Textual Analysis and Interpretation of AdzewaAndAdzeba Songs of the Fante and Guan People of Ghana

Abstract

This study is based on an ongoing research in adzewa and adzeba music and dance of the coastal Fanti and Guan people of Ghana. It examines a corpus of traditional Ghanaian music as resource material for the study of traditional African music in Ghana.Adzewa is an occasional traditional music and dance ensemble of the Fanti and Guan people along the Fanti Coast of Ghana. However, among the Mankoadze people and the Effutu of Winneba the term adzeba is used rather than adzewa while the people of Senya Breku use the term adoba. The study has a collection of 54 adzewa and adzeba songs. It includes 28 songs from the Winneba Adzeba group, 16 songs from the Mankoadze Adzeba group and 10 songs from the Central Folkloric Dance Company at Cape Coast. The main themes of the songs are identified under seven headings as follows: Death/Dirge, The plight of women, Adzeba performances, Envy and Hatred, Praise Singing, Recitatives and asafo warrior-like songsand Songs involving mixture of languages.The study examines three of the themes. These are: Praise singing, Death/Dirge, and Recitatives and asafo warrior-like songs. The words of threeadzewa and adzeba songs are transcribed and interpreted to illustrate the three themes while the songs are analyzed using Western and traditional African musical concepts.