Francis Yaw Dzormeku
Asofo Afede, Royal Drummer of the Asogli State
Francis Yao Dzormeku's life centers around cultural preservation. He comes from a family of musicians and for more than thirty years has taught Èwè drum-dance to hundreds of children and youth. Moreover, traveling across Ghana, Francis has traced and preserved the drum-dances of dozens of other ethnic groups.
He serves as Asofo Afendi, the Royal Drummer of the Asogli State, the Traditional Area centered in Ho, Volta Region. As a carpenter, Francis also fashions fantasy coffins to honor the last wishes and memories of deceased friends and neighbors. Francis was born in Ho-Heve into a family of gifted musicians and his late father was a drummer and a guitarist.
At the early age of seven, Francis joined the elders and the Asafo Drumming Groups and participated as a drummer for their War drums and other traditional and custom drums eg, Aɖaʋatram ( a warlike drum clad with old skulls of victims of wars of the olden days) Adeʋu, Tumpani. The Aɖaʋatram drum will be carried on the head by a carrier who is chosen spiritually by the drum and the person will be possessed by the spirits of the drum as it moves around during funerals performed by the Asafo drumming and procession.
Francis started his drumming profession when he was identified during a School Cultural performance by the late Very Rev. Professor N.K. Dzobo, a former Moderator of the E. P. Church of Ghana.
Francis enjoys singing, drumming and dancing and his passion is sharing this knowledge among youths and others. Francis currently teaches Kekeli Group, Eagle Group, Israel Mawueta Group, and Asafo Groups in Ho, as well as other drumming and cultural Groups across Ghana
Yewe/ Husago Dance
Performed by the Kekeli Cultural Group, Ho, Ghana
Directed by Francis Yaw Dzormeku
As a cultural preservationist, Francis Dzormeku travels across Ghana and parts of West Africa to learn local, traditional dances, songs, and drum rythyms. He then adds these reclaimed cultural performances to his work with cultural performance groups.
The Yewe/ Husago Dance is characteristic of the Southern Volta Region. It is a fetish priest dance performed at the shrine, normally by the shrine keeper and his wives.
The dance tells of a special occasion when the priest invites all his wives to perform a special ceremony to check their well-being.
During the dance, the priest performs a special cleansing ceremony which will expose any of the wives that violate any of the rules in the traditional rites set. The wife who violates any of the rites during the cleansing ceremony will be exposed and moved to stay outside the matrimonial home for a proscribed period of time.