Nana Yaw Opoku Mensah was once a flutist in the courts of the Asantehenes Nana Prempeh I & Nana Prempeh II and possibly Nana Opoku Ware II early in his reign. He was 102 in this video and I was told that he was still in good health in 2006. Nana didn’t know his birthdate but he told me that he was born a few months before the Yaa Asantewaa War of 1900.
He is playing the ‘odurugya’ which is the traditional cane flute of the Akan. The song he’s playing i believe is one in the tradition called ‘Sikabewuepere’(money’s death pangs’ which was popularized during the 1920’s economic boom in Asante & the Gold Coast Colony.
The flute is often used in songs of lamenting or grief. This piece is more of a recitation than a song really, for the odurugya is a ‘talking’ instrument, which means that the Akan of antiquity developed a system of encoding their language into the range of sounds/tones the odurugya makes. One must be immeresed in the ‘deep structures’ of Akan society in order to learn the method of ‘decoding’ the flute language.
Mixed with this video is footage from the funeral of the Bantamahene Baffour Awuah V, an event that was both solemn and celebratory.
Duration : 0:6:44
[youtube 3T7wpDllY4U]
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
I feel the spirit …
I feel the spirit of this video!
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
yes. i have …
yes. i have wondered about this too. as already noted Ware is an Akan name. Its also a Wolof (Senegal) name, I think. Not surprisingly the pronunciation has been corrupted. Americans pronounce it as a single syllable, sounds like “Where.” West Africans say “Wah-ray.”
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
yeah
yeah
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
yeah it does, there …
yeah it does, there are many people in ghana bearing that name from the Akan tribe. thats the largest tribe in ghana, accounting for about 40 to 50 percent of the ghanaian population
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
yeah of course. an …
yeah of course. an asante will always be an asante. akwaaba efie ba
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
yes, Aware is …
yes, Aware is ashanti akan name
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
I am from Ghana and …
I am from Ghana and I have a lot of Ghanaian friends with the last name Oware. So I think there is a strong possibility.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
I just had my …
I just had my paternal dna test results come in and it states I come down from the Ashanti tribe of the AKAN people of Ghana West African, I carry the last name Ware, do this name have any connection to the land?
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
Yes,Praise God for …
Yes,Praise God for you.Amen.I miss this so much. The culture.I was born ,in Kumasi on ashanti land. my last name is truly Opoku. my Dad took the O off ,when he came to canada in 1964 .That’s One of my grandfathers, on my family tree.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
Thanks to everyone …
Thanks to everyone for your comments. Yes let’s keep this culture alive. I plan to go back to Ghana this July-August and I hope to film some other cultural things.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
I’m proud to be a …
I’m proud to be a ghanaian and an Ashanti. This video is emotional. Let’s keep the tradition alive. we have a rich culture.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
sorry i think i …
sorry i think i gave you a thumbs down… i meant 2 give you a big thumbs up as i miss ghana 2!
sorry about that
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
well these are my …
well these are my people
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 am
god bless ghana .. …
god bless ghana .. i miss ghana toooooooo much ..