Rites, Recreation and Rulership: Christianity and Ewe Music of Ghana

This dissertation examines the understudied relationship between Christianity and Ewe musical practices in rites, recreational, and rulership. It explores not only how Christianity transformed the world of Ewe music, but also how Ewe worlds of music ultimately influenced the way in which Christianity is practiced in Ghana. The dissertation investigates church musical traditions that emerged under the influence of missionaries and later in the postcolonial church. Furthermore, it examines the naming and puberty rites of the Ewes and analyzes the musical and liturgical changes that Christianity introduced into these cultural practices. Regarding recreation, it focuses on two genres: Bɔbɔɔbɔ and Gabaɖa. Finally, it turns to the relationship between Christianity and music performed for traditional rites and chiefhood. Engaging with scholarship from ethnomusicology, African studies, religious studies, and linguistics anthropology, this project takes an interdisciplinary approach to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between Christianity and Ewe music of Ghana.