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Informed by the challenges facing the aural and oral practices associated with the heritage of regalia in Asante and his interest in formal education, the Asante King, Otumfoɔ Osei Tutu II, commissioned the Manhyia Project in 2009. I was selected director due to my expertise in Akan music scholarship with Nana Kwadwo Nyantakyi III (Asantehene Sanaahene) as the presiding chief. Since 2009, I have consistently spent two to three months in the summer to record oral histories of royal regalia, sound producing and music instruments, ancient song and instrumental texts, as well as texts of referential poetry and chronicle songs (apae and kwadwom) with court musicians, chiefs, and courtiers. Additionally, I have recorded performances in the context of rituals, ceremonies, festivals, royal funerary rites, and official visits of dignitaries from Ghana and around the world.
You can view a gallery of pictures from festivals and events that I have captured during documentation
The purpose of the Manhyia Project is to:
- Correct recurring inaccuracies and errors in both the oral and written history of the centuries old heritage of Asante royal regalia
- Document and preserve oral history and performances using audio-visual equipment, computers, and storage devices
- Retrieve data for court musicians and attendants and the
- Publication of books for educational purposes
Asantehene Otumfoɔ Osei Tutu II on his way from Pampaso (Downtown Kumase) all the way to Manyhia Bɔnmu to perform Trane (gun firing), as part of the Final Funerary Rites of the late Asantehemaa, Nana Afia Kobi Sɛɛwaa Ampem II. The King is wearing Batakarikɛseɛ (the Grand War Tunic), Kumase, December 4, 2017.
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