I travelled to West Africa in July/August of 1999, and specifically to Ghana, as one of a group of 18 Australians on the Kusun Cultural Study Tour. "Kusun" means "tradition" in Ga language and is also the name of the dance, music and song performing group led by Nii Tetteh Tettey.

Tettey, as he is known, lives in the village of Nungua, about 15 kilometres east of Ghana's capital Accra, from where he leaves periodically to teach and perform in Australia, Canada and the UK. Once a year, for the last three years, there has been a 5 week residential study camp held at Nungua for Westerners to come and learn something of Ghanaian culture from Tettey and his group. 

The members of Kusun come from different ethnic groups within Ghana and their material reflects this. Tettey himself is from the Ga people; but as well as Ga culture, Kusun perform Ewe and Ashanti pieces.

Each morning and afternoon we were bussed to the training ground, a sandy clearing under coconut palms and shade cloths, facing the rolling Atlantic Ocean. A constant breeze kept temperatures very pleasant. As well as these sessions where we learned song, dance and drumming, we accompanied Kusun to several of their normal gigs. 

Anne with Kusun members at funeral, Mepe 

Kusun play for the local community when there are ceremonies or parties which call for music. Thus we attended two funerals, the joyous style of which convinced me I'd like to die in Ghana!

Of course when someone dies there is mourning. In fact there are quite protracted ceremonies and services including viewing the body as it lies in state, a church service, a burial and then a celebratory party. These various phases allow the friends, relatives and community members to fully feel their loss, and then to celebrate the life of the loved one. During the party phase, all the adults, dressed in dramatic black and red (or black and brown), assemble seated in rows while the band plays traditional and modern music. Food and drinks are provided, there are performances and the audience is free to get up and dance if they wish. Many do! There is joy and positivism as life goes on. The celebration can last for many hours.

The musical highlights of my trip to Ghana were the experiences I had at these community cultural events, and at Panafest. Panafest is a biannual festival which showcases and celebrates the strength, richness and diversity of African culture. This year it was held at Cape Coast, about 4 hours by road to the west of Accra. It is a town from which millions of captured Africans were shipped to the New World. There is an enormous white castle built by the Portuguese, but subsequently fought over by various European colonial powers, until finally claimed by the English. The castle is now a museum and through exhibits and tours, people can learn about the horrific history of exploitation that millions of Africans suffered. You can visit the dungeons, the suffocation room reserved for the rebellious, see the iron shackles and glimpse something of the horror and inhumanity of slavery. During Panafest, a concert, including a re-enactment of slave conditions followed by a celebration of emancipation, was held at night in the courtyard of the castle. It was extremely graphic and moving. The concert itself consisted of fabulous music and dance performances of great energy and spirit by Jamaicans, Zulus, Ivoriens, Ghanaians and other Africans. The whole production was impressively smooth and professional, speeches and pomp kept to a minimum, the vibrancy and strength of the cultures speaking for themselves.

The Kusun Study Tour group was housed at the local university residential campus, along with the visiting cultural troupes. Thus we were treated to a constant stream of world class performances, as troupe after troupe rehearsed for their shows, then got together less formally in jam sessions. I felt quite privileged, as we were virtually the only whites present.

At a whole day of performances held in a sports stadium, being with Kusun meant we could get quite close to the action. In fact we were often in the midst of it - surrounded by swirling drummers, dancers, stilt-walkers, chiefs and others in gorgeous costumes and finery.

Some particularly lively performers were the Gambians. After being welcomed by them as part of an artistic family, I decided a visit to Gambia was necessary. I had a feeling that this would be the place for me - which it was!

While the Gambia is extremely poor and underdeveloped, (no thanks to the British!), lacking practically all services and amenities - the antithesis of a western lifestyle - I felt both comfortable and enthralled. I had the impression that somehow I had "come home". I revelled in the richness of the textures, embroideries, screen prints, tie-dyes and wild juxtapositioning of colours and fabrics. I felt welcomed by the smiling, relaxed adults and open-faced, curious children.

Despite the poverty, the women are beautiful in their elegance and sophistication. The men too, regal in their flowing robes, turbans and scarves. The religion is Islam of a tolerant, live-and-let-live variety. Arabic-style calls to prayer waft from the picturesque mosques.

The linguistic situation in the Gambia, (as in other parts of Africa), is quite complex and interesting. While English is the official language, I found that in fact, French was more widely understood and spoken. The lingua franca is Wolof, while many people speak Malinke and/or Fula and/or Djola. Being multi-lingual is the norm.

It seems to me that in Australia, people tend to forget their differences and pull together only in times of crisis - such as a bushfire or a flood. Being so poor, and having so little infrastructure, Africa is in a state of constant crisis, so people need to help each other out constantly. This seems to result in a lot fewer barriers between people, and a ready willingness to co-operate to achieve goals.

This could mean helping to lift a huge basket of goods or bucket of water onto a stranger's head for them to carry, or to push someone's car out of a quagmire, or to house or feed those in need. In a country which has little materially, life is at once simple - yet so difficult. Generally speaking, almost nothing works properly, almost everything breaks, breaks down, malfunctions, runs behind schedule, fails to materialise or is simply unavailable. Patience and tolerance are sorely tested.

Yet, people express happiness so readily, through the joyous music, song and dance that are part of everyday life. This expression is so rewarding and uplifting that the frustrations and difficulties, in the short term at least, fade to insignificance, or are momentarily transcended. While this was certainly my experience, I appreciate that a romanticised view of life in Africa as "happy natives" in a context of "colour and movement" does not acknowledge the whole picture - which includes the very real hardship, sickness and death that is also the post-colonial, post-independence lot of the vast majority. Africa is contradictions and extremes.

Africa is AN EXPERIENCE!

All photography and text Copyright ©1999 Anne Harkin