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The Ga live around
the capitol city of Accra in Ghana. Their main staple is called
Kenkey. It is a meal made from corn dough. It is sold by women
in the streets wrapped in a corn husk wrapper. The Ga add
salt to it. The Fanti wrap the kenkey in plantain leaves and
do not use salt. Banku is softer in the Ga area than in the
Fanti where it is called Etew.
Fume, Fume
This is a contemporary recreational dance of the Ga people.
Artists from the National Theater of Ghana gave the music
and choreography to John Flood during his trip to Ghana in
August 1998.
Nii Afortey said it origins are in the Akan community and
probably Fanti.
Kpanlogo
back row from left to right
Kpanlogo drums (three), Atenteben (bamboo flute)
front row from left to right
Medium Tamalin (frame drum), Axatse (rattle), Donno (hourglass
drum), Axatse, Gankogui (double bell), large Tamalin
Kpanlogo was originally
called "Lolo" after a characteristic movement of
the body, especially the shoulders, that occurs in this dance.
Lolo is a fishermans dance and the pulling of the arms is
pulling in the nets. Kpan means dance and longo is turning
in Ga language so Kpanlogo is considered a turning dance.
Mestapha Teddy Addy credits Otu Lincoln, Loto Lincoln, and
Okule Foams with the first performances of Kpanlogo in Accra,
Ghana in 1963-64. Obo Addy stated that Kpanlogo was first
heard outside Ghana at the Munich Olympics of 1972 at an all-night
party for the athletes after the opening ceremonies. It has
its origins in the popular stories of the trickster Anansi.
The Addy clan has always been a leading proponent of this
recreational dance of the Ga people, now popular all over
Ghana. There are many ways that Kpanlogo music is heard and
adapted in Ghana. It can be played on lots of instruments
besides the drum, including the gyil (xylophone) and the atenteben
(bamboo flute).
Gyil (xylophone)

Gome
back row from left to right
Large Tamalin (frame drum), Gome drum, Bamboo clappers, Apentemma
drum
front row from left to right
Small Tamalin (frame drum), Frikyiwa (metal castanet bell),
Axatse (two), Donno (hourglass drum)
Gome is a dance of colonial masters but may have originated
around the eighteenth century. The oversize costumes were
handed down by colonial Europeans to their Ga servants in
Accra. Their hats might come from sailors, policemen, etc.
They could not afford to alter their cloths. Each man in the
band worked for someone who had a different profession. The
canes carried by the men signify the elderly. It is possible
that members of the band's parents or immediate family were
members of the group before them. Most of the text of the
songs are in pidgin English. The Gome drum is made out of
a special hard wood that is used for furniture. This wood
is called odum or iroko in Nigeria.
A dance called
Hoge is a more traditional dance that is older.
Notes by Ble ma
Oblahii, (Old Timers) Samuel Manpong, Rabboni Dodoo, Moses
Harmon, Emmanule Dodoo, Abdul Katey-Ahumah, Steven Akwetey-Saietey.
Kolomashi
Ga-Adangbe
These people live in the hill country east of Accra.
Kpatcha
Kpatcha is a dance used in Puberty Rituals of the Ga-Adangbe
people. Originally it is thought to have been danced by dwarfs.
Nii learned the drumming to this dance when he was in school.
Today it is popular around the capital city of Accra, Ghana.
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