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VOL.32, No. 1
ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
WINTER1988
V. KOFI AGAWU
KING'S COLLEGE
"NTna lo seniu kuwe, fie oresire somoloo?" ("Who laid a mat for him,
75
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would therefore have been among the first settlers in Ghana, arrivingat the
same time as the Guans (Kyerepong; Larteh;Efutu;Anum; Gonja; Salaga;
Buems; Likpe; Nkonya; Santrokofi; and Bowiri). They are known to have
served time under the Akwamu, and later, after the fall of the Denkyira
empire, under the Ashanti. It was about the beginning of the eighteenth
century that the Akpafu embarked on a series of migrations that brought
them eventually to their present abode. LeavingAshanti,they first settled in
Akantin before crossing the Volta at Labolabo. Then, after a brief stay in
Tsito, they moved eastwards to Agu (now in present-day Togo) and thence
back to Fodome and Avatime (in present-day Ghana). Their next home was
Kete-Krachi,an important trading center (see Weaver 1975). It is thought
that they learned rice cultivation here. From Kete-Krachithey moved to the
Togo Plateau, locally known as Kube where, organized in roughly sixteen
clans, they lived for nearly a century before moving to their present locations,
a few miles east of Kube.
The Akpafucall themselves Mawu (sing. owu) and their language Siwu
or Siwui.4 Siwu is a subgroup of the Kwalanguage family (Westermann and
Bryan 1952:90-94)and is best known as one of the so-called "Togo Remnant"
(Togorestspracben)or "CentralTogo" languages (Dakubu 1988:119-20).The
precise nature of the interrelationships between these languages is still
unknown, but their broad linguistic features have been isolated. For our
purposes, it is worth bearing in mind that Siwu is not a written language,
that a significant degree of bilingualism characterizes the Akpafuarea, and
that tone (in its lexical, grammatical,and expressive functions) is an important structuralfeature of the language (Dakubu 1988:137-38).
Akpafuis traditionallyan agrariansociety, the iron industry having collapsed since the middle of the nineteenth century. In addition to rice and
cocoa, they cultivate vegetables and a wide variety of foodstuffs. A number
also keep domestic animals like goats, sheep, rabbits,and poultry. Although
there are slight differences between them, the four Akpafuvillages may be
regarded as culturallyidentical. Each village is organized hierarchicallyinto
a chief and elders, various clan heads and clan members. Although this basis
4Iddah 1980 and Dakubu 1987:121 distinguish between Siwu and Siwui as dialects of Siwu
spoken in Lolobi and Akpafu respectively. Siwui itself has dialects, as a comparison between
Odomi and Todzi speakers will reveal. In this essay, Siwu is used only in reference to the
language spoken in the four Akpafu villages. On the origin of the word "Akpafu:"the Ewe
apparently refer, not the language, but to the people by this name. It is thought to be an
onomatopoeic equivalent for the sound of the bellows used in the Akpafu iron industry (i.e.,
"kpafu,""kpafu").As for the word "Mawu,"by which the Akpafu refer to themselves, it is
thought to mean (from the Twi language) "they have died" and to date back to the period in
the eighteenth century when the Akpafuescaped from Akantinand, by means of large gourds,
crossed the Volta. Their Akan masters (in Akantin) assumed that the Akpafu had died when
they discovered this trick!
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78
Two overlapping sequences of events mark the rites any Akpafuundergoes when he dies. The Akpafu describe this process as makonu makola
(taking him and hiding him). The differences turn on whether the deceased
was a Christian(henceforth X) or non-Christian(henceforth Y), the former
differences being an essentially twentieth-century development, whereas
the latter constitute traditionalpractice. Figure 1 shows the order of events
for X and Y (cf. the Akanmodel, Nketia [1955] 1969:7]and the Krobo model,
Huber 1963:195-217,both of which follow a similar plan). For the sake of
simplicity, I have assumed that Y is an elderly male who was living in the
village at the time of his death. I have also given specific times for these
events in order to show roughly the time scale with which we are dealing.
Needless to say, the use of clock time is of very recent Akpafuhistory. This
Figure 1. Two Models for the Akpafu Funeral
Model X (Christian)
Item Time
Event
Music
10:00A.M.
Death of X;informkale
Dirges;talkingdrums
3:00 P.M.
Dirges
8:00 P.M.
Preparationfor burial;bathe
corpse
Wakekeeping
10:00AM.
Churchservice
1:00 P.M.
Burial
Hymns;neo-traditionalchoral
music;brassband music
Hymns
Model Y (Non-Christian)
1
10:00AM.
