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Edina Bakatue festival sets in motion

Thousands of people from all walks of life have joined the Chiefs and People of Elmina in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (KEEA) Municipality of the Central Region to perform the annual ritual for the commencement of the Bakatue festival.

Date Created : 7/12/2022 12:00:00 AM : Story Author : Irene Danso/Ghanadistricts.com

The event was a show of culture, custom and African tradition.

Led by the Paramount Chief of Elmina, Nana Kodwo Conduah VI, who was adorned in rich traditional regalia, the chiefs exhibited their dancing prowess amidst drumming and dancing through the ceremonial streets of the city of ancient civilization in Ghana.

The Chiefs later in the afternoon offered the sacred festival food of eggs and mashed yam mixed with palm oil to Nana Benya, (the river god) at the Benya Lagoon and prayed for peace, abundant fish catch and farm produce.

This was followed by casting of the Omanhen’s net which was done thrice to get a catch to signify a bumper harvest and the subsequent firing of muskets to declare an end to the ban on fishing, drumming, funerals, and other social activities in the Elmina Traditional Area.

Another attraction was the canoeing on the lagoon by women wearing rich Kente cloth and local festive headgear (Tekuwa) adorned with gold tiara as they fired guns to the admiration of all.

The Chiefs, after the fish catch fired three gunshots to the skies to symbolize the beginning of the Bakatue Festival.

The 2022 Bakatue Festival is on the theme: “Buy Made in Ghana Goods, Use Made in Ghana Products and Support Ghanaian Industries and Create Employment for the Youth.”

The Representative appealed to them to “eat Ghana, wear Ghana, see and feel Ghana” to help end the high importation of foreign goods to the country.

She said the Government’s policy of Diaspora engagement was aimed at attracting high quality workforce to help bring home the needed investment to drive the government’s industrialization agenda.

Mr Solomon Ebo Appiah, the KEEA Municipal Chief Executive in a message, urged residents of the Area to prioritize environmental cleanliness as a means of attracting and retaining tourists.

He advised the public to desist from indiscriminate disposal of solid and liquid waste to avoid their debilitating health effects.

He cautioned them to be vigilant as visitors have arrived in the area and be responsible citizens to ‘say something when they see something’ to support the National Security efforts in protecting the lives of the people.