Name

Daniel Adu Danquah

Index Number

PG8707319

COURSE

ORAL LITERATURE

Topic

THE ORALITY OF PRAISE POETRY FOR ASANTEHENE

Praise poetry is one of the most significant forms of oral poetry in Africa. It is common among a
number of traditional societies in the continent. It is mostly performed for prominent kings and
chiefs in the societies in Africa. However, not much academic work has been done on it as a
form of oral literature. The purpose of this paper is therefore to discuss the orality of one of the
praise poetries of the Asantehene, the overlord of the Ashanti Kingdom in Ghana, and also look
into how this praise poetry brings out the oral traditions of the Ashanti people. The paper will
also look at the oral poetic techniques of this form of orature.

Keywords: Orality, Oral Tradition, Orature, Praise Poetry, Oral Poetry

INTRODUCTION

African oral poetry, as a dynamic form of art, is an ingenious genre that reflects the experiences
of the life of the African people. This literary form exists mainly in memory from where it is
transmitted from one generation to the other; and this is done through narration or by word of
mouth. Bodunde (1992: 24-34) explains African oral art as a “complex corpus of verbal or
spoken art’’ which he says is made up of “ideas, beliefs, symbols, assumptions, attitude and
sentiments of peoples”, and is brought into being as a means of recreating the past. The African
oral poetry is basically conceptualized in the mind which is memorized or retained and retrieved
when the need be. It is esteemed for it transmission of values which is mainly done through
entertainment.

Praise poetry as a form of oral poetry also reflects the experiences of people in that particular
society. It is a form of oral poetry which is mostly performed for kings and chiefs of most
African societies. The Asantehene, the ruler of the Ashanti Kingdom in Ghana, also has a lot of
praise poetries which reflect the tradition of the Ashanti people. This paper will therefore discuss
the orality of one of the praise poetries of the Asantehene and how it reflects the life experiences
of the Ashanti people.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWOK

This paper adopted the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach in analyzing its data.
Critical discourse analysis is a methodology that allows a vigorous assessment of what is meant
when language is used to describe and explain. Critical discourse analysis according to
Fairclough (1995: 132), is used ‘to systematically explore often opaque relationships of casualty
and determination between discursive practices, events and texts, and wider social and cultural
structures, relations an processes; to investigate how such practices, events and texts arise out of
and are ideologically shaped by relations of power and struggles over power.’ Texts, language,
and communication should always be considered in their social contexts as they both shape and
are informed by wider processes within the society. It is therefore appropriate to use the critical
discourse analysis theory since the analysis of the data would be based on the language used in
the praise poetry of the Asantehene and the social contexts in which the language is used to
reflect the social life and social experiences of the Ashanti people.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Oral Poetry

The existence, quality and value of African indigenous oral poetry were a matter of debate until
about five decades ago. However, the controversy over the authenticity of African oral poetry as
‘true’ poetry motivated African oral literature scholars to collect, and analyse samples of African
oral poetry. Assiduous efforts have been made to disprove the argument that there was no poetry
in Africa until the arrival of European civilization. This assertion was made by some European
and eurocentric scholars. According to Isidore Okpewho (1985:5), such scholars argue that
poetry is a mark of advanced culture or civilisation and the business of men of specialised skill
and training who devote their time to observing and commenting on life with beauty and
seriousness. Traditional African societies were, in the view of these critics, still groping in the
dark with elementary problems of existence, and had not yet attained the level of achievement
whereby men could indulge in the pursuit of poetic excellence. Besides, their languages were not
yet sufficiently developed to cope with the complex techniques of poetic expression.
Nevertheless, it has been proved beyond doubt that, “oral poetry possesses all the beauty of
language, content and style associated with the best of written poetry. The case for the
recognition of oral poetry as true poetry has been most successfully made.” (Olajubu 1981:71).