Death of Y;informkale
Dirges;talkingdrums
3:00P.M.
Dirges
8:00 P.M.
Preparationfor burial;bathe
corpse
Wakekeeping
5:00AM.
Dirges
10:00A.M.
"Otruiikpa"ritual
Procession to itri;celebration
of death
"MapeOla"ritual
Burial
Dirges
5:00P.M.
6:00 P.M.
Dirges
Dirges;dance drumming;talking
drums
Dirges;talkingdrums
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79
does not mean, however, that the Akpafu either lacked a sense of time or
were lax about it. As with other agrariansocieties, the reckoning of time is
partly oriented towards specific events-planting season, harvestingseason,
etc.-and to specific solar movements. The terms used to identify times of
day are a case in point: kaya (morning); kakome (afternoon); kutswe (evening); kase (night); kase nd6 (the middle of the night); and 6desrd (dawn).
Thus, verbal discourse about the events of the funeral, for example, will
normally refer to a ritual that took place at odesrd or to a dirge sung at kas6
nde.
Item 1 is identical in both models. With X or Y's death at 10.00 AM.,his
family, clan, and other clans (in order of priority) are first informed. The
responsibility for spreading this word falls on mase (fathers-in-law). In
addition to sending messengers, drums are beaten to announce the event
to various clans. There are six clans in Akpafu:Kalesea; Gyakwa;Kpadzia;
Maritei;Matedua;and Masakyiri.All six occur in Akpafu-Todzi,four in AkpafuMempeasem, and three each in Odomi and Adoko. Each clan has a distinct
drum signal that is often used to assemble its members in an emergency.
On hearing this musical phrase, members of the clan assemble on the itri
(village arena). Meanwhile, the first of the funeral dirges, "Nna lo seiu
kuwe," may be heard sung by the women in X or Y's house.
Item 2 is also identical in both models. In preparation for burial, the
children provide a coffin and burial cloth. The digging of the grave, the
preparation of the coffin, and the erection of temporary sheds for the wakekeeping: all these are the responsibility of mafa (X or Y's sister's children).
Meanwhile, the body of the deceased, all the while kept at home, is being
"prepared"for the wake and the burial. Ground cassava juice, a local preservative, is rubbed all over the body, and a bottle of Akpeteshie, a potent
local gin, is poured into the mouth. The bathing and dressing of the corpse
are the responsibility of manyituri ("mothers"),who sing dirges appropriate
to this particularactivity.
Item 3, the wake-keeping, differs in matters of detail for X and Y. For
wake is kept in his home (or familyhome, whichever can accommodate
the
X,
the most people) from about 8 P.M.to midnight. The corpse, now dressed
in traditionalcloth or in his characteristicgarb, is laid in state, and mourners
pay their last respects to him. A service involving Christian hymns, Bible
readings, and testimonies by various friends and relatives takes place, interspersed with neo-traditional choral and brass band music. Punctuating
these formal proceedings are sobs, wails, cries, and shouts, all of which
represent a sanctioned communal expression of sorrow, sometimes genuine,
sometimes feigned, and having as goal the attainment of real or simulated
catharsis.For Y, on the other hand, the wake is built around a set of dirges.
One might hear anything from twenty to forty of these dirges over the span
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80
of the wake-keeping. Some of the dirges are specific to certain times of day
or to specific events. "Bekekenyi,"for example, is sung in kase nde (the
middle of the night), while "Boo pepe wenke" is sung at dawn or "when
the morning star is in sight," as its text says. "Itupiee" is sung during the
bathing of the corpse, and "Brebregoro" is sung only at the end of the
funeral. Other dirges, however, are not specific to times or events and may
be sung freely.
Beginning with item 4-the morning after the wake-the two models
diverge significantly. For X, a church service is held, during which a brief
biographical statement is read, mostly outlining his achievements, never his
failures. At the conclusion of the service, the congregation processes to the
Christian cemetery where, after a brief prayer, X is laid to rest (item 5).
These actions more or less complete the cycle for X, although the period
of mourning continues. Item 4 for Y involves a special ritual known as
"Otrui ikpa."This ritual, which takes place at dawn, is designed to find out
whether the deceased died a "good" or "bad"death. The corpse is placed
on a bed of palm branches and carried by two people, one at the head, the
other at the foot. A pestle is then placed against the bed by the person
conducting the ritual. A number of invocations (see Appendix A for the
complete text of this ritual) culminate in the question, "okpi akpii?"("Did
you die?"), to which the corpse, it is believed, responds by either moving
forwards to signify a "yes"answer or sideways to signify a "no" answer. If
Y answers "yes," items 5 and 6 follow. A "no" answer, on the other hand,
would suggest that this was a "bad" death, that the deceased probably
committed kabue (witchcraftor sorcery). In such a case the corpse is taken
outside the village and buried. In the old days, such a corpse was burnt
completely.
