An African Perspective of Drama: The Case of the Homowo Festival among the People of Teshie, Greater Accra Region – Ghana

Abstract

There have been literary scholars such as Ruth Finnegan who have argued and asserted that drama is not a literary genre that is well developed in Africa. Although this assertion has been refuted and disproved by other literary scholars such as Euchero, Enekwe and Owomoyela, people still struggle with exactly what drama in Africa entails and is about. Whether the dramatic elements and traditions found in the performances are simply not remnants of the encounter with the western world as popularly postulated or they are actually traditions deeply rooted in the culture and identity as Africans. The paper used a qualitative research method that is essentially rooted in ethnography and historical facts that surround the Homowo festival. Also, with Afrocentric theory and Structural Theory of Myth, this paper has critically examined the Homowo festival of the people of Teshie in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana as an African drama and established that the various performances during the festival festivities have the features of drama and not only that, but they practically and vividly show how the performances are rooted in history, myth, rituals and the belief of the people in the community; thus, exhibiting a clear perspective of African drama. This study further contributes to the existing knowledge on oral literature and the treatment of festivals in Africa as a literary genre. It presents the Homowo festival as a fully fledged cultural practice that takes into cognizance essential dramatic elements embedded in its performance. Keywords: Festival, African Drama, Myth, Homowo