Homowo

Hooting at hunger

Homowo means “hooting at hunger” in the Ga language. According to Ga oral tradition, the people suffered a severe famine during their migration and early settlement on the coast of what is now Greater Accra. They planted, waited in silence and offered libations, and when the rains returned and the harvest came, they celebrated by mocking the hunger that had nearly destroyed them.

The Ga State is made up of several autonomous traditional areas, among them Nungua, Osu, La, Teshie, Tema and Ga Mashie, each with its own ceremonial calendar. Their celebrations are deliberately spaced out so that people with ties to more than one town can take part in each. Nungua, considered one of the oldest Ga towns, traditionally celebrates first, and Teshie last.

From silence to drums

Homowo begins in silence. Around May the Ga Traditional Council imposes a ban on drumming and noise across Ga communities, a period of restraint and preparation. As the crops ripen, the first maize is harvested and families prepare kpokpoi. Then comes the most visible ritual, kpashimo: chiefs and elders walk through the town sprinkling kpokpoi in public spaces, a declaration that hunger has been defeated. Only when it is complete do the drums return, and processions, music and dancing fill the streets. People who live and work elsewhere come home for the festival, and twins are honoured with a celebration of their own.