Events Calendar

The Asafo of Ghana: A Life History of an Asafo Flag Dancer

Amy Masko Flag Dancer at Oguaa Fetu Afehye Festival (No. 5 Company), 2009 Color Photograph 16" x 20" Loan courtesy of the artist

Date and Time

Friday, August 24, 2012
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Location

Red Wall Gallery, Lake Ontario Hall

Description

This ethnographic photography exhibition by Amy Masko, Assistant Professor of English at Grand Valley State University, is the result of her research project investigating the life of Nana Otu, a young Fraanketanyi, and a flag dancer in Asafo No. 1 Company in Cape Coast Ghana. Historically the Asafos served as militia groups. Today the groups perform exclusively as part of spiritual rituals.

The photographs illustrate the life of the Asafo. The exhibit highlights the Fetu Afeye Festival, a harvest festival held in Cape Coast every August. The Asafo play a significant role in this festival, holding spiritual rituals to bless the lagoon for bountiful fishing, burning cleansing fires to clear negative spirits, and holding drumming rituals to communicate with the ancestors.