In the early 20th century, when port cities in West Africa thrived, a new indigenous style of music known as palm wine music emerged from the waters. What started out as a form of entertainment in low-class dockside bars where sailors, dock workers, and the working class gathered to drink palm wine, a milky-sweet tree sap alcohol, became a multi-national sensation, birthing local genres across West Africa. Picking up influences and instruments across generations, and reimagined by Ghanaian and Nigerian musical luminaries, the tinny rhymes and cheerful melodies of palm wine would birth maringa, highlife and juju and persist into the music culture of today. This is the complex story of the genre\u2019s humble origins and its massive influence across time and space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The story begins with the faithful old six-string we have come to know and love: the guitar. The indigenisation of the guitar by the Kru seamen of Liberia (also found in Sierra Leone and Gambia), was the first step in the emergence of palm wine across Africa. The Kru people, known for their maritime expertise, were often employed on European sailing ships (starting in the 18th century) to help navigate the West African coast. As history tells it, the Kru people derived their name from westerners who referred to them as members of the ship\u2019s \u201ccrew\u201d. Originally from tribes such as the Klao, Bassa, and Grebo, the Kru people were an independent group that westerners were unable to capture into slavery. Instead the fiercely resistant Kru, who often tattooed their forehead and nose to distinguish themselves as free men, were employed for their nautical services. It was during these voyages that the Kru people began learning how to play the portable instruments owned by European sailors including harmonicas, accordions, and especially guitars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the Kru seamen stopped at the Gold Coast (present day Ghana), they intermingled with the Fante people who resided on the coastal areas of Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi. There, the Kru picked up the cross-fingering technique from the Fante\u2019s seperewa (a traditional harp-lute) playing, and replicated the finger-style on Portuguese guitars. The Fante people also had a reputation for their traditional percussive style that accompanied their seabound voyages. As the two groups began to combine the Fante\u2019s percussive instruments with the guitars and accordions brought by the Kru sailors, a new genre, known as osibisaaba, emerged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n