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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Ghana's political system
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Democratic. Combined British parlement with American government. The prime minister is called the president.
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Population
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25 million
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Capitol
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Accra
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Number of ethnic groups
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over 50
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Number of languages
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over 50
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Largest ethnic group
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Akan
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Language of Ashante/Ashanti
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Twi
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Asantehene
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Chief, ruler
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Commonalities
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1. Natural expression of the human condition and spirit
2. Requiring the use of space, time, and body 3. A universal language 4. Accessible to other cultures 5. The longer it endures, the more it reveals something important about the society 6. Dance hold a mirror up to the society that produces it |
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Why do we dance
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1. To solidify a sense of community within groups of people
2. For dealing with sadness 3. For celebrating weddings 4. Joyfully spinning in circles 5. For entertainment 6. For dating and mating 7. Exposure to differences 8. Walking into the past in search of long-lost events 9. Finding yourself 10. Projection of inner thought and feeling into movement 11. Experience another culture 12. We dance for joy, often exclaiming |
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Categories of dance in Africa
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stilt, mask, military, war/martial arts, right-of-passage, harvest, story/myth, social/ceremonial, funeral, healing, religious/spiritual, national/ethnic, work,
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Dipo
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When girls reach puberty they get taken out of the village and taught how to take care of babies, especially malleria, through dance
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Significance of dance
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1. Almost every community has a dance
2. It's integrated into socio-political, historical, and economic lives of the people 3. Marker for the identification of one's ethnicity 4. Serves as a medium of instruction 5. To kill boredom in storytelling session 6. Dance is a form of communication |
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Gahu "money drumming"
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Performed for marriages, new babies, and puberty rights. Performed by Eves. Anglo group. Inter-cultural sharing. Sophisticated and dramatic and shake your bottom choreography.
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Kpanlongo "the dance of the youth"
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Celebration for gaining freedom from the British. Performed during festivals and holidays. Most improvised form of Ga dance.
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Sikyi
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Done by Akan, Fantes, and some Ashantis. Puberty right, when men would express interest in a young woman. Purpose is courtship and flirtation.
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Baamaaya "the valley is cold"
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Men treated women poorly and therefore the gods punished them by causing a drought. They wouldn't end the drought unless the men would dance like women and make their own costumes. Drumming goes from slow to fast. Performed by Dagbamba people
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Adowa "antelope"
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Akan-speaking people (Ashantes/Ashantis). A hunter witnessed chimpanzees celebrating a death. When an antelope joined the celebration, they killed it for sacrifice.
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Ewe/Eve
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Not just one group, in 4 countries. Volta region.
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1947-1957
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Struggle for Ghana's independence
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Length of festivals
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5 days (on average)
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Odwira festival
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Akan group (Ashanti is subgroup of Akan). Matrilineal. Leader is chosen by women. Akuapem (people of Akan). Takes place in Akropong.
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Capitol of Ashanti
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Kumasi
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Purpose of Odwira
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1. Thanksgiving
2. Eating new yam 3. Sacrifice to ancestors/deities 4. Purifying the king and people for new year 5. Mourning the death of the past year 6. Reaffirming political loyalties 7. Re-establishing the military order and social ties 8. Proclaiming the unity of a state organization |
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Themes in article
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1. comparison of African dance in Ghana and America
2. History of slavery 3. Race issues 4. Global power 5. Social justice 6. Authenticity |
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Kwame Nkrumah
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educated in US at U of Penn and Lincoln U. Inspired by the maroons (run away slaves) and Hispaniola (Haiti). The Civil Rights movement.
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Neo Onnim no sua a, ohu
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He who does not know, can know from learning
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Toussaint L'Ouverture
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An educated slave got an army of fellow slaves together and used guerrilla tactics to fight against the French/Napoleon in Haiti.
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Jean-Jacques Dessalines
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Was a French officer of their army but then became a leader of the Haitian army during the revolt against France. He defeated Napoleon, declaring independence in 1804. Became ruler until 1806
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W.E.B Du Bois
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"double consciousness" One of the first black people to get a PhD. Became VP of Ghana
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Eurocentric views on African music and Dance
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Music is monotonous, boring and dull, it isn't music, complicated, cannot make any sense of it
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National dance companies
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Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana
Sekou Toure of Guinea Leopold Sedor Sengnor of Senegal |
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Cultural relativism
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The view that all beliefs, customs, and ethics are relative to the individual within his own social context
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