Invisible colonialism in postcolonial Africa : Hierarchy, popularization, and consolation of pentecostal highlife in Ghana

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This doctoral thesis begins with the critical recognition that a country with a history of colonial rule is not genuinely free from colonialism, even after the official independence. This perspective is informed by the researcher’s own experience living in a country where the legacy of colonialism continues to shape society after independence. Through the process of modernization driven by the Enlightenment, Europe justified unfair colonialism by claiming its superiority over other cultures. Unfortunately, these ideas penetrated the perception of colonized people, leading them to view the West as superior and their own culture as inferior. This thesis focuses on Ghanaian popular music Highlife and its variation Pentecostal Highlife, which dominates Ghana’s music industry, to explore how these musical forms unconsciously perpetuate the hierarchical schema of the West as superior and Ghana as inferior.
Pentecostal Highlife emerged when Highlife musicians began playing in churches due to the economic crisis resulting from Ghana’s incompetent and corrupt politics. The meeting between ‘rich’ churches and ‘poor’ musicians suggests a hierarchical power dynamic that limits the autonomy of musicians in crafting their messages. Pentecostalism, Ghana’s most influential Christian sect, shapes popular culture by controlling mass media and using Ghana’s music traditions to console people living in difficult circumstances. However, Pentecostal Highlife tends to glorify Western modernization and capitalism, sending a message that Ghanaians should reject their past and embrace Western values. This fosters a sense of envy for Western life and promotes a belief that Ghanaians must abandon their own culture. The term ‘invisible colonialism’ refers to the postcolonial Africa phenomenon in which Ghana’s vested interests, including church leaders, control Ghanaians’ minds in a friendly manner that does not raise suspicion. This thesis discovers that the problematic phenomenon is driven by hierarchy, popularization, and consolation.
To examine this issue from multiple perspectives, the thesis utilizes postcolonial discourses, Western theories of cultural mimicry and creolization, and arguments of African philosophers such as Kwasi Wiredu of Ghana, Valentin Yves Mudimbe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Paulin Hountondji of Benin. Through these discussions, the thesis proposes a shift from Western-led globalization to deglobalization, where every region can assert its unique voice to overcome invisible colonialism.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. Introduction 1
• 1. Research Background and Aim 1
• 2. Research Method 4
• 3. Research Outline 5
• II. Theoretical Background 10
• 1. Overview 10
• 2. Colonialism: Beginning of Western Power Hegemony 11
• 3. Postcolonialism: Identity Struggle Based on Hierarchy 19
• 4. Mimicry and Creolization: Possibility of Resistance and Subversion 33
• 5. Application and Relation to the Thesis Contents 45
• III. Music in Africa 48
• 1. Overview 48
• 2. Indigenous-Ritual Music: Authenticity Before Colonialism Takes Place 49
• 3. Religious-Gospel Music: Christianity, People can Rely on 56
• 4. Creole-Diaspora Music: Phenomena, Colonial-Slavery Generated 62
• 5. Popular-World Music: Colonialism Still Exerts in Postcolonial Africa 70
• IV. Highlife, Ghanaian Popular Music 78
• 1. Overview 78
• 2. Beginning of Highlife (the Late 1800s ~ ): Encounter with the West 79
• 3. Hierarchy of Highlife (the 1920s ~ ): Reflection of Social Hierarchy and Protection of Tradition 84
• 4. Heyday of Highlife (1950s ~ 1970/80s): Independent National Identity and Political Criticism 94
• 5. Crisis of Highlife (1970/80s ~ ): Displacement and Negotiation for Survival 105
• 6. Reformation of Highlife (the 1990s ~ ): Glocalization and Capitalism in Postcolonial Africa 115
• V. Pentecostal Highlife, The Everlasting Ghanaian Music 124
• 1. Overview 124
• 2. Pentecostalism: The Most Powerful Christianity in Ghana 125
• 3. Pentecostal Highlife: The Encounter of Christianity and Music 143
• 4. The Reality of Pentecostal Highlife through YouTube Videos 162
• 5. Analysis of Pentecostal Highlife in Ghana 177
• VI. Philosophical Approach on Invisible Colonialism in Pentecostal Highlife 204
• 1. Overview 204
• 2. African Philosophers’ Ideas and Arguments 206
• 3. The Reality in Postcolonial Africa 227
• 4. Pentecostal Highlife’s Invisible Colonialism 244
• 5. Tables of Philosophers and Related Contents 271
• VII. Conclusion 275
• 1. Research Highlight and Summary 275
• 2. Research Implications and Values 280
• 3. Deglobalization: Possibility of New Postcolonialism 284
• References 291