Music and Dance of Africa

Fanga Alafia video

Welcome to Africa

Fanga Alafia is a traditional welcome song from the Yoruba people in west Africa. Traditionally, music and dance are a common way to welcome guests to a village. This song has the addition of a translated African proverb, reassuring us that our hosts welcome us with good will and peaceful intentions.

The call and response form of Fanga Alafia is typical of music from many African cultures, and the repeated rhythmic patterns used to accompany the song are a simplified demonstration of the way African music layers patterns one on top of another to create a more complex effect.

Africa is an incredibly diverse continent. There are presently 54 countries, with more than 3,000 different ethnic groups and more than 2,000 distinct languages spoken. It is important to recognize that African cultures are distinct from one another, and to try to be specific regarding region, language and culture when learning about African art, music and dance.

Wake Up to Life

As is the case with most ethnic groups in Africa, the Ewe culture spans several nations. The Ewe people live mainly in Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria on the western coast.

Bobobo is a style of dance developed in the 1940s and has become connected to popular political movements as well as cultural traditions, like funeral celebrations. The movements can be performed either fast or slow, and it is usually danced in a circle, with men at the center and women dancing around them.

This collection of moves was taught to us by our friend Kofi Gbolonyo. Kofi says that dance is the way that our bodies, hearts and minds awaken and connect with the world around us. In the Ewe culture, dancing is essential to living--so let's "wake up to life"!

Bobobo Dance Along video

This video of Bobobo dance moves is to a song by a modern African pop artist named Yemi Alade. Africa is a modern place, and popular music has a place alongside more traditional music and dance.

Bobobo (Borborbor) Dance

Bobobo is a dance style practiced in Ghana and Togo by the Ewe people. Bobobo is danced at all kinds of community celebrations, processions and festivals. It is also danced as part of political rallies and civic events. Both men and women dance Bobobo, although most professional performance groups seem to feature women dancers. Bobobo dancers sometimes hold handkerchiefs as they dance. Traditional Bobobo is accompanied by drum and bell patterns that are closely tied to the dance movements and performances may feature choral singing and brass instruments. Depending on the situation, Bobobo can be a community activity where anyone may participate, an informal performance of community members, or a professional performance group presented in a "stage" format.