CEDI, GHANA’S PREMIER BEAD MAKER OF KROBO-DESCENT

Colourful beads from Krobo

Beads remain one of the most treasured products and symbols of status, wealth, and success. They are, undoubtedly, the leading indigenous products that have sold the name Krobo globally.

One man whose unrivaled efforts over the past five decades have greatly contributed to shaping this enviable reputation is Mr. Ebenezer Nomoda Djaba, aka Cedi, the Managing Director of Cedi Beads Industry at Odumase-Krobo in the Eastern Region.                                                                                                                                 

Mr. Ebenezer N. Djaba, aka Cedi. 

Cedi was born into a bead-making family from Osupanya in the Djebiam clan of Manya Krobo. From what started as a small family occupation dating back to the 15th century which was transmitted in succession to generations, he has honed the skill which he mainly acquired through an imitation of his parents’ craft, built into a thriving and unrivaled enterprise and succeeded in shooting not only himself but the Krobo state and Ghana into international space. He is, by common consent, a national asset and presently Ghana’s biggest bead ambassador.

THE GENESIS:

At age seven (7), young Cedi imitated the bead-making procedure – which he had watched from a distance - on the blind side of the parents and succeeded in making balls of beads with fascinating designs that left the parents awestruck. It was first a juvenile escapade that turned into a passion, a skill, and now a business of international repute.  

Now, apart from the main production site which is nestled in a green and calming environment where you get to see the furnaces, lecture centres and showrooms, among others, he operates an annex with a similar setup along the Tema-Akosombo highway. He has also networked with other fledging bead makers operating from locations such as Obawale, Tsedi-Teryi, Agogo Trawa, Sekesua, Siblinor, Somanya, Odumase, etc. Most of these producers were once under his tutelage.

THE PRODUCTS FROM HIS FURNACE:

With his vast knowledge in the art of recycled glass bead making acquired and honed over the past five decades and ably supported by a twenty-four-member staff, Cedi is able to literally turn trash into glitter. His products include bodom beads, recycled aggrey beads, powdered (glazed) beads, recycled glass fragment beads, recycled glass fragment buttons, powdered glass beads, powdered glass buttons, and lampwork beads (in Venetian tradition).

                                                                                                                                                     

A young Krobo lady spotting her colourful beads

Beads of immense cultural value produced by Cedi Beads for both the local and international markets include powa or chevron, mƐtƐ, akorso, korli, zagba, olongo, huadji, lƐƐ, aplekuwa, sorbley, among others.

CEDI, THE GLOBETROTTER:

His innovative designs, techniques, passion for the craft, and towering height in the bead-making industry have taken him across the globe for conferences, lectures, exhibitions, and art fairs in over sixty (60) countries. From the year 1997 when he made his maiden trip to a beads trade show at the Javits Center in the United States of America through Aid to Artisans Ghana, Cedi has become the go-to expert who jets in and out of the country at will to honour his never-ending invitations from event organisers, universities and similar institutions.

Aside from the USA, his much sought-after craft has since taken him to numerous destinations such as the United Kingdom, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Uganda and many more too numerous to exhaust.                                                                                                                                                    

RECOGNITIONS AND AWARDS:

Cedi has obtained several awards and certificates including certificates of participation at the Dallas Apparel and Accessories Market (2019) in USA, Advanced Chevron Beadmaking, Stagecoach, Nevada, USA (2018), Santa Fe International Art Market (2018), Living Traditions Award by the International Folk Art Market, USA (2018), Gold Award, 4th Ghana Business and Financial Service Excellence Awards, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana in 2011.                                                                                                                                                     

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES:

Cedis is presently the Vice Chairman of the Ghana Association of Visual Artists (GAVA); Founder and President, Krobo Bead Society; founding member, Ghana Beads Society; Aid to Artisans Ghana (ATAG); International Society of Glass Beadmakers, USA, Ghana Shippers Council, Eastern Region and the West African Trade Hub, Ghana.                                                                                                                                            

THE WAY FORWARD: 

Aside from the remarkable feat he has achieved in repositioning and popularizing bead-making as Krobo’s most priced trade, the transfer of the craft through apprenticeship, and the employment opportunities he continues to create, Cedi has plans of establishing an internationally accredited Glass Bead-Making School in Ghana to promote Krobo, Ghanaian and African beads.                                                                                                                                 

He is also looking forward to establishing an international museum aimed at documenting West Africa's bead traditions and culture from prehistoric times to the present day. This will, without doubt, consolidate his position as Krobo and Ghana’s greatest beads ambassador.

Cedi (seated) demonstrates a stage in the bead-making process.  

                                                                                                                                                 

The writer, Henking A. Adjase-Kodjo, is a Public Relations/Development Communication practitioner, a freelance journalist, an activist writer, a blogger, an incurable social worker and a culture enthusiast from Odumase-Krobo. Email: klonobi2007@gmail.com

KLAMA, A DANGME FOLK MUSIC AND DANCE

A rear view of a group of nubile Krobo ladies doing the klama dance.

