Getting back to focus on chieftaincy are other salient opportunity which the Homowo-debate opens. It is an omission to bear forefront about the differentiations in chieftaincy, as much as corresponds between contiguous communities in one region to another in this country. The presence in chieftaincy in the coastal belt are looking practically the least respected and cared for, leaving as pawns to function. It is important
Similarly, it gives us a collective revisit of history and instructs consciously how we right it, keeping the native variations undisturbed because it is part of a beautiful tapestry, enviable and tourists attraction - "ke kakple, kaple ba fio" source earnings. The idea may be re-examined, if some tax may not be hived-given to the Regions' traditional Treasuries from that, neither for private pockets nor the chiefs--shall be audited regularly.
I am perhaps stirring the hornet's nest to the Ashanti-secession case asking from the cocoa and natural endowments' payments. Chiefs are the custodians of heritage, culture in particular. Simply put, no one doubts that chieftaincy is a very troubled institution today.
Totality is that in the South, the chief was an innovation. The real Chief was the Chief Shrine Attendant. It was a creation to both relieve the burdens of protecting their people from instructs of their divinations. The one visibility was pouring of libation, a prayer. It was the most regular in the scheme during the years of internecine and indeed war-mongering like in Greek mythology--consulting the ORACULA for directives and indeed predict outcomes to advise accordingly.
Before the last Accra-Akwamu war, the King reportedly told his warriors from their deity pre-war, that if he fell on his face during hostilities, it would be a shot of treachery by one of his troops behind and that meant defeat.
In reality in the South, substantial sacred reasoning is the Chief as leader-ruler is nomenclature. All the giant attributions of feats were said to have provided by oracula-rituals, very Hercules task to dare abandon; retold in folklore.
Albeit, this "ban-resolution" has a long talon. It is divisive, no matter which platitudes are incantated--inside a Ga-state traditional council from where the recriminations overflow out and do-gooder-politics swim in the eddies from unmarked submarines. The requirement to clean up in one of two ways: chop off the itchy fingers of politics from chieftaincy till, or bring the litigating Houses together under a statutory ultimatum. Tracing the authentic indigenous or original histories is not intractable, starting with successive governments which had imposed them arbitrarily to fashion scatter and parallel stools.
The palaver in this crucible is: in whose interest it is. At the end, we shall come to be confronted with repeating the proverbial "never have enough". Who suffered losses is irrelevant today and it is momentarily because [i] it is not the solution ; and [ii] it could be the boon for any else; and beyond that we can all imagine dogged push and resistances towards fostering endeavours in many guises to erode tradition for the sake of whatever, having ceded once what's termed a tiny dispensable chippings and can we logically and for fairness uphold public smoking of marijuana, street-making love as sanctioned in some European countries and is there short-sightedness about LGBTQ. Our lead in our uncompromised objections that they are anathema to our culture. But we are already tinkering it.
It was heard over the Ministerial "amicus curiae" that alleged that some Ga-Chiefs had been corrupted to sell out; and there is inherent suspicion of reprisals. The Gas are the one ethnic people who remove their chiefs, neither hassling nor going through elaborate ceremonies. That snappy duplicity, has impacted chieftaincy cumulatively. Thus, similarly overhauling or abolish chieftaincy, re-flapped "gathered no winds. Punto finale is: sober circumspection--constructive tradition-religion handshake. As for Chieftaincy, it has got to stir itself, cleaning up, with an optimist hopefulness that it would be sooner. And in good faith, the protesting groups may ponder: The Gas sing a beautiful supplication at the close-- "Ataa Nyomo eeeh, yie obuawo daa; allonte deen ekaba wo ten" - thou oh mighty God! Be our daily helper; let no mischievous dark cat enter our midst -not to split us.' That in depth, provides the reconnection of ancient détente ante-seasonal conflict situations between church and tradition, noticeably only in Accra.