Item 5 involves bringing the corpse to itri. Talking drums instruct the
various chiefs, subchiefs and elders to assemble at the village center. Each
clan is then called by its distinctive drum music, so that in due course the
entire village assembles. The mood here is usually one of elation because
Y died naturally (being old) and did not commit kabuO.The deceased is
then brought to itri and seated (masra kpise) on a specially arranged set of
earthenware pots. Note that the corpse is seated during this ceremony; he
does not lie down as he does elsewhere. Intense drumming and dancing,
firing of musketry,and singing of dirges follow for hours in grand celebratory
style. Among the highlights are the dancing of "Opetresu"by a grandchild
of the deceased (who, in Akpafu belief, perpetuates the soul of his/her
grandfather), dancing by various warrior groups (asafo), and dancing by
the chiefs.
Item 6 signifies the end of the celebration. The last prayer for the
deceased is offered in the form of a ritual called map 61la(see Appendix
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81
B for the complete text). This prayer, a farewell to the deceased, is interspersed with the singing of a particulardirge, "Kokoadze."Y is then taken
to his home where he is to be buried. When the coffin has been placed
farthest from the opening of a vertical, L-shapedgrave, the vertical column
is then filled with stones. Before the actual burial (item 7), the last of the
event-specific dirges is sung: "Brebregoro" extols Y to go in peace but not
to carryanyof the messages given to him (I shall returnto this point later).
A period of thanksgivingand mourning follows the burial. The day after
Y's burial is a day of thanksgiving;people are sometimes prohibited from
going to farm. For Y's wife, the period of mourning lasts three months,
during which period a prescribed code of behavior is followed. At the
conclusion of mourning, Y'sproperty, including guns, stools, cloth, and land
is distributed to relatives. His debts and the responsibility for caring for his
children are also distributed.
THE MUSIC OF THE AKPAFU FUNERAL
Of all the sounds emitted during the thirty-twohour period from death
to burial, the Akpafuperceive two broad categories as music: abi or drumming (lit. drums, sing. ibi) and sin6 (dirges). (There is a third category, aka,
which does not play a prominent role here-it may be heard during item
3 in X's model-but characterizesother forms of Akpafumusical expression.)
Abi can be heard at three main stages of model Y: item 1, informing various
clans; item 5, "outdooring" the corpse and subsequently celebrating his
death; and item 7, buryingY.Abi assume two generic forms. The first consists
of three event-specific musics, "Otutuo,""Opetresu,"and "Itepere,"which
may be heard at various stages during the funeral (see below); the other
exemplifies the widely-known practice of using drums as speech surrogates
(see Carrington 1949 and Nketia 1963a and 1971).
The first of the event-specific abi to be heard is "Otutuo,"which accompanies the conveying of Y to itri (Example 1 is a transcriptionof a segment
of this music.)5 The instrumentalensemble consists of a bell (Ewe gakogui),
two middle-pitched drums, and a pair of atumpani (talking drums). Its
functions display the familiar hierarchic organization found in other West
Africandrum ensembles (see Jones 1959:51-71).The bell maintains a pulse
or density referent, while the middle-pitched drums expose rhythmic and
tonal patterns that reinforce and at the same time amplify the bell pattern.
Taking a metronomic cue from the bell and incorporating some of the
5In transcriptions of instrumental music (Examples 1 and 2), the notes given do not represent
specific pitches; they reflect only a normal high versus low. Bar lines indicate normal grouping
but not accentual patterns (see also Agawu 1987:70-72).Bracketsmark rhythmicpatterns,which
may also be regarded as the higher level units of rhythmic organization.
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Example 1
Excerpt from "Otutuo," Akpafu Funeral Music
J= 156
Bell
A I
Middle
j4
*4t.6hAi-I.,i
4
Drum
Talking 4
Drms
-4-
j1
J
I
II
I I
I I
II
J-J
II
II
I,I
.
I
,
,
,I
Ij
vI
Variant2
Ai^
1,
IP1
Variant3
1I
e;
_ 27
-
!
.
i ,7
_...
Variant 4
,4
'4I1
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y,Cn
-
ms
83
r7 I:
r2
Middle
Pitched
Drums
Talking
Drum
6'
L7
fr-T
5: J~l -r^r3 Ii
t
ItIIt r
rlz~J~
ftt-r ,-f'
I
L
..