Klama is an age-old folk music and dance indigenous to the Dangme people. Research and oral lore have shown that it emerged and evolved as the people migrated from the eastern section of West Africa to their present locations and so all seven Dangme sub-tribes made up of Krobo (Manya and Yilo Krobo) in the Eastern Region; and Ada, Sɛ, Gbugbla, Ningo, Kpone and Osudoku in the Greater Accra Region perform klama. 

 There is, however, a slightly noticeable variation in the beat and gestural movements as one explores the rhythm and dance from one sub-tribe to the other. While its popularity and the regularity of its use during occasions appear to be on the decline among some of the sub-tribes, for varied reasons including the impact of Christianity, modernity, and scarcity of skilled drummers, in Krobo, klama remains a regular feature of important ceremonies and rites. 

 Klama is performed mainly as a form of recreation and to give a cultural touch to festive occasions including joyous family gatherings and anniversary celebrations, marriage and naming ceremonies, enstoolment and outdooring of traditional leaders (chiefs and queens), the ‘dipo’ puberty rites, and larger cultural festivals like Ngmayem and Kloyosikplemi, among others. Though it is more associated with festivities, klama can be performed at some somber events such as the funeral of persons with traditionally sacred authority or duty such as ‘dipo’ (traditional) priests and chiefs, but this rarely occurs. 

A group of young klama dancers from Krobo.

 THE KLAMA MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: The klama rhythm or beat is composed of sounds from a gong (a metallic disc with a turned rim that gives a resonant note when struck to dictate the pace of a particular beat), casaba of gourd or beaded gourd, known locally as 'fau', which is a percussion instrument from a dried gourd with beads woven into a net covering it. 

Casaba of gourds or beaded gourds, known locally as 'fau',

The gong and beaded gourd are complemented by a set of three drums – a long cylindrically shaped drum called Gl3 or Mi3 gaga which largely directs the rhythmic and gestural movement of the dancer; Oklema, the smallest of the drums which produces a high-pitched sound and a relatively shorter drum with a much deeper sound called Opiti or ‘kpɛti miɛ’. 

 THE SONGS: What mainly distinguishes a festive klama from the type that is seldom performed at sombre events, is the choice of songs. Klama songs are lyrically rich, figurative, and event-specific; they have a very unique structure and cadence that take a considerable period of practice for a singer to master the modulations and inflections needed to lead a chorus proficiently; and they are carefully chosen to reflect the nature and mood of specific events. 

 While the festive songs extol virtues and talk about positive themes such as culture, tradition, wealth, beauty, blessings, good health, unity and fortune, those sung at funerals are generally solemn and tend to evoke or reflect feelings of pensive sadness. They are usually composed around subjects such as the inevitability and overbearing nature of death, the afterlife, or the worth of the personality lost to the ancestral world and the impact of the loss on the living, among others.

There are also generic songs that are laced with idiomatic expressions and innuendos for lighter moments. One can also find songs composed on subjects such as herbalism, femininity, culture, and tradition. Some are employed to tell stories about the people’s migration, historic events, or exploits of great warriors/martyrs and other similarly great personalities who preceded the present generation. Most of these songs are, however, of unknown authorship and are largely orally transmitted. 

THE RHYTHYMS, CADENCE, STEPS AND GESTURAL MOVEMENTS: Klama is gender-neutral; both sexes can drum and dance to the same rhythm of the klama music except that the gestural movements for females are more metrical, characterized by a slow graceful and rhythmic body movement and the shuffling of the feet. The left arm is usually raised horizontally, a little above the waist level, and the wrist is wriggled mildly in tune with the beat while the right arm, which points downwards, swings gently in conformity. 

Unlike the females’ which is ‘sluggish’, the males’ version requires a more complex combination of rapid, sprightly and dexterous footwork or shuffling of feet. There are short movements that require the dancer to dance in place and traveling movements that either take the performer a few steps away from the instrumentalists or require the use of the entire performance arena. Dancing can be in groups and a dancer can go solo as well depending on the occasion and the number of performers. 

A dipo initiate.

KLAMA AND DIPO, THE DISTINCTIONS: Many, particularly persons who have not had sufficient acquaintance with the culture and tradition of the Dangme people, particularly Krobo culture continue to confuse 'klama’ and ‘dipo’. It is quite common to hear people wrongly use the two interchangeably. Though the two are inseparably linked and are both of Dangme origin, they are quite distinct. 

While Klama is merely a piece of music and dance, dipo is a whole transitional rite involving a chain of rituals performed for nubile girls to, among others, usher them into adulthood and also enable them to obtain ‘full status’ in their tribal community. 

The writer, Henking A. Adjase-Kodjo, is a Public Relations/Development Communication practitioner, a freelance journalist, an activist writer, a blogger, an incurable social worker and a culture enthusiast from Odumase-Krobo. Email: klonobi2007@gmail.com

A copy of the story as published in the Saturday 5th October 2024 edition of the Daily Graphic newspaper.