Ewe Dance and Drumming and the Role of the Master Drummer

Music plays an important role in the social life of the Ewe people.  There is no activity to which they do not perform some level of music, either singing, humming, or tapping as they farm, fish, or weave.  Even many simple tasks, such as chores are done in rhythm.  A Ewe woman grinds corn in rhythm to delay fatigue and boredom.  But music isn’t used in solitude; many create music together as a unit.  Someone sings a melody, while two others create a rhythm banging the table while making bread, and another taps a rhythm with his feet.  This culminates into a polyrhythmic orchestra while they still work efficiently.  Dance and drumming is an essential part of the Ewe community in which everyone participates in.  It is used for celebrations, religious ceremonies, seasonal festivals, and more. It is so crucial in their culture that non-participation equates to self-excommunication from Ewe society and the consequences are heavy; the most severe penalty being denied a proper burial.  Ewe dance and drumming doesn’t simply perform as a festive allure during celebrations, but also serves as an integration into society by the expression of social organization, values, and the promotion of group solidarity.  Ideas such as “art” and “creativity” have little bearings on their music because Ewe music has such a large sociological and historical consideration (Jones, 1959).   

Flag of the Ewe people

The Ewe people were a warrior tribe that resided in the Notsie, Togo, where they lived under the oppressive ruler, Ago Akoli.  He was a violent war lord who murdered his people and erected a wall around his city to prevent his people from escaping.  Eventually, the Ewe people escaped and fragmented into many groups that settled in Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and the Volta region of Ghana (Agawu, 2003).  During this time of relocation the Ewe clashed with many other tribes.  Being more skilled in the art of war, they pushed the natives from their land and took it as their own.  After they had settled, they decided that there was too much bloodshed and violence and they would only live in peace. In time, military commanders become politicians and warriors became farmers, fishers, and hunters.    

Dance and drumming was an important part of war for the Ewe.  Many of their songs represented victory and the glory of battle.  Agbadza, is a traditional war dance, now used to celebrate peace.  It was original used as military training exercise with dancers in platoon formation with the lead drummer ordering the warriors into different positions and formations.  Other dances represented battle oaths, battle tactics, codes of honor, and reenactments of past wars which were used to invigorate soldiers and inspire tribesman (Pressing, 1983).  While the Ewe people no longer engage in war, these songs are still practiced today and represent the core of their social culture and are why dance and drumming is such an integral part of their society.

Agbadza

Ewe History

The escape from Notsie

Music is never written down; it is taught by elders and parents to their children.  Rhythms and melodies are taught at a very young age.  Songs are memorized meticulously over the years and then improvisation is extrapolated from learned knowledge.  These rhythms and songs are taught at an early age to develop strong feeling for compound rhythms in the form of games.  In one activity, a child is held between his parents by the arms and legs and swung gently at first and then violently, while they sing a simple song

           

Devi mas nu do’o da ne,

                                    Wlaya wlaya do’o da ne.

This short piece has multiple rhythms.  The “do’o da ne” are sung in broad triplets, while the rest of the words are sung in sixteenth notes.  This is all being contrasted by the swinging which follows 2/4 rhythm.  Another such game is after children play in the sea.  They gather sand into their laps and with each hand playing a different rhythm, play a 6/4 rhythm against a 4/4 beat.  These simple games allow a child to develop their rhythmic ears so that they can participate in dances and ensembles in the future.  

Children learning the different dances

A Ewe ensemble consists of a percussion orchestra, dancers, and a master drummer. There can be five to twenty instruments of an ensemble, but most orchestras usually consist of at least a gankogui, an axatse, a treble drum called a gban-gban, a tenor drum called an asiwui, and a master drum. Accompanying the orchestra is a mass of dancers that follow the lead of the master drum (Jones, 1959). 

The ensemble is able to create the intricate songs by beating different rhythms on the drums.  These rhythms conflict with each other but integrate into a single form called cross rhythms.  Cross rhythm is the combination of different rhythms that interact in a single piece.  The Ewe can do this on drums by drumming out a 4/4 and 6/4 rhythms against each other.  While using different time signatures, the rhythms combine to create a cohesive and artistically beautiful sound (Jones, 1959).  Normally, drummers play a repeated pattern until given the signal to change to a different one.  But when the master drummer plays, he is able to improvise during the song.  Therefore, his rhythm is divided into two parts.  The first is that every Ewe dance has a fixed phrase that is used at specific points in the bar.  This is referred to as static cross rhythms.  The second is that there are certain phrases that can be used anywhere else in any of the bars.  This allows the master drummer to access his artistic freedom and improvise.  This is referred to as movable cross rhythms and this exchange of static and movable cross rhythms creates the breathing like quality of their music (Cudjoe, 1953).

