Ephraim Amu

Ephraim Kwaku Amu was born on September 13, 1899, in Peki-Avetile, Volta Region. Trained at the Basel Mission Seminary in Akropong, he was dismissed from his teaching post in 1933 for wearing indigenous African cloth into the pulpit and using traditional African drums and flutes in church services.

Refusing to compromise his cultural integrity, Amu studied at the Royal College of Music in London, mastering Western composition while scientifically analyzing African cross-rhythms. He invented the modern four-hole bamboo flute (atenteben) and composed monumental choral works in Ewe and Twi, including Ghana's unofficial national anthem, Yen Ara Asaase Ni ('This Is Our Own Land'). His image is commemorated on the Ghanaian ten thousand cedi banknote and coin.