The West Rand, like the rest of the country, is rich with culture, heritage and tradition.
Emmanuel ‘Ektwoii’ Okudom is the embodiment of that as he loves to display his culture and tradition in full African attire. As it is Heritage Month, many people will be out in full display of their culture and traditional wear.
Emmanuel is Ghanaian-born and has been living in Kagiso for more than a decade. He is an artist who mainly performs in the Afro Funk genre which has been gaining popularity in the last five years globally.
Afro Funk is a Nigerian genre, fusing influences from fuji, juju, jazz, highlife, funk and soul music with a focus on chanted vocals and complex rhythms, the style was pioneered in the 1960s by Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who popularised it both within and outside Nigeria. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa’s most ‘challenging and charismatic music performers’.
Emmanuel’s cultural ethnicity is Akan. Akan people are a Kwa group living primarily in Ghana and parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. They speak dialects within the Central Tano branch of the Potou-Tano subfamily of the Niger-Congo family. Subgroups of the Akan people include the Agona, Akuapem, Akwamu, Akyem, Anyi, Ashanti, Baoulé, Bono, Chakosi, Fante, Kwahu, Sefwi, Wassa, Ahanta and Nzema, who all primarily originate from West Africa. The subgroups all have cultural attributes in common; most notably the tracing of royal matrilineal descent in the inheritance of property, and for succession to high political office this can be seen with the traditional attire they wear.
“I take pride not just in my culture as an Akan man but as an African. What I love most about being African is while we have different cultures, we are not that far apart in our differences because our customs and beliefs are similar. This is why celebrating Heritage Month is exciting because it gives all a chance to help educate the young and the old to embrace their roots and preserve them,” he said.
Emmanuel also added that he celebrates his heritage daily, whether it’s simple things such as practising his spirituality, eating traditional cuisine or simply speaking his language. However, the one thing he takes the most pride in is his Kente cloth which he proudly wears weekly. Kente is a woven cloth of cotton and silk that originates from the Akan people of Ghana in West Africa.
Although having the appearance of a fine tapestry, the cloth was traditionally woven as thin strips on a loom. These strips were then stitched together to form a toga-like garment. Kente cloth was originally a garment worn only by royalty and high chiefs for special occasions and ritual ceremonies, however many people across many different tribes wear it in events such as weddings, funerals and spiritual customs.
“I encourage everyone regardless of where they come from to celebrate and embrace their culture. We may have our differences but we can always unite as Africans.”
