ipl-logo

Influence Of Axatse On African Culture

1577 Words7 Pages

Culture is defined as a set of ideas, customs and social behavior of a particular people or a society. Every nation has its own specific culture, which exhibits one’s own traditions, beliefs and values. It is the totality of the thought and practice by which a people creates itself, celebrates, refrain and develop itself and introduces itself to history and humanity. The African culture is divided into greater number of ethnic cultures that include African arts and crafts, folklore and religion, clothing, music, languages and cuisine (Maultsby, 2000). Music has gained a unique value in African culture. They have long been using music techniques for different purposes, although with the passage of time there has evolved many changes in it …show more content…

Mostly seeds are woven around Axatse as it is a Ewe cultural tradition. In Ewe culture, the people translate the seeds as “forget-me-not”. According to them, seeds are cast to determine that whether a person will forget the others or not, mostly in cases of love bonds. The seeds are nominating the girls. The material to make Axatse is easily available; however its election is bit tough. Again very deep knowledge is required to produce a beautiful musical instrument. This shaker is an instrument of the Ewe people, who live in the Volta Region of Ghana and in neighboring Togo. It always accompanies traditional Ewe drumming ensembles. It is origin of Axatse (Martin, 1991). Axatse is very closely connected to Gankogui and its sound remains the same in all traditional functions of West Africa. The role of this African rattle is to support and reinforce the bell, which provides the timeline for the whole ensemble. In Ewe traditions, more than five or four rattle players are sitting in line to produce a same rhythmic sound. When they strike their rattles with their thighs, then sounds of “pa” and “ti” are …show more content…

They may call spirits in sacred ceremonies or emphasize the words and actions of important people. In more modern societies though, kids use them as toys and musicians as fun and roots percussion instruments (Gbolonyo, 2009). Kidi is a drum, which is about two feet tall and played with wooden sticks. Kidi responds to calls from the lead drummer. This is known as a dialogue. This concept is also commonly known as call and response. Kidi plays in unison with Sogo the master drum, when engaged in a dialogue. During a dialogue the people playing Sogo and Kidi will change their rhythms to interlock with those of Atsimevu, the lead drum. In a performance of Atsia the dancers will also reported to calls from the lead drummer by changing their dance movement. Kidi is basically an element of family of drums where Atsimevu is master drum, Kagan is baby drum and Kidi is mother drum. For this family, the musician use a term of “Talking Drums” as these drums are played in response of each other. Kidi is mother of this family and it responds the master drum. When all of these drums are played together, then African people translate this melody in following way (Agawu,

Show More
Related
574 Words | 3 Pages

“The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” is full of different symbols representing different things that today we would only recognize as simliar obects in our own lifetime. Although, these symbols all represent important structures in understanding the short story called, “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh.” Most symbols are created for people to follow in their own lifetime and are very important to be recognized as in the Drummer Boy, the General, and the cherry blossoms. To begin with, one of the symbols created for people to follow in their lifetime and is important to be recognized is the Drummer Boy. The Drummer Boy is an important part of a major symbol in the short story.

Read More
863 Words | 4 Pages

My memory floats down a long narrow hall, A calabash of history. Grandpa stood high in Watusi shadows… And crowns never touch Bantu heads… The future of Dahomey is a house of 16 doors, The totem of the Burundi counts 17 warriors… To Ashanti mysteries and rituals.” McElroy pulls from various different locations in Africa, from northern Africa which was call Bilad as-Sudan, to Watusi and Ashanti people who were in eastern and western Africa.

Read More
2321 Words | 10 Pages

Caress and smooth body. Scrub floors. Wash windows. Beg. have sex. Beauty of African heritage.

Read More
1443 Words | 6 Pages

The African Background Outlined had a significant impact on the field of African

Read More
789 Words | 4 Pages

I read an Ethnography called "A Song Of Longing, An Ethiopian Journey", by Kay Kaufman Shelemay. Shelemay gathered a good amount of religious music in a town of Gondar, a city in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian rules and regulations upset her research and ended up studying the Ethiopian Christian service in Addis Ababa. During that time, she met and married a Jewish businessman, Jack Shelemay, from a Middle Eastern (Aden), whose family was permanently settled in Ethiopia. " A Song Of Longing" is not a book that was said it to be, she late changed it and made it about Ethiopian religious music, and also a story of Kaufman 's field experience.

Read More
501 Words | 3 Pages

The Drummer Boy of Shiloh and Drumbeats and Bullets are two different stories, and both are about drummer boys in the Civil War. Although they are both about drummer boys, they still have some differences. Both stories are at least part nonfiction. The Drummer Boy of Shiloh is about a specific drummer boy named Joby. Joby is a young drummer boy who is getting ready for the war.

