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Ghana's Seperewa Revives Ancestral Echoes at Fez World Sacred Music Festival

Fez – The city of Fez, cloaked in centuries of history and the whispers of spiritual traditions, recently opened its arms to a sacred sound nearly lost to time. At the 28th edition of the Fez World Sacred Music Festival, the seperewa, an ancient Ghanaian harp-lute, sang once more through the hands of master musician Osei Kwame Korankye and his daughter, rising artist and ethnomusicologist Rama Blak. This year, the festival served as more than just a cultural exchange. It became a ceremonial revival, an ode to ancestral memory and an assertion of African identity. In an exclusive interview with Morocco World News (MWN), the father-daughter duo shared their mission to reclaim and reintroduce the spiritual power of Ghanaian traditional music to a global audience. The Seperewa: voice of a vanishing heritage 'Seperewa is a traditional instrument of the Akan people in Ghana,' explained Osei Kwame Korankye, founder and leader of the Seperewa Agofoma ensemble. 'It's a very old instrument. History tells us that it was discovered around 1600, and this is the soul of Ghanaian highlife that we are enjoying today.' Historically a royal instrument, the seperewa once played a prominent role in Akan court ceremonies before it fell into obscurity during the colonial era, as Western instruments like the guitar gained popularity. 'It disappeared when the guitar was introduced,' Korankye recalled. 'And then finally, my grandfather, Kolo Opeini Kwabene Jakun, had a dream and rediscovered it. He taught me how to play.' This rediscovery became a generational mission. Today, Osei Kwame Korankye is widely regarded as the custodian of the seperewa tradition, having taught at the University of Ghana and performed across Africa, Europe, the US, and the UK His ensemble brings together seperewa, adenkum (calabash gourd), prempensiwa (lamellophone-cajón), and traditional percussion in performances that are celebratory and reverent. A musical legacy carried forward Also performing at the festival was Korankye's daughter, Awura Ama Agyapong, known by her stage name Rama Blak. A student of ethnomusicology at the University of Ghana, Rama represents a new generation of Ghanaian musicians who are reconnecting with traditional roots after growing up in a world dominated by foreign musical influences. 'It was a little bit of a cultural shock,' she shared. 'I was always hearing foreign music growing up. But then I came to university and began to explore traditional music. That's when my father started training me.' For Rama, sacred music holds a powerful, often unspoken message. 'The music actually communicates things that are too sensitive to talk about openly,' she said. 'Sometimes the music helps us express ourselves in a more coded language. That's why it's sacred.' A sacred encounter in Fez The Fez World Sacred Music Festival was the perfect stage for this message. 'This is not just to come and have fun and go,' Korankye noted. 'We are trying to prove to the world to understand our spiritual music.' The family was deeply moved by the festival's mission and spirit. 'Even my daughter was so happy when we arrived,' he smiled. 'We are trying to tell our listeners, I believe maybe our viewers too, that something interesting is happening, and it has started already.' Rama echoed the sentiment. 'This is my first time in Morocco. It's been an amazing time. The weather is amazing. The sound is amazing. Everything is working perfectly… Maybe I might not go back.' Korankye saw the similarities between Ghanaian and Moroccan musical traditions not just in sound but in spirit. 'This is Africa, so I don't think it's different from what you have,' he said. 'We are also here to learn more from Moroccan music.' Preserving the past, educating the future A central theme of Korankye's mission is education. 'It's an old instrument that the generation sees as a new thing to them,' he said. 'That is why we have started educating them. We do performances and demonstrations. We tell them the value, the importance of it.' According to Korankye, the results are promising. 'Looking 10 to 15 years back, I can see that there's a lot of improvement. The young ones are participating. So I believe it's in good hands. But it will take a little time.' The seperewa is now included in university music programs in Ghana, thanks in part to Korankye's advocacy and teaching. 'It has been inculcated into our educational system, which is very good,' said Rama. 'It's educating young ones about traditional music. And my father has also been training me how to play the traditional instruments. So I think it's working. It's just going to take a little time.' The growing visibility of seperewa music beyond Africa is a source of pride and motivation for the Agofoma ensemble. 'People love it,' Korankye affirmed. 'We had a performance before coming here, and looking at the demand, I think it's awesome. People want to listen to more because it has become a new thing to them.' He emphasized that careful presentation and modernization are key to its appeal. 'The way we have packaged it, people love it. There is hope… we call it 'more fire', we need to put more fire in it to encourage them.' A message from Fez to the world For Korankye and Rama, the experience at Fez is more than a performance opportunity, it is a call to action. Korankye expressed a desire to replicate the festival model in Ghana. 'I think we should also do the same thing in Ghana, so that the scholars will have the opportunity to write more things. The young ones will also have the opportunity to see and appreciate our culture too.' The seperewa's reawakening is a story of cultural revival and a testament to resilience, memory, and the power of music to transcend time. Through the strings of his harp-lute, Korankye is echoing the voices of generations past, with his daughter ensuring those echoes carry into the future.