Similarly Aderemi (1985:48) contends that instead of defensive criticism, textual analysis of our
literature should concern oral literature scholars. This is so because “we should disregard “the
pre-judicial judgement of western critics who in ignorance said the most atrocious things about
oral literature.” What is the nature of African oral poetry? Oral poetry has been defined by
various people and many explanations have been offered on its nature. Emovon (1981:205)
opines;

Traditional oral poetry must be seen within the context of folklore – that is songs or recitations
having measured rhythm and dealing with verbal aspects of customs, observances etc of a
people... Essentially, a traditional poetry is a song that very often tells a story. It is a poem that
no matter how composed has been transmitted primarily by word of mouth and learnt by
imitation or example. This definition underscores the musicality of oral poetry.

Finnegan (1992:16) also states; “oral poetry essentially circulates by oral rather than written
means in contrast to written poetry. Its distribution, composition or performances are by word of
mouth and not through reliance on the written or printed word.” She nevertheless warns that
many generalizations made about oral poetry are over-simplified and misleading. According to
Finnegan, oral poetry can take many different forms and occur in many cultural situations. It
does not manifest itself only in the one unitary model as argued by some scholars.

By Finnegan’s critical standards, Emovon’s definition quoted earlier is an over simplified view
of oral poetry. Emovon reduced oral poetry to traditional songs only. Isidore Okphewo (1985:9)
on the other hand, explains that “there are two types of music which we generally hear in the
performance of oral poetry. One of these is the instrumental music... the other kind of music we
hear in oral poetry is vocal or tonal”. From Okphewo’s assertion, we can deduce that music,
either instrumental or vocal is a component of oral poetry but there are still other features.
Finnegan (1992:26) states further;

What we must look for is not one absolute criterion but a range of stylistic and formal attributes–
features like heightened languages, metaphorical expression, musical form and accompaniment,
structural repetitiveness like recurrence of stanzas, lines or refrains, prosodic features like metre,
alliteration, even perhaps parallelism so that the concept of poetry turns out to be a relative one
depending on a combination of stylistic elements no one of which need necessarily and
invariably be present.

Praise poetry

A praise poem is a poem of tribute or gratitude. To praise means to express admiration, give
homage, and/or to proclaim positive attributes. Praise poetry is part of the literary tradition of
many cultures.

Praise poetry was popular in medieval literature and during the Renaissance, when it often
expressed worship of or admiration for heroes, kings, or deities. Praise poetry has also long been
one of the most widely used poetic forms in parts of Africa and continues to be a familiar literary
form in various African cultures. 

In African literary tradition, a praise poem refers to a series of laudatory epithets applied to gods,
people, animals, places, etc. that capture the essence of being praised. These poems are often an
important part of an oral tradition as professional bards, who may be both praise singers to a
chief and court historians of their tribe, chant the poems. These poems offer imagery and
storytelling related to a person and their history. 
 Analysis

The praise poetry

Deɛ ɔnnim ɔtumfoɔ no

Ɔma me nkyerɛ no

Na ɔforoo abaanwa!

bubuu ahennwa nkaeɛ

de kyekyeree ne deɛ

na ne Sikadwa Kofi

yɛ abosom nsa ano anwinnieɛ

na ne awenntwoma da mu fua.

Na ɛho ahintasem deɛ

Ananse nkutoo na ɔnim

na nipadɔm a edi n'akyi te sɛ nkranee.

na epono biara mu to wɔ n'akyi!

na ne kyiniiɛ kron te sɛ ɔdadeɛ nwunu

na nea ɔdwane kotoa no, wagye no atenase

na ne nsammerane yɛ apawa a ɛkyerɛ

n’abakosɛm

na wei kɔma nea ɔpɛ mpaninnsɛm ɛtie:

"Kwasi broni de n'atubena baa ne

Kwaeɛ mu,

nanso ne kwaeɛ no dii n'atubena no so

nkunim".
Translation

He who doesn’t know the Otumfoɔ

Let me present him

He has mounted the throne

Dissolved many a throne

To concretize his own

His Golden Stool

Is a handmade of the gods

His cloth is a woven one of a kind

The secret only Ananse knows

He passes like a train of army ants

With every door shutting behind him

His umbrella is a shade of baobab

The defenseless seeks refuge and lives

And His appellation is a long record of epic

And for those who care to know:

