Creative processes, structures and performance of shrine music of the Northern Ewes: the case of Awudome people of Ghana

Abstract

This thesis researched into the Creative Processes, Structures and Performance of Shrine Music of the Northern Ewes. I focused on three shrines at the Awudome Traditional Area in Ghana as a case study. As its methodological approaches, I combined focus groups discussion and one-on-one interviews. The overriding objectives of this study are to move the history of Awudome from the realm of oral tradition into a written document; and to investigate the creative processes in composition and performance of traditional music, using musicians at the shrine. The research, however, revealed four creative processes at the shrine in song composition: Hada`ugbledede/hakpakpa (conceptualization or song meditation), hakpakpa (pealing of the song or composing) hadada kp4kp4 or hanu4 kp4kp4 (meeting the mother or leader of songs/poet/cantor), and finally haxexe (catching the song). This finding is contrary to some views that the traditional musician only improvises and without following any creative procedures.