An Akan song from the Ashanti region of Ghana, complaining about the work conditions during the colonial period. For this singer, colonial rule began with the recruitment of carriers.
As I came from the bush I met a demon:
Come and help me carry!
As I came from the bush I met a demon:
Oh yes!
As I came from the bush I met a demon:
Come and help me carry!
We all belong to the white man:
Strength is better than weakness!
We all belong to the white man:
Oh yes!
We all belong to the white man:
Strength is better than weakness!
I ate raw locusts till I’m feeling poorly: (1)
Yes, locusts!
I ate raw locusts till I’m feeling poorly:
Oh yes!
I ate raw locusts till I’m feeling poorly:
Yes, locusts!
The hyenas caught the Ghana people’s spirit:
It lost heart!
The hyenas caught the Ghana people’s spirit:
Oh yes!
The hyenas caught the Ghana people’s spirit:
It lost heart!
from Oral Poetry from Africa (1984),
compiled by Jack Mapanje and Landeg White,
Longman
Footnotes
- Beginning in 1914, there were severe famines in Ghana, linked to regular invasions by locusts.
