Festivals in Ghana

What is a Festival?

• A festival is a type of food dish.
• A festival is a scientific experiment.
• A festival is a celebratory event that often involves cultural or religious activities.
• A festival is a form of transportation.

Why do we celebrate festivals?

• To thank the gods or ancestors

• To sell more products
• To recall the beginning of a farming season and a harvesting season.

• To recall the migration of a people to their present settlement

What happens before Odwira is celebrated?

• A feast is held to celebrate the harvest.
• A 40 day period for meditation and rest is set aside

• Rituals are performed to honor ancestors.
• A parade is organized in the town square.

What is the importance of the Odwira Festival?

• It is to renew family bonds and to confirm support for their king

• It serves as a platform for political debates.
• The festival is primarily focused on sports competitions.
• It is for honoring ancestors and showing gratitude for harvest

What is the purpose of the Odwira Festival?

• To promote tourism in the region
• To honor local wildlife
• To celebrate the harvest season
• The purpose of the Odwira Festival is to purify the community, and the harvest of new yam.

What activities take place on Day One of the Odwira Festival?

• The path to the royal mausoleum is cleared to enable safe travel home

• Cooking competitions among families
• Art exhibitions showcasing local artists
• Traditional dance performances

What happens on Day Two of the Odwira Festival?

• Participants engage in competitive sports and games.
• The ban on eating the new yam is lifted

• Day Two is dedicated to storytelling and poetry.
• The ban on singing, drumming, dancing and noise making is lifted

What is done on Day Three of the Odwira Festival?

• Purification rituals and offerings to ancestors.
• Building new homes for the community.
• The dead are mourned. The chiefs also sit to receive condolences or greetings from the people

• Dancing and singing traditional songs.

What is the significance of Day Four during the Odwira Festival?

• Day Four is a day for tournaments and games with neighboring towns

• It is a day of feasting for the people and ancestors. At nightfall, the black stools are taken to the stream for cleansing

• Day Four is a celebration of harvest and abundance.
• Day Four is dedicated to storytelling and folklore.

What occurs on Day Five of the Odwira Festival?

• Market trading and economic discussions.
• Feasting and communal gatherings.
• There is a grand durbar of chiefs accompanied with merry making and pouring of libation

• Cultural dances and music performances.