Chiefs and people of Prampram celebrate Homowo

Prampram (GAR), Aug 17, GNA - The Chiefs and people of Prampram in the Greater Accra Region on Tuesday, started activities marking their two-day Annual Homowo festival.

Homowo of the Ga-Adangbe people, which literally means, "hooting at hunger," traditionally signifies a period of abundant harvest after a prolonged famine.

It is also the day for family gathering, eating of Kpokpoi (festival meal) in homes, settlement of disputes, planning of funerals, marriages, divorce and the performance of Dipo (puberty rite for adolescent girls). The day was marked with the sprinkling of Kpokpoi, a maize meal and palm nut soup, pouring of libation, drumming and dancing and singing of Asafo (war) songs thorough the principal streets of the town.

This year's celebration is being marked under a relative peaceful atmosphere as the Paramount Chief of the town, Nene Tetteh Djan III, accompanied by his elders entered the "La Luwe" shrine to perform customary rites and to seek the blessing of the gods before starting the sprinkling of the kpokpoi.

Entering the biggest shrine in the area signified peace and tranquillity as the town for the past eight years had been plagued with a chieftaincy dispute that had thwarted development.

From the Annorwe (the ancestral ruling house of Prampram), Nene Tetteh Djan III went to Tetteh Djan/Larbi Agbo We (Royal House), Nii Kwei Opletu We, Doku Mansro We; the main entrance to the town and through the streets to signify the beginning of the festival.

Nene Djan called for unity and peace and urged the people to bury their differences and come together for the development of the area. The Chief said he believed in dialogue and that his doors were widely open to anyone who had any grievance.

Nene Djan urged the people to use dialogue to solve their problems, adding, "the courts can never help use but rather use the monies that we give to lawyers to develop Prampram"

Nene Djan said that Prapram was the only district in the Greater Accra Region that did not have a Senior Secondary School because of disputes.

He called on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to comply with a High Court order to regularise the acquisition of the land for the Football School of Excellence by the end of September this year. The Chief advised the people against the HIV/AIDS pandemic, saying, "It is spreading like a wild fire and if we play with it we will get it and if we get it we are certainly going to die".

Earlier, Mr Kwame Tetteh-Konly Agban, District Chief Executive for Dangme West, urged the people to unite for the development of the area. He recalled the recent commissioning of a sports complex in the area and asked the people to show their appreciation by working harder to improve their living condition.