SANKcFA AND DRAMA: A STUDY OF ADINKRA AND AKAN CLAN SYMBOLS IN MODERN

314 Pages·2015·4.92 MB·English

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SANK FA AND DRAMA: A STUDY OF ADINKRA AND AKAN CLAN
SYMBOLS IN MODERN GHANAIAN PLAYS

BY

DANIEL APPIAH-ADJEI
10031425

THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA,
LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR
THE AWARD OF PHD THEATRE ARTS DEGREE

DECEMBER, 2014
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DECLARATION
I, Daniel Appiah-Adjei solemnly declare that, this Thesis, with the exception of
quotations and references contained in the published works, identified and duly
acknowledged, is my personal original work, and it has not been submitted, either in part
or whole, for another degree elsewhere.

Candidate: …………………………… Daniel Appiah-Adjei

Supervisors (Principal) ………………………… Professor Martin Okyere Owusu

University of Ghana, Legon

………………………..…… Dr. Agyemang Ossei
Senior Lecturer
University of Ghana, Legon

…………………………… Dr. Regina Kwakye Opong
Lecturer
University of Ghana, Legon

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DEDICATION

To My Family and those who are fighting for African cultural survival.
And
To “The towering Wawa Aba of Ghanaian Theatre” Professor Martin Okyere Owusu. I
am extremely honored to be counted among your league of students
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
All thanks should go to the Almighty God for His immense guidance and support. Indeed,
God has been merciful to me as one of the First batch of the Masters Students at the
School of Performing Arts (MFA Playwriting), and one of the first to be graduated in PhD
at the Department of Theatre Arts. My Supervisors Prof. Martin Owusu, Dr. Agyemang
Ossei, Dr. Regina Kwakye-Opong and all those who in diverse ways contributed to the
success of this work. My family members, Memaame Pomaah, My wife, Lily Versta
Nyarkoh, my children, Anita Sekyeraa Ampadu, Nana Owusu Appiah-Adjei, Kwame
Appiah-Adjei, Maame Amma Pomaah Appiah-Adjei, Kwame Kyeretwie Appiah-Adjei,
Kofi Sarfo Appiah-Adjei, who had to put up with difficult conditions when the going was
very tough. My friends and other relatives, I say thank you very much. May God richly
bless you.
Professor Yaa Ntiamoa- Baidoo and the Staff at Carnegie NGAA thank you for the grant
you offered me to enable me research into our cultural heritage. I am very grateful.

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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research is to explore the use of traditional symbols, especially, the
Sankcfa Theory which means: it is not forbidden to go into history to validate or reclaim
the past, in its entirety as a conceptual foundation which Ghanaians and other African
artists have engaged in their creative representations. Most Ghanaian playwrights, in
particular, during the colonial and post-colonial periods, are known to have extensively
employed this concept as the main thrust of their creative expressions. Rhetorically, one
wonders to what extent the narratives in Adinkra symbols of which Sankcfa is canonical
and Akan clan symbols (Totems) have been employed by Ghanaian playwrights. The plays
used in this study include; 4 selected plays; The Legend of Aku Sika by Martin Owusu, in
respect of the reclaiming of Ghanaian folktale as a valid resource for modern theatrical
expression, In the Chest of a Woman by Efo Kodjo Mawugbe and The Dilemma of a Ghost
by Ama Ata Aidoo, which espouse the dichotomies of modern and traditional Ghanaian
societies and, Edufa by Efua Sutherland, a play adapted from the classical Greek play,
Alcestis by Euripides, which reinforces the commonalities of world views of traditional or
primeval societies, however, disparate. The method employed are one-on-one interviews
on Adinkra and Akan Clan symbols, field notes, field letters, original play production
(Death on Trial), essays and memory data. The study, therefore, is largely Qualitative
(Content Analysis (CA), ethnographic and phenomenological). The methods are unique to
this study as they provide a reflexive analysis document, complemented by recognition of
symbolic events that emanate from Akan traditions. Findings from the study reveal several
major thematic manifestations of physical objects, social norms and abstract ideas of the
Akan traditions and cultural practices. The study also exposes the dramatic elements in the
narratives in Adinkra and Akan Clan symbols. The final product is an amalgamation of
academic and literary writing, profiles, pictorial representations of traditional symbols and
narratives.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................ i
DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... v
LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... x
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... x
LIST OF PICTURES ............................................................................................................... xii

