Ghana Military Head Of State General Ignatius Acheampong Attending The Ga people Homowo Festival

October 1976
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General Acheampong was at the Homowo Feast, the major festival of the Ga tribe, which is held at the end of the Ga's corn harvest. It's a time when Ga tribesmen from all over the country gather to visit relations and friends. It's also a time for peaceful setting of differences.

General Acheampong was welcomed to the feast of the Ga chief, Nii Amugi the Second. All the guests were fed on the traditional meal of Kpokpoi, which is made from unleavened corn dough mashed in a mortar and then mixed with salt and palm oil. The Kpokpoi and its traditional accompaniment of palm soup are served from earthenware pots.

While the guests feasted, they were entertained by Ga danced performed by the Soobii, or 'Thursday People'. These are members of the Ga who live in outlying villages and towns. They take their name from their custom of arriving in Accra on the Thursday before the main Homowo feast on the Saturday. Homowo is also celebrated in several other towns on a Tuesday, ten days after the Accra festival.

The Homowo, or 'hooting at hunger' festival, is believed to come from a period in Ga history when the tribe was hit by famine. However, when they had a good harvest in a later season, they literally hooted and jeered at their earlier hunger. The feast is also believed to derive from the Jewish Passover festival because of the use of unleavened corn for the ritual food, the application of red clay to door posts, and the communal eating of food.
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