Reducing the Male Monopoly of State Drumming in Ghana: The Axim Experience.

Abstract

This paper, based on empirical research using Axim as a case study, looks at the changing role of women in the area of court music. It explores the genesis, dynamics and challenges of women in drumming in Axim. The methodology for the study is based on participant observation and interviews conducted during fieldwork between 2001 and the early part of 2007, in Axim in the Western Region of Ghana. The structure of the work is in four parts, as follows: i. the evolution of chieftaincy in Ghana, ii. male dominance of state drumming and beliefs about menstrual blood, iii. women's incursions into state drumming, and iv. conclusion.