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84
they are based on Akpafu war strategies. Although this dance has now
assumed a stylized form, it is believed that in times past it accompanied
Akpafuwarriors to the battlefield. Its rhythmicpatternsthus comprise coded
military secrets (cf. the AnlI Atsiagbeko,which also exploits stylized movements associated ith war, Locke 1978). For example, the phrase, 'Mibodzo
brebre"[ J[J) J J ], instructs the fighters to assume a low position so as
not to be seen by the enemy. The mode of signification here is part iconic
and part conventional, iconic because the drums reproduce the patterns of
speech, and conventional because the significance of the signifiers has been
agreed upon prior to their actual use.
The second generic form of abi consists of the various messages sent
to the chiefs, subchiefs, elders, and clanspeople. These may be heard during
item 1, where the atumpani call out to various elders to assemble on itri.
In Akpafu-Adoko,for example, the message given in Example 3a tells the
Mankrado or the chief administrator(lit. "the man who owns the town")
that he is wanted. The sense of the text, which is in the Twi language, may
be paraphrased as a rhetorical question: "stoop somewhere, spoil (i.e.,
defecate) some place; is there a land which does not have an owner?"The
Mankrado recognizes this as his code-this is a purely conventional mode
of signification-and responds accordingly. Similarly,certain elders in the
same village are summoned by "OdomankomaKyerewa"(Example 3b). It
will be obvious to the reader that not all these codes are accessible to the
public, since that would defeat the purpose of having such a language in
the first place.
One of the most striking aspects of this practice of talking drums is that
the language used throughout the Akpafu areas is not Siwu, their own
language, but rather Twi, the language of the Akan peoples. In addition to
names, customs, and vocabulary, the Akpafu have retained this aspect of
Akan culture presumably since the eighteenth century when they first came
into contact with them. Although a few Akpafuspeak Twi, the majoritydo
Example 3
Talking Drum Signal to Mankrado of Akpafu-Adoko
Speech rhythm
2i
Ku-tu
be
bi,
'
r
Sai -
J
be
r
-
'
bi,
' SrH
DNr~r
0
- mafiwo
ho a,
o - wo wu-ra
Speech rhythm
do-man-ko-ma
Kyere-wa
0 - do-man-ko-ma
Kyere-wa
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85
not; nor do the drummers who "speak"in Twi, even though they are able
to recite the Twi phrases almost as mnemonic devices.6
By far the most important music heard during the Akpafufuneral is the
dirge. Sung exclusively by adult women, the dirge forms the heart of the
event. In it, speech (including oral poetry), music, and dance, the three
most distinct forms of Akpafurhythmicexpression, are combined. Its speech
and poetry make evident the central place of metaphor in Akpafu literary
expression, while charting their particularworld view; its melodies exploit
both speech-based and nonspeech-based rhythms,unusual pitch collections,
and a preference for polyphonic fourths not normally encountered in this
part of Ghana;and its performance strategyincludes a remarkable exploitation of silence, not merely as a boundary limit to music, but as an integral
part thereof. In addition to wails and cries, the total Akpafu dirge thus
assumes the form of what might be called a total art work.
What do the Akpafu say in their dirges and how do they say it? The
essential verbal expression of the dirge carves a cosmology similar in outline
to that of other Ghanaian ethnic groups (see, for example, Nketia [1955]
1969 on the Akan,Gaba 1969 on the Anlo-Ewe, and Kilson 1969 on the Ga):
a belief that death marks the divide between two forms of life (hence a
belief in life after death) and that both forms of life are regulated by a
conceptual hierarchy of Beings who remain active within each community
in their various material or spiritual forms. Differences occur in the kind
of metaphors used to articulatethis larger world view. Inevitably,the Akpafu
draw on features, both physical and cognitive, peculiar to their own environment.
The main philosophic thrust of the dirge is making sense of death
through reflection, through extrapolation from the materialworld in which
we live, and through speculation about the spiritual world towards which
we move daily. Actual references embrace the entire gamut of existence
including humans (children [usuallychildren of the deceased]), nonhumans
(plants, rivers, domestic and nondomestic animals), and spirits (ancestors,
lesser gods, and the Supreme God). Questions are often used to frame
those profound experiences that mortal man is unable to explain. Thus the
inevitabilityand seriousness of death are captured in the rhetorical question,
"Who will not be bathed by the death sponge?" ("Nna lei ya pie kukpi
sapo?").The chilling, descriptive, "deathsponge," conflates the dual images
of a daily practice and the unique activityof physically washing the corpse.
