The Contexts and Meaning in Asante Dance Performance: The Case of Kete

Abstract

Dance is an important aspect of the culture of the Ghanaian (African). Dance embodies and articulates the philosophies of the culture, the origin, and serves as a unique symbol of identity. Our increasing interaction with various world cultures has undermined certain aspects of our dance heritage. We incorporate ideas which threaten our indigenous philosophies and symbols of our identities to the detriment of our uniqueness as Ghanaians or Africans. Unfortunately, dance is one aspect of our heritage that is experiencing such impact given its contribution to humanity through its resourceful and artistic integration of socio-politico-cultural philosophies of a people. However, in recent times, Kete performances have proven over the years to be a formidable medium through which cultural and artistic knowledge are passed on from one generation to another. Kete, an Akan dance form, exemplifies the impact of the acculturation on Ghanaian dance forms. Some Keteper formers in their quest to adorn a cultural activity with graceful movements employ Kete movements in wrong contexts. For instance, some contemporary Kete dancers who may not necessarily be indigenous Akan, miss out on the symbolic meanings and philosophies of the Kete dance movements they articulate and thus a culturally laden themed movement execution for example, is performed in wrong context. It is common knowledge that every dance has its own ethics and aesthetics. Many researchers have investigated the Kete dance and its aesthetics, but less attention has been paid to the contextual use of the gestures. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse critically some gestures, meanings and contexts of one of the well-known Akan court dance suites, the Kete dance and determine how the dance movements differ from various contexts as well as their implications on safeguarding in Ghana.