Folktale Performance in Highlife songs: An Empirical Observation

Abstract

The Ghanaian Akan Highlife song texts incorporate a considerable amount of material from various oral genres of folklore. The performance of highlife songs draws extensively upon traditional expressive genres including folksongs, anecdotes, nicknames, personal narratives, insults, riddles, and most importantly folktales and proverbs. In addition, libations, prayers, church songs, children songs, funeral dirges, oral histories and common inscriptions from lorrys and doorposts are found embedded in the songs and integrated into the musical structure of highlife.

This paper is divided into two parts. In the first part only one of the genres, the folktale, as performed in the traditional mode, will be compared with the highlife texts and analyzed. The second part will concentrate on other traditional narratives portrayed in highlife songs. These genres of folklore are used in and reflect many important aspects of Ghanaian society. Folktale is the genre most frequently used in highlife and more easily identifiable in the song texts than the other traditional forms of expression. The texts drawn from traditional culture are used in song form, which modifies but continues the narrative tradition and often comments on and criticizes the movement away from the traditional values. The songs chosen for this paper was recorded between 1960 and1970. They still circulate occasionally on various FM radio stations and also at funeral ceremonies in Ghana.