User:Phylldark/Homowo
DRAFT
Etymology & Origin
It is said that as the Ga people traveled to Ghana, they faced famine along with other misfortunes along the way and upon settlement. The people inferred their mishaps to the displeasure of a god or deity. To restore balance in their society, the Ga people sacrificed livestock, prayed and poured libations to pacify the gods or deities. [1]
Pre-Festival
Prior to the actual celebration of the festival, Nmaadumo, a sowing rite of wheat takes place to mark the beginning of the Ga Calendar and the celebrations that occur within it. Nmaa or Millet is sown by the seven priests of the Gamashie people who perform Shibaa, the right of digging. The priests sow the wheat in a specific order with Dantu on Monday, Sakumo on Tuesday, Naa Korle and Naa Afieye on Friday, Gua on Saturday, Naa Dede on Sunday, and Nai on the following Tuesday. During wheat-sowing, a strict ban on noise called "Koninfemo" is set in place.[2] This is to ensure that the crops grow without distractions or disturbance. This lasts for four weeks and two days, and at the end of this period, specific drum beatings called "Odadaa" are played to announce the end of the noise-making ban. [2]
Timeline/Dates
The native calendar of the Ga people is provided yearly by the Damte Fetish Priest of the Damte Dsanwe people.[3] The Ga year begins either on the last Monday of April or the first or second Monday of May.[4]This period is when the Nmaadumo takes place, and marks the beginning of the Homowo season which ends in September when the crops are harvested.
A week and five days after Odadaa is played, the Twin Yam festival begins, and five weeks and four days later, the celebrations of Homowo begin. Different cities/towns celebrate their Homowo with Lante Dzanwe beginning, followed by Tema six days later. Nungua, however, begins celebrating Homowo soon after Odadaa is played on the first Sunday in July. The general Homowo celebration of the entire Gamashie (from Osu to Teshie) begins eight days after Tema, and ten days after, Nungo and Gboogbla begin their part of the festival. The last place to celebrate the festival is Awutu four days later. [2]
Soobii
Celebrators living and working in neighboring towns and villages are called Soobii (Thursday people) as they arrive on Thursday to join the Gamashie celebration of Homowo during the Homowo week. [5] Once the Soobii people arrive at the city for the festival, they diverge into their localities they march together with. [4][5]
Twins Yam Festival
The Twins Yam Festival falls on the Friday following the Gamashie Homowo celebration and before Homowo Saturday. On this day, twin Ga people wear white and celebrate with feastings, music, and dancing. This festival stems from the Ga belief that twins live different lives compared to their non-twins counterparts and behave differently. On this day, a pair of buffalo horns that are typically preserved in a shrine are brought out to be used for ritual ceremonies. The twins are expected to wear the same clothing, share their gifts, and react similarly in given situations. [5][4]
Celebration
Traditional celebration of Homowo includes marching across cities while drumming, singling, and dancing. This celebration is further multiplied during the Gamashie Homowo celebration as the Soobii people join in. They sing songs with lyrics such as "Nmaayi eye" (the harvest is white/plentiful) to celebrate fruitful harvests. The celebration continues into the early hours of Friday when preparation for cooking has already began. [5]
Rites
Shaayo Laitso Kee
This rite involves housewives presenting logs to mother-in-laws. This act marks the cordial relationship between a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. This rite is also exchanged between son-in-laws and father-in-laws. The logs are used to make bonfires for the souls of dead relatives that are said to have arrived during Soobii. [2]
Akpade Rite
This rite involves plastering two side doors with red clay (Akpade) on the Friday of the Twins Yam Festival. This act is carried out by the elderly women of families, however the elderly men of the families fire musket bullets to expel evil spirits on the same day.
[2]
Libation
The head of the family traditionally sprinkles kpoikpoi (a process called "Nishwamo") and pours drinks to the ground to honor ancestors following the preparation of Homowo food on Saturday.[2][5]
Prayer During Libation:
Noowala Noowala (Long life Long Life) Afi naa akpe wo (May the new year bring us together)
Gbii kpaanyo anina wo (May we live to see the eighth day)
Woye Gbo ni woye Gboenaa (May we eat the fruits of Gbo and that of Gboenaa)
Wofee moomo (May we live long)
Alonte din ko aka-fo woten (May no black cat (ill omen) come between us)
Wosee afi bene wotrashi neke nonu noon (May sit like this the next year)
Tswa Tswa tswa Omanye aba (Hai! Hail! Hail! May peace be)[1]
Cuisine
Cooking for Homowo Saturday begins around 4am on Saturday in most Ga homes to ensure it is ready for sprinkling at 7am.[2]
Kpokpei
Kpokpei is prepared from the millet that is grown by the seven priests during Nmaadumo. It is turned into dough and eventually steamed. Once it cooks, it is kneaded in a wooden bowl and mixed with palm-oil and okro soup. During the Saturday, people go around many Ga households in the Gamashie area to share the festal food with them.[2]
Diaspora
Ga people living in Portland, Oregon host the "Portland Homowo & Twins Festival" to celebrate alongside their native counterparts. [6]
References
- ^ ISSN 0012-5962.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ammah, Charles (1968). Ga Homowo. Accra, Ghana: Advance Accra.
- ISSN 0368-4016.
- ^ a b c Opoku, A.A. (1970). Festivals of Ghana. Ghana: Ghana Publishing Company. p. 52.
- ^ a b c d e Ammah, Charles Nii (1982). Ga Homowo and other Ga-Adangme Festivals. Accra, Ghana: Sedco Publishing Limited.
- ^ "Homowo & Twins Festival". Homowo & Twins Festival. Retrieved 2023-03-21.