6The influence of Akan talking drumming on the Northern Ewes is a subject that needs further
investigation. Among the towns or villages in which this practice is current are Ho, Matse,
Ziavi, Klefe, Peki, and Avenui. There are doubtless several others which I have not been able
to verify.
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Example 4
"Nna lo senfukuwe?,"Akpafu Funeral Dirge
SOLO(A)
Speech rhythm
seiu ku - we
Nna lo
1$. 2
hA
Kpe se
kpe se
ne
me
Nna lo
sefu ku
0 - re-
soo
so,
D ,,.
2)
h
Av
=. v
ku - ye - re
ku - de
te,
Goi-
soo
te-
to
soo
O-re-si-re?
we,
re
si-
0 - re- si - r
Te-te!
so-mo-l1o?
CHORUS(B)
e^^-.
a,_.a
,
-v-
?^Jt_^~*7
^73
Nnae lo senu ku
we
O-re si-re oo
w1
0-
re-si - r
re-si-re ne?
^1
so mo 166?
In his study of the Akan funeral dirge, Nketia argues that "performing
the dirge is essentially a linguistic activity"([1955]1969:113). To the extent
that an identifiable body of texts (dirges) is realized in performance during
the funeral, the Akpafu dirge may also be characterized as an essentially
linguistic activity.Quite apartfrom the performance stance mentioned above,
however, the structuralprocedures of the Akpafudirge do not always show
a precedence of linguistic factors over musical ones. There are dirges whose
structure is influenced mainly by the phonological aspects of speech; others
show an affinity with the semantic aspects. And there are still others in
which a melodic phrase remains invariantwhile elements of the text change.
These factorsmake it necessary to consider each dirge as a separatestructure,
highlighting significantfeatures,and leaving the full development of a theory
of Akpafumusical expression for a later date.
The fact that the predominant expository mode in "Nnalo sefiu kuwe"
is syllabic suggests that the music follows closely both the rhythmicpatterns
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89
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90
music may be entirely fortuitous. But the absence of vocabularyis not proof
that a particulareffect does not exist, for if it is articulated(nonverbally) in
performance then it should be possible to talk about it. In particular,a lot
of the dirges discussed here finish on C, showing a clear tendency towards
that note, and often including the raised fourth above it. We shall later see
that each C and the G below it are either sounded simultaneously or are
conceived polyphonically as equivalent. More than that, the resulting fourth
is found in several of the other dirges as the characteristic harmony, but
one that is used only occasionally. Its single occurrence in the B section of
Example 4 is noteworthy in this respect.
Examples 5a and 5b contain transcriptions of a pair of dirges which,
although functionally interchangeable, display contrasting musical features.
"Itupiee"and "Okwaisa"are sung during the bathing of the corpse. "Itupiee"
asks the wives (or womenfolk) to bathe the corpse. Like"Nnalo sefiu kuwe,"
it is cast in an A-B form, exploits the rhythm of speech and no set meter,
and is marked by a raised fourth above the closing pitch, D. "Okwaisa,"on
the other hand, poses the rhetorical question, "Whowill never be bathed
by the death sponge?" ("Nna lei ya piee kukpi Okwaisa?")(fig., "who will
never die?"). It consists of several repetitions of this phrase, clothed in the
same rhythm, but in different pitch contexts, the whole centered on C. In
addition to a set meter, "Okwaisa"also exploits harmony in several places
in the song. These features give it a dancelike quality-indeed Akpafuperforming practice correlates the feet movement with the two stresses in each
2/4 bar-that contrasts sharply with the speechlike character of "Itupiee."
Where "Itupiee" exploits strategic silences, "Okwaisa"fills in all of its silences.
In spite of what would appear to be unmistakable musical differences
between these two dirges, they are perceived as the same by the Akpafu.
Asked about the relationship between the two dirges, the Akpafu often
respond, "Ne ame ide ne" ("It is the same thing"). This observation gives
rise once again to questions about how the Akpafuperceive musical structure. There seems to be little doubt that in the case of this pair of dirges,
the response is primarily to the text and its meaning, the elements that
define their social function. Singing about bathing the corpse is what matters,
not whether such singing is in free or strict rhythm, or is with or without
harmony. At the same time it would be a mistake to underplay the clearly
articulatedmusical differences, for what they point to is a wider conception
of musical equivalence or rather a different conceptual hierarchy in the
definition of the elements of "music."There are after all enough points of
similarity in the way the dirges are performed to establish one level of
equivalence. This enables the Akpafuto take for granted a presumed equivalence between the apparently opposed musical procedures, most notably
that between free and strict rhythm.
