Anlo War Songs: The Linguistic Prowess of Warriors

Abstract

Purpose: Language is the heart of every communication. The choice and use of language determine the appropriateness and clarity of the speaker’s intentions. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the composers of Anlo war songs employ literary devices in their compositions to realize the intended purposes.

Methodology: Anlo war songs are always replete with themes and figurative messages. The research approach was purely qualitative as data for analysis was ethnographically gathered through observation and interview. The population was the natives of Anlo-Ewes. Primary data was collected from three Anlo communities. Fifteen respondents (eight women and seven men), whose ages were between seventy and ninety years were selected for the study through snowballing. Hogbetsotso and Godigbe festivals of the chiefs and people of Anlo and Aflao were visited for data saturation. Five songs were selected out of the twelve for the study through simple random sampling.

Findings: It was discovered that a lot of literary devices are used in the Anlo war song. Idioms, proverbs, repetitions, personifications, symbolism, rhymes, imagery, pun on a line, alliteration, assonance, parallelism, synecdoche and apostrophe were identified from the songs and analyzed. It was revealed from the analysis that repetition, symbolism, imagery and rhyme are common in all the songs. Composers do this to ensure that they are emphatic, explanatory and meaningful, and there is also musical harmony in their compositions.

Recommendations: The paper suggested that stakeholders of the Anlos should initiate programs to create awareness in the people about the language use in singing of Anlo war songs. Inter-cultural education should be intensified to wipe out the erroneous impression that Anlo war songs are demonic. Anlo war songs should be documented and taught in schools serving Ewe communities to preserve the cultural heritage of the people. The value in the language used in singing Anlo war songs should be shared with the outer world by translating and publishing them in the local and foreign languages.