SOME CULTURES AND THEIR CULTURAL PRACTICES AND THE MOTIVE BEHIND THEM (GHANA) BY @gifty1

Hi everyone,

I am glad to be able to participate in the steem-ghana contest which has been put forward by the modurator @silencewan.
This contest has caught my attention because I am one who loves to talk about culture a lot and without much I will go straight into the business of the day.

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Anyone who has ever heard of the Ghanaians living in the volta region call the residents there to be ewes.But infact not every body is an ewe or can be classified as ewes.Infact we do have the Anglos, the avenor and also the wedome people.There is a whole lot of tribes in there but the focus is mostly on the ewes because they are the dominant tribe in the region.

Anyone who knows the voltarians very well know that they do speak the language called ewe but there are different type of ewe.Just like there is English language but the people who speak, speak it differently.For the people in the volta region they have numerous cultures that they cherish and place a lot of importance on it.

Today the culture of the ewes I will like to talk about is their Agbadza dance.A cultural dance which is mostly dominated by the movement of one's hands whilst bending over.The agbadza dance is a the dance of the anlo ewe
people, a tribe which is mostly based around Ho.This dance is mostly performed at the time of the Hogbetsotso festival.
The Hogbetsotso is a festival which is celebrated to signify the great escape of the anlo people from the hands of Notsie in the olden days.After their escape they settled in the modern day Volta Region.

The abgadza dance was originally a war dance but now it has been modified to a more regular dance, but when it is performed at a festival it is performed as a war dance.The story of how the dance was formed is rather fascinating.The abgabza dance was originated from the Atrikpui dance, a popular was dance in the olden days .

Now I will describe to you how the dance us performed

The most important thing to note about the dance is that it has 5 movements when performing it at an occasion.
The movements are listed below;

1.Banyinyi

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This is a the first step we take which is known as the prayer which is offered to the gods and our ancestors.This is a stage where libation and other things are done to show gratitude to the gods and our ancestors for making us see another day and for them to give the dancers the energy to be able to perform the dance successfully.

2. Vutsortsor

The Second step is when the dancers begin their dance after requesting for energy from the gods and ancestors then they can now begin.

3. Adzo

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This is the third step of the dance , this part is slightly different from the 2nd step which is considered as the main part.
Whilst the 2nd step is the main part and more energetic or needs much energy, the 3rd part requires slightly less energy. This part is performed by the drummer with other instruments known as the Gankogui and Axatse.
The Gankogui is a bell; just like the gong gong where a stick is used to play it. T

4.Hatsatsa
This is the 4th step in the process. This is the part where ancient songs are sang with the help of the previously mentioned Gankogui and Atoke.
The Atoke is used like the gong gong but just that it is played with an iron or a metal.

5.Vutsortsor

This is final part of the dance. In this part time is spent to illustrate and also perform the dance to perfection. The estimated time for performing this final part is mostly 3 -4 hours.

This is the dance of the indigenous ewe people which is still cherished and admired by them and am glad I was able to tell you people about it. Thank you for the attention and I hope my entry will be considered considered as one of the best.

Thank you.