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91
Example 5a
"Itupiee," Akpafu Funeral Dirge
SOLO(A)
Speechrhythm
i, . Jr ';
tu - piee o
I -
boa di
bo
Ka - de
ma-re
I:
v
ka - yi
ba
I - tu -piee
ka-de
Ka-de
ku
tu -
dzo-6l-
lo
ma - re
mma 6 bi
ee,
mi
mi - ta -me
pienfudu
^^
Ee
ga
i - tu - piee
Te -te
mi - ta - me
i - tu piee
i tu piee
Ee_
bo
T" I N
mi pienu du
CHORUS(B)
Ee
Te-te!
so be
i - yei?
" WJ4' , ;
lO;"
;h ;h
i - tu - piee
de
bo
DJ
Ee
pie
tu -
II
piee!
Example 5b
"Okwaisa,"Akpafu Funeral Dirge
J= 120
SOLO(A)
1IJ
ri^J1I-JPJxJ
Nna lei ya
o-kwa-i
pie_
sa?
Nna lei ya
^CHORUS
-Qn--,
sa
Nna lei
--pie
I 1;
XJX
O-kwa-i
sa
J ypi
-k
Nna lei
pie
pie?
kw O-kwa-iai
sa
Ni
ya
po?
ya
pie
O-kwa-i
sa?
nna
lei
ya
_,_
_ -W.}-1
Nna lei
0-kwa-i
pie?
(B)
ya
MA
Nna
ku - kpi
74 Nna
lei ya
pie?
lei
pie?
ya
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sa
92
Example 6
"Brebregoro,"Akpafu Funeral Dirge
SOLO(A)
Speech rhythm
Ma-ye
MioD-
ma-ye,
mai ye
L D D isoa- 1
ne,
moe a kpi bo
Te - te
Si a wo
Bo i - ye
ma - ye,
mai
mai ye
ya
Ma-ye
ta
D t'66
D ndzo JI
ne
CHORUS(B)
s6
bo
tt
bue
Ma-ye
^t
Bre - bre
gro_
ma- ye
mai
Ma - ye
ye
ma - ye
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93
them. The aim here is to show the breadth of musical expression in Akpafu
and to provide a framework for comparative analysis.
Examples 7 and 8 offer transcriptionsof a pair of dirges that exemplify
the same sort of equivalence noted in connection with Examples 5a and
5b-although perceived as different dirges on the basis of their subject
matter, these two dirges are structurallyalmost identical; they are in fact
variants of each other. The text of "Nnade l'ayere?"("Who will I tell it to?")
(Example 7) repeats this basic question throughout. The gravity of the
situation is great, yet the singer cannot find a confidante. The paratactic
structure enables a listing of the relatives she does not have: there is no
6nyire (maternal relative), no osere (paternal relative), and so on. The
spoken interjections intensify this message with phrases like "Kuwe sii na
Example 7
"Nnade l'ayere?,"Akpafu Funeral Dirge
J= 126
SOLO(A)
J . . l'a - .I
._Jye - re?J
L
Ku-we
Nna-ae
i e j
ye- re?
jJ
i Jj'T.
na me ne
i
0
ni
se-re
na
nnade
l'a
ye-re
loo?.
j l.T-
'
1
ye - re?
O-nyi re
Nnade
ni
l'a - ye - re?
Oe-se-re
Nna -
l'a -
nna-de
I
l'a -
.j -^
i 1 j
me, ne
Nna-de
Nna-de
l'a-
B)
A-
Nna-de
ye - re'"
1CJ
Ji
CHORUS
ye- re?
;;
$
ij
na me, ne
na
me, ne
ye - re?
'a -
na - me ne Nnna-de
O-nyi-re
nna-de
l'a
de
ye
re
Nna - de
l'a
ye
r.
A-
ye - re
loo?
