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The La Traditional Council has launched the 2025 Homowo Festival with a call for peace and good neighbourliness to advance development. This year’s celebration is on the theme: “Respect for All: The Foundation for a Stronger Society” and will be held from Monday, August 11 – Saturday, September 6, 2025.
Activities include homecoming float, street carnival, health screening, educational quiz, as well as Kpaalamo (the cultural songs of the festival) and kpokpoi cooking competitions, the special maize dish.
Traditional rituals will be held in preparation for and after the main festival. A ban will also be placed on drumming and noisemaking in La and communities under the Traditional Council prior to the celebrations.
Nii Adjei Kofeh IV, La Shikitele, launching the festival on Friday, said the celebration would portray the rich cultural values and traditional practices of the La people. He encouraged residents to maintain peace and respect one another, saying that was the foundation for a better and prosperous society.
“Let all of us comport ourselves and celebrate this festivities peacefully as we have always done,” he said.
“Let’s show to the world the beautiful traditions and customs of the La people.
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Mr Jefferey Tetteh, Secretary to the La Homowo Planning Committee, said the festivities were opened to businesses and investors who would like to participate in the side attractions. “We are looking forward to boosting the tourism and economic potential of the area through this year’s celebrations,” he said.
The Homowo Festival is an annual event of the Ga people, which has been celebrated over the years with pomp and pageantry. Homowo, which means hooting at hunger, is celebrated to mark the bumper harvest after a prolonged famine due to drought suffered by the ancestors during their exodus from Israel to the present settlement, with roots to Ile Ife, the ancestral home of the Yorubas of Nigeria.
The festival involves various traditional rituals, including the planting of maize, a period of quietude, a grand procession, traditional music and dance, and the sharing of the special maize dish, kpokpoi.
It is celebrated by the people of Ga Mashie, Osu, La, Teshie, Nungua, Tema, Ningo and Prampram, between May and September every year.
Source: GNA
