Date of Award
5-1-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.M. in Music
First Advisor
George W.K. Dor
Second Advisor
John M. Latartara
Third Advisor
Obianuju A. Njoku
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
This study examines the hereditary transmission of drumming among the Anlo-Ewe of southeastern Ghana, focusing on the Agbodo/Amuzu family of Hatsuk?ƒe in the Volta Region. Situated within ethnomusicological discourse on traditional Anlo-Ewe musical practices and the specialized roles of the researched family, who are drummers of the exclusive Ye?e religious tradition, this research argues that drumming in this context is not merely a musical activity but a complex system of communication, identity, ritual authority, and cultural continuity. The study fills and addresses a significant gap in existing scholarship on the Anlo-Ewe music, which has largely emphasized community dance-drumming and institutional forms of music-making while paying limited attention to family-based and lineage-centered systems of transmission of musical knowledge.
Adopting a qualitative ethnographic approach, the research was conducted through remote fieldwork in collaboration with key interlocutors, including Godsway Agbodo and Torgbui Agbodo Pasaku IV. This collaborative methodology enabled the documentation of lived experiences, performance practices, and pedagogical processes within the privileged lineage. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, audio-visual recordings, mediated observations, and musical transcription.
Furthermore, I draw on embodied knowledge in musical transmission as the main conceptual framework for the study, whereby drumming skills are acquired through observation, imitation, and repeated participation, becoming internalized as habitual bodily practices rather than abstract, verbally articulated theoretical knowledge. The research also demonstrates that Anlo-Ewe drumming is dynamic, balancing continuity and change. While older generations emphasize proverb-based drum language as a mnemonic device, medium of communication, and moral instruction, younger drummers increasingly engage in innovations in the creation and performance of new rhythmic motifs and in improvisation.
The findings reveal that drumming knowledge within the Agbodo/Amuzu family operates as a socially authorized and hereditary system, deeply embedded in kinship, ritual practice, and spiritual belief. Musical authority is regulated by lineage membership and reinforced through institutions such as the Pasaku stool and Ye?e religious practices. Learning occurs primarily through what this study conceptualizes as event-based pedagogy, where participation in social and ritual events, such as funerals, festivals, and ceremonies, serves as the primary mode of instruction, assessment, and validation.
Recommended Citation
Adonoo, Ernest Elikplim Kwabla, "Hereditary Transmission of Drumming Among the Anlo-Ewe: The Case of Agbodo/Amuzu Family of Hatsukorfe, Denu, Volta Region, Ghana" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 8789.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/8789