Homowo which is a harvest festival celebrated by the Ga-Adangbe people of Ghana, starts in the month of May with the planting of crops (mainly maize and yam) before the rainy season commences.
During the festival, a dance called Kpanlogo, is performed.
The word Homowo (Homo – hunger, wo – hoot) means “to hoot (or jeer) at hunger” in the Ga language, which is done in honour of the famine that once happened in their history in precolonial Ghana.
The tradition of Homowo started with a period of hunger leading to famine due to failure of the seasonal rains needed by crops in the Greater Accra Region, where the Ga people predominantly dwell.
When the rains returned to normal, the Ga people celebrated by creating the Homowo festival, hence its name and meaning. Homowo is greatly celebrated in all the towns in the Ga state with celebrations climaxing in Gamashie. The celebration begins with the planting of maize, which is used in preparing the food for the festival named Kpokpoi or Kpekple. During this period, noise making is prohibited or banned since it is believed that it will hinder the maturity of the crop. The meal is eaten with Palm Nut Soup and it is also sprinkled within the town. This is normally done by traditional leaders and family heads. All family heads sprinkle the “kpokpoi” in their family house.
The Kpekple (also referred to as kpokpoi) is prepared with the primary ingredients of steamed and fermented corn meal, palm nut soup and smoked fish. Kpekple is usually sprinkled around by the chief believing that the ancestors would be pleased by the offering.
Below are the ingredients used.
Corn meal
Palm nuts
Onions
Pepper
Water
Tomatoes
Fish
Salt
REFERENCE
Retrieved from, “Homowo – Wikipedia” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homowo#:~:text=Homowo%20is%20greatly%20celebrated%20in,festival%20named%20Kpokpoi%20or%20Kpekple.