To sum up: There is a saying that "if you go to Rome, you do what the Romans do." Accra is the capital of Ghana. It is therefore become densely cosmopolitan to the extent that we tend to equate ACCRA IS GHANA. Arguments in this hostile scenario has made some mileage out of that sorely mistaken assumption. The point deductively gives a license to protest or insist on violating, either [i] to defy (some with menaces) activities akin to the Gas, as Kusum from their mores; or [ii] delete it altogether because some othBy Prof n+Nana Essilfie-Conduahers, religious or hedonist, find it either inconvenient, or contradictory to their doctrine and or even "evil-satanic."
I ought to repeat a narrative which some readers of this column would remember, fully or in silhouettes. It is about the "GHANA MO NTIE" [Listen Ghana] GBC's [OUR NATIONAL BROADCASTER] News signature tune. It is an exquisite ensemble of real Ghanaian native -drums, cymbals and timbrels-. The objection was raised at a stormy Management Directorate by a Ghanaian Boss in mix of paucity of Ghanaians and Brits. His case was against the musically radio and refined acoustically well-balanced entries of native cymbals and timbrels to herald the final bars of the score rising into a crescendo and fading blissfully to see-off the solo drum speech "Ghana mo ntie" "Ghana Mo ntie"! "Ghana Mo ntie"! The man complained-objected that the inclusions of the native instruments made it "FETISH" [UNCHRISTIAN]. There was a close to unanimous support -"hear- hears", except the abstention of one Ghanaian among the African Seniors. He asked: "IS RADIO FOR ONLY CHRISTIANS AND THE TALKING DRUMS",? because the Drummer qualifies after ritual-training. The shocking silence passed the "Sig Tune."
(How much frequent latterly, is another matter, generally electronic broadcasting professionally. I might have to argue its constant sense in broadcast psychology, how imperative and unquantifiable usefulness, relative to retention/ attraction of audience to hold in a cut-throat competitive industry in a next script, celebrating our national Broadcaster, the GBC at 88, on 31 July 2023. There is a lot good to say about its resilience and more than troubling about failures borne from three famines: resources, innovation and independence-- operating apparently within and externally. I hope it is not the hackneyed interferences, preferably. Many are stuck with that being a reference to "State" and date it to post-independence to point at successive governments. Colonialism set the precedence).
Freezing the necessary digression, there is hypocrisy in the generality among the protests as against the noise-ban. For example, there is credo-preaching that Roman Catholics and Anglicans burning incense and pray with lit candles is devilish. There is yet to be marching on them or picketing. I hesitate but humbly suggest that we deal with these sensitive issues more laid back, deferring--Culture Ministry et al. They are pertinent aspects which luminate the meaning and rudimentary practical concomitants that ALL FREEDOMS have limits with regard to the references in the submissions of the protest.
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Of greater importance is that Euro-Christian colonialists found, on arrival here that our forebears knew about the CREATOR, except that they called him different names with many appellations which acknowledge "HE IS the FIRST and the LAST. The inexorable imports here of syncopated US Billy Graham Evangelism also are aware or must know. British colonialism tried and failed abysmally and their futility rests in the Cls 2&3 of ONLY THREE (3) in the BOND of 1844 [6Mar.1844 at Cape Coast Castle]: (2) Human sacrifices and other barbarous customs ...are contrary to law--> Let us note, not Custom. And (3) in part infraction "will be tried ... before the Chiefs ...moulding the customs of the CUSTOMS of the country..." (pg. 145 Chap. 12 "Interim Republic" by Prof. Nana Essilfie-Conduah. NESFICO Pubs, May 2015). Neither "barbarous" nor "murders" is observing a periodic noise-abstinence.
In his small powerful book explaining the essence of Libation in the African belief, Emeritus Professor Archbishop Akwasi Sarpong refers to the eloquent admonition to travelling Evangelists to South East Asia. It was [and should be 'is'] that "under no circumstance" should they attempt to change the culture of the people they evangelised. And to conclude, Pope Benedict XVI said "faith is born of the soul;" and delivering requires delicate circumspection. This perennial row is about rift, interpretively--practical and theoretical, between faith and deemed contradiction(s). The former Pontiff opined that it requires delicate circumspection, conveying.
By Prof n+Nana Essilfie-Conduah
