Nana Kimati Dinizulu Rare Foot Drum Solo

Nana Kimati Dinizulu at "Pinkworo" in "Paga Nania"

In the upper region of Ghana is a village called "Paga Nania". In this village you will find a slave transit camp and relics of the slave trade. The area that can be viewed in this photo is called, "Pinkworo" (Rocks of Fear). I'll post more images of some other images, including the stone drums that were and are still played at this historic site.

Ghana, West Africa

Nana Kimati Dinizulu at The British Muesum

Nana Kimati Dinizulu at The British Museum after a day conducting research.
London, United Kingdom

Artists Vibes

Nana Kimati Dinizulu, Jamaican Artist Tafari and Photographer Jahnoy
Negril, Jamaica W I

Nana Kimati Dinizulu & Jamaican artist Christopher Gonzalez

Nana Kimati Dinizulu & The late Christopher Gonzalez in his studio. Runaway Bay, Jamaica, W I

From strong mothers we came

Gary Fritz & Nana Kimati Dinizulu on the set. Universal Pictures film shoot. July 26, 2009
Both Mr. Fritz and Nana Dinizulu's mothers used to dance with the late Ismay Andrews.

Film shoot

Universal Pictures film shoot. July 26, 2009 - Band members on the set

Nana Kimati Dinizulu backstage Jamaica festival Aug 1 2009

Nana Kimati Dinizulu backstage Jamaica festival Aug 1 2009

Percussionists

Nana Kimati Dinizulu, Bashiri Johnson and Daoude Woods.
On set at a Universal Pictures film shoot. July 26, 2009

Drums of Dagbon!

Footage recorded by Nana Kimati Dinizulu in Dagbon, Northern Ghana, West Africa.

Vintage 19th century Images - Ghana, West Africa

An Akan royal building- Ghana, West Africa 19th century

Kwame Nkrumah


A Traditional compound - Ghana, West Africa 19th century

Traditional Akan Shrine House- Ghana, West Africa 19th century

Inside Manhyia Palace in Kumasi circa 1890

Notice the proverbial symbols in the relief work in this

traditional Akan building.

Asante traditional music, dance (adowa) and funeral

Check out this video on Asante Traditional Music and Dance http://bit.ly/NenM0

Nana Yaw Opoku Mensah was once a flutist in the courts of the Asantehenes Nana Prempeh I & Nana Prempeh II and possibly Nana Opoku Ware II early in his reign. He was 102 in this video and I was told that he was still in good health in 2006. Nana didn't know his birthdate but he told me that he was born a few months before the Yaa Asantewaa War of 1900.

He is playing the 'odurugya' which is the traditional cane flute of the Akan. The song he's playing i believe is one in the tradition called 'Sikabewuepere'(money's death pangs' which was popularized during the 1920's economic boom in Asante & the Gold Coast Colony.

The flute is often used in songs of lamenting or grief. This piece is more of a recitation than

Publish Post

a song really, for the odurugya is a 'talking' instrument, which means that the Akan of antiquity developed a system of encoding their language into the range of sounds/tones the odurugya makes. One must be immeresed in the 'deep structures' of Akan society in order to learn the method of 'decoding' the flute language.

Mixed with this video is footage from the funeral of the Bantamahene Baffour Awuah V, an event that was both solemn and celebratory.