Songs of War and Death from the Slave Coast: Songs of War

Agbekor is a traditional Ewe war-dance-and-music suite from the southeastern coastal region of West Africa, especially among the Anlo-Ewe of present-day Ghana and Togo. Performed by an interlocking drum ensemble, double bell (gankogui), and gourd rattle (axatse) with call-and-response singing, it dramatizes bravery, unity, and communal memory. The music is polyrhythmic and typically cycles in a 12/8 feel, layering cross-rhythms around a bell timeline that anchors the ensemble. Core drums include the atsimevu (lead/master drum), sogo, kidi, and kagan, each playing distinct ostinati and dialogues. Dancers execute vigorous, codified movements derived from martial gestures, often in sections (atsiawo) that alternate displays from different subgroups. Though once tied to wartime preparation and remembrance, Agbekor today serves as a ceremonial, educational, and staged heritage genre—also known in some communities as atsiagbekor.