Master drummer Ladzepko

The Ewe also have vast source of techniques to create the complex rhythms and enhance their scores.  During one such dance, the Sogo, you can see the complexity of their skill.  The gban-gban plays against the 4/4 beat of the gankogui in four groups of triplet eighth notes in 4/4 beat.  This pattern has three accents, one on the first note of the first beat, the second on the second note of the second beat, and the third on the third note of the third beat.  What might be confused as syncopation, is what is actually tonal re-grouping of the triplets into three groups of four eighth notes each.  Along with the beat of the gong, each grouping now consists of two low tones and two high tones.  This pattern of drumming allows the rhythm to carry two sets of contrasting accents, one levied by tonal-regrouping and the other through the basic beat (Cudjoe, 1953).

3 against 4 cross rhythm

When comparing Ewe music to Western music, there are many differences.  The cross rhythmic nature of Ewe music doesn’t fall into place with the Western notation of music.  The unaligned rhythms, re-characterization, and conflicting accents don’t follow Western polyrhythms.  Western music uses time as individual points in space, while Ewe music considers time as pulsations across a time line.  This leads to misinterpretations and difficulties in notation and understanding (Agawu, 2003).

The master drummer is probably the most important part of the Ewe orchestra and thereby plays a central role in Ewe society.  While parents teach rhythms to their children, there is no formal teaching of drumming in Ewe culture.  All drummers must have a sensitive ear, a good sense of timing and memory.  But the master drum is taught to all those who have exceeding skill in this qualities.  There are many ways to learn drumming.  One way is to have pupils lie bareback and face down in the ground while the master drummer pounds the rhythm into their bodies.  Alternatively, a pupil can learn through imitating the rhythm through words and vowels.  But more commonly, the pupil learns through repetition of what the master drummer plays. 

Master drummer Ladzepko 2

Master Drums
1) Atsimevu 2) Kidi 3) Sogo 4) Kroboto/Tototzi 5) Kaganu 6)Agboba 

The master drum isn’t limited to a particular type of drum.  The master drum can either be an atsimevu, sogo, kroboto, totodzi, or an agboba, but these are the only drums that can be master drums.  While differing in size and tonality, all master drums have a similar barrel like shape that helps produce its authoritative sound.  It has a low bass tone and powerful sound when struck at its center and a high, staccato tone when struck on the edge.  It can easily respond to tone changes by tuning into the tenor cleft.  The master drum tells the ensemble when to play and when to change tempo or the pattern.  The entire orchestra doesn’t gradually intensify as the music proceeds; rather it plays in full from the very beginning relying on the master drummer to change the mood appropriate to the dancers (Agawu, 1995).  The relationship between the master drummer and the dancers is essential.  The master drummer must entice the dancer to the floor with whatever rhythmic device necessary.  Once the dancer interest has been peaked, the dancer begins to dance.  Once in full dance, the maser drummer can then affect the dancer’s movement and mannerism with his drumming.  The Ewe regards the deep low tone of the master drum as a grounding, earthward bound movement.  They regard the high tone as a skyward bound movement.  In order to lighten the dancer’s feet and invoke the feeling of flight, the master drummer refrains from placing a low tone on the beat the dancer’s foot touches the ground.  Instead he plays the high tone on the main beat and a low tone preceding it.  This way he lifts the dancer the moment his feet touches the ground.  The master drummer is able to propel the dancer forward and let him overcome his waning strength, by beginning a longer phrase with a shorter, accelerated, and exciting phrase, allowing the dancer’s vitality to return.  An exemplified master drummer will time his shorter phrases before his dancer shows signs of fatigue (Cudjoe, 1953).  In this sense the master drummer and the dancers become one, they interact with each other and each affects how the other proceeds.  All these devices show how complex the rhythms of the master drummer must be and the skill needed to perform them.  Not only must the master drummer control the rhythmic procession of the ensemble, but also follow the movement of the dancer and respond accordingly while doing so in a manner that entertains the audience.  The master drummer, like a chief of a village is an essential part of Ewe culture and tradition.  He brings his community together and strengthens them, just as he makes the dancers and ensemble one. 

Ewe Dance

Adzohu

In Western Africa, the Ewe tradition remains strong and unmoving against the stream of time.  The countless wars and battles, attacks by slave traders, the involvement of Christian missionaries and spread of Western ideas, have not deterred the Ewe tradition of dance and drumming.  It could be interesting to see how these factors have affected them their culture negatively or positively.  But for now, music unites and strengthens the Ewe people, representing the heart of Ewe culture.

Ewe Drumming Soundtracks (Ghana)

Bibliography

1)      Jones, A M. Studies in African Music. 1. Oxford University Press, 1959. Ebook. <http://www.davidbruce.net/studiesinafrican_vol1.pdf>.

