Ohio University’s African Jama Group is home to passionate students from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities who enjoy expressing themselves through energetic dance moves and drumming.
The club started in 2024 after a group of international graduate students from Ghana decided to bring their traditions to the university with the goal of educating students and including those interested in learning about other cultures.
According to an article by ethnomusicologist Divine Gbagbo, the “upbeat, rock-like Jàmá song genre” is prevalent in Ghanaian culture. The nature of the Jàmá song originates from the Ga people from Ghana and while dance is an important aspect of the tradition, the variety of songs and drumming are what characterize it.
Christian Avornu, a graduate student studying information and telecommunication systems, is the president of the group and said members exemplify the club’s focus of “rhythms of unity, tunes of Africa” to the best of their abilities.
“It is really fascinating or inspiring seeing people who are not Africans dancing to our tunes and singing some of our songs,” Avornu said.
Avornu said the club is the first African Jama student organization to be officially recognized in the U.S., but it is not uncommon to see other African countries performing their variation of Jama.
One of the most popular locations where African Jama is seen is sports matches. According to an article published by Al Jazeera about Africa’s football fan culture, Jama cheer songs include lyrics from the Twi, Ga, Ewe and Pidgin languages which have been shared across sports fans for generations.
These songs were created and performed with the hope of leading players to victory. It is also common to combine sounds from other instruments such as “bugarabu” drums, agogo, castanets and others when boasting about a team win.
At club meetings, hosted every Friday from 7-9 p.m., practicing drum beats and understanding the music is important for all members, regardless of familiarity with the style. Papa Kojo Yamoah, a graduate student studying music history and literature, is the club’s vice president.
“The group itself is … a moral musical unit, “ Yamoah said. “If we are not high spirited, we are not of one body, one mind (and) we are not unified, we are not going to achieve our goal.”
In addition to singing, playing instruments and dancing, African Jama offers a spiritual escape for those looking to release after a stressful day.
“Practicing or performing is just a moment to get away from everything that is around me,” Evans Opoku, a graduate student studying international development studies and club treasurer, said.
Opoku grew up around African Jama and bringing his customs to OU reminds him of memories from home.
“It is something that I have been doing since my undergrad days,” Opoku said. “If you go back to where I am from it is a big thing and … you have 1,000 students at a moment doing that on campus.”
Although the organization is less than a year old, African Jama continues to seek collaboration with other clubs, with a desire to “promote unity and multicultural understanding,” as stated in their code of conduct.
After a successful performance at an event hosted by the African Student Union in the fall semester, there is no doubt African Jama strives to welcome all people.
“You are going to get a sense of belonging because when we meet, we see ourselves as a family,” Opoku said. “It does not matter where you are from … whatever color you are, whatever language you speak … we all sing and dance and there is no kind of discrimination or selectivity.”
