Abstracts
 

1st SYMPOSIUM ABSTRACTS 31st JULY 2025

Staging Change: Reimagining Perceptions through Theatre for Development in Indigenous Communities by Nii Ayi Solomon (Meraki Arts Africa)

Abstract: This presentation explores how Theatre for Development (TfD) serves as an Indigenous, community-based tool for perception change and social transformation, aligning with the core tenets of Dondology as an African-centered intellectual discipline. Drawing on Elder Critical Knowledge (ElderCrits) and rooted in oral tradition, performance, and participatory storytelling, our work (Meraki Arts Africa) documents how rural and peri-urban Ghanaian communities have engaged with TfD to challenge colonial mindsets, confront stigma, and reframe narratives around gender, education, and environmental stewardship. We highlight case studies from community performances co-created with local elders, youth, and women’s groups that not only addressed pressing issues but also repositioned traditional performance as a mode of grassroots knowledge production. These performances sparked dialogue, altered attitudes, and fostered community-led action, demonstrating the socio-cultural and economic impact of applied theatre.

By bridging ancestral performance traditions with contemporary community concerns, our practice embodies the transformative spirit of Dondology—reclaiming theatre not merely as entertainment but as an epistemic resistance and educational force. The presentation will include a short excerpt from one of our devised pieces, as well as a reflective discussion on strategies for sustaining community engagement and creative development. We propose that Theatre for Development, when centered on Indigenous performance forms and Elder-led narratives, offers a powerful platform for intellectual decolonization, identity affirmation, and sustainable change. This presentation will be accessible to audiences across educational levels and underscore the enduring relevance of African performance traditions in shaping contemporary discourse and development.

Key Words: Theatre for Development, Dondology, Indigenous Performance, Perception Change, Storytelling

 

The Past, Present and Future: The Resilience of Dance Education in Ghana by David E. A. Quaye

Abstract: Kinesthetic education in Ghana—especially within the Performing Arts—has long faced criticism and marginalisation. One manifestation of this is the derogatory term Dondology, a nickname that has come to represent the academic study and performance of drumming (donno) and dance. This study traces the evolution of dance as an academic discipline in Ghana, examining its journey from stigmatisation to increasing recognition. Using an ethnographic approach and qualitative methods—including purposive sampling and interviews with early alumni—this research documents the program's beginnings and ongoing development. Archival materials will provide historical context, while analysis of curricula and pedagogical strategies will reveal how the program has adapted over time. The study also explores how the label Dondology has transformed, gradually shedding its negative connotations and gaining legitimacy within academic and cultural spheres. Finally, the research highlights notable graduates whose work has advanced dance education and influenced Ghana’s creative industry. By cataloguing this resilience, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of kinesthetic learning in shaping Ghana’s performing arts landscape.

Keywords: Kinesthetic Education, Dondology, Dance, Resilience, Performing Arts

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“Yɛnkͻ Nkͻ Bisa Abrewa Maame Korankyewaa. (“Let Us Go and Ask Old Lady Maame Korankyewaa)” by Awura-Ama Agyapong

Abstract: In Ghana, women in indigenous Ghanaian societies have been engaged in knowledge production through rites, work, music, and dance for centuries. One of the many ways through which women in these societies contributed to epistemology was through music and dance. One of such musical traditions is the Adenkum, which has been documented to have emerged among Akan women in Ghana in the 18th century. Adenkum musical performance served as a safe space for women to express themselves about issues that affected them. As a gallery of historical data and knowledge, Adenkum musical practice also served both entertainment and educational purposes. Unfortunately, the musical practice has declined with a few groups occasionally performing it in contemporary times. My paper focuses on how women in Indigenous Ghanaian societies influence knowledge production through Indigenous music performance. I will achieve this by examining the life and career of the late Mary Abena Korankyewaa, the leader of one of the earliest Adenkum groups (Adenkum Mmayewa), to understand the ways in which her contributions have helped sustain the Adenkum music tradition. I argue that Maame Korankyewaa’s contributions have made her a core revivalist of the Adenkum music tradition, through the Indigenous process of knowledge production, apprenticeship and oral tradition. I hope to demonstrate how her efforts have contributed to music epistemology and feminist philosophical paradigms.

