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Royal Drums for Ghana's Arts Kofi Anyidoho, James Gibb, eds.. Fontom from: Contemporary Ghanaian Literature, Theatre and Film. Amsterdam and Atlanta: Rodopi, 2000. 383 pp. $28.00, paper, ISBN 978-90-420-1273-8. Reviewed by Victor S. Dugga Published on H-AfrLitCine (September, 2001) Royal Drums for Ghana's Arts the pioneering and inventive person who, proba‐ The appearance of this volume of Matatu, bly more than any other person, defined and with special focus on Ghana, flls an empty space shaped what is known to be Ghanaian theatre to‐ that existed in the study of African literatures. day. Writing in 1990, Albert Gerard noted that The subtle slide of Ghana's status in the literary Ghanaian "literary history on a national scale can developments from the 1980s seemed to be only be carried out by a team of Ghanaian schol‐ caused deliberately by the little critical attention ars, capable of providing a well-informed and co- given it. This was the country that frst opened the related account of all creative writing..."[1] This floodgate of political independence movement in work seems to have answered that challenge di‐ Africa that was to lead to the now popular "post‐ rectly and perhaps even surpassed it. colonial" theory. It was the home of Kwame This edition of Matatu collects some forty-one Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism, which has contin‐ assorted materials ranging from academic arti‐ ued to survive in various shades, without com‐ cles, interviews, bibliographic references to cre‐ mensurate focus on its nursery bed. This is the ative writings by indigenous and visiting aca‐ country that gave us J.E. Casely-Hayford, J.B. Dan‐ demics as well as practitioners in the feld. It cov‐ quah, Joe de Graft, R.E.G. Armattoe, Efua Suther‐ ers various aspects of arts such as playwriting, land, Ayi Kwei Armah, Kofi Awoonor, Kwesi Brew, theatre, short story, dance, poetry, video flm and Ama Ata Aidoo, Mohammed Ben Abdallah and the music. The thrust of these, of which only a sample list is endless. It also continues its pioneering role of the variety can be given here, can be surmised in Africanism with the introduction in the last in Kofi Anyidoho's words in the "introduction": decade of PANAFEST. "the popularity of the best among our contempo‐ As if to underline this missing link, the work rary artists may have a great deal to do with their was dedicated to the memory of Efua Sutherland success in the management of the inevitable ten‐ who died since 1996. But it is a ftting tribute to sion we fnd between our past achievements and/ H-Net Reviews or failures, our current anxieties, and our dreams Yirenkyi, Owusu to Ben Abdallah, the diverse use of a better future as a people" (p. 10). of narrative techniques has engendered various This introduction also sets the tone for the ways of presenting and understanding the con‐ collection by outlining the dominant cultural sym‐ texts of modern drama. Particularly outstanding bols that have characterised modern Ghanaian lit‐ in this is the intricacies of modernizing the spider erary arts. One is the Akan royal drum, Fontom‐ Ananse, which Isidore Okpewho had singled out from, which in addition to accompanying dances, as the "key aspect of the contemporary appeal" in is used to recount "the epics and sagas of the peo‐ Sutherland's The Marriage of Anansewa.[3] Issues ple" (p. 12). It is the appropriate metaphor then to of policy and arts management are taken up in roll out this drum to celebrate the strides of Sutherland^Òs important 1965 article reproduced Ghanaian arts in the half century since it gave in this volume. She laid bare the potentials and Africa a forceful entrance in the world cultural promise of the Ghanaian theatre as she saw it scene. then and with which subsequent developments can now be compared. This document was no Kwado Opoku-Agyemang takes a philosophi‐ doubt used to fashion the national theatre move‐ cal look at the history of the famous Cape Coast ment and it still breathes with relevant data on Castle as he plays the descriptive tour-guide the formative years of Ghanaian theatre. There round the edifice. His real intent is to provoke are also two interviews with contemporary play‐ thoughts and question the silence of the perpetra‐ wrights, Mohammed Ben Abdallah and Bill Mar‐ tor but mostly of the victim of slavery. The contin‐ shall. These interviews, rather unlike many, do ued existence of the castle not only reprimands not dwell mainly on the personality of the writers. humanity, it calls for a closure to the activities of Tips on the defining aspects of African playwrit‐ the past fve hundred years, from slavery to colo‐ ing are given from a personal practice perspective nialism. As he puts it, "a castle is both a sign of tri‐ and would definitely be a useful