Ga celebrates Homowo
By: Lawrence Markwei & Victor Buxton
THE people of the Ga State on Saturday celebrated their annual Homowo festival in various parts of Accra.
Homowo festival is an ancestral festival meaning “hooting at hunger” and is climaxed with the sprinkling of the traditional meal Kpoikpoi, to signify the end of hunger.
The Gbese Mantse, Nii Ayi Bonte II, started the celebration with the sprinkling of kpoikpoi at Bukom in Accra.
He expressed gratitude to god for presiding over a peaceful festival and expressed optimism for many peaceful Homowo festivals to come.
The Gbese Mantse urged all Gas to rally behind their chiefs to amicably resolve the kingship issue to ensure lasting peace in the Ga State. “We need to unite and forge ahead as one people to develop the Ga state into a model kingdom”, he added.
Nii Ayi Bonte urged the youth to eschew all vices and be law abiding and respect the rule of law, to ensure total peace in the Ga State.
He commended the security agencies for presiding over a peaceful festival, urging them to maintain such high level diplomacy at all times.
“We are very grateful that no incidents were recorded during the festival’, he added. Gbese Mantse assured the people of the Ga State of an open administration where the views of the youth were accepted to ensure that programmes aimed at developing their talents were utilized.
In a goodwill message to the people of Sempe, Nii Adote Otinto II, Sempe Mantse, asked the people of Ga Mashie to participate fully in the upcoming Population and Housing Census.
This will ensure that right data is captured to provide guidelines for the government to build social and economic amenities for the people.
Nii Adonte Otinto II’s message was delivered after sprinkling the traditional Kpoikpoi in the immediate environs of the palace.
Nii Otinto thanked God for another year and was happy about the unity which had characterized the festival.
“We are gathered here once again as a unified family to celebrate Homowo is an occasion for reflection, accountability, probity and projection for the future development and progress, “the traditional leadership role is to lead the people in this direction”.
He warned that estates belonging to the Sempe stool, that have been encroached upon would be retrieved while those that needed immediate and direct approach were being attended to.
“I call on all citizens of Sempe, home and abroad, to help in the fight for justice to retrieve our lands and uphold our heritage bequeathed to us by our ancestors ‘, he said.
Nii Otinto appealed to the government to start work on the proposed fishing harbor project at the James Town beach, saying, “Ga mashie is typically a fishing community and the proposed harbor project will alleviate the poverty and unemployment in the area.”
*Source:
The Ghanaian Times Page: 3 Monday, August 16, 2010
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