Apinto divisional council launches Amankuma festival
The Apinto Divisional Council yesterday launched their 2018 edition of Amankuma Festival with a call on government to intensify the roadmap leading to the lift of that ban on Small Scale Mining.
The week-long programme would be celebrated from 10th to 16th of December this year and it is on the theme: "The Ban on Small Scale Mining: Our Socio-Economic Heritage and the Way Forward".
The launch was held at Tarkwa in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region.
Festivals and Durbars in Ghana are very colourful and vibrant part of the culture, and these are held in various parts of the country every year to celebrate the heritage and culture of the people.
Celebration of Festivals are also very important historically, and it has a greater impact on a country's socio-economic development.
The people of Wassa in the Apinto Divisional Council cannot be left out when it comes to the celebration of festivals in Ghana.
Apinto Divisional Council celebrate Amankuma Festival. The festival has historical background with it's people in the 17th century.
History has it that, the people of Apinto from Awudua Dada (Old Awudua) had a crocodile god living together with them.
The crocodile according to history paid a regular visits to the people and whenever they are faced with challenges the crocodile would provide them with support in a form of vomiting gold to them.
The people in Awudua has an enblem of crocodile which is an indicative of Amankuma.
The crocodile normally provide the people the of Apinto with ease them from suffering.
So in honouring the crocodile, the chiefs, elders and people of Apinto of Awudua made it a custom to visit the crocodile regularly and celebrate it supports.
They had a belief that the crocodile supported in difficult times during the migration from Awudua Dada to the current place .
The Gyasehene of Apinto Divisional Council Nana Dr. Adarkwa Bediako II gave historical background of Apinto land.
The Tufuhene of Apinto Divisional Council Nana Adupanyin who touched on the significance of the theme called on the government to lift the ban to alleviate the suffering their people are faced with since the government placed ban on the activities of small scale mining eighteen months ago.
The Chief Executive Officer of KAD Communications and Media Consultancy, Mr. Albert Kwabena Dwumfour highlighted on the activities marking the celebration of this year's Amankuma Festival which includes press conference in Accra, Symposium, durbar, clean-up exercise, health walkand screening, quiz, Miss Apinto a beauty peageant, jams among other activities.