 

Dondology, an Effective Means of African Knowledge Exploration by Sylvanus KwashieKuwor

 

Abstract: Drawing inspiration from the philosophical and scholarly contributions of luminaries such as Kwame Nkrumah, Mawere Opoku, J.H. Kwabena Nketia, and Akin Euba, this presentation articulates a transdisciplinary and holistic conceptualisation of music as a holistic art form deeply embedded in African epistemologies. Rather than viewing music merely as entertainment or aesthetic expression, I argue that within African contexts, music, interwoven with dance functions as a dynamic repository of Indigenous knowledge systems. Through its integration of sound, rhythm, vibration, and movement, music embodies and transmits the collective memory, lived experiences, and philosophical worldview of African societies. The aim of the presentation is to explore how these performative traditions serve as archives for cultural continuity, identity formation, and intergenerational knowledge transfer, ultimately affirming music with its dance as a fundamental vehicle for the articulation and preservation of African Indigenous knowledge.

 

Reimagining Dondology through Sonic Ancestry and Technological Futures:

Asɛmpayɛtsia as Decolonial Praxis by Nana Amowee Dawson

 

Abstract: This lecture-performance introduces Asɛmpayɛtsia, a decolonial compositional framework developed through my doctoral research as a method of music-making and a philosophical intervention. Grounded in the Akan oral tradition of Kodzi, Asɛmpayɛtsia proposes an African-centered approach to composition that draws on Indigenous narrative structures, sonic philosophies, and technological processes. The framework unfolds in four interrelated phases: (1) Philosophical Consideration, which draws inspiration from ancestral proverbs and folktales; (2) Creative Curation, which involves selecting traditional and experimental sonic materials; (3) Aleatoric Organisation, which structures material through loops, improvisation, and non-linear arrangements; and (4) Technological Mediation, which employs digital tools to reimagine African sound in contemporary forms. This presentation positions African musicians as griot-scholars and theorists of sound, engaging the intellectual legacies of J. H. Kwabena Nketia, Akin Euba, Victor Kofi Agawu, Austin Emielu, Christian Onyeji, and George J. Sefa Dei. Through a short multimedia screening and reflective narration, I demonstrate how Asɛmpayɛtsia operates as both a compositional practice and a form of critical inquiry. The framework is designed to be adaptable across educational contexts, informed by ElderCrit, and responsive to Aspiration 5 of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. This work reclaims Dondology as a credible African intellectual and artistic tradition, affirming it as a space of resistance, innovation, and continuity. It advocates for a music education and compositional language that emerges from African knowledge systems, articulated in African voices.

 

Keywords: Dondology, Asɛmpayɛtsia, African music theory, artistic research, decolonial composition, indigenous knowledge systems

 

Performing Indigenous Ewe Econarratives in the Age of Climate Crisis by Edem Kwaku Akpornorvi

Abstract: This paper presents the performance of Indigenous econarratives of the Ewe of Ghana as a model for environmental consciousness, resilience, and activism. In an era where dominant climate discourses often marginalize Indigenous voices, Ewe econarratives offer alternative epistemologies that foreground human-nature reciprocity, ancestral stewardship, and spiritual entanglement with the land. By focusing on two selected Indigenous ecological storytelling sessions/performances in Afife and Keta in the Volta Region, this paper argues that the performance of these stories evokes ecological awareness, transmits environmental ethics across generations, and inspires local climate action. The performative lens highlights how affect, memory, and communal participation become tools for environmental advocacy. Furthermore, the paper assesses the reception and transformative potential of these performances in both Indigenous and broader global contexts. This paper concludes that Indigenous Ewe econarrativesserve as powerful interventions in climate discourse, offering culturally specific yet globally relevant strategies for ecological sustainability. They challenge extractive paradigms, reanimate Indigenous ecological wisdom, and foster intergenerational dialogue around the environment. 

Keywords: Indigenous econarratives, ecological, Indigenous ecological wisdom

Musical innovation and indigenous knowledge: The Legacy of Ghanaba and the Framework of Dondology by Francis Gbomittah

 

Abstract: This paper examines the legacy of Ghanaba (Warren Gamaliel Akwei), a pioneering Ghanaian musician and cultural icon renowned for introducing the African Talking Drum to the U.S. and jazz scenes through his 1956 album, Africa Speaks, America Answers. His reinterpretation of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus with African Talking Drums earned him the title “Odomankoma Kyrema,” highlighting his divine status as a drummer capable of channeling spiritual energies that induce trance states. Beyond music, Ghanaba was a member of Ghana’s secret Inner Cabinet, advising President Kwame Nkrumah on political and spiritual matters, influencing national identity and sovereignty. The paper contextualises his spiritual and cultural significance within “Dondology,” an Indigenous African-centered discipline historically marginalised, but now recognised as a legitimate field integrating Ancestral knowledge systems. This aligns with Mafe (2015) and Nketia’s (2007) vision of blending traditional arts into modern society to foster socio-cultural resurgence. Employing ethnography, interviews, and archival analysis, the study explores Ghanaba’s impact on Indigenous music, using oral histories and content analysis to reveal his innovative methods and cultural importance. Indigenous epistemology, especially the spiritual and cultural aspects of Dondology, contextualises his contributions. In the end, the paper will emphasise Ghanaba’s spiritual power and cultural innovation as integral to a broader movement of African self-representation and decolonisation, affirming the vital role of indigenous philosophies and artistic practices in contemporary resistance and identity formation.

