The La Traditional Council has launched the 2024 Homowo Festival with a call for peace and good neighbourliness.
On the theme, “Development through Good Neighbourliness and Peace; The Role of Traditional Festivals,” this year’s event will be used as a tool to foster peace and the development of the La Community.
The month-long celebration, which starts from August 5 – 30, 2024, will be preceded by some activities and rituals.
The events include educational and fun-based activities such as inter-schools and inter-quarters quizzes, street carnival and musical concerts, health screening and soccer.
The festival also seeks to portray the rich cultural values and traditional practices of the La people. Launching the festival at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra, Nii Adjei Kofeh IV, La Shikitele, emphasised the importance of good neighbourliness and peace, and said it was crucial to the development of any community and nation.
Stating that the Traditional Council would capitalise on the festival as a tool for development, Nii Kofeh encouraged the people of La to maintain the peace and unity currently prevailing in the area.
He also cautioned the youth of the area to abide by the laws of the country and not to allow themselves to be used to perpetuate any form of crime and disruptions before, during and after the 2024 General Election.
The Homowo Festival is an annual event of the Ga people and has been celebrated over the years with pomp and pageantry.
Homowo, which means hooting at hunger, is celebrated to mark the bumper harvest after a prolonged famine due to drought suffered by their ancestors during their exodus from Israel to their present settlements.
It is celebrated by the people of Tema, Nungua, Teshie, La, Osu, and Ga Mashie between May and September every year.
GNA