Kobine is a traditional
dance and
festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...
unique to the people of
Lawra area of north-western
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
. They are also called the Dagaaba tribe. The dance and the festival named after it are celebrated in September and October to mark the end of a successful
harvest.
Festival
The Kobine festival is celebrated to thank the gods and ancestors for a bumper harvest hence it is known as a festival of harvest and celebration of family. During this time, members of the community who have traveled or settled in other areas away from home, Lawra usually return home to unite with their families and celebrate.
The festival of Kobine lasts four days, with the first day usually reserved for visiting family and friends. The second and third days are the official
holidays. A procession of the family heads is accompanied by groups of younger people dressed to represent
hunters and
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...
s.
A number of speeches are made by dignitaries and other guests of honour before the Kobine dance competition begins.
Dance
The Kobine music is produced from ''kuor'', a
drum instrument with a base made from a
gourd
Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the ear ...
, and ''dalar'', a smaller drum made from the neck of a clay pot.
The men usually dress in beautifully decorated skirts, but are usually bare-chested to demonstrate their
masculinity as well as their flexibility while they dance. Other ornaments such as headgear and caps are worn. The women dress similarly to the men, except they generally will wear a blouse. Both men and women wear a ring of bells around the ankles to accentuate their rhythmic moves when they dance.
The dance itself consists of quick rhythmic moves especially with the
trunk or upper body. At the peak moves period of the dance, the women will generally cut in and dance in front of their favorite male dancer.
References
{{Reflist
Ghanaian culture