SUSTAINING DEVELOPMENT THROUGH FESTIVAL APPRECIATION IN GHANA.

Image source: https://pin.it/k7cvvuvhi26x2o

Ghana is a beautiful place to be when it comes to their cultural discipline and appreciation. Their cultural pride stems from varying ways and bearings. The most thriving gathering which still holds the foundation of Ghanaian culture and encourages the onward projection of their beliefs is their festivals.

Festivals in Ghana are celebrated in different months and days depending on the ethnic groups who are associated to that culture. It draws great amount of crowd of people from different backgrounds across the globe to observe it.

The festivals do not only depict the chieftaincy and cultural creativeness and ingenuity, but also spells out historic foundations, inspiration to use today and also future prognostications from which the nation can draw pride in sustaining unity and fostering development.
Some of the festivals in Ghana include Odwira, Homowo, Bakatue, Asafotufiam, Oguaa Fetu Afahye, Hogbsetso, Akwasidae etc.

It should be also noted that festival is their identity, the live wire of the people which defines the true nature and life of the people. It is a depiction to first respect the gods of the land and second to the royal throne of the land, the elders and all those who believe in that culture.

These festivals apart from the grandeur and traditional celebration sparkle that comes with it, serves as a great platform to emphasize communalism and other values for the people and also some out-groups.

All the forms of traditional values communicated are to stimulate the citizens to have the sense of belonging, acceptance, and pride of ownership of those beliefs which further establishes the need to portray those morals in their behavior.

Most often than not those who appreciate and continue to hold on to those values to promote the advancement of the society are hailed in events like this as role models to the people around including children.

Songs and dancing are also used to cement their language, proverbs, and wise sayings and transmit the traditions of the land to the next generation. This involvement of the children and the youth in these festival activities is a rich way of building and instiling communalism to develop the society.

Even in the face of resistance in the proliferation of other modern lifestyle, festival celebration identified with an individual’s culture still serves as a reminder and quintessential for the future sustenance of the traditional values and beliefs for nation building.

GHANA’S PRIDE-; THE PRACTICE OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM

Image source:https://images.app.goo.gl/W8TiKQ5gLxJMsyZFA

I waited as my spiritual leaders continued to speak in my dialect in prayer in front of other spiritual leaders of different religion.

If there was anything like discomfort within the other leaders it wasn’t evident on their faces. Their smiles spoke otherwise. This was the meeting of some government officials with the people in the village where I live.

The acceptance and respect for various religions in the country is predominant to the point that there are instances only a one way road separate one religious building from the other.

It is interesting and captivating to observe it in national gathering when various religious groups in turn pray to their deity as and when they are called to. This is something which is rare to see in most national gatherings in most countries. Some would want to lay that emphasis on the maturity we’ve learnt over the years to be tolerate of diverse opinions which transcends to other circles like the peace we’ve enjoyed in our voting process when we stepped into our 1992 constitutional age.

Religious diversity acceptance is now general approved in Ghana to the point anyone who makes fun of the other religious party is backlashed even by their in-group to apologize just to make peace travail.

This is a lesson we all learnt when growing up. Christians making friends with Muslim friends, Muslims friends having traditionalist friends and the likes. In all this instances each member respects the other religion they don’t belong to.

Nevertheless even if people with different religious backgrounds don’t understand how the other does their things they all prefer it as an issue nobody want to discuss to stir any form of misunderstanding. Like what most of my friends parents advised them on, “It was better not to cross boundaries. Respect their religion and they will also respect yours”,- the reciprocity of respect.

At least many Ghanaian children are brought up to understand that and to respect other people’s religion which I am not an exemption.

Looking with closed eyes- (“Black snow’s Anthem”)

Featured

Image Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/pgYgqGSBbhE3Bvom9

Steve Jobs’ Apple company didn’t fall far from the tree when he birthed ‘Think Different’. Millions have benefited from the ‘Bitten Apple’ and still millions are enjoying. Is Steve Jobs magical? Was he like everyone? Would Apple be in existence if he acted like everyone? He chose to be unique. He chose to be himself. He chose to be different and that was the genesis of another great paradigm that has happened to the technology space and the world at large.

Every single sign of your uniqueness stands for something.
Every line of experience means something.
Every life you earned indicates something. Been different.

Been different is okay because that is the best version of you.
Why the stress living to please the world of staying like everybody?
Why take pleasure in acceptance because that is what everyone thinks?
Staying in the circle the world has created only deepens it depth for others not to leave it.
Until we leave the circle the world has created we won’t make any difference.
When we leave, bigger circles would be made so will smaller ones, but at the end of the day something that adds up positively should be created.

The calendar is updated each day. Every small effort you make counts.
Repeat to perfect. Don’t repeat to deviate.
Think of all the forms of games that were introduced.
Think of when it never existed.
Think of when it was brought into existence.
Think of the joy when that new thing changed your life.

There is always people there to learn and creativity to move it to another stage.
I believe the undiscovered talents we have around are so great compared to the ones we know and superfluous for us to contain except that we have but few people to think different and create more different games, more different jobs, more different instruments and more different anything we can imagine.
Create it to see what happens but always remember to look with your eyes closed.

It is good to be scared and it is good to fail.
It makes a lot of sense when you fail.
The only problem is when you never attempt to fail.
Maybe yours is to fail so someone can make it work.
Maybe it for the future generation that will take a little more time.
While you create something new remember the future generation.
They are the future who need to be remembered now.
Remember them in your creation for they also matter. Think different to create something new but not anything new.

Anything new ready to kick against nature is not a “different product”.
Nature has its own power to fight on its own.
It is better to direct its power to your advantage than fight it.
Nature will win in the long run.

It is enough learning what others have taught in creating and filling up your intellect box.
What can others learn from you?
That is where your uniqueness lies.
Any atmosphere that doesn’t allow individuals to create new things or improve is a stagnant one which need to be discarded or restructured.
Remember you are distinct from anybody in the world.
One of a kind.

To be you is to think different for at least you survive on what gives life but cannot be seen, Air.