Music and Dance

	Music is virtually inseparable from dance in traditional Ghanaian societies, and both are integral to the maintenance of important cultural identifiers. In early times, it was through intense reiteration of layered cross-rhythms, enhanced by group dancing and song, that villages performed rituals to appease the spirits and unify the community.
Although the musical landscape is rich with many vocal and instrumental genres, it is through the magical rhythms of the drummers that the soul of the people of Ghana is preserved and flourishes. Drums of all shapes and sizes augment daily life throughout the country, and avid practitioners ensure that the "rhythms of life," inherited over countless generations, will endure.

In Kumasi, I was awakened one morning to the distant sound of ceremonial drums, not an unusual occurrence given the proliferation of rituals and ceremonies. Eager to get closer and perhaps even record some new patterns for my classes, I ventured out into the early morning haze only to be greeted by the most cacophonous bird concerto I have ever encountered.

Within minutes I had identified seven distinct cross-rhythms and continuous call-and-response patterns, all emanating from various species of birds. Yes, I have listened, sometimes intently, to bird calls in various parts of the world, but this and subsequent encounters with the birds of Kumasi seemed so different. While this is not an original observation, Darwin, and others, suggested that the origin of music had it roots in "man imitating the sounds of nature," I am convinced that birds may have indeed have introduced Ghanaians to the beauty and intricacy of cross-rhythms.

As a devotee of Ghanaian drumming I have searched for insights, both musical and philosophical, that would further open the door of understanding for me and my students. On this trip I encountered two masters of the art form, Abraham and Gabriel, whose patience and guidance

furthered my techniques and sensibilities. Through lessons and observations of their marvelous dance/drumming ensemble, scholarly concepts were given life and theoretical formulas gave way to magnificent sounds. I still found myself, however, pondering the age-old question of "where does it all come from--(who put the bop in the bop-she-bop-she bop, who put the ram in the ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong)?"

What is the cultural basis for the complex cross-rhythms that native drummers negotiate so effortlessly and dancers interpret as a natural life experience? For some degree of self-enlightenment I must pay homage to the birds of Kumasi and the taxi drivers of Accra.

In Accra, and almost everywhere else I traveled in Ghana, vehicles of various categories (and pedestrians) intermingle in patterns that are both distinctive and, often, frightening to the uninitiated. Typically, traffic seems to merge into congested intersections at will, rarely stopping, always signaling with encrypted horn blasts, usually with success. Once I became bold enough to keep my eyes open for an entire trip, I started to notice a startling resemblance to the magical drum rhythms that have so captivated me. Each participant (drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians) appeared to maintain their individual motion pattern in sync (from a Ghanaian perspective) with all other participants, ultimately resulting in a composite pattern whereby the individual driver is integrated into a complex whole. Similar observations regarding musical performance have been made by African scholars for centuries. What the birds of Kumasi, the drivers of Accra, and the dancers and drummers throughout the country seem to share is a perspective on the rhythms of life.

J. Larry Stockton

Lafayette College