Tema Mantse Invites Ghana to “Kpeledzoo” Festival

Accra, April 2, GNA - The Industrial City King, Dr. Nii Adjei Kraku ll, has thrown an open invitation to Ghanaians from all walks of life to join him and the people of Tema, to commemorate this year’s edition of the Kpeledzoo Festival.

In an exclusive interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday, he said the upcoming festivity will not only be a source of fun and happy memories for participants, but also an opportunity for people to learn an important part of Ghanaian culture and history.

“For instance, many people mistakenly think that Homowo is the main festival of the Tema people, but this is not so. Kpeledzoo, is rather the main festival of the Tema people, commemorated every year by performing rites to thank the gods of our land for guiding and guarding us since we arrived here after the long migration from Israel,” Nii Tema said

This year’s Kpeledzoo will start on Friday when the Sakumo Wulomo (High Priest of Sakumono), will lead rituals to perform Sakumo Kpele.

This will then be followed on Saturday with the performance of Tsaade Kpele by Tema Mantse, Nii Adjei Kraku ll, the name of the Tema traditional stool, and Tsaade Kpele is the ritual that is performed to cleanse the stool and also thank the spiritual entity which the stool embodies.

As part of the celebration, rich Ga culinary staples will be eaten in homes in the Harbour city, even as the celebration brings family and friends together again.

Kpeledzoo, the main festival of the Tema people, was instituted after the Gas, who originated from Israel migrated down to present day Ghana, in the wake of the death of Moses, the high priest, who was leading Israel out of Egypt to Canaan.

The migration had led to a spread of the Ga people in many places, including; Chad, Nigeria, Togo and Benin, because people kept settling along the way.

In Ghana, the first to arrive were the Nungua people, followed by the people of Tema, before the people of Ga Mashie.

Gas, as was typical of Israelites before they settled in Canaan, have traditionally had the Wulomei (High Priests) as their leaders, with the concept of Mantse (king) being an indoctrination from the Asante, due to later contacts with the Asantes.

The celebration of Kpeledzoo, is said to resonate not only with brethren of some Ga people of Ghana who had settled elsewhere in Africa after crossing the Mediterranean in the wake of High Priest (Wulomo) Moses death, but is said to also resonate with their brethren in modern day Israel, who are located in a place called Zikor.

Nii Adjei Kraku encouraged all Ghanaians to beat a path to Tema in the coming days, to join in the commemoration and celebration of this year’s Kpeledzoo.

He pointed out that the Industrial City has more than adequate hospitable hotels to host them well.

“We have some of the best hotels, guest houses and motels in Tema. We also have some of the best foods here,” Nii Tema said.

GNA

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