2)      Cudjoe, S.D. The Techniques of Ewe Drumming and the Social Importance of Music in Africa. Clark Atlanta University Press, 1953. 

3)      Agawu, Kofi. African Rhythm:  A Northern Ewe Perspective. Cambridge University Press, 1995.

4)      Agawu, Kofi. Representing African music, Postcoloniol Notes, Queries, Positions. Boston University African Studies Center, 2003.

5)      Fiagbedzi, Nissio. Form and Meaning in Ewe Song: A Critical Review. MRI Press.  2009.

6)      Pressing, Jeff. Rhythmic Design in the Support Drums of Agbadza. International Library of African Music, 1983. < http://www.jstor.org/stable/30249769>.  

Meintjes Critical Review

In meintjes, he writes about the album Graceland and the implications of social collaboration.  The composition, production, and the use of language from different artists, the different styles and how they have been combined.  He also questions the degree to which this album and musical collaborations are successful in reaching equality between artists. He also talks about the political implications of the album and how his work has been interpreted, criticized, or used in South Africa and other recording companies.

            Meintjes writes about the dynamic ambiguity of the album that allows his work to be interpreted differently among critics and audiences.  Simons point in Graceland was to create a social musical collaboration rather than a political statement.  Would his music have had a larger impact on South Africa and its state if it had taken a more direct stance in black inequality?  Or does music really act a conduit between cultures and ideas that there is no need to take one?   

Coplan Critical Review

This passage by Coplan goes into the history of black popular music in South Africa.  It starts at Cape Town and the apex of diamond mining and goes all the way to the apartheid in the 1950s.  Throughout history, blacks and coloreds were segregated in slums and "locations," away from the white populace, that lead to the rise of black urban centers.  These centers became a central forum of musical expression for blacks, which lead to such genres as makwaya, marabi, and mbaqanga.  The governments response to these social advancements and political gains by removing them from these urban centers.

Due to racial segregation that kept blacks separated from whites, they developed there own music and genres that became very popular among South Africa and internationally.  Despite many interventions by the government and capitalism to prevent a united people, they were able to use music for themselves.  How did racism help facilitate the expression of black popular music?  Why was it such a powerful catalyst?

Ethnographic Description

Fedinka:  Folkloric and Popular Music and Dance from Ethiopia. 

The Fedinka is a troupe of azmari musicians and dancers, that draw influences from the well of Ethiopia’s bardic tradition.  There were six players, two dancers, a singer, and three instruments, the kebero drums, a masenko (a one stringed bowed fiddle), and a krar (a six stringed lyre) and all wore traditional Ethiopian garb.  The setting was a theatre stage and most of the audience was older people, professors and grad students.  They opened the show with the krar player telling a story about a king who traveled great distance to find a new story, while playing the krar, and after, he started singing.  This style of music, reminded me of griot singing, spoken word, instrument playing and then singing.  The player got the audience to participate by singing the harmony.  He would hum a harmony and get the audience to repeat it, and after, while he sang the melody, the audience would hum the harmony. 

The rest of the songs had all the players participating in it.  The music had multiple rhythms playing.  The kebero drums would have one rhythm, the masenko and the singer would have different ones as well and the krar player would clap, which acted as the beat.  In another song, a dancer wore thick jewelry, and when she danced it shook against her body and acted as another rhythm.  They had the audience participate by clapping.  Even though they tried to get the audience to clap, it was hard because there were so many things going on, but toward the end the entire audience got into the feel and really started clapping. 

The azmari repertoires include songs about love, historical events, current affairs, and improvised wordplay.  Their dances illustrate traditional folktales or mirror the movements of animals.  For many of the songs the two dancers danced like chickens.  During one song, one dancer would spread imaginary feed over the ground and the other dancer would kneel down and bob her head as if eating.  Many of the songs they played were playful and fun.  In one song the female danced wildly and shook her body with her hair going high into the air like she was having a seizure; doing this for two minutes straight. 

Unlike some other cultural performances I had seen, these performers didn’t explain the context of each song and they didn’t really give any background on their troupe or Ethiopian bardic tradition.  They were more focused on playing as much music as possible in the short amount of time.  It made it harder to understand the context of the song, but I don’t think that it took away the meaningfulness or playful tone of music. 

In the end they played two songs with four students of Boston University.  The students played with modern instruments such as the accordion, the violin, the sousaphone, and a saxophone.  These students played the same melody as one of the other traditional Ethiopian instruments and made little embellishments or ornaments that separated them from that melody.  Overall, it was a great experience and I recommend it to anyone interested in traditional Ethiopian music.  

