Bonyere (W/R), Oct. 24, GNA – The Western
Nzema Traditional Council (WNTC), has placed a ban on the celebration of this
year’s celebration of the Kundum festival by the Chiefs and people in the
Jomoro District.
The ban follows a resolution by the
Traditional Council at the second quarterly General Meeting of all the 46
Chiefs of Western Nzema Traditional Council, who jointly agreed that the 2018
Kundum festival shall not be celebrated and same was unanimously confirmed at
the third quarterly General Meeting at Beyin.
A Resolution signed by the Omanhene/President
of the Western Nzema Traditional Council, Awulae Annor Adjaye 111 and copied to
the Ghana News Agency, indicated that the ban would afford the Council, the
opportunity to prepare adequately to celebrate the 2019 Kundum festival in a
grand style.
He explained that palanquins to hoist the
various Chiefs in their respective communities were not available, hence the
WNTC would redouble its efforts to procure more towards next year’s
celebration.
“The 2019 Kundum Festival shall be
officially celebrated in every town and community with all Chiefs and Queens
being carried in Palanquins. Funds raised in each community shall be used for
specific development projects”.
The resolution said ‘it is at the tail end of
the celebration that Nananom shall converge at Beyin, the seat of the Paramount
Chief to close the entire event.
It said, the arrangement had become important
because the annual celebration of the festival is losing its cultural vibrancy
and impact on the various communities with much attention extended mainly to
the celebration at the Paramountcy level.
The resolution cautioned that ‘this trend is
not culturally healthy for the Western Nzema state which must stop”
forthwith.
Awulae Annor Adjaye entreated all the Chiefs
to comply with the resolution to avoid any loss of life and property as it had
occurred in the Ahanta area.
Kundum is an annual festival of the Chiefs and
people of Ahanta and Nzema which is normally celebrated every year to usher in
bumper harvest starting from Essikado through all Ahanta towns to Axim to
Adoabo and to sub-stools and finally ending up in Beyin.
At the end of the Western Nzema celebrations,
the migrant Nzemas in Grand Bassam in La Cote D’Ivoire also start and complete
the grand festival.
Since 1990 when Awulae Annor Adjaye 111
mounted the Western Nzema Paramount Stool, this festival has continuously been
celebrated with the active involvement of the Nvavile Family who mainly performs
the rites for the launching and closure of the festival every year, unless
there is a major disaster or otherwise.
GNA