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Local Culture in the National Arena: The Politics of Cultural Festivals in Ghana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Carola Lentz
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Abstract:

In Ghana, regional and local cultural festivals that recently have been created or “modernized” provide an interface between local communities and the state. At these festivals, local political elites formulate demands on the government, and conversely, the government attempts to popularize its policies. At the same time, cultural festivals function as public arenas where local cultural identities are articulated within a framework negotiated by the state and the media. The staging of local culture thus always has a national dimension, even when the material is of local origin. Public self-representation at cultural festivals can also be an important factor in internal integration of local societies. The article examines these themes with reference to cultural festivals in northwestern Ghana which the author has observed and whose organizers and participants she has interviewed since 1989.

Résumé:

Résumé:

Au Ghana, les festivals culturels régionaux et locaux récemment créés ou “modernisés” proposent un intermédiate entre les communautés locales et l'état. Lors de ces festivals, les élites politiques locales formulent des demandes à l'attention du gouvernement, et de même, le gouvernement essaie d'y populariser ses politiques. En même temps, ces festivals culturels fonctionnent en tant qu'arènes publiques où les identités culturelles locales sont articulées dans un cadre négocié par l'état et les média. La mise en scène de la “culture locale” a ainsi toujours une dimension nationale, même quand le matériel est d'origine locale. L'auto-représentation publique dans les festivals culturels peut également être un facteur important pour l'intégration interne des sociétés locales. Cet article examine ces thèmes en se basant sur les festivals culturels du nord-ouest du Ghana observés par l'auteur, et durant lesquels elle a, depuis 1989, recueilli les entretiens avec organisateurs et participants.

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Articles
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African Studies Review , Volume 44 , Issue 3 , December 2001 , pp. 47 - 72
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2001

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