{"id":315,"date":"2016-07-19T16:19:12","date_gmt":"2016-07-19T16:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/?p=315"},"modified":"2016-11-29T18:48:33","modified_gmt":"2016-11-29T18:48:33","slug":"funeral-for-paramount-chief-video-selections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/uncategorized\/funeral-for-paramount-chief-video-selections\/","title":{"rendered":"Funeral for Paramount Chief Video Selections"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><strong><span class=\"Heading\">Video Selections:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>Day 1<\/b><br \/>\nAround midnight of the previous night, the electricity for the entire town of Anomabu was briefly turned off to insure complete darkness as the Paramount Chief\u2019s body was returned to town (it had been preserved\u00a0at a morgue in Accra for the previous few months while arrangements for the funeral were being made) and placed on an ornately decorated bed in a second floor room of the palace. This video clip opens with a panoramic shot of the palace where, on this first day of the four-day-long series of events for the funeral, the Anomabu Traditional Area chiefs under the suzerainty of the paramount chief have gathered to ceremoniously inform the ancestors and local spirits of the chief\u2019s death and to request their support in the days to come. Although enacted out in the open, this is not a public affair. The residents of Anomabu have not officially been informed of the death of their chief, although they of course all know of it since he died months earlier.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nWe see first the court linguist presenting libations at the base of a tree to the chief\u2019s ancestors by pouring gin on the ceremonial stools that had been used by his precursors. The group then moves to a shrine at the front of the palace where further libations are presented to local <i>obosom.<\/i> Utterances by the linguist are affirmed by those present and the court <i>aben<\/i> player blasts an occasional text in support of the actions.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nA cow is sacrificed to the ancestors, who are symbolically fed by the blood that hits the ground. Later, the cow is butchered for its meat (not shown).<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nStill later in the morning, Reginald\u00a0Mensah drums appropriate texts on the royal <i>atumpan<\/i>, which face the entrance of the palace wherein the chief\u2019s body lays in state.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nLocal chiefs rest in the palace courtyard between the low-key events of the first day. (The recorded music heard during segments of this video clip is coming from the outdoor speakers of a nearby bar&#8211;it has nothing to do with the funeral activities.)<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 320px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-315-1\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral1.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral1.mp4\">http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral1.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p><b>Day 2<\/b><br \/>\nThe second day of the funeral ceremony is the day on which the local chiefs proclaim to the citizens of Anomabu that their paramount chief has died by making a solemn procession through the streets wearing red and black, the colors Fante associate with death. From this point on, the stages of the ceremony involve ever increasing segments of the community.<\/p>\n<p>Day two begins with the royal <i>fontomfrom<\/i> ensemble being played at the palace as the chiefs of the Anomabu Traditional Area arrive. The <i>fontomfrom<\/i> drums and the musicians are set up facing the front wall of the palace, right below the second floor window of the room in which the body of the chief rests. Much progress has been made by this time in preparing the palace courtyard for the events of the third and fourth days.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;cross dissolve&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nThe local chiefs arrive at the palace after having a planning meeting in a house across the street.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;cross dissolve&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nAfter passing in front of the still playing <i>fontomfrom<\/i> ensemble, the chiefs circle the palace courtyard before taking their seats.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nThe drummer from one of the town\u2019s <i>asafo<\/i> companies calls the chiefs to order to begin the procession.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nHaving reformed their line, the chief\u2019s begin their procession through the town to the occasional bursts of text on the <i>asafokyen<\/i> and the <i>aben.<\/i><br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;cross dissolve&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nThe procession continues through the streets of Anomabu.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nAfter returning to the palace, the chiefs enter the building in order to view\u00a0the corpse for the first time and pay their respects.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nIt is considered dangerous for a living chief to see a dead one, so a special ceremony is performed just before the chiefs leave the palace. By walking through the blood of a sacrificed animal, the chiefs will be protected against suffering the same misfortune that has befallen their paramount chief. Before the sheep is sacrificed, libations are poured to the ancestors petitioning their protection. The <i>fontomfrom<\/i> ensemble begins to play again as the chiefs exit the palace.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 320px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-315-2\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral2.mp4?_=2\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral2.mp4\">http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral2.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p><b>Day 3<\/b><br \/>\nThe third day is when the major community organizations&#8211;the <i>asafo<\/i> companies and the <i>akom<\/i> priestesses&#8211;are drawn into the ceremony. The <i>asafo<\/i> companies each gather at their respective posts and march through the streets toward the palace with their <i>asafokyen<\/i> leading the way and their members singing.<\/p>\n<p>The clip begins with <i>Asafo<\/i> Co. No. 6 in the streets. Then Co. No. 3 passes by them.