The “Baamaaya” is a traditional dance of the Dagbamba, they are the northern region of Ghana. Baamaaya simply translates to “Fields are wet”.Their dance was first performed to mark the end of the drought in the 19th century. Baamaaya serves the purpose to please their God by asking for rain in the drought land. The origin of this dance began after a man committed a crime against a woman. This resulted in the gods becoming angry and putting a drought over the land. As a result, the gods made the men dress like women and dance until the rain came back. Baamaaya, today, are performed mostly at funerals. The procession and the main part  have remained the same. However, from the video we watched in class, I realized that men were supposed to dress up as women but they were wearing clothes from modern times, like their jeans. Despite that, I think the changes in their music is a good thing because there is no longer a drought in Ghana. Also, now their music and dance is performed at festivals and occasions instead of serving it as a punishment. This also changed their music too, the usage of drums, rattles, and the flute were once slow in pace. Today, because it is performed for new occasions, the tempo became fast for the dancers. The meanings for the dance changed but the practices are almost are unique as before. 

“The Washerwoman’s Branle” is a dance that sound like the noise of women beating clothes to wash them. The clapping was the main part for the music that sounds like women washing their clothes. It originated during the 16th century. There was another part where the female dancers would put their hands on their hips as the male dancers shake their finger in a scolding manner. During the time of the Branle, this dance was taken very seriously because if you dance well and know the person’s movements, it was a good match to find your partner. Today, this is not a practical way of finding your mate, so it is not taken as seriously as before. This is a positive thing because you simply can not find a partner just by dancing with them. Back in the days the female dancers were dressed super heavily with accessories and big clothing such as the skirts we saw in the video. That changed, today females do not have to do that. The music and dance steps and sounds have remained the same but the idea have shifted. 

Ultimately, I think the changes are more positive because today we do not have to follow by those taboos that were written for us to follow. Each of us have our own liberty and freedom, we can choose who to choose or how to choose our mate. It does not only have to be from a dance. The Baamaaya is a great aspect of history and I think remembering the dance even though  the original idea changed it is yet important.