African Musical Hybridity in the Colonial Context

"An Analysis of Ephraim Amu's "Yɛn Ara Asase Ni

Bibliographic Data

ID2737017
AuthorsSteven Spinner Terpenning (University of Colorado Boulder, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume60
Issue3
Pages459-483
Publication date2016-10-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthnomusicology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0014-1836 • E-ISSN: 2156-7417
PublisherUniversity of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.5406/ethnomusicology.60.3.0459
OpenAlexW2525705954
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited15

This essay describes how the creative hybridity of "Yɛn Ara Asase Ni," a choral composition by Ephraim Amu, contributed to the emergence of national consciousness in Ghana. Originally composed for a colonial holiday in 1929, this piece spread through schools, radio broadcasts, and live performances, and was heard throughout the country around the time of independence. Based on postcolonial theory, secondary sources, archival research, and interviews, I present a history and analysis of "Yɛn Ara Asase Ni" that demonstrates how it disrupted colonial categories, such as religion and culture, and prepared the way for an independence movement informed by Pan-Africanism and Christianity

Archaeology · Art · Colonialism · Consciousness · Context (archaeology) · Hybridity · Independence (probability theory) · Literature · Musical · Sociology · African history and culture studies · Anthropology · Gender Studies · History · Music History and Culture · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Psychology

Tools

Open DOI