Ghana has emerged and evolved on the map of the world as a prominent and largely visited African Country during the past decade. Like any other country in Africa, Ghana is also known for its rich tradition, prominent culture and colorful festivals. “Homowa Festival” is one such festival that attracts the attentions of tourists and media around the world.

The unique and most impressive thing about Ghanaian’s or any African nation is that the people are so strong, so bold, so confident and so strong willed that nothing could ever stand in their way. If you go through pages of history and have a look at the wounded endeavors, from Hunger, famine to salvation, there has been a series of hardships that the people of Africa have stood before and raised above. Keeping in mind this history , “Homowo Festival” is trail and secret of the strength still visible in all young and old alike. As the name of this festival indicates “hooting on hunger”.

The word Homowo is derived from two different words “Homo” meaning “Hunger” and “wo” meaning “sleep”. The word “Homowo” means to hoot and jeer at hunger. It tells the story of the people who were not scared of the deadliest of natural disasters and fieriest of enemies. 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 Ghana people predominately dwell. When the rains returned to normal, the Ghanaians celebrated by creating the Homowo festival hence it name and meanings are the traces of the event that gave birth to this colorful festival.

This colorful festival is celebrated every year with full enthusiasm and spreads a sheer cheerfulness through out the country. By celebrating this event Ghanian people keep alive their traditions and values of true people of early Ghana. The young and old are entwined with the rich drumming and dance traditions that were once a part of every day of life. The festival is characterized by rituals such as the sprinkling of “Kpokpoi” (the festival dish) to the gods and ancestors for spiritual protection, procession of twins through the principal streets, traditional drumming and dancing and general merry-making. A month before the celebration, there is a ban of noise making. A climax of the festival is that from 12 noon to 6:00pm any woman, no matter the status, should accept a hug from a man on the festival street. And this makes it a very interesting, open hearted and joyful event.

The festival starts every year with the month of May with the planting of crops just before the rainy season starts. The musicians and dancers of Homowo are living examples of the strength of African performing arts. The repertoire, featuring the yesterday, today and tomorrow of Ghanaian cultural arts, creates an acoustic and visual history of Ghana and brings the spirit alive in every Ghaian. If you are planning to visit Ghana during Homowa Festival, many European and African airlines offer cheap flights to Ghana at a very low rate. However, the best deals are still with only a handful of airline like Egypt, Ghana International or KLM. For more details visit: Cheap Flights