Abstract:
The dissertation was an investigation of the Feok War Dance festival celebrated by
the Builsa people in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study sought to establish
the provenance of the Buluk state and the position of the Feok war dance festival in
Builsa in contemporary Ghana, identify security concerns raised by the festival and
utilize creative elements rationalized from the magical endowments as a resource to
develop a scientific security training method that guarantee public safety. The field
study was conducted using observations, interviews, focus group discussions and
questionnaire as instruments for data collection. Data was reinforced with electronic
coverage of both visual and audio. The heterogeneous population was principally war
dancers, spectators, traditional leaders, workers and the Police. Findings of the study
indicates that, the war dance is a form of communication; gesture language for peace
making, unity, salutation and protection. The manoeuvres constitute a package of
security tips in the form of illustrations which will help in interpreting a photographic
evidence of crime pertaining to the area. Findings showed that some of war dance
accoutrements pose health hazard to the public; an indication of a serious security
threats coming from the abuse of traditional paraphernalia. The investigation
revealed that, the use of deadly firearms at festival functions often account for the
incidences of mass injuries and death. The objectives of the study were achieved and
recommendations made for the adoption of the artistic concepts that were developed
based on the findings as part of learning resources for Security Agencies and School;
the adoption of the Bakankule dance for peace education and theatre, therapeutic
sporting activity for schools and keep fit clubs. It further recommended for the
integration of Builsa combat skills in Police training for the area and finally asked for
the substitution of the use of deadly paraphernalia with miniature forms all to address
the security deficit in the Region.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of Music Education,
School of Creative Arts, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies,
University of Education, Winneba
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of
Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Arts & Culture
JUNE, 2014