ABSTRACT
Many festivals in Ghana are ‘total works of art’ (Gesamtkunstwerke). They commonly involve countless minor artistic forms and actions (i.e., songs, dances, sculptures, etc.) which can be seen as distinct, but whose separate nature is subsumed in such festivals by the impact of the whole, a continuous and unified event often of surpassing beauty and rich cultural significance. This paper is an examination of the artistic principles manifest in such festivals, and will discuss the relationship of parts to one another and to the unified whole. 1 It will conclude with an interpretation of festival art and meaning.
