Literary Analysis of ‘Kpaa’ Songs. A Didactic Legacy of Oral Performance. A Case Study of the People of Teshie, Accra, Ghana

Abstract

The unwritten literature of Africa is usually viewed by many as unrefined. The study focuses on an oral form of literature of  Teshie among the Ga people in Ghana. The study dwelt on the literary analysis of ‘Kpaa[1]’ Songs which is performed during ‘Kpaashimo[2]’. It throws light on how it can be merged into the context of literature by revealing the use of poetic devices such as proverbs, rhetorical questions, metaphor, personification, imagery, repetitions, allusions, alliteration and assonance. The study further reveals the immeasurable wisdom and knowledge found in ‘Kpaa’ songs as well as its importance in terms of teaching the culture of the people of the Ga in Ghana. It further reveals the didactic qualities of the songs. The focus of the study is on the performance and the songs that are used. The songs were recorded and analysed as poetry.

Keywords: Ga, Kpaa, Kpaashimo, Didactic, Performance

[1] A type of song performed by the Ga in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

[2] The performance of Kpaa songs is termed as Kpaashimo