FunDrum Rhythm Circles: FunDrum in Ghana

At the end of June Jonathan was fortunate to be able to travel to Ghana for two weeks. Jonathan was accompanying his wife Sujata, who was there on a business trip. Jonathan stayed in the capital city of Accra for the first week, then they both went up to Kumasi for a few days. Ghana is beautiful. Lush tropical forests flow down the hillsides to the sea coast and waves of the Atlantic break on the edge of bustling Accra.

While Sujata was doing her work there for the first week, Jonathan was taking drumming lessons with a teacher from the University of Ghana. Nii Okai Aryeetey was Jonathan's teacher for Kpanlogo drumming. The Kpanlogo is a drum traditional to the Ga people who inhabit the Area around Accra. There are many ethnic groups located throughout the country, and each has its own traditional drums and percussion instruments, rhythms, etc. that are specific to them. Being in Accra, Jonathan thought it best to focus on Ga drumming. Nii showed Jonathan the traditional parts and some new arrangements for the drum. Nii soon became a good friend who was very helpful in showing Jonathan the sites and introducing him to other artists and teachers at the university.

See a video of Nii playing a mean djembe here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6AcRa1DuVQ

The people were genuinely friendly and welcoming, in an especially good mood because their country was a contender in the World Cup. The World Cup was being hosted for the first time by an African country in South Africa and Ghana was amongst 5 other teams from the continent (Algeria, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa) vying for the championship. The Ghana Black Stars did very well, making it to the quarter finals before being eliminated by Uruguay. Being in Ghana for the matches was incredible - almost as good as being in South Africa. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, and everyone had an opinion about the games, teams, players, balls, etc. We went out to watch Ghana play Germany on a jumbo television in the city. Thousands of people lined the streets, cheering, moaning and praying as one. Celebrating in the streets with all the fans was an unforgettable experience. Jonathan had brought his own vuvuzeela that he had decorated with the Ghana flag and was adorned with a bed-sheet sized Ghana flag. So many people expressed to him how delighted they were to see a foreigner supporting their country.

The problem came when Ghana ended up playing the USA to see who would go through to the quarter final. Jonathan was posed with a real dilemma of consciousness - to support his favorite team or his own country. Country won out, and if you listened very carefully you could hear him whispering "USA USA" during the match he watched in a Lebanese restaurant in Kumasi in between bites of mezza and the gurgling of a hookah. When Ghana beat the USA the whole country just erupted! Jonathan was sad for the US team, but was also vary happy that Ghana would be going through. Ghana went on to the quarter final and were beaten by Uruguay (cheaters!). The spirit of the people reflected their pride at being a real contender for the World Cup. Everyone you met had an opinion on the various matches, players and teams, but without a doubt, everyone was supporting Ghana. Jonathan and Sujata returned home a day before the quarter final match, and decided to throw a party for the Ghana game. Several friends (including Ghanian and Nigerian) and Jonathan's mother came to watch and chear, and ultimately to commiserate.

After Sujata finished her work, she and Jonathan took a bus trip up to the central, mountainous part of the country into the land of the Ashanti people. Kumasi is one of the larger cities in Ghana and is the center of the Ashanti District. Kumasi is the home of the Ashanti King and it was possible to visit the old palace and see how an African king lives! It was very interesting to see all the different drums of the Ashanti culture, including the Ashanti war drum which was made from a leopard skin and played by scraping the surface with a stick. When played, the drum sounded just like the roar of a leopard and was used to scare away enemies.

See a video of this drum being played here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkbaDvmHqYo

Kumasi is also the location of the largest market in West Africa. The Kedidja Market is the throbbing heartbeat of Kumasi. Is is a hive of humanity, buzzing with life. Climbing a rooftop at the edge of the market, we could witness the sea of corrugated tin rooftops stretch practically to the horizon. The market had sections for everything; a row of dozens of tailors overlooked an area of blacksmiths, where Jonathan purchased a small metal hand bell called a frikiwa. There were rows and rows of cloth merchants selling everything from real Kente cloth - the brightly colored traditional woven cloth of the Ashantis (where pieces can run from a few to a few hundred dollars), as well as the printed adinkra cloth which is worn for funerals and other solemn occasions. Everything you could need had it's own section even a section for fetishes (not that kind!) for traditional healing. The fetish stands were very ... ahem... interesting, looking a bit like a set from a Harry Potter movie - piles of dried chameleons, turtle shells, various animal heads and skulls, including crocodile; leopard skins, porcupine quills, rocks, nails, bat wings, etc. All the things a traditional healer might need to fix your problems.