2013 Homowo launched

Isaac Yeboah Aug - 05 - 2013 , 10:08

Nii Amarkai III (left), the Asere Djasetse, being assisted by Dr Henry Seidu Daannaa (in smock), the Minister of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, to mix Kpoikpoi to symbolise the launch of 2013 Homowo. Picture: Emmanuel Baah The Chiefs and elders of the Ga-Adangbe communities have been called upon to use this year’s Homowo festival to promote unity and peace among themselves.

The Minister of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, Dr Henry Seidu Daannaa, who made the call at a ceremony to launch the Homowo festival in Accra on Friday, said it was important for the Chiefs and elders of the Ga State to reflect on their activities in the past year and settle any pending disputes among themselves as they celebrated Homowo.

He stressed the need for the Gas to love each other, as well as promote peace and unity, while they made merry.

The Homowo festival, which is celebrated by the people of Ga in the Greater Accra Region, begins with the sowing of millet by the traditional priests in May. After that, a 30-day ban on drumming and noise making is imposed on the people of the Ga community by the priests.

Celebrations for the festival is highlighted at varying times by the various quarters of the Ga tribes which include the Ga Mashie and Osu Klottey. The Homowo festival is celebrated to mark the migration of the Gas from Nigeria to their present state Accra and also reveal their agricultural success in their new settlement.

This year’s Homowo festival, sponsored by Obonu Fm, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and MTN, has outlined activities such as health walk, thanksgiving services and beach jam to bring the various Ga communities together.

“The occasion is meant for the people to reflect on their past, settle on their differences, forgive one another and show love,” a former Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Professor Mike Quaye, said in an address.

In his address, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Nii Lantey Vanderpuiye, appealed to the youth to celebrate the festival in a peaceful manner.

The Programmes Director of Obonu Fm, Mr Albert Nii Adjei Klu, urged the leaders of the Ga communities to protect and maintain their inheritance so that future generation could have something to inherit.

By Salomey Appiah and Vincent Musah