APPROACHES AND METHODS EMPLOYED IN REVITALISING THE SEPEREWA MUSICAL TRADITION IN GHANA
OSEI KORANKYE IN PERSPECTIVE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21504/amj.v11i4.2455Keywords:
cultural imperialism, culture, globalisation, instruments, indigenous, revitalisation, seperewa, sustainability, traditionAbstract
This article examines how Osei Korankye, a seperewa (a west African harp) player in Ghana, managed to thrive in an often unfavourable environment for traditional musicians. The seperewa is a Ghanaian harp with a likeness to the kora. The article examines Korankye’s efforts to preserve and restore local interest in seperewa music. The conflict between traditional musical practices and the multiplicity of sounds and ideologies brought by globalisation and cultural imperialism after contact with Europe in the fifteenth century is critical to the discourse in this article. As a result of these encounters, Ghanaian communities have lost much of their musical traditions; those remaining are cherished by a small number of individuals. Many see such traditions as a building block to most of Ghana’s cultural heritage, hence the call for cultural revitalisation in many quarters. Drawing on the available literature and ethnographic interviews, I position Korankye, and his methods, as a powerful example of such a strategy for revitalisation while outlining many of the struggles he negotiated. This article corroborates existing arguments made by many that globalisation and cultural imperialism profoundly influenced African civilisations, threatening a loss of contact between communities and their customs.
References
Agawu, Kofi. 2014. Representing African Music: Postcolonial Notes, Queries, Positions. Oxford: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315810942.
Agawu, Kofi. 2016. The African Imagination in Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Agyefi, Papa Kow Mensah. 2021. “Revitalising an Indigenous Musical Tradition: A study of Korankye’s approach to Sustaining the Seperewa Musical Tradition.” Master’s thesis, University of Cape Town.
Kwadwo, Agyemang Joseph, Ofosu-Mensah Ababio Emmanuel, and Gyamerah Ebenezer Yaw. 2013. “The Impact of Colonial Rule on the Gyaman State.” Historical Research 3 (6): 389–405.
Akuupa, Michael Uusiku. 2011. “The Formation of ‘National Culture’ in Post-apartheid Namibia: A Focus on State-Sponsored Cultural Festivals in the Kavango Region.” PhD diss., University of the Western Cape.
Ampene, Kwasi. 2020. Asante Court Music and Verbal Arts in Ghana: The Porcupine and the Gold Stool. Oxford: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429340628.
Beardslee, Thomas Barone. 2014. “Questioning Safeguarding: Heritage and Capabilities at the Jemaa el Fnaa.” PhD diss., Ohio State University.
Beecham, John. 1841. Ashantee and the Gold Coast. London: John Mason.
Boaheng, Isaac. 2014. “Early Christian Missions in West Africa: Implications for Rethinking the Great Commission.” Journal of Church and Theology 18: 7–26.
Bowdich, Thomas Edward. 2013 [1819]. Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee. Oxford: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203042328.
Bretz, Engela. 2019. “Songs in the Dust: Riel Music in the Northern and Western Cape Provinces, South Africa.” Master’s thesis, University of Cape Town.
Brodie, Cruickshank. 1853. Eighteen Years on the Gold Coast of Africa. London: Hurst and Blackest.
Bruinders, Sylvia. 2012. “Parading Respectability: An Ethnography of the Christmas
Bands in the Western Cape, South Africa.” PhD diss., University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign.
Chanza, Nelson. 2015. “Indigenous-based Adaptation: An Imperative for Sustainable Climate Change Strategies for Africa.” In Harnessing Cultural Capital for Sustainability: A Pan-Africanist Perspective, edited by Munyaradzi Mawere and Samuel Awuah-Nyamekye, 85–134. Bamenda: Langaa Publishing House. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh9vwzb.7.
Collins, John. 2005. “A Social History of Ghanaian Popular Entertainment Since Independence.” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana 9: 17–40.
Collins, John. 2012. “Contemporary Ghanaian Popular Music since the 1980s.” In Hip Hop Africa: New African Music in a Globalizing World, edited by Eric Charry, 211–233. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
DjeDje, Jacqueline Cogdell. 2010. “West Africa: An Introduction.” In The Garland Handbook of African Music, edited by Ruth Stone, 166–197. Oxford: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203927878-17.
Erlmann, Veit. 1999. Music, Modernity, and the Global Imagination. New York: Oxford City Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195123678.001.0001.
Erlmann, Veit. 2002. “Africa Civilized, Africa Uncivilized.” Safundi. Journal of South African and American Comparative Studies 3 (1): 1–15. https://doiorg/10.1080/17533170200503105.
Garofalo, Reebee. 1993. “Whose World, What Beat: The Transnational Music Industry, Identity, and Cultural Imperialism.” World of Music 35 (2): 16–32.
Grant, Catherine. 2016. “Music Sustainability: Strategies and Interventions.” In Sustainable Futures for Music Cultures: An Ecological Perspective, edited by Huib Schippers and Catherine Grant, 19–42. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190259075.003.0002.
Grant, Catherine, and Chhuon Sarin. 2016. “Gauging Music Vitality and Viability: Three Cases from Cambodia.” Yearbook for Traditional Music 48: 25–47. https://doi.org/10.5921/yeartradmusi.48.2016.0025.
Hafstein, Valdimar. 2004. “The Making of Intangible Cultural Heritage: Tradition and Authenticity, Community and Humanity.” Doctoral diss., University of California, Berkeley.
