Homowo is a festival celebrated by the Ga-Dangme people of Ghana in the Greater Accra Region.
The festival starts with planting crops (mainly millet) before the rainy season.
The Ga-Dangme people celebrate Homowo in remembrance of the famine that once happened in their history in precolonial Ghana.
The 29th celebration of Homowo, a vibrant and culturally significant event, was recently organized by the Ga-Dangme Association of New Jersey, and held in Pennsylvania, bringing together the Ga-Dangme people of Ghana to honor their rich heritage.
Homowo, which translates to “hooting at hunger,” is a festival deeply rooted in the history of the Ga-Dangme people from the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
The event, which took place on August 17, 2024, at 4100 Chamounix Dr. in Philadelphia, was a testament to the resilience and cultural pride of the Ga-Dangme community in the diaspora.
The festivities began at 3 p.m. with a libation ceremony led by George Nunoo, who prayed to the gods for another successful year in the celebration of the festival.
Following this, the Chairman of the Ga-Dangme community in Pennsylvania, Daniel Quartey, performed the necessary rites, including the sprinkling of Kpokpoi, a traditional dish made from steamed cornmeal, as part of the ritual. The queen-mother in the person of Manye Naa Korkor Botor I supported him.
Hundreds of people gathered to participate in the festivities. Dressed in traditional attire, the community engaged in various rituals. They danced and shared traditional dishes like Kpokpoi with palm nut soup.
These activities were a celebration of the past and a reaffirmation of their cultural identity in a foreign land.
The event saw the attendance of notable figures such as Bart Biney, Chairman of Ga-Dangme Kpee of New York accompanied by DJ Jeff Annan, Raphael Quaye-Mensah Laryea, and other representatives from Delaware and New Jersey.
They shared their thoughts on the festival’s importance in preserving Ga-Dangme culture.
The celebration concluded with an evening of food, dance, and music, with DJ Johnny providing entertainment.
