By: Adovor Nutifafa
Homowo, a venerated cultural obligation and traditional festival celebrated by the natives of Ga annually to hoot at hunger made a mammoth stop at Teshie in the Greater Accra region.
Gbetsoolo Nii Ashitey Akomfra III, the Teshie Mantse accompanied by his elders led the mammoth procession of the people of Teshie to sprinkle Kpokpoi at the chief palace, some areas for major shrines and Gods including the two principal houses, Ashikwei We and Ashitey We.
This year’s celebration was incident free devoid of any protest. It was interspersed with singing of traditional songs, drumming, dancing, firing of musketry and marry-making.
The Teshie Mantse took the opportunity and called for reconciliation, peace and unity saying these social virtues is key and crucial for reconstruction and development of Teshie.
Nii Ashikwei Kwoabotswe II, the Dzasetse of Teshie said the kpokpoi was given to sacred Gods in reverence and for blessing and protection of the people in the preceding year while they seek for same as well as bumper harvest and abundance for the impending year.
Homowo in Ga means hooting at hunger while Kpokpoi is a food eaten during the Homowo festival. It made of unfermented corn treated with palm nut soup and oil including other associated ingredients. The sprinkling of the Kpokpoi, the Dzasetse of Teshie disclosed is linked to the migration of the Ga people from Israel to Timbuktu, Rift Valley, EIeyife in Nigeria and then to the Anlo land and finally to their present location and the hunger that beset them during the tortuous journey.
Nii Ashikwei Kwoabotswe II who also doubles as the Head of the Lenshie Clan said during their stay at the present location, their ancestors had corn in abundance. As a result, the sprinkling of Kpokpoi was performed by their ancestors to hoot at hunger and was bequeath to them adding that the current generation also decided to continue with the long-held mandatory ritual and tradition.
Nii Ashikwei Kwoabotswe II chastised Hon. Sena Okity Dua, the Member of Parliament for Ledzekuku Constituency in the Greater Accra region for meddling in the chieftaincy affairs of the area and maligning Gbetsoolo Nii Ashitey Akomfra III. As a result, he said the Teshie Mantse and his elders rejected amount of two thousand Ghana cedis presented to them by MP as her donation toward the Homowo festivities.
The rejection of the donations according to Nii Ashikwei Kwoabotswe II was triggered by the Ledzekuku legislator sponsorship of activities of a rival chieftaincy faction. The said chieftaincy faction, he indicated has been fomenting trouble in the Teshie township.
The astute chieftaincy advocate par excellence said the MP donated two thousand Ghana cedis and other items to the opposing faction at beginning of the Homowo festivities but brought theirs at the tail end of the celebration of festival after they had secure funds to celebrate the festival. This act by Hon. Sena Okity Dua, Nii Ashikwei Kwoabotswe II noted smack of favoritism on the part of the MP.
Nii Ashikwei Kwoabotswe II was also not happy that the Ledzekuku MP did partake in activities marking the ban on noise making and drumming in the area. As a result of divisive posture of Hon. Sena Okity Dua, he said they want a native of Teshie to represent them in the country’s parliament in 2017 no matter the political party the person belong to.
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