Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Values in Ewe Musical Practice: Their Traditional Roles and Place in Modern Society
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INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL VALUES IN EWE MUSICAL PRACTICE: THEIR TRADITIONAL ROLES AND PLACE IN MODERN SOCIETY by Justice Stephen Kofi Gbolonyo Dip.Ed (Mus. and Ewe Lang.), University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, 1997 B.A. (Ling. and Mus.), University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana 2002 M.A. (Ethnomusicology), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA 2005 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh in 2009 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This Dissertation was presented by Justice Stephen Kofi Gbolonyo It was defended on March 17, 2009 and approved by Dr. Nathan Davis, PhD, Professor of Music Dr. Mary Lewis, PhD, Professor of Music Dr. Reid Andrews, PhD, Professor of History Dr. Joseph Adjaye, PhD, Professor of Africana Studies and History Dissertation Director: Dr. Akin Euba, PhD, Andrew Mellon Professor of Music: ii Copyright © by J. S. Kofi Gbolonyo 2009 iii INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL VALUES IN EWE MUSICAL PRACTICE: THEIR TRADITIONAL ROLES AND PLACE IN MODERN SOCIETY J. S. Kofi Gbolonyo, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2009 Among the Ewe, music is the pivot around which indigenous cultural practices revolve. Ewe musical texts, the focus of this research, are embedded with and are dynamic in the transmission of indigenous knowledge and values. Besides being a repository of knowledge and artistic traditions, through music, musicians document, preserve, and transmit indigenous knowledge and reenact the historical, social, and political structure of the Ewe. Ewe musical texts do not only possess documentary value but also represent the exercise of the imagination of composers. In this century, however, this role of music and the resulting cultural values faces a great challenge. Modern global cultural transformations continue to influence Ewe cultural elements. Furthermore, the mass commodification of the arts in modern times has affected the educational and cultural functions of Ewe arts and continues to reduce them to a state of entertainment. Due to these influences and challenges, some Ewe youth currently are ignorant about their cultural heritage, and are therefore, losing their cultural identity. This study, therefore, is in response to the need for examining the aspects and functions of Ewe indigenous knowledge system, values, and musical practice and to help policy makers to create and promote awareness and use of indigenous knowledge and values among Ewe youth and scholars. It investigates Ewe indigenous knowledge and cultural values embedded in Ewe musical practice and the extent to which musical practice preserves and transmits them. The study explores the relationships between music and related arts and how their interactions affect iv preservation and transmission of knowledge. It documents traditional songs and analyzes the extent to which musical texts express, preserve, and transmit knowledge and suggest steps that will promote the awareness and use of indigenous knowledge and values, and their harmonization with modern culture. The study examines musico-linguistic practices: as vehicles of philosophical concepts; that establish analogies between artistic creativity and procreation; that underscore Ewe concepts of triality, “democratic” principles, moral and humanistic values. The study is a modest contribution to ethnomusicological literature demonstrating how music strengthens other domains of culture, and how indigenous knowledge can find relevance in modern society. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................... XIV 1.0 INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ......................................... 1 1.1 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH ........................................................................ 4 1.1.1 Purpose, Aims, and Objectives ....................................................................... 4 1.1.2 Research Problem ............................................................................................ 6 1.1.3 Hypotheses ...................................................................................................... 11 1.1.4 Research Questions........................................................................................ 14 1.2 STATE OF RESEARCH .................................................................................. 15 1.2.1 African Musical Cultures .............................................................................. 16 1.2.2 Ewe Music and Dance ................................................................................... 17 1.2.3 African Thought Systems (Philosophy) and Cultural Values ................... 27 1.2.4 Ewe Language and Verbal Arts ................................................................... 31 1.2.5 Ewe and African History .............................................................................. 32 1.3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................... 37 1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..................................................................... 43 1.4.1 Fieldwork, Location, and Research Schedule ............................................. 43 1.4.2 Library and Archival Research ................................................................... 52 1.4.3 Data Transcription, Transliteration, Analysis, and Interpretation .......... 53 vi 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY ........................................................................... 54 1.5.1 Theoretical and Descriptive Contribution .................................................. 54 1.5.2 Practical, Applied, and Educational Contribution ..................................... 55 1.6 ETHNOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW .................................................................... 56 1.6.1 Geographical Background ............................................................................ 57 1.6.1.1 Eweland and Its Location ................................................................... 57 1.6.1.2 The Environment: Physical Features, Vegetation, and Climate .... 65 1.6.2 Historical and Political Background ............................................................ 67 1.6.3 Religious Background ................................................................................... 68 1.6.3.1 Worldview: Categories of Being in Ewe Ontology ........................... 69 1.6.3.2 The Nature of Supreme Deity (God): Mawu/Se ............................... 72 1.6.3.3 Lesser Sprits (Divinities): Trowo/Veduwo ......................................... 74 1.6.3.4 Ancestral Spirits: Togbewo/Togbiwo and Mamawo .......................... 78 1.6.4 Socio-Cultural Background .......................................................................... 83 1.6.4.1 Fome: Family ....................................................................................... 83 1.6.4.2 Afedo/Dzotsinu/Avedufe: Lineage ....................................................... 85 1.6.4.3 Hlo/Ko: Clan ........................................................................................ 88 1.6.4.4 Social Class .......................................................................................... 91 1.7 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION .................................................................. 95 2.0 MUSICO-LINGUISTIC KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCES ............................. 96 2.1 EWE CONCEPT OF MUSIC AND DANCE .................................................. 97 2.1.1 Musical Concepts and Interactive Relationship in Ewe Art Forms ......... 98 2.1.2 Ewe Musical Taxonomy .............................................................................. 103 vii 2.1.3 Musical Resources, Names, and Meaning ................................................. 106 2.1.4 Instrumental Construction and Environmental Influences..................... 127 2.1.5 Composition and Procreation: Ewe Concept of Master Musician.......... 130 2.1.5.1 Azaguno, Hesino, and Heno: Ewe Musical Titles ........................... 130 2.1.6 Qualities and Functions of An Ewe Musician ........................................... 137 2.2 EWE LANGUAGE, MUSICAL TEXT, THEME, AND MEANING ......... 144 2.2.1 Ewe/Wegbe/Ewegbe: Ewe Language ......................................................... 144 2.2.2 Music Text .................................................................................................... 148 2.2.3 Vuga and Ewe Justice System..................................................................... 158 2.2.4 Song Text, Theme, and Meaning ................................................................ 162 2.3 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ................................................................ 175 3.0 PHILOSOPHY AND METAPHYSICAL CONCEPTS ....................................... 179 3.1 AFRICAN “PHILOSOPHICAL” CONCEPTS: WORLDVIEW .............. 180 3.1.1 African Thought Systems (“Philosophical Thoughts”) ............................ 183 3.1.2 Ewe Epistemology ........................................................................................ 190 3.1.2.1 Nunya (Knowledge) and Adanu/Anyasa (Wisdom) ........................ 190 3.1.2.2 Nunya and Adanu/Anyasa As Holistic Entities ............................... 200 3.1.2.3 Indigenous and Traditional .............................................................. 202 3.1.2.4 Indigenous Knowledge (IK) ............................................................. 203 3.2 EWE METAPHYSICAL KNOWLEDGE AND VALUES