Read More
277 Words | 2 Pages

Haiti and West African tribes usually gathered together to worship spirits of ancestors using dancing, singing, and different rituals that would bring back the dead. In Haiti their ceremonial events included a priest or priestess and they would own a type of animal such as a chicken to the loa. The individual who wanted to have the ceremony performed then asks the spirits and ancestors for assistance on solving problems. The Africans in Haiti gained a phenomenal amount of power and strength because when times got rough they kept fighting to survive. Haitians have different ways of practicing and reciting rituals as New Orleans or anywhere else, the main component that ties them together is the

Read More
917 Words | 4 Pages

The region had a variation of religions, languages, musical practices and traditions according to the Music and Slavery Article. Ignoring the differences of one another, the different cultures came together in communal activities and embraced the diversity of each other’s music. Music was the center attention at social gatherings and celebrations. At these festivals, no one was disregarded and everyone was encouraged to join, as there was never an audience to sit back and observe the event that was taken place according to the Music and Slavery article. Slaves used a variety of instruments, ranging from flutes, horns, and stringed instruments.

Read More
371 Words | 2 Pages

As an African, In spirit and in truth: the music of African American worship answered many questions I had concerning the value of music in African Traditional religions. Traditional music and dance are two of the most cherished elements of the Ghanaian culture, and it is refreshing to know that there is a deep significance behind the music, instruments, and rhythmic movements of African people. When a traveler spends a day in Ghana, he or she would experience a variety of avenues where music and dance dominate. At the market place, in schools, in restaurants, and during weddings, or naming ceremonies, people play music and dance their hearts out. Costen states that Africans express their life experiences through music and dance, and I can agree with the claim.

Read More
777 Words | 4 Pages

Most African American songs can be best represented as when all the Africans would get together, and make songs that made them happy, and the audience would be able to sing along or dance to the beat. African American musical traditions represented in early spiritual practices were viewed in a good way because before singing the leader would sing a line and the others would follow and repeat the leader. Or they would also use the call- and response technique. Although, many of the European Americans liked the music from the African Americans some of them were threatened by it or opposed it, they decided or come up with new ideas for music of their own. When there was a performance happening there would be hand-clapping, yelling, dancing, and singing, people would start joining into the music.

Read More
1145 Words | 5 Pages

Many stereotypes of African culture have emerged due to western literature and media and first hand accounts of explorers. Things Fall Apart offers a view into the truth and reality of African cultures, which are often misconceptualized by these stereotypes. Acebe shows how African society functions well without assistance from foreign travelers. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe counters the imperialist stereotypes of Africa by keeping certain words in the Igbo language, as opposed to translating them into English, to fight back against the spreading western culture and to embrace their own way of life. He also counters the imperialist stereotypes of Africa by using Igbo proverbs to show how their culture values many of the same things that western

Read More
919 Words | 4 Pages

The people of Songye are very well known because of their tribal African art including the Kifwebe mask. The Songye people migrated to what is now the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the land of Shaba. The history of these people is very closely related to the Luba’s through a common ancestor, Kongolo Mwamba, who can be traced back to the 16th century. For a while the Songye and Luba were common war enemies until the two merged together to fight against the Arab people. After migrating to the Congo they made their home on the Lualaba River.

Read More
1702 Words | 7 Pages

Introduction I began my field experience with the mindset that due to the fact that I have been working with kids within several other organizations I would not learn anything new. My perspective quickly changed as I faced new challenges and was given new insight that I had not encountered before. I was given the privilege of interacting with children of all ages simultaneously and most importantly I was able to apply educational concepts I have learned within this semester in real life scenarios. During this field experience I made several connections to concepts I will definitely encounter as a future educator such as the following fundamental topics: cognitive development, gifted students, motivation, and lack of student diversity.

Read More
1393 Words | 6 Pages

Culture is defined by characteristics that are shared by a group of people. It is usually represented by language, religion, cuisine, traditional clothes, music, arts, and is dependent on social habits. Therefore, culture plays a major role in an individual’s perspective of life and his/her personality. Cultures have differed than each other, depending on the places they were established in, the way of survival people pursued to acclimate with different circumstances, and how they shared their experiences with each other.

Read More
777 Words | 4 Pages

Culture is a very vast and complicated term. As a result, it is extremely difficult to provide an all encompassing definition. In layman terms, culture is used to refer to symbolic markers used by societies to differentiate and distinguish themselves from other societies. These symbolic markers range from religion to customs and traditions to something as basic as language and clothes. Basically culture is a way of living.

Read More

More about Influence Of Axatse On African Culture

Related Topics

Open Document