Tema marks Kplejoo festival

The chiefs and people of Tema over the weekend celebrated their annual Kplejoo festival amidst singing, dancing and merry-making at the Kpletsoshishi at Tema Manhean.

Kplejoo is forerunner to the annual Homowo festival and during this celebration, the traditional priest and priestesses worship the gods of the land, cleanse the various stools and pray to them for bountiful food and fish.

The Kplejoo is celebrated over two days. On Friday, which is called Sakumo Kplee, the Sakumo Wulomo, Nii Ashiboi Kofi presides over the festivities which is celebrated by a carnival like procession with drumming and dancing and display of flags.

The second day is known as Tsaade Kplee which is superintended by the Paramount Chief of Tema, Nii Adjei Krakue II who doubles as a priest.

Traditional priests pouring libation at the festival

Celebrants clad in white to signify purity and victory showed up in their numbers to make merry and renew their brotherliness.

Kplejoo celebration is song and drum-based and during the festival, special songs are sung by mostly the youth to inspire or critique individuals on their accomplishments.

The festival affords the youth an opportunity to express their resentment, criticise the wrong doings of people in authority including the chief and elders through specially composed songs. However, these songs after the period of the celebration constitute a customary offense.

Tema Mantse, Nii Adjei Krakue II (left) welcoming the Greater Accra Regional minister, Mr. Lshmeal Ashitey

In his welcoming address, Nii Armah Somponu, an elder of the Tema Traditional Council called on the people to live in peace and unity to foster development of the area.

The MP for Tema East, Mr Daniel Nii Kwatei Titus Glover said his vision “is to help preserve and market the culture of the people” and disclosed that he was liaising with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Arts and other private TV production companies to package and market the festival to attract people from the diaspora.

MP for Tema East, Mr. Titus Glover joins a youth group to dance to Kplee songs

Mr Titus Glover, who is also the Deputy Minister for Transport revealed that he intends to channel his share of the one-constituency-one-million-dollar policy of the government  towards the construction of an alternative route into the  Tema Manhean community  via the VALCO area as well as the construction of a 100 bed community clinic to help meet their health care needs.

On his part, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr. Ishmael Ashittey urged the fisherfolks to “adopt improved fishing methods and techniques to save the marine fish stock for posterity and for sustainable development of the sector, which is the main occupation of the people.”

The Paramount Chief of Tema, Nii Adjei Krakue II advised the people especially the youth to eschew violence and leave in harmony especially with the end of the hectic political electioneering activities.