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23.08.2016 Social News

Chiefs urges celebrants to be sober at festival

By GNA
Chiefs urges celebrants to be sober at festival
23.08.2016 LISTEN

Abeadze Dominase (C/R) Aug. 23, GNA - Daasebre Kwebu Ewusi the VII, the Paramount Chief of Abeadze Traditional Area, has urged the celebrants of this year's Awoba Kese not to indulge in anti-social activities.

He said the festival was a period of reflection towards their individual progress and the total development of the community, so nothing should be done to undermine its goals.

Daasebre Kwebu Ewusi, who is also the President of the Central Regional House of Chiefs, made the call in an interview with Ghana News Agency at his residency at Abeadze Dominase; after he had participated in a-five hour walk and Medical Screening.

The screening was organised by the Planning Committee of the festival.

The Festival is under the theme: 'Consolidating 20 years of Inspirational Traditional Leadership'.

The event, which started on August 22, include a Visit to the Ancestral home (Old Abeadze) of the people; a Day for the youth, Inter-schools quiz competition and a Carnival.

Nana Ewusi explained that the Abeadze people were part of the Borbor Fantes, who migrated from Mesopotamia with the other large Akan groupings, including the Ashantis and Akyems, with their tradition of governance and culture.

He said just before AD 1300, there were lots of disturbances in the Mesopotamia area because of the expansion of Islam, therefore, many migrated from there.

The Akans, who are now residing in part of Southern Ghana and some part of Ivory Coast, came to settle first at Techiman, he said.

'The migration continued from Techiman due to the same reasons, that is - harassment, lack of space and water, as wells as rumors of wars so the Abeadze people moved further southwest, together with the Akan grouping as mentioned earlier, to come and settle at Kwaman, which was originally known as Akanman.'

He said when the Borbor Fantes settled at Kwaman they again found out that the place was not conducive for them, and so the larger group migrated to settle at Mankessim.

However, the people of Abeadze under the leadership of Nana Teiwku Baah, decided not to go to Mankessim, and along the way, they vowed to settle under a large palm tree, thereby making people refer to them as settlers under palm trees (Abeadze) in 1350.

He said after 50 years, under the leadership of Kwebu Ammisah, they decided to move from the Old Abeadze due to lack of space, insufficient water for domestic and farming activities and fertile land for farming.

Eventually, he said, they came to settle under a 'Domin' tree that gave the name of their current place of settlement called Dominase Abeadze after they had overpowered the original natives.

The festival will be climaxed on Saturday, August 29, with President John Mahama as the guest speaker. Some projects would be inaugurated to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of the people.

Nana Ewusi, therefore, urged Abeadzeman citizens to return home to celebrate their festival to commemorate the deeds of one Opanyin Awoba, who was sacrificed to stem the outbreak of a disease when they first settled at Mankessim.

GNA

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