By Desmond Tinana
The people of Klefe defied the evening showers that could have disrupted their evening of traditional music; an activity which is part of a series of activities of their ongoing Klefe Yam Festival.
The chairman of the Festival Planning Committee, Evans Kwami Buami, revealed that the leaders and people of Klefe are working on reviving ZIGI, a contagious drums and music style accompanied by rhythmic dance steps, which is one of the major music styles of the people. He said the night of traditional music was designed to revive and also pass on traditional music styles to the current and future generations.
Mr Evans explained that the resolve to start the night of traditional dance stems from the realization of the Festival Planning Committee that most youths and young people are not well acquainted with traditional and indigenous music and dance styles of the land like Zigi, Pampro (Bamboo music), Zibo, Adewu (War songs) and the like as compared to foreign and contemporary urban music styles thus the decision to incorporate the Traditional Music Night into the Klefe Yam festival about some two years ago so the youth can both enjoy the music as well as fall in love with them whilst they learn.
The secretary of the Klefe Traditional Council, Torgbe Godfred Nude, explained that Zigi was a form of entertainment, with moral lessons and motivational words that their forefathers used to entertain and motivate themselves and elders as well as teach the youths moral lessons in ancient times and has been passed on from one generation to another.
He explained further that, in the past, when electric power wasn’t available to provide light in the night, the people used to gather mostly under the moon at night to dance and enjoy the music style mostly at Klefe and Ziavi, and as time went on, schools began to teach pupils in schools in the community.
The Festival Planning Committee Chairman added that the aim is to make Klefe a tourist attraction and a hub for traditional music styles like Zigi, Asudwe, Pampro, Zibo, and the like and also to attract tourists to other tourist attraction sites like the Klefe waterfalls.
The Klefe Yam Festival is an annual festival of the people of Klefe in the Volta Region of Ghana with this year’s grand durbar coming up on the 28th of September 2024 at Klefe.
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