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).
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| Flag of the Ewe people |
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.
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.
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).
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| 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.
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| 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.
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.
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>.
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