How Navrongo's Kassena-Nankana sons and children observed the Fao Festival
The 2023 FAO Festival: a cause for joy or serious contemplation?
Simply put, traditional festivals are cultural gatherings or celebrations held by traditional communities on an annual basis. Their main purposes are to honor the gods, pay homage to the ancestors, and commemorate significant historical occurrences.
Festivals are a culmination of cultural events that lead to the development of a spiritual product that has evolved throughout human evolution.
Because of this, most indigenous people like celebrating their festivals since, in addition to their spiritual meaning, they provide a chance for community building and reunions that advance the development of their individual regions.
The advertisements announcing the Fao Festival, which is celebrated by the sons and daughters of the Kassena-Nankana of Navrongo, especially excited me.
The festival hasn't been observed in a while, so I was excited about it since, as a native, I always want to be connected to anything that has to do with my heritage.
Thus, on the festival day, December 29, 2023, I woke up feeling excited and joyful within. I tried on all the smocks my late father had, with help from my mother and my younger sister, Jean-Marie, to determine which one would be appropriate for the situation.
A neighbor came to ask for my late father's walking stick so he could finish off his outfit for the occasion, which just made me more excited.
The residents of Navrongo and the surrounding areas celebrate the Fao festival as a big thanksgiving event to mark the end of the farming season and express gratitude to the gods and ancestors for providing sufficient rainfall during the harvest season.
The occasion to express gratitude to the ancestors for their protection throughout the ages is another benefit of the celebration.
Sadly, the event that was scheduled to start at 10:00 am ended at almost 3:00 pm. Nevertheless, allow me to thank the coordinators for their hard work. Men and women in their colorful smocks and other traditional clothing in a range of shapes, sizes, and colors made for a breathtaking picture. A variety of sounds and visuals, including traditional drumming, dancing, and the age-old battle dance performed by formidable and intimidating warriors bearing amulets and charms, were on display.
Naturally, among many other feats, their magical show, which illustrates the might of their power, featured them severing body parts without getting hurt and putting out fire with their lips without getting burned. The sheer number of young men and women at the durbar grounds was a striking observation, reflecting the young age of our Navrongo community. Their presence had both advantages and disadvantages in my opinion.
Positively, we may use this young population's boundless energy, diversity of talents, and qualifications to further the area's growth. However, as a drawback, we lost out on a fantastic chance to truly illustrate and reveal to our youth—many of whom have never experienced the celebration of Fao—the actual shape and essence of To be completely honest, I thought the overall planning of the event fell short of many people's expectations, even with the magnificent sights and noises that welcomed the occasion. There are a lot of people with extensive organizational expertise in Navarrongo who may have been brought on board, but I'm not convinced the organizers took advantage of it. As previously mentioned, there was a flagrant disregard for the scheduled start time of the durbar of chiefs and people. Numerous dignitaries had to depart after growing weary of waiting.
One thing that stands out and is quite unfortunate is how the chiefs approached the durbar grounds.
My understanding of culture is limited, but I believe that all subchiefs in the traditional area are expected to gather at the paramount chief's chief palace to perform certain rituals. Following this, a stunning entourage will announce the chiefs' arrival at their durbar grounds, complete with drumming and dancing.
Prior to the programme starting, the paramount chief will be the last to declare his arrival at the venue. Regretfully, a few chiefs arrived subsequent to the paramount chief.
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