“We Too Sing”: Kofi Anyidoho and Ewe Poetic Traditions in Elegy For The Revolution

Abstract

This article estimates the debt of Kofi Anyidoho, a leading Ghanaian poet, to the poetic traditions of the Ewe people of West Africa. It proceeds from situating the work of the poet within his immediate cultural environment, clarifying the dynamism of Ewe literary traditions and the possibilities of perpetuating, extending and subverting them. It suggests that received traditions in this context often prove amenable to functional manipulation and that practices of this nature are increasingly enriching the distinctive literary practices of other postcolonial societies. But the article denies any simplistic transference of values from the Ewe practices that provide the enabling base for Anyidoho’s creative project, suggesting, instead, that a proper evaluation of his work must take his own outlook and the circumstances that necessitate his appropriation of aspects of indigenous poetic practices into consideration. The Ewe traditions of dirge and the Halo (song of abuse) are recognized as the particular Ewe poetic practices that shape Kofi Anyidoho’s creative project. The Ewe people are believed to have migrated from Oyo in Southwestern Nigeria, through Ketu in the present Republic of Benin, to Notse in Togo, where they eventually dispersed. In the political geography of contemporary Africa, they are found in three West African states – Benin, Togo and Ghana. The people still maintain a reasonable measure of cultural unity in spite of the failure of their moves toward political unification. Their main unifying factors include a common language and shared beliefs and practices, especially in their traditions of poetry. Of the many Ewe sub-groups – Anlo, Some, Be, Ge, Peki, Adaklu, Ave, “We Too Sing”