Kpanlogo was born in the streets of Bukom in the early 1960s. Now its drum is played in classrooms around the world
In the early years of independence, young people in the Ga neighbourhood of Bukom, in Accra’s Jamestown, created a dance. Their elders were not impressed.
Kpanlogo emerged in the early 1960s. It is most closely associated with Otoo Lincoln, a young performer from Bukom, and his friends, who drew on older Ga dances and recreational music and mixed in movements influenced by highlife and the rock and roll that young Ghanaians were hearing on the radio.
The dance
Kpanlogo is danced in a circle, with dancers taking turns in the centre. The movements are loose and flowing, with swinging arms and hips and playful gestures toward partners. Songs accompany the drumming, often with call and response between a lead singer and the group.
Some older people and authorities at first considered the dance too suggestive. Over time, the dance won acceptance, and it came to be seen as part of Ga and Ghanaian culture. It is now performed at festivals, funerals, cultural shows and school events.
The drum
The kpanlogo drum is a tall, barrel-shaped drum carved from wood, with an antelope or goat skin head tensioned by pegs driven into the body. Ensembles use drums of different sizes, playing interlocking parts, with bells and shakers.
The kpanlogo drum has travelled far beyond Ghana. It is used in drum circles, music schools and university African music programmes in Europe, North America and Asia, and many Ghanaian drummers teach abroad.
Bukom
Bukom is best known today for its boxers, including Azumah Nelson, Ike Quartey and many others. It is also a centre of Ga music and dance. Kpanlogo groups perform in the streets, especially during Homowo, the Ga harvest festival, when the old neighbourhoods fill with music.
Where to see it
Visitors can see kpanlogo at cultural centres, at the Chale Wote street art festival in Jamestown and at performances by groups at the Arts Centre in Accra. Drum lessons are available from many Accra drummers, and a first lesson usually starts with the basic kpanlogo rhythm on a single drum before the student is allowed to join an ensemble.
A dance that was once frowned upon by elders became a symbol of the Ga people. The young people of Bukom who invented it are now the elders, and the dance is still moving.
