Kakaamotobe: Fancy Dress Carnival in Ghana

312 Pages·2021·8.12 MB·English

by  Courtnay Micots

Kakaamotobe

Kakaamotobe
Fancy Dress Carnival in Ghana
Courtnay Micots
LEXINGTON BOOKS
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
Published by Lexington Books
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Micots, Courtnay, 1966– author.
Title: Kakaamotobe : fancy dress carnival in Ghana / Courtnay Micots.
Description: Lanham : Lexington Books, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021017987 (print) | LCCN 2021017988 (ebook) | ISBN
9781793643094 (cloth) | ISBN 9781793643100 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Carnival costume—Ghana—History. | Carnival—Ghana—History. |
Fanti (African people)—Rites and ceremonies. | Ghana—Social life and customs.
Classification: LCC GT4289.G4 M53 2021 (print) | LCC GT4289.G4 (ebook) | DDC
394.269667—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021017987
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021017988
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
A Note about Images and Online Resources xi
1 Introduction 1
2 Retracing the Steps: The History of Fancy Dress 33
3 Local Beliefs and Practices 73
4 Inclusivity and Exclusivity: Membership and Aesthetics 103
5 Winneba: Serious Competition 135
6 Sustainable Practices of Masquefest and Carnival as Festival 177
7 The Afro-Brazilian Contribution to Fancy Dress 199
8 Fancy Dress and Silliness: Transformation of Power and
Global Modernity 237
Appendix A: Winners of the Winneba Masquefest Competitions 273
Appendix B: Fancy Dress Groups in Ghana by City, August 2017 277
Bibliography 281
Index 295
About the Author 299
v

