HISTORY OF THE FANTE APATAMPA DANCE!

The Apatampa dance came about when the ancestors of Fantes were moving from Techiman. On their way, they were always attacked by a giant at nights and surprisingly, the said giant normally attacked the men killing them in the end. But one day, a bold Fante man confronted the giant leading into a serious fight, then , suddenly a woman came out with cloth packed in her buttocks making it protrude and with that started dancing towards the giant and pushing the giant with her protruding buttocks and finally catching the giant’s attention.  

The other women came out and started shouting “Apata Ampa” in the Fante language, which means “You have truly separated the fight”.From then came about the dance which involves tapping and clapping.

Now, this great and recreational dance is normally performed during durbars, festivals, funerals and puberty by the people of Cape Coast and Elimina.The dance is performed by both the young and old and it is normally performed by the woman where the men play the drums.

One would want to know how this dance is performed, well, I will teach you.The dance begins with the individual making a beat by tapping both of their side thighs twice and making a clap on the third beat then hitting the chest twice, very interesting right?, as this moves is on going, there is a walking and bending process with delightful smiles on faces of the dancers.

In all these glorious moment drums and music also accompany them. Again, one dress in an African cloth with additional cloths packed in the cloth tied around their waist and a scarf as called ‘duku’ in thier local dilect ,tied on their head, with beads dancing around their necks, arms, wrist, ankles and calves, which is for the women.

The men wrap same African cloth around their neck which they call “colar” in their language, and sometimes around the waist with a bead on their neck too.