leisure and for recreational activities. These public performances may include rite ceremony, festival, or any kind of collective activity In this regard, Nketia (1966) commented on the pattern of musical organization in Africa: in many parts of Africa, the general pattern of musical organization is one that emphasizes the integration of music with other social and political action or with those activities in which African societies express or consolidate their interpersonal relationships, beliefs and attitudes to life. Music making among the Christians involve singing, clapping, drumming, instruments playing amplified with electronic gadgets These musical activities are very common in Winneba community of Ghana. In Ghana, Hɔmɔwɔ of Ga, Kundum of Nzema, www.iiste.org and Odwira of the Akan are typical festivals, which are preceded by bans ranging from three and six weeks

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