The Gonje people are an ethnic group that resides in Norther Ghana. Music is a very important part of their life like most people in Ghana. This is a recording of 3 traditional Gonje Songs recorded in 1979. The instrument used makes a very distinctive sound which can be similar to other traditional instruments throughout Africa. Enjoy the music and pictures.
The sound track and all the great footage all over southern Ghana make this video really fun to watch. It really makes me wish I was in Ghana right now.
Not really a music video in the traditional sense but there is music and it is a video. Personally I can not resist the sound of the Ghana Xylophone, or the different variations of it around West Africa. When I was a kid I loved to the the Kazoo, for some reason I just like the reverberating noise that it made and how it tickled your lips. I think I am equally attracted to the sound of the West African Xylophone because of this also. What looks like a rudimentary frame of wood with some wood keys on , is actually a very sophisticated instrument that makes and equally sophisticated sound.
The keys are actually held in the frame with rope, then below each key is a hallow gourde with a whole cut in one end below the key and another hole in it with what was traditionally the egg sack from spiders. They may use a different material now but the primes is the same, it acts like the wax paper that we would use in Kazoos as a kid to create a reverberating sound.
This video may seem a little narcissistic in the way the Obour (the name of the artist) repeats his name over and over again in the lyrics of this song. This video is set up to be like a folk story like many young Ghanaian children hear. In this case the singer has put himself in the role of the mythical hero, and often these stories are quite repetitive, rinse the chorus.
I was fortunate enough to hear many of the Anansia the spider stories as a child in elementary school in small town US, I do not know how many other Americans had the same benefit, but I really enjoyed them. They originate from stories told by the Ashanti people in central Ghana.
Obour has been in the Hip-Life industry for some time and is very popular, I got to see him at La Badi beach in 2004, great entertainer and very popular in Ghana.
Lucky Number 13, and chaley (slang for friend in Ghana) oooooohhhh, this video is tooo much.
As the title says this is a Cadbury Dairy Milk Advert. The whole video is really well done with Tinny doing the music, he is a pretty popular hiplife artist. Cadbury has actually been a really responsible company in Ghana through their whole supply train, and especially in the the Cocoa industry, where your chocolate comes from. On the contrary companies like Hersey’s have not been very responsible using suppliers who use child labor.
Enjoy this great video, even if it is an advertisement, it is more entertaining then most of those that we are subjected to in the US.
The colorful coffins of Ghana are famous around the world. The most popular place to see this in on the beach front road running from Ghana to Teshie. There is a workshop there with an open second story where they can clearly be seen from the road side. The coffins signify what someone may have done in their lifetime. Check out this video to learn more.
Kojo Antwi is a very famous artist in Ghana, but probably unheard of anywhere else. This is because he is mainly know for his music sang in Twi, many people feel he is the best musician in the language of Twi. Many of his songs are love songs also, the genera is a little hard to nail down with influences from reggae, and pop, some might call it Twi-Pop.
Regardless the music is easy listening and pleasant on the ears. The videos are usually fun as well.
Today I am going to share with you some of my favorite places in Ghana and each of them are a reason why I fell in love with Ghana and continue to go back. The people that I met at each of these places had a large part to do with the great experiences I had, and with them being my favorite places.
Gomoa Fete:
I visited Gomoa Fete for the first time when I was a student at the University of Ghana in 2004. My roommate at the time had already went to Gomoa Fete a few weeks before for the Yam Festival and had a great time, which was a big influence in him going again and me tagging along for the first time. We went and connected with a Ghanaian friend’s family who gave us a place to say and were very kind and hospitable. We spent the next day at the beach, having sort of a beach party with about 10 local men, swimming, kicking back and eating when it was time. Over all it was such a great weekend. The beach is beautiful there, there is a point and on one side long strait beach with Tills Beach Resort on it. On the other side of the point is a large cove with the outlet to the Lagoon and the fishing beach where the fishermen land their boats. As you head out to the point along a narrow path that can be crowded with women and children carrying water you pass by a derelict, rusted out fishing trawler that long ago met its doom here, and then you reach a little cut out in the cliff with a sandy little beach, a cabana and a well that has water that flows right out of the rocks. It seemed like every one we met was so friendly and inviting. It is no surprise that I went back two more times and enjoyed the visits just as much as my first one.
Dancing, drumming, and music are very important parts of peoples every day live and the culture in Ghana. The West African Talking drum was the way of communication in West Africa before their were phones or ways to get around quickly, messages were telegraphed from village to village with a drum that changes pitches depending on how hard it is squeezed under the arm. This is just one aspect of the historical importance of drums and music. Dancing is also a way of telling stories and re-living history, and this is also very fundamental to the culture in Ghana.
In this video a drumming and dancing group in Jamestown, Accra showcase their skills. In most places in the country it is possible to find cultural troupes that will show you their dancing and drumming. If you are visiting Ghana you should not miss this. One of my favorite parts of large drumming groups that really isn’t ever captured on video is when you relax and just let the music flow into your ears it ceases to be individual sounds and notes, the music takes on a life of its own and creates an un-describable force that seems to rise and drop with the beat.
This short CNN piece, be it a little dated does actually present the issues, successes, and potential future issues and successes in a very balanced way. This was filmed back in 2008 but the same issues are still present today. Will Ghana be able to handle the wealth from oil and not let it ruin it safety and freedom like some other countries in Africa? Will the average Ghanaian benefit?
The answers to the questions are still unclear. One thing that is certain is that by visiting Ghana you can get a better perspective for yourself. While on your trip if you visit community based tourism sites, and stay in locally owned and responsible hotels you will be able to make a difference in some of those peoples lives that will not see any wealth from oil anytime soon.