CHAPTER ONE ...................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background to the Study .................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Statement of the problem ................................................................................................. 8
1.3 Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 9
1.4 Specific objectives............................................................................................................ 9
1.5 Research question ........................................................................................................... 10
1.6 Significance of study ...................................................................................................... 10
1.7 Justification of the choice of the playwrights................................................................. 11
1.8 Definition of key words used in the title ........................................................................ 13
1.9 Definitions of other key words in the thesis ................................................................... 16
1.10 Scope of Work .............................................................................................................. 22
1.10.1 Delimitations ............................................................................................................. 22
1.11 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................ 23
1.12 State of Research (Literature Review Conceptualization) ........................................... 27
1.13 Research Methodology ................................................................................................. 28
1.14 Instruments Used .......................................................................................................... 29
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CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................... 30
LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................... 30
2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 30
2.1.1 The Meanings and Interpretations of Sankcfa and Drama .......................................... 31
2.1.2 Sankcfa: Drama of Other Times and Places................................................................ 40
2.1.3. Sankcfa as African Renaissance ................................................................................. 48
2.2. Symbolic Communication: Drama, Adinkra and Akan Traditional Symbology in
Ghana ................................................................................................................................... 52
2.2.1. Symbolism and Communication in Drama ................................................................ 54
2.2.2. Semiotics and Signs communication in Drama.......................................................... 55
2.2.3 Adinkra Symbols as communicative Tools in Ghanaian Traditional Culture ............ 61
2.2.4. Meaning of the word Adinkra .................................................................................... 61
2.2.5. Historical Sources of Adinkra .................................................................................... 62
2.2.6. Adinkra symbols as Folk Art ..................................................................................... 66
2.2.7. Akan Clan Symbols, the Family Systems and Drama ............................................... 70
2.3. Sankcfa and the Growth of Modern Ghanaian Drama .................................................. 79
2.3.1. Sankcfa: Recapturing Extinction of Ghanaian Traditional Arts ................................ 80
2.3.2. Proverbs as symbols of Communication in Akan Culture ....................................... 102
2.3.3. Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................... 104

CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................. 107
METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................. 107
3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 107
3.1.1 Initial Approach to the Research ............................................................................... 107
3.1.2. Qualitative Research ................................................................................................ 110
3.2 Selection of Data Sources ............................................................................................ 114
3.2.1 Primary Data 1 .......................................................................................................... 114
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3.2.1.1 Semi-structured Interview on Clan Totems ........................................................... 114
3.2.1.2 Sampling Procedures for Death on Trial ............................................................... 116
3.2.2 Primary Data II .......................................................................................................... 119
3.2.2.1 The Script and Play-Production: Death On Trial................................................... 119
3.2.3 Primary Data III ........................................................................................................ 121
3.3 Content Analysis (CA) ................................................................................................. 121
3.4 Secondary Sources for Data ......................................................................................... 123
3.4.1 Documentary Survey ................................................................................................. 123
3.5 Methods for Selection of the Plays and the symbols ................................................... 123
3.6 Confidentiality, Ethics, and Trustworthiness ............................................................... 129

CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................................ 131
RESEARCH FINDINGS ..................................................................................................... 131
4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 131
4.2 Findings on Ethnographic Survey on Akan Clan Symbols. ......................................... 132
4.2.1. Stratification/coding of Data on Adinkra Symbols and Akan Clan Symbols in the
four plays. ........................................................................................................................... 141
4.2.2. The Sankcfa elements in The Legend of Aku Sika ................................................... 141
4.2.3. The Sankcfa elements in In The Chest of a Woman ................................................. 148
4.2.4. The Sankcfa elements in Edufa ................................................................................ 154
4.2.5. The Sankcfa elements in The Dilemma of a Ghost .................................................. 158
4.3. Proverbs identified in the Four Plays .......................................................................... 163
4.4. Findings on Death on Trial Production ...................................................................... 167
4.4.1. Akan Traditional Costumes used in Death On Trial................................................ 175
4.5 Limitations ................................................................................................................... 176
4.6 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 177

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CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................................. 179
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS OF THE STUDY ....................................................... 179
5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 179
5.1.1 Adinkra Symbolism: Meaning and Manifestations in the Four Plays ...................... 185
5.1.2 God’s Supremacy in Ghanaian Modern Plays .......................................................... 189
5.1.3 The Great Ancestors and Security ............................................................................. 196
5.1.4 Governance and Leadership ...................................................................................... 202
5.1.5 Faithfulness, Cleansing and Religion ........................................................................ 207
5.1.6. Unity and Harmony .................................................................................................. 212
5.1.7 Betrayal, Deception and Jealousy ............................................................................. 217
5.1.8 Survival with Patience and Endurance ...................................................................... 221
5.1.9 Parenthood and Caring .............................................................................................. 226
5.1.10 Love and Hope ........................................................................................................ 232
5.1.11 Social Relations ....................................................................................................... 238
5.1.12 Adinkra Symbols as Tragedy and Comedy ............................................................. 239
5.1.13. As If The Same But… ............................................................................................ 241
5.1.131 The Cost of Forgetfulness and Sankcfa................................................................. 244
5.2 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 246

CHAPTER SIX .................................................................................................................... 248
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................... 248
6.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 248
6.1.1. Contribution to Educational and Cultural Research ................................................. 258
6.1.2 Recommendations for Future Research .................................................................... 259

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BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 263
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................... 1
Appendix One: Field Work Itinerary ..................................................................................... 1
Appendix Two: Adinkra Symbols as part of Logos for Tertiary Institutions in Ghana......... 2
Appendix Three: Adinkra Symbols in Some Businesses ....................................................... 4
Appendix Four: Adinkra Symbols for home Decorations ..................................................... 5
Appendix Five: Some of the Adinkra symbols in use at public places captured from the
field......................................................................................................................................... 6
Appendix Six: Adinkra in Use for Fashion ........................................................................... 8
Appendix Seven: Agreement Letters ................................................................................... 10
Appendix Eight: Introductory Letters .................................................................................. 25

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