Acknowledgments
This book is the result of a collaborative effort between myself and many
people to whom I owe my heartfelt gratitude. First and foremost, I thank all
my Fancy Dress and performance friends in Ghana, the Republic of Benin
and Brazil who shared their time, knowledge and art with me, year after year.
Second, to my mentors who offered their expertise, encouragement, support
and advice, I am indebted. Third, I appreciate the assistance provided by
librarians and other staff members in archives across three continents. And,
finally, I thank the institutions that funded my efforts.
I will begin by recognizing my generous and knowledgeable colleagues
across southern Ghana. Ernest Kofi Abbeyquaye and staff members at the
National Commission of Culture with offices in Accra, Winneba, Cape Coast
and Koforidua provided invaluable information regarding the competition
histories of government-sanctioned events, such as the National Festival of
Arts and Culture (NAFAC). Michael H. Attipoe, Director at the head office
in Accra, and Richardson Commey Fio, Head of Performing Arts, in Cape
Coast, were especially bounteous with their time. Furthermore, in Accra I was
greatly assisted by the Tabom chief Nii Azumah V who graciously allowed
me to interview members of the Ghana City Masquerader Union and Ezekiel
Fortunato Nelson, king of the Fancy Dress group. Dr. John Collins was an
invaluable resource regarding the early music traditions of Ghana, especially
documenting local forms, such as adaha and highlife, as they pertain to the
rise of Yamoah’s Brass Band.
Elsewhere along the coast, my primary consultants and friends who shared
their expertise and assistance were Nana Yaw Arkoful in Agona Swedru,
Francis Kodwo Coker or “Kodzi” in Saltpond, Kwesi Kaya Thomas Hemans
or “Fire” in Cape Coast, Donatus Acquandoah or “Hippies” and Ekow John
vii
viii Acknowledgments
Charles Nakwah in Elmina, and Stephen Kweku Enu Adams in Tema. While
I cannot possibly thank the hundreds of performers, organizers and musicians
with whom I have spoken over the past ten years, my hope is that this book
will serve as reward for their generosity of time and knowledge.
My research was greatly aided through the permissions of the Winneba
Masquerade Federation and the Takoradi Masquerade Association. In Tako-
radi I was helped by Uncle Sekum and Osamanu Scheck who introduced me
to many Fancy Dress leaders, tailors and mask makers. Fataawu Belloe was
a true colleague in Winneba and became one of my closest friends. He as-
sisted with connecting me with all the group leaders and town chief, but more
will be said about Fataawu later in the book. I am also grateful to Tom Peter
Paintsil, Samuel Newlove Mensah Affull, Charles Yawtey, Kwesi Michael
Acheampong, Franklin Kojo Korsah Brown, Samuel Amaning and Nana An-
doh, all of whom helped me to better understand both the craftsmanship and
iconography behind Fancy Dressing.
In Porto Novo, Republic of Benin, I am grateful for the assistance of
Francisca Patterson, head of the Afro-Brazilian community in town, and her
son Achille Cesar Patterson, for sharing their knowledge of performance
practices in Porto Novo and Contonou. I am also indebted to the guides at the
Musée da Silva and the Musée Alesendre Andande de Porto Novo.
During my research trip to Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, I was greeted warmly
and permitted interviews with individuals like Roberto Santos and group
leaders, such as Ednaldo Gomes of the afoxê Laroyê Ariba group, and Jorge
Rodrigues, a.k.a. Jorginho Commanchero, of the blocos de índio Com-
manche group. I am beholden to Janet DeCosmo, Professor Emerita from
Florida A & M University, and Normando Boleiro who provided translation
assistance when necessary.
Additionally, I appreciate the assistance from scholars and librarians at the
University of Ghana in Legon (UG), the University of Cape Coast, the Uni-
versity of Education in Winneba (UEW), and the Kumasi Institute of Science
and Technology (KNUST). For supporting my research on Fancy Dress, I am
especially grateful to retired Dean Mary Priscilla Dzansi McPalm from the
School of Creative Arts and John Benjamin Kofi Aidoo or “Taller,” professor
and head of the Art Department at UEW.
Mentors outside of Ghana include Doran H. Ross, Robin Poynor and Her-
bert M. Cole. As generous scholars they have written countless letters on my
behalf and provided encouragement. From our first communication in 2006,
Ross, former director of the UCLA Fowler Museum, has served as an ever-
enthusiastic cheerleader for my interest in Ghanaian arts. Throughout the
years his generosity, expertise, mentorship and buoyant spirit emboldened
me to write articles on a variety of artworks and eventually to complete this
Acknowledgments ix
book project. Poynor, my dissertation committee chair and now Professor
Emeritus, University of Florida, fortunately read my book manuscript and of-
fered valuable and extensive advice to clarify my language, organization and
ideas. His support and encouragement was instrumental to this project. Cole,
Professor Emeritus at UC Santa Barbara, was enthusiastic about the project
and kindly shared his photographs of a 1972 Elmina’s Fancy Dress parade.
I examined archival documents in Accra and Cape Coast, Ghana; in
London and Oxford, England; and in Salvador, Brazil, plodding through
mountains to find needles, traces of Fancy Dress history. I am grateful to
the staff and librarians at the following institutions. In Ghana, I conducted
research at the National Archives in Accra and Cape Coast, The George
Padmore Research Library in Accra, and the Balme Library at UG in Legon
for newspaper clippings and other related materials. In London, I perused
holdings at the Anthropology Library in the British Museum, the School of
Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Library at the University of London,
the Wellcome Institute Library, and the National Maritime Museum. I also
made extensive use of the materials at The National Archives in Kew and
the Bodleain Library at Oxford University in Oxford. In Salvador, I utilized
the materials at the Museu Tempostal, Gregorie Archive and Pierre Fatumbi
Verger Archives. I thank Tom Caswell, former librarian at the Art & Archi-
tecture Library at the University of Florida, for his valuable assistance with
my early research in Ghanaian studies.
Financial support was largely provided from my own pocket for nearly a
decade. It was only in 2019 that I received a $25,000 NEH Award for Faculty
of Historically Black Universities or Colleges, which validated my work by
reimbursing nine years of research and providing my research trip to Brazil in
spring of 2019. Prior to this, I made use of two smaller institutional funds. In
December of 2016, I was given $2,000 in funding to support a scouting trip
to Ghana to plan a 2017 summer Ghana Study Abroad program for Florida A
& M University by the Office of International Education and Development
and Sustainability Institute in Tallahassee, Florida. While conducting this
project during the holiday season, I also visited my Fancy Dress colleagues
and attended Christmas, Boxing Day and Masquefest events. In 2014, Wit-
watersrand University in Johannesburg, South Africa, provided a 10,000 R
(roughly $2,000) research grant that I used to support a research trip to Lon-
don and Oxford, England. I am immensely grateful to all these institutions for
supporting my work, and ultimately this book.
While a graduate student at the University of Florida (UF), I was awarded
$5,000 from the Center for African Studies Foreign Language and Area
Studies Fellowship to learn the Fante language during my 2009 research