Ghana’s dance tradition is as rich and varied as its ethnic heritage.
Through every move, dancers narrate stories, explore emotions and engage with their communities.
Traditional dance is an integral thread in the fabric of culture and tradition, allowing communities to connect with their roots and pass down heritage to future generations.
This feature will explore four Ghanaian dance movements: Bamaya, Borborbor, Kple and Adowa while unpacking their origins and meaning.
Bamaya
The Bamaya dance, which originates from the Dagbon people of northern Ghana, is one of the topmost and iconic dances in the region.
The word ‘Bamaya’ literally means ‘the river or valley is wet,’ which refers to a historic event when there was a massive drought in the northern part of Ghana, that affected villages in the 19th century.
To appease the gods and bring rain, it was believed that men had to dress as women and perform this dance in a ritual of humility and devotion.
The dance movements are highly expressive, with dancers swiftly moving their feet, twisting their waists, and wearing waist beads and bells that create rhythmic sounds as they move.
Borborbor
The Ewes, inclusive of the southern Togolese tribe, are known to have created and popularised the Borborbor dance.
Traditionally linked to festivals and communal events, Borborbor is a dance of joy and cultural pride.
Rhythmic features of the dance are energetic circular formations of performers swaying their butt, hips and beating drums with claps and chants.
The female dancers also wear colorful long dresses, plus two handkerchiefs, usually white, that they wave around as they turn and clap with the drumbeats.
For the Ewes, in particular, this tradition became a marker of identity, solidifying the group’s cultural heritage and its unity.
In the past, the Borborbor rhythm was played as a form of entertainment after a hard day’s work on the farm and other fields of tedious labour, usually from late afternoon to the evening, before retiring to bed.
History has it that when the Ewes fled the Notsie Kingdom, they brought the cultural dance along to the various locations where they settled, especially in the present middle belt of Eweland.
Kple Dance
The Kple is a sacred traditional dance among the Ga-Adangbe ethnic group in southeastern Ghana.
Unlike most other Ghanaian dance movements which see performers dancing primarily for the pleasure of the audience, Kple is deeply spiritual and serves as a conduit for communion with ancestral spirits.
Typically only performed during the Homowo Festival, a harvest celebration that occurs in late August and early September, the Kple dance is commonly reserved for priestesses and spiritual leaders.
These dancers, who are said to be inhabited by the gods, act as a mediator between the spiritual and physical world.
Adowa
Arguably one of Ghana’s most common traditional dances, Adowa is derived from the Ashanti people and is widely performed at festivals, funerals, and engagements.
Its name comes from the graceful motion of the antelope, ‘adowa.’
Historians believe that an Ashanti queen mother, Aberewa Tutuwa, fell ill and the gods requested a live antelope as a sacrifice.
When the queen recovered, the community mimicked the antelope’s dance in celebration, marking the birth of what is now known as Adowa.
Adowa is a form of communication; each movement conveys a message.
AK/EB