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I'a-
A-
94
Example 8
"Gake so to kle," Akpafu Funeral Dirge
J= 120
SOLO(A)
J
ke - Ie
epL-k
Ga - ke so
4 jr
Ga - ke so
@ T
;
to
jA
ke - le
ne,
ke
so
to
lo_
lo
A
A
-e
J J
so
ke -
O-nyi-re
so to
0-se-re
le
ne,
Ih
j
Ga-
ke
I
s6
, t I1; 1j
G-kest
Ga - ke
A-
e
na
so
to
to
1. $^
J;
IJ
to
ni,
so
Ga-ke
ni_
j-l
ke - Ie
o,
ne, Ga - ke
s6 to
ke - Ie
CHORUS(B)
A-o
Ga - ke
t4 I 1. A i jJ
kke- id
le
Ga-ke
ni,
na
[1i
kCe-eI
A-o
Ga-
ka
I J
a nj -k s t
na
na-ne,
O-se-re
o,
;; j j
ke - Ie
to
to
11
II
ke - le
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95
ja
LJ
so
to
ke-
Ga-ke
so
to
ke - e
Ga-ke
Ga-ke
s to to
so
so
a-Id
;9
0- se-re
(oo
ke-- le
ke
J;
1J"7
Ga-ke
ka
Ie
(oo)
(loo)
Ii
DJ
Ga-ke
Gak
Paradigm B
A A
na
ne
na
ne
to
ke-
to
ke - Ie
le
Speech Song
\I
KX
Ga-ke
so
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96
Example 9
"Mi ledza so," Akpafu Funeral Dirge
J= 108
SOLO (A)
-"
Mi-le-dza
2
so ne ku-kpi
ka re
'trui ku
'ka-re
ku-kpi
I~
3
p<
so,
ka re
koe
'trui ku
koe
Mi-le-dza
Mi-le-dza
so,
CHORUS(B)
k6, Boa-de!
Mi le dza
so ne ku-kpi
so,
ku-kpi
ka re
ku-kpi
'trui ku
'_
j3
so,
ku-kpi
iJ I D J J
h
Mi-le -dza
I
J
ii
)>
koe
Mi-le- dza
!~3a3
3^^
Ij
'trui ku
ka re
'trui ku
ko
'trui ku
'ka re
--
Mi-le - dza
k6
CHORUS(b)
SOLO(a)
<'so ne
ku-kpi
1^8,,LJ^lj
'ka re trui ku
,J 1
k6,
ku-kpi
^-^
ka re
SOLO(a)
ka re
4i j
rv
trui ku
k6,
ku-kpi
}h
<
'trui ku
ko,
ku-kpi
'ka re
trui cu
CHORUS(b)
'ka re
'trui ku
11
*\
k6,
ku-kpi
1_ ; ^
11
the dirge. Indeed the latter is not an option in view of the free rhythmic
flow of the dirge. In Example 9, however, the singers regulate their footsteps
according to the metric structure of the song (see illustration in example
9a). Musical structure therefore includes a rhythmized mourning walk. In
addition, the normative A-B formal pattern is modified so that an initial A-B
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97
-3A
I|J
I ,nJ
I JJ
Dirge
I
I
I I I .. I I
I wI
*rootsteps 1 A+Qt^Q~~
__
'
~ ~~~~~~ i
I J Il
-I
rl
- -
*-
ht
Speech rhythm
fi
h )
fi
a - ma-nie,
Ka-re
I - yo-sa
w;;;L'S
I
- te
yo - sa - te
na i -yo,
Jh
na.i-yo,
j;h
-
>
a - ma-nie
ka-re
ka - re
-J
A h -h
ma - nie.
CHORUS(B)
yo-sa-
iJ
aa
na i-yo
te
yo-sa-
I._-),
te
aa
-Iin
1i
181i
CID I.
I
nai - yo
na i - yo
nai -
yo-sa-te
yo-sa-te
ii
yo
--h'l
^
aa
ka reama-nie!
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98
is this role that the deceased played but which now remains vacant. The
structure of this dirge provides further illustration of the balance between
musical and linguistic factors.First,the use of the word "aa"in the B section,
enables purely musical elaboration at phrase ends. Second, the transpositional scheme employed here suggests that although the Akpafu may not
have a sense of specific pitch, there is at least evidence of a response to a
purely relational pitch structure. There are altogether four segments in the
B section, b-1, b-2, b-3, and b-4. The second of these, b-2, is a transposition
of b-1 down a minor third; b-3 begins like b-2 but continues differently,
ending on the note G, with which b-4 begins. This final segment is another
transposition of b-1, with the appropriate modification to achieve closure.
The effect of real transposition is first, a considerable expansion of the
dirge's tonal universe to nine unique pitch classes, a significant increase
over the normal five or six. Second, the sequence b-1 b-2 b-3 b-4 is tonally
closed; that means that it returns to the center C from which it departed.
But the fact that b-4 is not a mere transposition of b-1 suggests that a sense
of pitch center maywell be a guiding force here as elsewhere in the dirges.
Example 10 also illustrates the attitudes to closure mentioned earlier.