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;cross dissolve&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nSeveral <i>akomfo<\/i> in their white cloths approach the palace from another direction, with yet another <i>asafo<\/i> company following them. This company, No. 5, uses a mirliton (kazoo) instead of an <i>asafokyen.<\/i><br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nMeanwhile, at the palace grounds, the royal <i>fontomfrom<\/i> ensemble is playing in anticipation of the arrival of the participating organizations. Notice that the drums are now facing the courtyard instead of the building, and that, unlike the previous two days, there are many observers present. While the <i>asafo<\/i> companies are organizing themselves beneath a canopy, the <i>akomfo<\/i> arrive.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nOne by one, each <i>asafo<\/i> company salutes the assembled chiefs and invited guests seated around the periphery of the courtyard with their <i>asafokyen<\/i> and the presentation of one of their flags. Here we see the <i>asafokyen<\/i> player and the\u00a0<i>frankakitsanyi<\/i> of Co. No. 6 introducing their company to the chiefs.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nThroughout the afternoon the various <i>asafo<\/i> organizations contribute music to enliven the event. As they play and sing (Co. No. 6 is shown here), mourners can be seen walking by on their way to pay their last respects to the deceased chief while others are moved to express themselves through dance.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;cross dissolve&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nA company <i>frankakitsanyi<\/i> joins the dancers. The group of women in red and black that dances their way through the courtyard are members of the chief\u2019s <i>abusua<\/i> (matriclan). What you are seeing and hearing in the footage is not, so far as I can tell, thought of as entertainment by the Fante. Rather, it is viewed as a desirable state of sound that invites participants to explore their feelings of loss through dance.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 320px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-315-3\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral3.mp4?_=3\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral3.mp4\">http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral3.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p><b>Day 4<\/b><br \/>\nIn the palace courtyard, we see the key representatives of the local chiefs and the paramount chief\u2019s <i>abusua<\/i> leaving the palace to the accompaniment of the <i>atumpan<\/i> drums and <i>aben.<\/i><br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;cross dissolve&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nWith the <i>fontomfrom<\/i> ensemble now being played, we see the local chiefs and their regalia (e.g., linguist staffs with sculptural representations of proverbs) seated underneath a tent.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;cross dissolve&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nA royal <i>aben<\/i> player.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nMeanwhile, the entourages of paramount chiefs from around the Central Region are organizing on the edge of town in preparation for their grand procession to the palace grounds. The regalia of chieftancy include ivory\u00a0<em>aben<\/em><i>\u00a0<\/i>(sometimes with a bell-like extension made from the jawbones of enemies killed in long-ago battles), sculptured finials on linguists\u2019 staffs, small executioner drums (executions are no longer carried out, but most courts will still have a person in this ceremonial role), large and colorful umbrellas, thrones, and a royal music ensemble.<\/p>\n<p>Our first view of the procession shows a royal <i>aben<\/i> player at the tail end of one chief\u2019s entourage, followed by another entourage the <i>aben<\/i> player of which uses a horn with human jawbones. This chief\u2019s entourage concludes with a\u00a0<i>mmensoun<\/i> group playing ivory horns. The next ensemble to come into view is a royal <i>kete<\/i> group with four drums and a bell. <i>Kete<\/i> drums are typically wrapped or painted in a black and red (funeral colors) checkerboard pattern. The next entourage includes an executioner\u2019s drum (not played while in view). While the procession is momentarily stalled, another entourage with a <i>kete<\/i> ensemble passes on the street side. A moment later a <i>fontomfrom<\/i> ensemble comes into view. An executioner\u2019s drum (this time played) and <i>aben<\/i> with human mandibles are part of the entourage to follow. Next there is a close-up of three men carrying their chief\u2019s floor mat, throne, and footstool. The following group begins with the same trio of regalia and ends with an impressive <i>fontomfrom<\/i> set with two large <i>from.<\/i><br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;cross dissolve&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nThe final few groups are then seen, ending with another <i>kete<\/i> group that includes dancers.<br \/>\n<span class=\"reference\">&lt;fade out&gt;<\/span><br \/>\nBy this time, the first chiefs in the procession have arrived at the palace where they will soon be joined by the rest, the procession circumambulating\u00a0the courtyard before settling into the reserved places beneath the canopies surrounding the courtyard. The final video segment captures a sense of the general cacophony at the palace.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 320px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-315-4\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral4.mp4?_=4\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral4.mp4\">http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/funeral4.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/uncategorized\/funeral-for-paramount-chief\/\">&lt;&lt;<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/uncategorized\/enstoolment-of-chief\/\">&gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Video Selections: Day 1 Around midnight of the previous night, the electricity for the entire town of Anomabu was briefly turned off to insure complete darkness as the Paramount Chief\u2019s body was returned to town (it had been preserved\u00a0at a morgue in Accra for the previous few months while arrangements for the funeral were being &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/uncategorized\/funeral-for-paramount-chief-video-selections\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Funeral for Paramount Chief Video Selections&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":753,"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315\/revisions\/753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/ghana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}