"The white man brought his cannons to

His bush,

But His bush was stronger than his

cannons"

In oral culture, words do not only indicate meaning but also a thought process. We process the
information so that we can remember. The oral culture creates images that are very difficult to
forget. This helps for easy recall and so the oral culture uses certain techniques to help people
think memorably. In the first lines of the extract above, it could be observed that mnemonics
have been used to create images which will help to retrieve what is kept in the mind. Words like
‘abaanwa’ which is the stool which is used by most African Kings who ascend the throne of
authority. It is a symbol of authority and power for most African kings. In the Ashanti kingdom,
the most powerful and respected stool is the ‘sikadwa Kofi’ (the golden stool) and the extract
create the image of this historic golden stool which is used as a sign of great power and
authority. Hagan (2018) asserts that ‘the symbol of political authority in Ashanti is the Stool.
Every political unit in Ashanti - division, vicinage, village or lineage- has a stool which is the
symbol of the authority of its leadership. All such stools, needless to say, are parochial symbols
which focus attention and sentiment on segmental identities and factional interests. The Golden
Stool is the sole exception to this. As the symbol which stands for the widest expanse of political
authority (and all other stools fall under it), the Golden Stool enshrines the common fundamental
values which all the segments of the nation espouse and cherish. It is the focus of the collective
sentiments which Ashantis feel as members of one nation; And Ashantis believe that it contains
the collective spirit of the whole nation. To Ashantis, the Golden Stool is the source of the
nation's vitality and strength.’

This shows how powerful the recognition and believe the Ashantis have for the golden stool,
and through the use of mnemonics in oral poetry, the extract brings to fore the belief of the
Ashanti people.

The extract also appropriates human form to help in the memorability of the information being
given. The abstract ‘god’ is reduced to the concrete and made to look like human as seen in line
seven

‘na ne Sikadwa Kofi

yɛ abosom nsa ano anwinnieɛ’

The gods are considered by the Ashantis for having divine power and control over the land and
the people. The Golden Stool is a sacred symbol of the Ashanti nation believed to possess
the sunsum (soul) of the Ashanti people. According to legend, the Golden Stool -- sika 'dwa in
the Akan language of the Ashanti -- descended from heaven in a cloud of white dust and landed
in the lap of the first Ashanti king, Osei Tutu, in the late 1600s. The king's priest, Okomfo
Anokye, proclaimed that henceforth the strength and unity of the Ashanti people depended upon
the safety of the Golden Stool. Drawing upon the Akan tradition of a stool indicating clan
leadership, the Golden Stool became the symbol of the united Asante people and legitimized the
rule of its possessor.

One element of oral literature which is myth has been successfully used here as the mythology of
the golden stool has been used to communicate the divinity and power of the Asantehene.

Here the extract reveals to us that the ‘golden stool’ which is a symbol of power and authority of
the King of the Ashanti kingdom is a handiwork of the gods. And based of this belief, it does tell
us that the power of the Asantehene is divine and his authority is ordained by the gods, therefore
he represents the gods on earth as the utmost ruler of the Asante kingdom.

One of the elements of orature is folklore. In bringing to light folktales as an element of Akan
literature, the extract makes reference to the central character of folktales which is Kwaku
Ananse. The extract makes reference to Ananse in lines 9 and 10 which reads
‘Na ɛho ahintasem deɛ

Ananse nkutoo na ɔnim’

The story of the golden stool is considered a mystery for the people of Ashanti. The extract
draws our attention to this fact by reminding us that the only person who could unravel this
mystery of the golden stool is none other than the mystic character in the traditional Akan
folktale, Kwaku Ananse. Amongst all the African folktale characters that exist, Kwaku Anansi is
the most popular and important. The West African folktale character is a spider with human
characteristics from the Akan culture of Ghana. In the Akan setting, Kwaku Anansi is a character
with a witty and cunning personality. He embodies wisdom and survival tactics. In the short
stories told of Kwaku Anansi, we find that he is usually too smart for himself and ends up facing
difficulties which he tries to get out of it.

