Kundum Festival winds down to a spectacular climax this weekend

The chiefs and people Lower Dixcove in the Western Region will climax the celebration of the annual Kundum festival this Saturday, August 18, 2018. 

Kundum, the festival of the Ahanta and Nzema people is marked over a four-week period to signify victory over hunger. 

It is marked between August and September which is usually the bumper harvest season for food.

This year’s festival which is being marked on the theme, “Let’s get involved in managing our fisheries resources,” seeks to highlight the severity of illegal fishing methods and the need to end it.

Paramount Chief of Lower Dixcove, Nana Agyeman IX, says this year’s event will be well attended by people from all walks of life.

“The history of this festival is grounded in food and the dangers involved in famine. This is why we are turning our attention to our marine life so that we can help reverse the trend of the depletion of our marine resources,” said Nana Agyeman.

It is expected that the First Lady, Madam Rebecca Akufo-Addo would grace this year’s durbar as a special guest of honour.

Historically, the Kundum Festival is believed to have first been celebrated around the 16th century. 

The first record of the festival was made by Bossman, a Dutch explorer who travelled to the then Gold Coast in the 17th century and observed the Abisaa dance, the dance that comes with its celebration.

The people who participate in the celebration wear distinctive dress, footwear, and sometimes masks. 

The festival begins with musicians taking the drums to the five different shrines on the outskirts of town.