So I’ve had the opportunity to go to one of the days of the Oguaa Fetu Afahye Festival (people say “A-fa-shay”). This is a week-long festival with lots of activities and rituals and music and dancing. I will paraphrase it but you can look it up online to learn more details if you like. Apparently many years ago a disease came to Cape Coast and killed a lot of people. The chiefs from the town led the people and prayed to the traditional gods to cleanse the town and make the disease go away. So now there’s this festival that celebrates that the gods helped them get rid of the disease. It is also meant to be a time where they ask the gods to help them keep the town clean and pray that another epidemic doesn’t wipe out the people. There are week-long festivities starting from Monday night and it ends on Saturday: always the first Saturday in September. On that Saturday the chief comes into town and there is a ceremony where he does the prayer and probably traditional music and dancing (I did not get to go to this, but I’ll post this Youtube video in case you want to see some of what it looks like).
The Afahye Festival hasn’t been celebrated in two years because of the pandemic. So this year it was a huge event. At the Orange Friday event I went, everyone wears orange basically as a way to make it more fun and hyped up. I’ve put some videos here to kind of show what that’s like. It was a cultural immersion experience for sure! I really enjoyed hanging out with Antoinette and her friends and their children and grandchildren. They are very wonderful people who have invited me in and let me be part of their lives. The event is something like a carnival where there’s large trucks that have music playing and people following behind dancing to the music. So there’s lots of music going on around all around with different speakers. I was somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of people and the blasting of the speakers, though I’m really glad I went so I could experience it. It’s a huge cultural tourism thing as well. All of the hotels are pretty much sold out because everyone came to Cape Coast for the weekend from around Ghana to celebrate. Also people from outside the country come here to see what goes on. So, I’m glad I got to be part of it!
Saturday morning was a lazy day of reading and doing laundry. I also read more about the festival which is why I know all the things about it. I was going to try to go to the festival today because today was the day where the chief came out and did ceremonial things. But I just couldn’t make it. I did spend some time talking to some friends on the phone from back home. That is always so good for my soul. Oh yeah, I also was able to make pasta! It sounds simple, and it was (well, sort of, given my lack of a kitchen). But the simple flavors of it made me have another bout of homesickness. I sat and cried while I ate it. It may be the best pasta I’ve ever tasted. It was a joyful cry as well as a homesick moment. Anyway, in the afternoon I talked to Jonas, Antoinette‘s son and driver. I talked with him about logistics for the evening because I was wanting to go out and join them if logistics were easy enough. Getting around here is still a challenge for me and I’m getting used to it more and more each time I do it. We decided that we would I would meet them at this restaurant and bar called Hutchland City.
I called my taxi driver Mele to come get me and he took me there. Mele is a taxi driver who drives for Antoinette. She connected me to him so he can take me to and from my drum lessons with her at her home. He’s been driving me around all week when I need to go places. It’s great to have taxi driver who is connected with a friend. Anyway, Jonas met us at the taxi and walked me to the table where Antoinette and her grandkids were. They had pizza! I got to eat pizza and pasta today! It was a great food day! We sat there listening to music over the loudspeakers for a bit. And then finally the band got on the stage and performed. I finally got to see a live band! It was really fun and they had a cool groove. The restaurant was nice too because there’s a ton of outdoor seating and there were tons of people there. It was a chill, fun, relaxed vibe. I really enjoyed it. When I was ready to get home I called Mele and again Jonas walked me out to him. It’s really nice that I’ve got several trustworthy friends who are in Antoinette’s circle that are looking out for me. From what I understand it is safe here but Jonas told me that there are tons of people who’ve come here for this festival who are looking to pickpocket. So it’s like Jonas hands me off to Mele and vice versa whenever I meet them somewhere. It feels safe to have these folks looking out for me and helping me. At the same time, I am not used to not having complete independence and being able to go where I want when I want. This lack of having a car or even feeling like I can just go wherever is part of the homesickness, I think. It’s a good experience for me though…just another way that living life here is very different for me personally and it’s stretching me as a human. I have met so many wonderful people who are looking out for me, and that feels safe and comfortable. And they are very conscientious of making sure I get to and from where I need to go. The night was fun and I’m glad I went!
Also, pork is a big thing here - they serve it at a lot of places, and the names are really pretty funny. This was one of the options of food to get at the restaurant. I thought it was funny.
It's too early to expect you to have an answer now, but when your semester is over it will be really interesting to hear your thoughts on how contemporary Ghanaian music has both retained and expanded beyond traditional Ghanaian music. The drumming you're learning, for example: to what extent is it incorporated into or reflected in the music you heard at the festival? How do young people like your students perceive traditional Ghanaian music? I know that rap and hip hop have been embraced by many pop musicians in West Africa; so does that replace or get added on top of the local musical traditions?