The extract therefore reminds us that no human being could ever be able to tell the mystery of
this golden stool except the mystic character Ananse. He is the only person since he himself is
mystic for any human to know him. This gives the Aantehene enough divinity and so he is
considered as such by his people.

Another element of orature in the extract is the use of agonistic where things are situated in
conflicts. The extract compares the kingdom of Ashanti to other kingdoms through the use of
agonistic. That is the authority and power of the Asantehene is compared to others in the extract.
Lines 4 and 5 of the extract read

‘Ɔbubuu ahennwa nkaeɛ

de kyekyeree ne deɛ’

The Asante kingdom has been placed in contrast with other thrones as the lines above indicate
that the Asante kingdom dissolved many thrones and solidly formed its own kingdom. This
brings to fore the many battles the Ashantis fought with other kingdoms before they could
establish a very formidable kingdom. These lines thus tell us that the Asante kingdom is a very
powerful one and no other throne can overpower them.

The extract also makes use of anecdote to tell some of the historical events of the Asante
people. . Anecdote is defined as a short amusing story about a real incident or a person's private
life. Anecdotes are useful because they are often used to explain either doctrines or duties to dull
understandings.

The history of the battle between the Ashantis and the white colonialists is highlighted in the last
lines of the extract as seen below
‘’Kwasi broni de n'atubena baa ne

Kwaeɛ mu,

nanso ne kwaeɛ no dii n'atubena no so

nkunim".

History has it that in 1900, the British governor of the Gold Coast in West Africa - today's Ghana
- travelled to Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti tribe. There, he delivered a provocative speech, in
which he demanded that the Ashanti produce the Golden Stool, the tribe's most sacred object, so
he could sit upon it. Nana Yaa Asantewaa, an Ashanti queen mother, rallied her people into
resistance, in what came to be known as the War of the Golden Stool. Thousands took up arms,
and Asantewaa was appointed war leader of the Ashanti. The Ashanti were eventually defeated
and annexed to the Gold Coast, but retained their autonomy. They also did not produce the
Golden Stool. By not producing the golden stool which represents the soul, the power, and
authority of the Asante Kingdom, the Ashantis believe the British were not able to overpower
them and that the kingdom won over the British.

The use of this anecdote reminds everyone of this historical event and reiterates the power and
strength of the Asantehene and the Asante kingdom.

The extract also uses dialogue, another element of oral poetry, to tell the story and reveal the life
experiences of the Asante people and their beliefs, culture and customs. The extract appears to be
told by someone addressing the audience. The conversational tone of the extract makes one be
part of the oratory. The first lines of the extract address the audience and make it seem as though
there is the presence of the audience as it reads

‘Deɛ ɔnnim ɔtumfoɔ no

Ɔma me nkyerɛ no’

These lines seem to address a group of people about the kind of person the Asantehene is. It it is
done through the use of dialogue. The last lines of the poem also make use of dialogue as can be
read as

‘’na wei kɔma nea ɔpɛ mpaninnsɛm ɛtie:

"Kwasi broni de n'atubena baa ne

Kwaeɛ mu,

nanso ne kwaeɛ no dii n'atubena no so

nkunim".
The historical event is told to the audience through the use of dialogue.

Conclusion

It could be observed that the praise poetry of the Asantehene is an oral poetry which tells the
history and the customs behind the throne of the Asantehene. The oral traditions and customs of
the Asante kingdom are highlighted in the praise poetry of the Asantehene. The oral poetry also
brought to light some of the historical events of the Asante kingdom. The life experiences and
beliefs of the people of the Ashanti kingdom could also be observed through the analysis of the
praise poetry of the Asantehene.
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