Version 1
Lyrics - Akan
(Folk song from Ghana)
Obwisana sa, Nana
Obwisana sa
English Translation
The rock has crushed my hand, Grandma
The rock has crushed my hand.
Version 2
Lyrics - Akan
Obo asi me nsa nana (Oh-bwah see mee sah nah-nah)
Obo asi me nsa
(repeat)
English Translation
The rock has crushed my hand, Grandma
The rock has crushed my hand.
Stone-Passing Game
There are different ways to play this. Students can tap the stone in front of them on the beat and pass it to the person next to them. The Akan people value cooperation, so both the students who pass and receive the stone incorrectly are out.
See also
- Country: Ghana
- Activities: passing songs
- Harmony: chords I IV V
- Melody: D,E,F#,G,A,B
- Meter: 2
- Scale: hexachord
- Tones: drmfsl
- Source Version 2: Let Your Voice Be Heard! Songs from Ghana and Zimbabwe, Abraham Kobena Adzinyah, Dumisani Maraire, Judith Cook Tucker, 1986
YouTube
- Song with chords (2 versions), Lesson ideas, Orff arrangement
- MIDI file
- Listen to the song
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5 thoughts on “Obwisana”
What language is this song in?
The language is Akan.
Alternative activities that do not involve passing objects and sitting in a circle as those are two things we are not permitted to do…
Hi! I created a worksheet with dots in a circle. The students tapped each dot in the circle on the beat. At the end of the song, the dot they landed on was out! They crossed it out. The game continued until there was only one dot left.
I have also had them take things out of their desks like markers, erasers, pencils, etc. (if you’re push-in) and put them in a circle. Then followed the same tapping on the beat and eliminating objects one by one. They had to ‘guess’ which item would be the winner before beginning to make it extra enticing.
Very creative! Thanks for sharing!