The Shai Traditional Council has announced that this year’s Ngmayem Festival will focus on environmental sustainability, with particular emphasis on protecting the Dodowa Forest Reserve, which has come under significant threat from encroachment in recent years.
The Greater Accra Regional Security Council (REGSEC) recently declared the Dodowa Forest, situated in the Shai Osudoku District, a security zone following concerns raised by the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs (GARHC).
The GARHC bemoaned the ongoing destruction of this historically significant forest by encroachers.
The Dodowa Forest, a renowned tourist destination and home to the Tsenku Waterfall is steeped in history as the site of the Kantamanso War in 1826.
However, substantial portions of the forest have been lost to estate development and other human activities.
In response, REGSEC and the Forestry Commission recently demolished buildings that had encroached on the reserve.
At the launch of this year’s Ngmayem Festival, themed “Promoting Environmental Sustainability through our Cultural Heritage,” Okukurubuor Tei Kwasi Agyemang V, chairman of the festival planning committee, reiterated the council’s commitment to safeguarding the forest.
“There is a saying that when the last tree dies the last man dies, the environment depends on mainly the trees and the nature underneath for that matter we are encouraging everybody to protect the environment, especially tree planting. We are encouraging everybody to protect the environment we want to do this through our culture and heritage.
We spoke about the degradation of the Dodowa Forest. We have a larger reserve that we have many species but coming under threat”.
Nene Tetteh Huadji VI of Apetetsi also announced that the traditional council would lead a massive tree-planting initiative to rejuvenate the forest’s vegetation.
He hinted at the use of a master site plan to clear all encroachments and bring finality to families claiming portions around the forest to restore the integrity of the reserve
This year’s Ngmayem Festival will commence on September 23 in the Manya Jorpanya community and climax on October 21 in Kordiebe.
Preceding the festival, a ban on noise-making will be enforced across the Shai Traditional Area from September 10 to October 14.
Mankralo Tetteh Wayo III of the Shai Traditional Council noted that while a task force led by traditional priests and priestesses will enforce the ban, however a compromise will be made on political activities due to ongoing campaigns ahead of December 7 polls.
The Ngmayem Festival, named after the millet grain (ngma), carries deep cultural significance for the Krobo people. Historically, during over seven-year drought that left the ancestors of the tribe with little to eat, millet became their primary sustenance until the rains returned, resulting in a bountiful harvest in the year 1892.
The first celebration of the festival after the people migrated from the Shai Hills was in 1959.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Kojo Ansah
