Homowo Festival celebrated by the Gas
The Homowo festival is a significant harvest celebration that is deeply rooted in the culture and traditions of the Ga people in Ghana. This festival is celebrated annually in the month of August, before the onset of the rainy season, and is observed by various towns and communities in the Greater Accra region where the Ga people reside. The origin of Homowo is traced back to the pre-colonial era when the Ga people experienced a severe famine as a result of the failure of seasonal rains, which led to crop failure and widespread hunger. However, when the rains finally returned, the Ga people celebrated this renewal of life by creating the Homowo festival. The name Homowo is derived from the Ga language, with “Homo” meaning “hunger” and “woo” meaning “to hoot or jeer.” Thus, the festival signifies “to hoot at hunger,” and celebrates the triumph over hunger and famine. The festival starts with the planting of crops such as maize and yam, which are used in preparing the traditional dish known as Kpokpoi or Kpekple. This dish is made from maize flour, mixed with palm oil and fish, and is eaten with palm nut soup. During this period, noise-making is prohibited to ensure that the crops mature properly. It is believed that any noise made during this period will hinder the growth and development of the crops. As the festival progresses, various towns and communities hold their own celebrations, with the climax of the festival being celebrated in Gamashie. The festivities include traditional dances such as the Kpanlogo dance, which is a popular dance form among the Ga people. The dance is characterized by energetic movements and is usually accompanied by drumming and chanting. In addition to the Kpanlogo dance, the Homowo festival also features merrymaking, face painting, singing, and chanting. Traditional leaders and family heads also sprinkle the Kpokpoi in their family house, while others sprinkle it around the town. The celebration usually involves a lot of traffic and roads are often blocked off to accommodate the festival. Some of the towns that celebrate the Homowo festival include La, Teshie, Teshie Nungua, Osu, Ga-Mashie, Tema, Prampram, and Ningo. Although the festival is primarily a Ga tradition, people from other ethnic groups are also welcome to join in the celebrations. The festival has become an integral part of Ghanaian culture and is widely celebrated across the country. READ NEXT ON : Asogli Yam Festival
The Humble Beginning of Wesley Girls’ High School
Founded in 1836 by Mrs. Harriet Wrigley, the wife of the 2nd Methodist Missionary to the Gold Coast, Wesley Girls’ High School began with 25 girls and aimed to provide them with basic training in housekeeping and Catechism, as well as education in writing, reading, sewing, and religious studies. Classes were initially held at the Manse, in the Standfast Hall near the Victoria Park in Cape Coast. However, Mrs. Wrigley passed away just five months after the school’s founding. It wasn’t until 1837 that Mrs. Elizabeth Waldron assumed leadership and ran the school for 43 years, laying a solid foundation for what would later become the Wesleyan Girls’ School and Training Home. Students at the school quickly became known for their values of fortitude, integrity, and truthfulness. The school’s high academic standards led the Methodist church to provide funding for higher education for girls, and in 1884, Rev. W.M. Cannell started the Secondary section of the school with 20 girls while serving as the Headmaster of Mfantsipim School. However, funding shortages led to intermittent closures of the school’s primary and secondary sections, and at one point, it had to team up with Mfantsipim as a co-educational Secondary School under a new name, the Collegiate School. By 1900, the school was independent again, with Mrs. H.J. Ellis serving as Headmistress. Sister Evelyn Bellamy, a deaconess, then headed the school from 1914 to 1943 and made significant contributions to its constructive work and able leadership. During her tenure, Dr. Kwegyri Aggrey famously stated that “to educate a boy is to educate an individual, but to educate a girl is to educate a family” when he visited the school on June 8, 1925. In 1951, the Secondary School section was permanently separated from the primary when Miss Olive Compton moved it to its current location at Kakumdo. Miss Compton conceptualized the school as H.M.S. Excellence and had the school designed to reflect this. The High School continued to excel, while the primary section struggled to regain its former glory. Today, Wesley Girls’ High School remains one of the best girls’ schools in Ghana, known for its academic excellence and all-around outstanding performance. Live Pure, Speak True, Right Wrong, Follow The King NOTABLE ALUMNI OF WESLEY GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL READ NEXT ON : History of Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (PRESEC)
