Dear President-elect, honour ancestors as they have honoured you

The election of John Dramani Mahama as Ghana's president-elect is both historic and deeply symbolic.

His early morning visit to his father’s grave to seek ancestral blessings before casting his vote resonates deeply with the cultural and spiritual ethos of Ghana and Africa at large.

As the National Association of Traditionalists and Ancestral Venerators (NATAV) congratulates him on his resounding victory of over 56 per cent of the total valid votes cast and unprecedented majority in parliament, it is imperative to reflect on the critical role his ancestors played, and the essence of ancestry and tradition in shaping our national identity.

Our ancestors are always ready to assist us, if we don’t deny them and know how to seek their help. This pivotal moment offers an unparalleled chance for the president-elect to immortalise the spirit of his victory by instituting a national day to honour our ancestors and traditions.

Across the world, countries have instituted days to honour their ancestors and heritage as a way to reinforce national unity and identity.

Japan's Obon holiday: Celebrated yearly, this holiday honours the spirits of ancestors, fosters familial bonds, and encourages spiritual reflection.  It draws millions of participants, boosting local economies through tourism and cultural activities (Fukuda, 2018).

China's Qingming Festival: Also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, it allows families to honour ancestors by cleaning graves and making gifts.  It emphasises the cultural importance of ancestral veneration, contributing significantly to cultural tourism (Lin, 2019)

Vietnam's Hung Kings' Temple Festival: Recognised as a national holiday, this event honours the country's founding ancestors. It represents unity and pride in Vietnam's rich cultural heritage while attracting local and foreign visitors (Nguyen, 2021).

Benin's Voodoo Festival: Held yearly in Ouidah, this event celebrates the spirits and ancestors central to Benin's cultural and spiritual identity. It also serves as a major tourist attraction, adding to the economy (Hountondji, 2020).

Burkina Faso’s Ancestors' Day: This day focuses on remembering and honouring ancestors through rituals, prayers, and communal activities—reinforcing national pride and unity (Ouédraogo, 2022).

Ghana, which has a lot of different traditions, could learn from these models and set up a national day to honour ancestors and traditions. 

Implications

This kind of day is important for more than just spiritual reasons:

Protecting Cultural Heritage: A national day would bring attention to how important Ghanaian spirituality and customs are, fighting back against the damage done by neocolonialism and Western imperialism.

Promoting Unity: The day would boost national pride and harmony among Ghanaians by honouring their shared cultural roots.

Recognition of Indigenous Contributions: This would recognise the important role the traditional leaders, spiritual practitioners and the knowledge of ancestors have played in the social and cultural growth of Ghana.

Economic significance

Having a day like this has significant effects on the economy.

Increasing domestic tourism: Celebrations and events centred on honouring ancestors would bring tourists to holy places, shrines and ancestral towns, bringing money into the economies of those places.

Cultural goods and crafts for sale: The celebrations will increase demand for traditional clothes, beads, and crafts, benefiting both artists and sellers.

Job Creation: Holding this kind of event every year would create both short-term and long-term jobs in the transportation, hospitality, and event management businesses.

Strengthening Local Industries: Increasing attention and business would help herbalists, spiritualists, and cultural artists earn a living.

Potential for tourism

Ghana stands to gain a lot as more people around the world look for real cultural experiences. Ghana could become a popular place for spiritual and cultural tourists and researchers from all over the world if it had a national day to honour ancestors and customs.

By promoting cultural relations and working together with other countries, the country could market its holy places, traditional festivals and native knowledge systems.

Plea

Dear Mr President-elect, your trip to your father's grave shows how deeply people believe in the power of ancestral benefits. This spiritual act blessed you, placing you in a unique position to advocate for a National Day to Honour Our Ancestors and Traditions.

This day will not only honour our rich history, but it will also leave a legacy that will encourage others to embrace and celebrate their roots.

By making this day official, you will make it clear that our ancestors' spiritual, cultural and economic contributions are crucial to Ghana's growth. You will not only bring the country together, but you will also help protect culture, boost the economy, and gain foreign recognition.

"Honour your ancestors as they have honoured you." 

NATAV.
The writer is a traditionalist.
E-mail: nanayawwiasamoahboadi@gmail.com