CULTURAL NEWS
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
DODOWA CELEBRATES FESTIVAL WITH MOUNTAIN CLIMBING
Promasidor Company Limited, producers of cowbell products in conjunction with the Shai Traditional Council on Friday organized a mountain climbing competition as part of activities marking this year’s Ngmayem festival of the chiefs and people of Dodowa.
The event which started about four years ago serves as a platform to educate the youth in the area about their history.
This year’s competition brought together thousands of youth from the three divisions of the Shai Traditional area which included Doryumu, Kordiabe and Agomeda.
The participants, mainly the youth trooped to the venue, the bottom of the Shai Mountain, the historical dwelling of their ancestors until 1892 when they descend to their present location, to climb to the top of the mountain to have first hand information about their history.
“Ngmagyem” which literally means hooting at hunger is celebrated by the people of the Shai traditional area as a way of remembering the hunger and toil their forefather’s went through before experiencing bumper harvest in the end.
Addressing the participants, Nene Atrokpa Awate Bana, acting president of the Shai Traditional Council called on the youth to be proactive and help in the transformation of the area to a modern one.
He also urged them to desist from bad habits that could bring shame to the community and the nation as a whole.
Inusah Mohammed, an official of Promasidor company Limited said, his outfit’s injection of over GH¢40,000 into the programme was a way of appreciating their customers.
“We at Promasidor are happy to associate ourselves with the chiefs and people of the Shai traditional area for that matter the Ngmayem festival and we hope this association will last fre ages”, he said.
Nene Akuh Dagbletey IV, Hiowe Kutuwe mantse of Dodowa and Nene Lartey Akoto Senior Divisional Chief of Shai among others, thanked the sponsors for associating themselves with this year’s celebrations which he stated has given the elders of the land the good opportunity to share traditional norms and values of their fore fathers with the present generation.
All the participants who took part in the competition took home products from the sponsors.
*Source:
The Ghanaian Times Tuesday, October 2, 2007 Page: 29 |