【Culture．文化】KETE (Unity Drum, in Cape Coast, Ghana)

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KETE (Unity Drum, in Cape Coast, Ghana)

Kete dance has always been a court dance for chiefs and members of the Royal Household and the favorite of the Asantehene. Traditionally, Kete was played for the King Adinkra of the Gyamanse during the Asant-Gyaman war. The story is about the Asantes captured Kete drummers and took them to Kumasi. Another traditional source claims that kete drums were originally for the Asantehene who took them while they were going to fight against the Gyamans. One of the kete rhythmic patterns is called Adinkra. 'Yede brebre bekum Adinkra,Oboa keka no kwa' translates as, slowly and very slowly we will kill Adinkra, all his threats are lies. Also, we can see the drums are usually coved in red and black check pattern. The red represent shed blood during the Ashante-Gyaman war while the black signifies the men lost during the war. The dance is noted for the courtliness for the war.

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