Enjoy The Dance And Look For The Flag Meaning: Asafo Flag Dancers' Choreography Of Concealing And Revealing
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Date
2023
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Ghana Studies
Abstract
The literature on Fante asafo art reveals that frankaakitafo (flag)
dancers) carry, dance with, and display asafo flags, created from European
flags displayed on the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and now used as a traditional
dance prop. This is different from how the Europeans carried them in marching
and salutation.
What is missing from the scholarship is an examination of the collaborative
working relations between different performers and the nature of the dance. A
study of the dance reveals a phenomenon which is similar to a spectacle and lasts
only for a short transitory period. I, therefore, take into account Frances Harding’s
(2002) suggestion that we must identify the art and artists, the presence and role
of the venue and audience in creating the conditions for a performance, and
the possibility of a sacred presence. Thus, asafo dance performance transcends
spiritual boundaries.
Not only is the dance associated with the gestures of the company’s or dancers’ deity and the company’s self-proclaimed belief in its military supremacy, but
There is also a considerable display of skill and dexterity on the part of the dancer. This
The article investigates how the frankaakitanyi (singular) is trained and dances with the flag and the collaborators involved. It also examines the content of selected
flags, which are both a dance prop and a work of art.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
asafo, Fante art, asikanma