Agbekor (agbekÉ”) is a type of music and a style of
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
by the
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
n peoples of
Ewe and
Fon. It is an ancient dance once known as Atamga, Ga meaning 'great', Atam meaning 'oath'. It is now performed by the people of Dzogadze, a farming community near Akatsi in the Southern part of the Volta Region of Ghana. It is characterized by multiple
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
instruments that engage in highly
polyrhythmic
Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhyth ...
interactions. Today, it is used for cultural presentations, but in the past, it was an actual war dance, and the oath in question was an oath taken by the ancestors before going into battle. The lead drummer 'calls' the dancers to perform a specific movement, preceded and followed by "the call to turn." There is a slow section and a fast section, with 'interlude songs' or "hatsiatsia" songs" sometimes performed in between.
References
* Arom, S. (1991). African polyphony and polyrhythm (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).
See also
*
African dance
African dance refers to the various dance styles of Sub-Saharan Africa. These dances are closely connected with the traditional rhythms and music traditions of the region. Music and dancing is an integral part of many traditional African societi ...
*
Ewe drumming
Ewe drumming refers to the drumming ensembles of the Ewe people of Ghana, Togo, and Benin. The Ewe are known for their experience in drumming throughout West Africa. The sophisticated cross rhythms and polyrhythms in Ewe drumming are similar to th ...
Percussion ensembles
Ghanaian music
African dances