This dirge closes with a contextually diminutive rhythm, leading to a structural rest which must be counted as part of the dirge. In other words, two
kinds of silence are exploited in the dirge, one which is exploited during
and at the termination of the dirge (the musical silence) and the other
which provides a transition from musical time to real time. The effect of
closure is of a sudden abandonment, almost as if the singer, overcome by
grief, is unable to continue the song. Although the Akpafudo not provide
such a rationale for this practice, the evidence of performing strategylends
some weight to this interpretation of closure.
CONCLUSION
The dirges discussed in this essay were collected in 1980, 1983, and
most intensively in 1986. While learning about funeral traditions, I was also
able to observe changes in Akpafuculture. The most potent influences on
traditionalAkpafuculture are those of Christianityand of the neighboring
Ewe. In the early 1900s Bremen missionaries began their mission in Akpafu,
settling in Akpafu-Todziwhich, because of its elevation, offered a most
congenial climate (see Grau 1964 for this missionary history). The nature
of the impact made by Christianityon traditionalAfricanculture is multi-faceted and complex, but we might note that church musical culture, which
mainly takes the form of hymn singing, has often exerted a strong influence
on indigenous singing (see Agawu 1984:51-53 for some discussion of this
influence). In Akpafu-Odomi, I heard, alongside traditional renditions of
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99
t^ ^ ir
Ir
Nu-nyi
gJ
I'r
o - de
'ye-me so
LJ
Ku - di
me
>r
me
1J
Ku-kpi ne
id
ku - due, ma
wa- na, 6
"A-o
wa - na,
ye
so
"A - o,
'so
pie me ndu ma
- bi
o - bi
-r i
ka-wo ra i - ka-yi a-
I
u__i
se
ndzo!
ndzo!"
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Nu-nyi
100
dirge, markedly different from the over fifty others that I had collected. It
also happened to be one of the most popular dirges; it is easy to sing, its
tune is even memorable, and its rhythmic-metric structure is quite
straightforward.But the apparent accessibility of this dirge conceals something more fundamental: the transformation,at a fairly fundamental level,
of Akpafu musico-poetic language. The text, first of all, displays a tension
between a regularized poetic form virtually nonexistent in the culture and
a rich semantic content. The poetic form is a quatrain, complete with a
rhyme scheme, 9a/9b/1la/llb (the difficultyof achieving convincing rhyme
in a tone language notwithstanding):
Nunyi yeme so 6de Oso [9a]
Kukpi ne kawora i kayia me [9b]
Kudi me kudue, ma pie me ndu mase [llb]
Nunyi wana oye so, "Ao,6bi ndzo" [lla]
The outer form of the text contrasts sharply with the freely evolving
traditionalmodels we have seen in previous examples (collected in Appendix C). On the other hand, the text retains semantic features of Akpafu
poetry within this distinctly non-Akpafupoetic form. The resonance of individual words and phrases gathers associative meaning in a way comparable
to indigenous poems. In line 4, for example, the word wana, a pregnant
expression of anguish or pain, in this context means a mother's anguish;
the word ndzo in the same line is the familiar expression of sympathy.
Kawora in line 2 is an old Akpafuword that carries the sense of extinction:
death is responsible for extinction in this world. The musical features, on
the other hand, show a simplified musical expression. Meter is regularized,
and the A-Bformal model is no longer operative. This means that the verbal
and music improvisational ability called for by the traditionalA-B model is
no longer required of the singer.
Only a few months after recording this song, I heard the same tune in
the town of Peki, an Ewe-speaking area, southwest of Akpafu.There it was
offered as a full-blown dance song in a genre called "Bobobo." Although
it could be argued that this melody was imported into Akpafu-thereby
confirming my initial intuitions-little is gained by attempting to settle the
question of origins. The lesson, rather, is thatAkpafumusico-poetic expression is in a genuine state of flux today, and there is not much to be gained
by attempting to predict the course that the musical culture described in
this essay will follow in the years to come. It may not be entirely inappropriate
to speculate, however, that since the older women who know the dirges
and have sung them since they were young are not passing their skills on
to younger ones, the dirge may well be on its last legs.
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101
Bokoko o bo kola.
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102
Ee, itupiee!
Kademare mi pie fu ndu
mitame.
Ee, bathing!
Wives of the village, bathe him
for me.
Example 6, "Brebregoro"
Mayemaye maiye soo,
Tete, bo iye so atabaa kpi
fie Omoeakpibo iso ne
They said it and said it, but did not (really) say it,
Father,we did not know that you were about
to die,
but now that you have died (from us)
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103
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