THE CONTEXTUAL AND PERFORMANCE DIMENSIONS OF ASAFO MUSIC FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ANNUAL AKWAMBO FESTIVAL

The paper presents the authors’ insights into the various types of asafo music as performed by Kyirem Asafo No. 1 of Ajumako Mando. It highlights the contexts of performance of Asafo musical genre and shows the instrumental usages of the musical types including performance practice. Based on the theory of homology, the authors present a relation between musical performance and social structure that expresses musical identity of the Mando people and the Fante at large. It is noted that beside its contextual obligation of performing at the traditional Akwambɔ festival, which has been structured for seven days, the asafo group also features at funerals of men in the community as well as women who are members of the group. The paper concludes that instrumental organizations solely depend on the asafo musical type as well as the context in which it is performed, giving the Mando people a firmer sense of cultural identity.

KEYWORDS: Contextual, homology, Akwambɔ festival, Instrumental Organization, Asafo, Performance