Bibliography

The Techniques of Ewe Drumming and the Social Importance of Music in Africa by S.D. Cudjoe

This book outlines the various rhythms of Ewe music and drumming, including the uses of this type of drumming in religious, ritualistic, festive, and social circumstances.  It also talks about the background and history of such music.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/271469

African Rhythm:  A Northern Ewe Perspective by Kofi Agawu

This section of the book talks about the different rhythms and cross rhythms used by the Ewe people.  It talks about rhythm with language, drumming, and dance.

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-aFOAAAAIAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR12&dq=Ewe+drumming&ots=8tzBsDSnFY&sig=9dab43OrvE2vZLG5LXojOQapEs8#v=onepage&q=Ewe%20drumming&f=false

Ghana:  Rhytms of the people:  Traditional Music and dance of the Ewe, Dagbama, Fante,  and Ga People (sound recording)

Form and Meaning of Ewe Song:  A critical review by Nissio Figabedzi.

A rigorous analysis of four Ewe songs.

Rhythmic Design in the Support drums of Agbadza by Jeff Pressing

This book goes into specific detailing of instruments and techniques of the drumming of Agbadza.

Translating the Devil:  Religion and Modernity among the Ewe in Ghana by Birgit Meyer

This book goes into the spread of Christianity among the Ewe and how it affected their lives, traditions, and music.

Skinner Critical Review

            In Skinner’s dissertation, he describes the emergence of an urban popular culture during the post-colonial era, the mobilization of this popular culture in political campaigns, and the institutionalization of these artists into state sponsored musical groups.  He describes each of these points in conjunction with a type of “ethic” that stems from the Malian word “mogoya,” which is a person’s ethic or code.  Urban popular culture grew out of the post-colonial era in response to the stagnant traditions and expectations.  It created what Skinner refers to as an “ethics of urban modernity.”  This ethic wasn’t about disdain for tradition, but instead a move toward progression that empowered movements such as the Kayiraton, which advocated individual rights and more liberal ideas.  During this time, Soudan was in battle between two political groups, the conservative PSP, who favored French involvement in the country and the US-RDA, who championed decolonization.  Both parties saw the value in this popular culture and the griots that sang for them and actively sought out members to sponsor and have perform in their names.  This led to musical groups having an active role in the government and assuming a diplomatic stance in the future of their country, which created the “aesthetics of decolonization.”  Eventually with the victory of the US-RDA and the independence of Soudan, the US-RDA vilified the griots and other musical groups that carried their party to the top.  To combat the growing unrest among this culture, the US-RDA created state sponsored organization such as orchestras that played more traditional pieces with themes approved by the US-RDA.  These artists received no salaries, no pensions, and told their work was an expression of nation building.  This created an ethics of state craft, an “ethic of postcolonial modernity.”  Eventually, the members of such orchestras demanded that they be compensated and that their work be professionalized and paid for.

            In this section of Skinner’s work, he describes the change of ethics among griots and other musical groups and how they evolved through time and through changing circumstances.  He starts with the urban popular culture during the 1940s, where music was played for a sense of “ambiance.”  Music was played to escape the strict traditions of an older generation and experiment with life.  In the 1950 to 1960, the role of these musicians changed to become the voice of the government and the nation.  From the 1960s till the fall of the First Mali Republic, griots and other musicians were being exploited by the US-RDA, and disputed that they receive compensation for their work.  In this instance, the griots, whose music is regarded as a social responsibility to the nation, validated their work as a legitimate profession. 

So far, the role of the griot has changed dramatically in just the course of 20 so years.  How has their role changed past the First Malian Republic, to even now?  

Ebron Review

Ebron’s main point is this section is that “African music is a music of encounters,” that its music crosses the boundaries of politics, nationalism, and continents.  The encounters are the combination of performers, audiences, and producers, who distribute their music.  These encounters lead to different interpretation and understanding of their music, which affects the structure of feeling of their music, which is how performers play their music and how the audience participates in it.  This can lead to want performers play where, what audiences listen to their music, and where producers distribute them.  Ebron focuses on the Jalis of West African, specifically those in Gambia.  In West African, the jalis are used as a political maneuver to unite different people, support policies, and instill nationalism and pride.  On the other hand, in American, jalis was seen as music of African roots, especially by African Americans.  Both structures of feelings are similar in that they both admire and complexity of the music, but the outcome and the way they are received are different.

            The power of Jalis and their structure of feeling have different effects on different people, audiences, nations.  It can inspire pride or remind them of their history and legacy or simply be enjoyed for its musical mastery.  The jalis incorporate different musical styles and seek many avenues to distribute their music to different audiences, but by incorporating so many different styles and trying to appease so many audiences, are jalis losing the initial aspects of their art?  Are they becoming too globalized, moving away from what Jaliya music was supposed to be?  Or like Diawara said, is praising the people and the feeling of the past keeping West African from moving forward, and that revitalizing Jayila for modern ears is better for the tradition?