How the name "OSIBISA" originated from Senya Beraku.


When the name Osibisa is mentioned, lovers of Afro-Pop musics get excited and great African music such as "Welcome Home", "Woyaya" (my favourite), and others crop up. The reason is that the name took it popularity from "a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Their music is a fusion of African, Caribbean, jazz, funk, rock, Latin, and R&B. Osibisa were one of the first African-heritage bands to become widely popular and linked with the world music description" (credit, Wiki).
While we all enjoy the Osibisa band music, we have not been able to come across the origin and meaning of the name. And I am happy and proud to reveal that the name originated from Senya Beraku. In fact, it was actually a kind of music art in Senya Beraku.
The people of Senya Beraku love music and dance so much. And they have several kinds of music and dance forms with each carrying a distinct name. Examples include, "Oso-ode", "apatanpa", "omp3", "kokomba", "Ada-efu" (now, high life), etc. During the Akumase festival, on Tuesday, all these groups would dress in their colourful uniforms and perform beautifully to happy audience at   "Aben Anu" (in front of Fort Good Hope).
Now, one of the music arts that was formed in Senya was "Osibisa". It happened that as young boys and girls took keen interest in spending too much time playing and enjoying music and dance, they wouldn't reach home early to sleep. They loved the "Oso-ode" and "Ada-efu" art so much that it took all their time. So parents began to complain and admonished them to be time conscious and return home early. From this admonishing, and very typical of Senyans, a new song and way of dancing emerged. It is sang,

"Osibi oo, osibi sa mpr)ba
Tow osibi
Wo ni na wo se ye osibisa mpr)ba
Tow osibi".

 This is the meaning:
"If you have drummed and danced a little, reduce drumming.
Your mother and father say "If you have drummed and danced a little, reduce playing."
Note the following:

"O" means, you
"Si" means, to drum
"Sibi" means, to drum continuously
"Sa" means, dance
"Tow" means, reduce
"mpr)" means, little
"ba" means, come

In one sentence the message is "Osibisaba", meaning, Having drummed and dance, come [home].
Now, this music form became so popular that it attracted great attention and joy among both the Senyans and the Fantes. It is therefore from this that the founders of the band got the name, Osibisa. It will interest you to know that there is a town in Cote D'Ivoire called "Osibisa" and the majority of its Ghanaian dwellers are Senyans.
In conclusion therefore, anytime you hear the name Osibisa, don't forget to remember that it is a Senya word. And we are grateful to the band for preserving our legacy.
Share abroad. We have great heritage to be proud of.

 Abeiku Okai
WhatsApp: +233 0249287855
www.facebook.com/Abeiku.bic

Comments

  1. Unknown11 September 2018 at 07:17

    are there tourist sites in senya beraku. Do tourists stay there?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GET TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SENYA BERAKU HISTORY

Image
BRIEF HISTORY OF SENYA BIREKU Senya-Bireku is a coastal town in the Central Region of the Republic of Ghana, in the Awutu Senya District, or politically, Awutu Senya Constituency. It takes less than an hour traffic-free drive from Accra, the Capital, on the Accra-Winneba highway to reach Senya-Bireku, about seventy-seven kilometers. The people of Senya Bireku are Guans and they form part of the three Guan states in the Central Region: Efutu Bireku (Simpa/Winneba), Obutu Bireku (Awutu Bireku) and of course, Awutu Senya (Senya Bireku). All three states speak the Guan language with insignificant dialectical differences. Before the Fantes settled in the Southern part of the country, the central Guans where already settled, and so were the Senyans. In his book, Topics in West African History , pp 63, Adu Boahen stated: It is clear from oral traditions that the Akans who continued their migration southwards met in the coastal districts peoples who differed from them linguisti
Read more

SENYA BERAKU SE-YE ADA (Clan Names) || Akrama Ano Clan in Focus

Image
In Senya Beraku there are two basic forms of family relations and they are 'Se-ye' and 'Ni-ye'.  Literally Se-ye means father's house while Ni-ye means mother's house. When a Senya refers to his Ni-ye he is actually referring to his family, which is maternal. When he refers to his Se-ye he is referring to his clan, which is paternal. Children in Senya are named from their paternal clans by the senior member of the clan or his/her grandfather. Thus the child's father receives the name from his father or his father's brother if his father is late. This is important because in Senya tradition everybody from your father's clan is your father. Each Se-ye in Senya Beraku has peculiar male and female names that can be traced directly to the deity of the clan. And it enables easy identification of a person's background and father's clan. In this series I will be releasing Senya Beraku Se-Ye and their names starting with the Akrama Ano Clan. THE AKRAM
Read more

SENYA AKUMASE FESTIVAL – BRIEF HISTORY

Senya Beraku Traditional Area is in the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region. The people of this land are Guans and they speak the Senya dialect. Fishing is the dominant occupation of the people but farming, building construction, dress making, hairdressing, trading, driving, mechanics and teaching provide other means of livelihood. The Senya Beraku Akumase festival is traditional farming processes that culminate into the August celebration of bumper harvest in August each year. It is a festival that recounts the greatest historical famine that ever struck the community and how our ancestors were able to use systematic agricultural process to combat the affliction, eventually ending it with bumper harvest. The festival is celebrated in the third week of August each year. The celebration is spearheaded by the Nkyiew Anu patrilineal family, who are the custodians of the festival. All other patrilineal families also spearhead one ritual/tradition or the other, making the festival
Read more