Nana Yaa Asantewaa (left) presenting a certificate to Vesta Adu Gyamfi
A BIANNUAL Yaa Asantewaa Festival has been proposed to celebrate the historic achievements of the Asante traditional heroine to promote the growth of the country’s tourism, culture, economic growth and development.
The festival is designed to pay tribute to the memory of Yaa Asantewaa, who led the Asante army to fight and defeat the British for encroaching on the rights and privileges of the Asante people from 1900 to 1901.
Speaking at the maiden Yaa Asantewaa Memorial Lectures in Kumasi last Friday, Vesta Adu Gyamfi, former Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Art of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), suggested that the celebration of the festival should be week-long and be solely women’s affair.
She said women in politics, religion, education, health, banking, fashion, business entrepreneurship, creative industry and the craftswoman including those of the Diaspora should be targeted in the organisation of the festival.
She said this should be properly designed and presented to tell the world of an exclusive festival for women in Ghana with exceptional contribution from the chiefs, queens and people of Ejisu and Ashanti to promote tourism and reshape history.
The lecture was organised by the Nana Yaa Asantewaa Foundation and the Ejisuman Traditional Council in collaboration with the Centre for Cultural and African Studies of KNUST, under the auspices of Manhyia Palace.
It was under the theme: “Women, Challenging the Heights of Governance and Leadership in Africa: The Icon of Nana Yaa Asantewaa.”
Vesta Adu Gyamfi, who spoke on the sub-theme: “Advancing the Tourism Sector in Ghana: The Relevance of Yaa Asantewaa Festival”, said the tourism sector serves as an employment avenue and a major source of foreign exchange earnings to the country.
“Tourists are attracted by the uniqueness of our heritage, our flora and fauna and by our traditional festivities with all the rituals, customs and institutional exposé. That is why the relevance of our culture is not to be underrated,” she opined.
In her opinion, the relevance of festivals must be emphasized in today’s world where the young are losing track of their roots, history and ancestry.
In his welcome address, the president of Nana Yaa Asantewaa Foundation, Kwame Omane Kwarteng, said the foundation was set up in 2013 to honour Nana Yaa Asantewaa and also inculcate the spirit of “can do” in the young ladies.
He disclosed that the Yaa Asantewaa Festival would be celebrated in August during which cultural dancing competitions dubbed “Nana Yaa Asantewaa National Cultural Dancing” competition would be organised. It would begin at the district level.
Winners from each district would be enlisted to compete at the regional level. And winners from each regional level will contest at the national level where the eventual winner will be crowned as the best Nana Yaa Asantewaa cultural dancer.
The Ejisuhemaa, Nana Yaa Asantewaa II, thanked the organisers for honouring her grandmother, Nana Yaa Asantewaa. She advised Ghanaian students, particularly females, to emulate the bravery of her grandmother.
FROM James Quansah, Kumasi