Ghana To Host ‘Annual Vodoo’ Festival In Klikor
…To Promote Tourism; Benin, Togo, Nigeria Others To Participate
Ghana is set to host the first ever annual Voodoo and Cultural Music festival this year at Klikor, near Agbozume in the Volta Region, to promote ancestral cults and traditional music and others ,in a bid to boost the country’s rich tourism and culture.
The festival, which is expected to take place in August this year, will witness performances from several cultural troupes, traditional musical groups, musicians, poets from Ghana and neighboring West African countries like Togo, Benin, Nigeria, among others.
There will be display of magical prowess from some participating groups and individuals, just as it is done in other jurisdictions like Benin, The Anchor, has gathered.
The maiden festival, expected to be held annually is being organized by ‘Cloud 9 Gangs’, a leading entertainment and event organizers based in Accra.
The lead organizer and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cloud 9 Gangs, Kwamivi Ashiaby, who confirmed the Annual Voodoo and Cultural Music festival to The Anchor yesterday said, preparations are currently ongoing to have it officially launched.
“Yes, it will come on [and] we will be launching it in August. Right now, we are doing production. We are trying to make it a mega festival. We will add traditional music, not only from Ghana, but we will have people coming from Nigeria, Benin,” he said.
Checks by The Anchor revealed, the organizers, have already started promoting the festival and inviting interested groups and individuals to register.
In a brief statement posted on Facebook by one of the organizers, Arnold Wailer reads, “First ever annual Voodoo / cultural Music Festival coming on this year in Klikor Volta region Ghana. Registration for cultural troupes, traditional musical groups, musicians, poets, observers all across the globe will soon be open. Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria are all eligible to register”.
It said, “By registering, the organizers will take care of your travel papers, tickets, accommodation and feeding. Content creators and bloggers are welcome to make this historical event a success”.
According to this paper’s information, the uniquely designed festival, also seeks to showcase and promote Ghana’s cultural heritage, while allowing guests to intimately acquaint themselves with certain African customs and traditions.
Voodoo Festival in Benin
This paper is informed, Vodoo festival, is a major event in Benin, marked every year on January 10, to celebrate the ancestral cults that are the foundation of various forms of traditional religion practiced in that country.
Voodoo is not simple black magic, as most of Western people think. In reality, it is a rich and complex religion, which makes sense and gives order to the life of millions of believers.
Along the coast of Benin, voodoo is the most spread religion, passing on from the ancestors to the new generation.
In these places, one can attend ceremonies during which percussions and songs calls the Voodoo for taking possession of the believers, giving rise to authentic manifestations of trance.
The oracles practice the “Fa”, an esoteric divination technique that consists the art of combining proverbs, images, ability to intuit, interpret and explain.
On the day of the festival, all the voodoo adepts from the south of the country meet in Ouidah. A large procession of adepts, those on foot, those on motorbikes, those in taxi brousse, go to the Door of Non-Return.
The celebration riches its best when the Dagbo Houno, the supreme feticheur of Ouidah, arrives.
Dances, libations, masks and some official speeches are all part of the programme.
In the evening, Ouidah, exhausted, but not yet completely satisfied, continues the festival in the intimacy of the courtyards.
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