IfM |?Music and Identity in Postcolonial West Africa Mittwoch, 5. November 2025, 13:30 Uhr

This lecture explores the intricate relationship between music and identity in postcolonial West Africa through the lens of the Tabom community in Ghana-descendants of Afro-Brazilian returnees who settled in Accra in the 19th century after emancipation from slavery in Brazil. As a minority group with a unique transatlantic history, the Tabom offer a compelling case for understanding how music serves both as a repository of memory and a medium of identity negotiation within a larger national context.
Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork and archival research, this presentation examines how the Tabom community uses music-particularly through the Agbe ensemble as a means of preserving ancestral memory, articulating cultural difference, and fostering social cohesion. The analysis situates Tabom musical practices within the broader discourses of postcolonial identity formation, diaspora consciousness, and cultural hybridity, considering how colonial legacies and global flows of culture have shaped local musical expressions.
In engaging with themes of belonging, marginality, and resistance, the lecture also interrogates the role of music in navigating the tensions between integration and cultural preservation in a rapidly modernizing Ghana. Through audio examples, performance anecdotes, and community narratives, the session invites participants to reflect on music’s power to sustain historical memory, shape communal identity, and mediate the complexities of postcolonial existence.
(Kurzvita:
Dr. Benjamin Amakye-Boateng is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Music at the University of Ghana. As a scholar and educator, his work bridges academic research, performance practice, and the preservation of Ghana’s diverse musical heritage. His research centres on the music of the Tabom people - descendants of Afro-Brazilian returnees in Ghana - examining how their cultural identity and diasporic memory are preserved and expressed through music.
With extensive ethnographic fieldwork and a deep commitment to cultural documentation, Dr. Amakye-Boateng brings valuable insights into how music functions as a medium of identity negotiation in postcolonial West Africa. His expertise extends to the digitization and archiving of performance ephemera such as concert programs, posters, and recordings, with an emphasis on preserving both tangible and intangible cultural heritage for future generations.
As a guest lecturer, Dr. Amakye-Boateng offers a unique perspective that weaves together local traditions, transatlantic histories, and contemporary questions of identity, making his sessions engaging for students and scholars across jazz, pop, classical, and world music disciplines.)

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