material for any umph of others over us and of our seemingly root‐ course on the introduction to playwriting in less grief: rootless because we are so silent. But Ghana, if not Africa. Sample: "Authentic African the world does not listen to silence" (p. 27). This drama doesn't have to be people dressed in raffia historical preface serves as the backdrop on skirts, or themes drawn from ancient African his‐ which the developments in the arts can be better tory, and so on. It has to have meaning for the appreciated. It also gives legitimacy to people for whom you write" (p. 64). Nkrumah^Òs post independence politics of pro‐ moting the African Heritage in Ghana and across Three short articles on the dance theatre in the continent. Janet Hess corroborates elsewhere Ghana by two foremost practitioners illustrate that the official cultural policy at the time was to what appears to be a conscious effort to provide seek to use arts for cultural preservation and uni‐ general information and simultaneous give per‐ fication.[2] In tune with this political trend of the sonal perspectives and stir up discourse. W. Ofot‐ early days of independence from 1957, the arts su Adinku gives a historical development of the showed the promise of negotiating the new world establishment of the famous Ghana Dance Ensem‐ with the armour of enduring legacies from tradi‐ ble and later ambitiously canvasses for copyright tional societies. protection for choreographic creations like those of Prof. Opoku. This, he argues, will prevent the In "The Narrative art of Drama in Ghana," distortions of original creativity and generate roy‐ John K. Djitsenu looks at the oral narrative tradi‐ alty for their owners, but does copyright protec‐ tion and how writers have appropriated this her‐ tion really guarantee payment of royalties in itage. Drawing from Sutherland through Aidoo, Ghana? We will have to ask published writers be‐ 2 H-Net Reviews fore we hasten to apply for copyrights of choreo‐ African American, Scott Kennedy experienced in graphic compositions, which were themselves cre‐ Ghana in the 1960s, this volume speaks of the "dy‐ ated from other compositions. This does not how‐ namic, communicative, and expressive force, a to‐ ever underplay his contribution on the need to tal eruption of the art forms which pricks man's document dances as artistic works and for these innermost experience and provokes the totality of works to generate income for its producers. F. Nii- his sensory perception."[4] Yartey's piece on the process of transforming reli‐ Matatu 21-22 gives that intense, on-the gious and traditional dances to contemporary ground material if you always wanted to know artistic pieces provides information on the hy‐ about the arts in Ghana, but this volume does not bridity involved in modern choreography. These satiate you entirely. Unfortunately, any document will enrich the scanty materials presently avail‐ that collates such historical and epic documents able and should inspire more writings on African in Ghanaian literary development would surely dance arts. suffer the fault noticed here of brevity in most ar‐ The phenomenal video feature flm is also ticles. They point to the need for in-depth study documented in Esi Sutherland-Addy's survey of and research in these and other silent areas such themes in some Ghanaian video flms. She follows as the roles of Tema: Ghana publishing Corpora‐ this up with a listing of some 86 of the flms pro‐ tion, Literary works in Ghanaian languages, chil‐ duced between 1987 and 1993. Africanus Aveh dren's literatures and indeed the works of individ‐ gives a more detailed bibliography of 100 Ghana‐ uals like J.H.K. Nketia. Each may itself cram a vol‐ ian video flms complete with names of the direc‐ ume of Matatu, but not necessarily. This journal tors, writers, producers, lead actors and actresses has done enough to identify the yawning gap in and useful synopses. These will be valuable to any aspects of African studies. The array of contribu‐ study of contemporary popular culture in West tors gives confidence that this gap can be bridged. Africa and especially in comparison with the simi‐ Notes lar commercial interests and video flm boom in [1]. Albert Gerard, Contexts Of African Litera‐ Nigeria. ture (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1990), 87. Other equally interesting contributors to this [2]. Janet Hess, "Exhibiting Ghana: Display, volume, in ten different critical essays, give diver‐ Documentary and 'National' Art in the Nkrumah gent and fresh perspectives to the works of Kojo Era", African Studies Review, vol. 44, No. 1, ASA, Laing, Armah, Anyidoho and Aidoo. The variety is New Brunswick, NJ, April 2001, 63. completed with the publication of Sutherland's hitherto unpublished play, "Children of the Man- [3].
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