Harper, Colter. 2016 January. “Osei Korankye – Emmere Nhyira Nse.” Akwaaba Music. https://www.akwaabamusic.com/blog/osei-korankye-emmere-nhyina-nse-2/.
Harper, Colter, and Judith Opoku-Boateng. 2019. “Renewing Cultural Resources and Sustaining J.H. Kwabena Nketia’s Vision for an African Music Archive in Ghana.” International Association of Sound and Audio-visual Archives Journal 50 (50): 76–90. https://doi.org/10.35320/ij.v0i50.101.
Howard, Keith, ed. 2016. Music as Intangible Cultural Heritage: Policy, Ideology, and Practice in the Preservation of East Asian Traditions. Oxford: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315596723.
Kaye, Andrew. 2010. “The Guitar in Africa.” In The Garland Handbook of African Music, edited by Ruth Stone, 88–109. Oxford: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203927878-10.
King, Lisa, and Elizabeth Halpenny. 2014. “Communicating the World Heritage brand: Visitor Awareness of UNESCO’s World Heritage Symbol and the Implications for Sites, Stakeholders, and Sustainable Management.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism 22 (5): 768–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2013.864660.
Kudonu, Kofi Labayili, Mark Millas Coffie, and Hope Senalor Konu. 2021. “Local Dimension Band and the Cultural Revival in Ghanaian Popular Music.” International Journal of Music Studies 3 (1): 14–36.
Kunnuji, Joseph. 2020. “A Chronicle of Cultural Transformation: Ethnography of Badagry Ogu Musical Practices.” PhD diss., University of Cape Town.
McRobbie, Angela. 2003. Postmodernism and Popular Culture. Oxford: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203168332.
Mosweunyane, Dama. 2013. “The African Educational Evolution: From Traditional Training to Formal Education.” Higher Education Studies 3 (4): 50–59. https://doi.org/10.5539/hes.v3n4p50.
Nketia, Kwabena. 1959. “Changing Traditions of Folk Music in Ghana.” Journal of the International Folk Music Council 11: 31–36. https://doi.org/10.2307/834852.
Opoku-Boateng, Judith, Ekow Cann, Samuel Aniegye Ntewusu, and Sandra Owusu.2020. “The J.H. Kwabena Nketia Archive at the University of Ghana, Legon.” History in Africa 47: 375–82. https://doi.org/10.1017/hia.2019.27.
Owusu-Poku, Ernest. 2021. “Ghanaian Highlife Sound Recordings of the 1970s: The Legacy of Francis Kwakye and the Ghana Film Studio.” Popular Music 40 (2): 245–62. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143021000143.
Palmer, Anthony. 1992. “World Musics in Music Education: The Matter of Authenticity.” International Journal of Music Education 1 (1): 32–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/025576149201900105.
Rausch, Christoph. 2013. “Rescuing Modernity: Global Heritage Assemblages and Modern Architecture in Africa.” PhD diss., Maastricht University.
Sifuna, Daniel. 2001. “African Education in the Twenty-first Century: Challenge for Change.” Kokusai Kyoiku Kyoryoku Ronshu 4 (1): 21–38.
Sindelar, Melanie Janet. 2017. “Land Art as a Means to Negotiate Natural and Cultural Heritage in the United Arab Emirates.” Český Lid 104 (2): 213–230. https://doi.org/10.21104/CL.2017.2.03.
“The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance.” 2006. APT Bulletin: The Journal of Preservation Technology 37 (4): 52.
Titon, Jeff Todd, Aaron S. Allen, Michael B. Bakan, Robert Baron, Daniel Cavicchi, Mark F. DeWitt, and Barry Dornfeld. 2019. Cultural Sustainabilities: Music, Media, Language, Advocacy. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Titon, Jeff Todd. 2009. “Music and Sustainability: An Ecological Viewpoint.” World of Music 51 (1): 119–37.
Tostões, Ana. 2013. “Ten Years After: The Continent of Hope and Modern Heritage.” Docomomo Journal 48: 2–3.
Turino, Thomas. 2003. “Are We Global Yet? Globalist Discourse, Cultural Formations and the Study of Zimbabwean Popular Music.” British Journal of Ethnomusicology 12 (2): 51–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/09681220308567363.
Yung, Bell. 2009. “Historical Legacy and the Contemporary World: UNESCO and China’s Qin Music in the Twenty-First Century.” In Music and Cultural Rights, edited by Andrew Weintaub and Yung Bell, 140–168. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Interviews and personal communication by Author
Aaron Bebe. University of Ghana, Accra, 20 November 2019.
Baffour Kyeremateng (Yewura). University of Ghana, Accra, 16 September 2019.
Osei Korankye. University of Ghana, Accra, 19 July 2017, and 20 November 2019.
Agya Koo Nimo. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, 5 January 2020.
Internet sources
https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/three-reasons-why-we-should-all-care-about-indigenous-peoples. Accessed on 23 November 2021.
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Seperewa. Accessed on 15 July 2019.
Vasquez, Gill and Duchicela. 2017. “Three Reasons Why We Should All Care About Indigenous People”. Article published on Voices, World Bank Website, on 9 August 2017. https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/three-reasons-why-we-should-all-care-about-indigenous-peoples. Accessed on 1 July 2022.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY OF AFRICAN MUSIC, Rhodes University
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
