Nana Adupanyin handing over document about the festival to Albert Dwumfour
The Apinto Divisional Council in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly of the Western Region has launched the 2018 Amankuma Festival of the Wassa people in the Apinto Divisional Council.
The festival would be celebrated from December 10 to 16, 2018. It would be celebrated on the theme “The Ban on Small-Scale Mining: Our Socio-Economic Heritage and the Way Forward”.
At a colourful ceremony to launch the festival, the Gyasehene of Apinto Divisional Council, Nana Dr. Adarkwa Bediako II, revealed that the people of Apinto from Awudua Dada (Old Awudua) had a crocodile god living together with them.
The Gyasehene, who is also the chairman of the planning committee, explained that, according to history, the crocodile paid regular visits to the people and whenever they were faced with challenges, the crocodile would provide them with support in a form of vomiting gold to them.
“So the crocodile normally provided the people of Apinto with gold whenever they needed help. It is even believed that the crocodile supported them in difficult times during their migration from Awudua Dada to the current place”, he disclosed.
He continued: “So in honouring the crocodile, the chiefs and people of Awudua in the Apinto Divisional Council made it a custom to visit the crocodile regularly to celebrate its support”.
He pointed out that to this end, the people of Awudua had crocodile (Amankuma) with gold in its mouth as their emblem.
He also indicated that this year’s festival would focus on the government’s roadmap leading to the lifting of that ban on small-scale mining and the need to quicken the processes leading to the lifting of the ban.
The Tufuhene of Apinto Divisional Council, Nana Adupanyin, called on government to lift the ban on legal small-scale mining to help boost economic activities in the Apinto area.
Accra-based KAD Communications and Media Consultancy is in charge of the organization of this year’s festival.
The Chief Executive Officer of the organization, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, mentioned some of the activities earmarked for the festival this year as press conference in Accra, symposium, durbar, clean-up exercise, health walk, screening, quiz competition, beauty pageant, and jamboree, among others.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Tarkwa