Tony Korsah-Dick
12 June 2001
opinion
I listened with keen interest to Mr. K. B. Asante on David Ampofo's "Hot Issues" show the other day as he sought to explain the rationale and demands of the ban on drumming in Accra. As usual, Mr. Asante was encyclopaedic in his representations; he was also fervent in his advocacy for accommodation in the search for the settlement that we a11 seek in the matter. If he spoke with authority as President of the Ga/Adangbe Council, he was also keen to establish his credentials as a Christian.
In striking this balance, however, Mr. Asante not only let it be known that he was a member of the Anglican Synod; he was also inclined to wonder whether drumming was an essential part of Christian worship. I find this point of view rather argumentative and questionable in its intent. Even though I am not a liturgist, I think I need only quote a verse or two from the Bible to illustrate the point of my concern.
As a ranking member of the Anglican Church, Mr. Asante is doubtless, only too familiar with the force of Psalm 150 and what it enjoins us to do in the praise and worship of God. This is one Psalm that we stand to sing in Church in remarkable contrast to all the other Psalms, which we normally sing, sitting. In verses 3 through to 5, the Psalm enjoins us to:
Praise (God) with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals;
Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
We all know what the trumpet is. The timbre1, according to the dictionary, is a tambourine or a small drum; and the cymbal is a conclave plate of brass, which produces a sharp, ringing sound when struck. These were the instruments in King David's day; significantly, they are also instruments of music which are loud in the sound they make. Now, if we are enjoined by this most powerful Psalm to praise God with the instruments mentioned, is it in order, for whatever reason, to remove drumming from the equation as it were to the extent of casting doubt on the essence of what otherwise is a clear and unambiguous biblical injunction.
Considering the stress in the Psalm on high sounding music, do we not sometimes even wonder what King David would have prescribed if our big fontomfrom drums had been available in his day! We only have to remember Kofi Ghanaba's rendition of the Halleluya Chorus on his mighty drums to appreciate the potential and attraction of drums in the praise and worship of God. Even though I cannot speak with any authority on the beginnings of Charismaticism, there is also, it seems to me, no gainsaying the fact of the hold of drumming in our Christian worship today.
We may, indeed, have to check excessive noise making in the circumstances of a metropolis such as Accra but that is different from the subjective denial of what is essential in a religious matter.
Admittedly, we need to honour and observe our customs, which have held us together as a people; these cannot be readily abandoned especially where they have stood the test of time. By the same token, however, we cannot wish away or even overlook the demands of religion where they constitute the essence of our ob1igations in the worship of God.
In confronting the issue of the ban on drumming, therefore, we need to bring out all the facts fully into the open in order to ensure that we have an informed and healthy debate; we need to avoid prejudicial and unsupported opinions that tend to generate more heat than light; and we need to ensure that our contribution is based on facts and not on subjective considerations that may come back to haunt us.
The issues to consider, it seems to me, are fairly clear even if they do not readily lend themselves to dialogue and compromise. When the traditionalists invoke the ban on drumming and noise making what precisely is the essence of their demand beyond which they cannot yield. Similarly, when Christians (and shall we add Muslims and others) speak of their constitutiona1 rights and freedom of worship to what extent are they prepared to be accommodating in the defence of their rights and freedoms. How do we in a cosmopolitan metropolis such as ours, promote the kind of modus videndi that must per force prevail in the interest of the peace and security that we all seek.
Happily, the dialogue has already begun and we can only continue it with renewed seriousness and commitment to the cause, since it will confront us again next year. Happily again, we also have the elements for a settlement in the AMA bye-laws on the abatement of noise in the metropolis. To my knowledge, these bye-laws have been enforced before in the case of noise making at nightclubs. If the issues are rather more complex in the circumstances of the churches, we need, even more urgently to pursue the dialogue; let us also update the bye-laws as may be necessary to ensure that we have the capacity and the capability to restore the peace once the understanding and accommodation required have been achieved.
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