 

Keywords: Musical innovations; Indigenous/Ancestral knowledge; Dondology; Decolonisation. 

The Rhythms from Drumbeat to Quantum Field: African Traditional Spirituality, the Power of Song, Dance, Akom and the Science of Vibration by Nana Yaw Wi Asamoah Boadi

 

Abstract: In African traditional spirituality, rhythm is not merely aesthetic—it is ontological. From the pulsing drumbeat that echoes Ancestral memory to the trance-inducing sway of Akom, African rituals harness sound, movement, and intention as tools of transformation and communication with the unseen. This article explores how practices like drumming, singing, dancing, and spiritual possession are far more than cultural artifacts—they are technologies of frequency, vibration, and energy that align with principles found in quantum physics and vibrational medicine. By interrogating the metaphysical foundations of African spirituality and drawing parallels with scientific understandings of energy fields, resonance, and wave-particle duality, this work reframes African spiritual traditions as sophisticated systems of reality-making. The analysis further highlights the role of the human body as a conduit for spiritual energy, where Akom becomes not just performance, but a re-calibration of self with cosmic forces. In reclaiming these traditions from colonial erasure, we uncover a living science encoded in rhythm—an African quantum field of ancestral power.

 

Keywords: Rhythms, songs, dance, African Traditional Spirituality, Akom, frequency, vibration,Quantum physics.

 

 

PRESENTERS’ BIOS

Awura-Ama Agyapong is a young ethnomusicologist and a singer-songwriter who is currently a first year PhD student pursuing Ethnomusicology at the Department of Music, School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana. Her research interests include music and gender, identity, and performance.

 

Edem Kwaku Akpornorvi is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Ghana. He is an Indigenous theatre practitioner whose research interest explores the use of theatre as a tool for communicating environmental issues with a focus on climate change.

 

Nii Ayi Solomon is a Ghanaian academic, tourism consultant, storyteller, poet, and playwright with a rich blend of scholarly expertise and hands-on experience in the tourism, hospitality, and creative arts sectors.

 

Nana Yaw Wi Asamoah Boadi is a traditional African scholar and research associate at the Institute of Indigenous Intelligence, currently pursuing a PhD focused on bridging Indigenous knowledge systems with modern academia. He holds an MPhil in Educational Leadership, dual diplomas in Philosophy/Religious Studies and Education, and bachelor's degrees in both Philosophy & Social Sciences (Spiritan-KNUST) and Business Administration (UEW-Kumasi). His research interests include Indigenous Intelligence, African Traditional Spirituality, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Quantum Physics, esoteric studies, educational leadership, teacher mentorship, and entrepreneurship education.

 

Nana Amowee Dawson (PhD) is a composer, music theorist, and researcher specialising in African musical arts, indigenous knowledge, and decolonial practices.  He holds a PhD in Music, with a focus on reimagining Akan-Mfantse folklore (Kodzi) as a visual programmatic music form rooted in Indigenous epistemology. Nana serves as a music tutor at Ghana National College and is currently undertaking a Postgraduate Diploma in Education, with a scholarly focus on African art music, technology, cultural heritage, archiving, and immersive sound design.

 

Francis Gbormittah (PhD) is a media arts lecturer at the University of Ghana with a background in media and culture studies from the University of Glasgow. His research focuses on film and television aesthetics, technology, and African cinema within cultural and colonial contexts. He has published widely, co-edited a book on African performing arts, and serves on various boards.

 

Sylvanus Kwashie Kuwor (PhD) is a master drummer, dance scholar, and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, currently serving as Visiting Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. With extensive experience in cultural education across Europe and North America, he has facilitated over 300 workshops globally. He is the author of Agbadza Dance of the Anlo-Ewe and co-editor of The Role and Transmission of Performing Arts in Rural Ghana.

 

David E. A. Quaye (PhD) is a lecturer in the Department of Dance Studies in university of Ghana, Legon. He received his PhD from the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana with a focus in Dance Pedagogy. He is also a choreographer who specializes in lighting design as He has an interest in the relationship between music and dance.   

 

 

PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY

Presenters may submit their revised papers for consideration in a special edited collection, “Dondology: Repositioning an African-centered Field of Study” (Tentative Title)

Submission Deadline: TBA