We sing to live: The songs of a minority fishing community

The primary objective of this research project is to investigate how fishing songs contribute to the negotiation of collective belonging and maintenance of identity within the minority community of Duakor. Duakor is a part of the Ghanaian city of Cape Coast. While the majority of residents of Cape Coast belong to the Fante ethnic group, the residents of Duakor are members of the Ewe ethnic group from the Volta region of Ghana. Anlo is the dialect spoken by the southern Ewe people, hence they are referred to as the Anlo-Ewe. The Duakor community developed when fishers from Keta, the southern part of the Volta region, migrated to settle along the sea in Cape Coast in the 1950s. Within this dominant Fante context, the Duakor residents thus constitute a minority and have developed a unique identity in terms of ethnicity, language, and cultural practices. The main economic activity of the Duakor community is fishing. Singing plays a significant role in their fishing practices, serving as a means of identity negotiation and cultural expression. I explore the musical styles, performance practices, and the roles of performers in fishing activities within the community. Additionally, the research project seeks to utilize the communitys songs as a tool for promoting social cohesion, celebrating cultural diversity. Employing ethnographic methods, including participant observations, interviews, and focus group discussions, I conduct data collection in both the Duakor community in Cape Coast and the Keta community in the Volta region. The research in Keta serves to study Anlo music there and to trace its connections to its use by migrants in the new cultural settings of Duakor. Data is analyzed by looking at common themes, the stories people tell, and the musical details and their meanings to them. I examine the lyrics of songs to understand their literal and deeper meanings and connect them to their cultural context. This project serves as a pioneering endeavour in the examination of minority dynamics within sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on Ghanas intricate multi-ethnic landscape. By analyzing the intersections of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and religion in the realm of music, I aim to shed light on the complexities of minority-majority relationships and contribute valuable insights to the field of West African music studies. Through this research, I introduce the concept of minority into the study of music in West Africa, offering theoretical frameworks and practical implications for future scholarship and policymaking. Overall, this project seeks to deepen the understanding of the role of music in the lives of minority communities in Ghana and pave the way for meaningful interventions that promote cultural preservation and social integration. The intended research outputs include research articles in high-impact journals and a documentary film as a major means of making the research results available to the Duakor residents.