Cultural Connections: Kye Kye Kule

• Sophie Taft
• Posted 8/4/23
• 0 comments

A Conversation with Dr. Sunu Doe 

Kye Kye Kule is a call-and-response song performed in several African countries.  The actions of this song are reminiscent of the American song Head Shoulder Knees and Toes.

Movements to Kye Kye Kule

1. Tap your head 4 times to the beat.
2. Tap your shoulders 4 times while twisting your upper body side to side.
3. Put your hands on your hips while twisting your upper body sided to side 4 times to the beat.
4. Tap your knees 4 times to the beat.
5. Bend over and touch your feet on “kum” and then your waist on “adende”, like a see-saw.
6. Group repeats the action in Step #5. Then on “hey”, everyone puts their hands in the air.

DOWNLOAD SCORE

I asked a friend of mine, Dr. Sunu Doe, about the origins of this song.  Dr. Doe is an ethnomusicology professor at the University of Ghana specializing in preserving pre-colonial Ghanaian culture through music and music education.  He says Kye Kye Kule is an authentic song that Ghanaian school children learn.

Depending on the source, both on the internet and in print, the song can be found by searching Che Che Koolay or Kye Kye Kule.  According to Dr. Doe, the correct way to spell the title is with Ky instead of ch. Ch doesn’t exist in the languages of Twi or Ewe and was unsure about the Fanti language.   

The song is made of meaningless sounds, just as many American songs are. The song has no language, and the use of the name Kofi is thrown in to make it relatable to children.  He said other variations of the song use other day names. He surmises that using Kofi could be an alteration of k k sounds… 

“Day Names” refer to Ghanaian cultural practices in which children are named for the day of the week they were born.  Some people go by their day names, while others go by their “Christian names,” which are mostly European names, or virtue names like “Peace” or “Wisdom.” 

If you teach or work with Ghanaian music, you can have students figure out their day names.  It’s fun and would not be considered offensive or inappropriate by Ghanaian people.  If you go to Ghana, even if you are not Ghanaian, they ask your day name and want to call you by it, or if they don’t know, strangers will pick a day name and call you by that. 

I hope you find this information as useful as I did and share it with your students the next time you teach Kye Kye Kule.  

A special thank you to my friend Dr. Sunu Doe for sharing his vast knowledge and expertise about this piece and allowing me to share it with the greater general music community. 

Refrences

Taft, S. (2021, October). Origins of Kye Kye Kule. personal.  

Yannucci, L. (n.d.). Kye Kye Kule – Ghana. Mama Lisa’s World of Children and International Culture. Retrieved March 10, 2023, from https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3215 

Sophie

Sophie Taft

Sophie Taft teaches Elementary General Music in the Iowa City Community School District. She previously taught in West Liberty, IA, Cedar Rapids, IA, Gwinnett County, GA, Des Plaines, IL, and Legon, Ghana. She is Orff Level III certified and holds a…

Discover more from Sophie