Adowa; The story teller

Some people usually say that dance is the life of the African.  Most Africans believe that dance is a way of thinking, communicating, and generally a way of living. Dancing takes place at naming ceremonies, weddings, funerals, durbars, festivals and parties.

Two women dancing Adowa

One of the traditional dances in Ghana is the ADOWA dance. Infact it is my favourite dance. I love to watch this dance a lot. The Adowa dance is the most widespread  and frequently performed dance  of the Akan speaking people of Ghana. This unique dance is usually danced by men, women and even children.

A man and a woman gracefully performing the Adowa dance

The dance is unique because it most often uses a symbolic language. The way and manner in which the dancers of Adowa move their hands and legs always tells a story. The Adowa dance is most often performed at state functions. The dance is usually led  by a female who is referred to as Adowahemma. The dancers of Adowa are most often seen in nicely woven kente accompanied with gold ornaments such as anklets and golden rings and earrings.

A girl dancing Adowa

On other occasions, the dancers of Adowa are seen in simple cloths. The men usually have the cloth wrapped around their waist. It is so beautiful to watch this dance. The dancers are usually seen smiling throughout the dance. What interests me most is the way and manner in which the drummers happily play their drums to produce good music. The gong is most often played as well.

 Ghana's former President J.A Kuffour dancing Adowa with a woman

Whenever you visit Ghana, just tell any one you want to see the Adowa dance. If you are not able to attend an occasion to see it, the person can just give you a few steps.

Enjoy this wonderful dance in the links below…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9uLcOCkLGw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_NUWCHjZRrY

 Kiitos... Am out!

Bamaya Dance in Northern Ghana

Dance is a form of entertainment isn’t it? Some people define dance as steps or movements usually performed to music for pleasure or as a form of social interaction. I think dance is just a movement of the body. Interestingly, day in day out there are different dances that emerge from different cultures. These dances are usually categorized into traditional dances and modern dances.

Taking Ghana as a typical example some traditional dances include; adowa, bamaya jara, takai, tora, agbadza, kete, kpalongo among others. Most of these traditionlal dances are danced to the music produced from drums, gongs and other traditional musical instruments.

Men dancing Jara in the Northern Region of Ghana

Some modern dances in Ghana include; Azonto, cripple, moon walk, alarm shake and many others. Most of these dances are performed to the rhythms of gospel, highlife, hip pop and hiplife music.

My focus however is on Bamaya, a dance by the Dagombas; a large ethnic group located in  the Northern part of Ghana. Bamaya means “the river (valley) is wet”. This dance is mostly performed by men who are usually dressed in feminine clothes. 

Bamaya dance by both men and women

Bamaya which was first danced in the 19 century marked the end of a long drought . It is said that when the drought ended, the men had to dress as women to give thanks to the gods because it was believed that the prayers of women usually got a quicker response.

Bamaya nowadays is however danced by not just men, but also women. It is so lovely to watch as the men especially gracefully move and twist their waists  and act just like women in the dance.

Enjoy some bamaya dances in the links below;

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL9kn6_9WHI 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKly3V8Kcp8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnr8Au5uCpc

KIITOS!

A visit to the art gallery in Helsinki

After staying in Turku for some time, my friends and I together with our student tutors decided to visit the national capital of Finland, Helsinki. It is fun to explore different places. At least I didn't know that until I got to Helsinki. Helsinki is indeed a beautiful city with so many interesting things to see.

I had seen the river get frozen in Turku as a result of the heavy snow. But seeing a frozen sea fascinated me. I would have loved to walk on the frozen sea like I saw others do. This however was not possible because I was on the bus. We went sightseeing in Helsinki and got to see a lot of wonderful places including the “doom” church and the art museum.

A display of art works

The museum was beautiful I must acknowledge that fact. However, at the mention of museum, I expected to see something big. I mean a big building with a lot of paintings. After watching the photographs in the museum, I got to appreciate a little more of art. I actually love to watch art work. The funny thing however is that, I do not understand what I watch.

 Eva at the art gallery

I most often just look at an art work without thinking of any deeper story behind the work. But it is interesting how these artists appreciate the work they do. A photographer after taking a photograph can actually explain what exactly the photograph means. But the situation is different in my world. I just watch the photograph and that is it. Interesting isn't it?

Sculpture in Ghana.

Nowadays the craze for art work  is very high. I sometimes wonder why this is the case. I love to talk a lot, go shopping or better still, surf the internet. But some people prefer to go to art exhibitions or just tour around. I have observed keenly that  when the white folks come to Ghana, they mostly buy a lot of wood carvings.

Its good anyway, at least it provides income to the dealers of wood carvings. Most of these wood carvings are also used in the homes of many people as decorative pieces.

But I admire these craftsmen. You should see the way they work,  it's very interesting to watch. Sculpture is defined basically as the art of shaping figures or designs. It is interesting how wood, metal, plastics and stones can be shaped into beautiful pieces appealing to the eye.

A wooden carving of a woman with a pot and a baby.

In these modern times, some people think an individual is only important when he or she has a formal education. This however should not be the case since not all humans can have that. Some people definitely have to tow a different line. Some of these sculptors actually carve a wood piece for it to look extraordinarily beautiful. They actually look so real, from afar a person may even mistake it for a human being.

 A wooden carving of a xylophone player.

Sometimes I just wish I could paint, draw or do something profitable with my bare hands like others do. But it is just not the case. Anyway I only console myself with the fact that everyone is unique in his or her own small way. Enjoy some art videos in Ghana in the links below;

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVubah8YVVc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckUTFgmDc9g