Over the weekend, the people of Ga Mashie took their turn in the Homowo festivities for this year.
The streets of Ga Mashie were filled with the beating of the Odadaoo drums by the Gbese Mantse, as the townsfolk and tourists alike trooped the principal streets with excitement.
The special traditional meal, ‘Kpokpoi’ and palm nut soup were cooked and sprinkled all across the municipality as custom demands.
Homowo is a festival celebrated by the Gas to recount the devastating famine faced by their ancestors and to commemorate the return of rain.
The word Homowo (Homo – hunger, wo – hoot) means “to hoot at hunger” in the Ga language. Homowo is one of the colourful festivals celebrated by the Ga traditional area.
The people of Nungua begin the celebration, followed by Lante Dzan We Clan, then Tema, Ga Mashie, La, Osu, Teshie, Kpone, Prampram and Ningo.
The festival begins with the planting of maize, which is used for the preparation of traditional food, “kpookoi” during the festival. It’s characterized by the sprinkling of “Kpokpoi” to the gods and ancestors for spiritual protection. A month before this celebration is done there is a ban on noise-making.
This year’s celebration had a sharp change due to the death of the Queen mother of the Ga State, Naa Dede Omaedru III. Usually, the chief and his kinsmen sprinkle kpookoi on the principal streets within Ga Mashie but this year it was done in houses.
The centuries-old Homowo festival has become a uniting force among the Ga people.
Adomonline.com’s Joseph Odotei was present at the ceremony to capture these scenes:
