Thematic Analysis of the Dagaaba Women’s Plays Songs: Within the Ullo Traditional Area in the Jirapa Municipality of Northern Ghana

Abstract

This study analyzed the themes of Dagaaba women’s plays songs. Dagaare is a Language spoken in the Upper West Region of Ghana and also Burkina Faso and Cote d’voire. Songs are mostly sung during occasions such as birth of a child, marriage and funeral ceremonies. Songs are therefore inevitable because they play a very vital role in human life. The study was conducted in Ullo Traditional area in Jirapa Municipality of Upper West Region of Ghana. The objective was to document Dagaaba women play songs and analyze the various themes that these songs contain. To achieve this objective, Purposive sampling method was employed to obtain 40 native Dagaaba women consisting of 4 lead singers and 36 chorus singers. The Dagaaba women play songs were audio recorded as the women sang the play songs while photos were taken as the women performed the songs. The audio recorded songs were Transcribed and then translated into English Language using idiomatic translation. The Dagaaba women use play songs to help address some social problems in homes and the society as a whole and also for recreational purposes. The Dagaaba women compose their play songs in lines and stanzas which are determined by the pauses made by the lead singer. The number of lines in a stanza varies from song to song. The songs also vary in rhythm depending on the type of performance. Dagaaba women play songs are composed based on themes. Some of the main themes around which the songs are composed are love, praise, caution, hardwork, jealousy, lamentation among others. Keywords: China insurance industry, foreign fund, Challenge DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-4-03 Publication date: February 28 th 2023