People & Places: Kpone Kplejoo Festival
The streets become stages, flags fly high, youth teams beaming with energy and creativity fill the streets, chanting songs not with violence, but with verses that sting and uplift in equal measure.
Priestesses and women clad in spotless white cloths, adorned with beads and hyssop around their necks, perform the Kplejoo (Kple dance).
As their feet strike the ground in unison, hips sway and arms slice the air, onlookers witness an ancestral communication through music and dance.
This is the usual atmosphere in Kpone near Tema, a coastal town situated in the Kpone-Katamanso District of the Greater Accra Region, during the months of June and July.
The air carries more than just the scent of the sea breeze — it is filled with chants and the stomping rhythms of the Kplejoo Festival.
Kplejoo, also celebrated by the people of Tema, Prampram and Nungua, is a significant cultural event celebrated annually to herald the Homowo festival, a major celebration of the Ga-Dangme tradition.
The festival is a vital part of the heritage and history of the Kpone people, who are believed to have come from the Sega Hills.
It is a time for purification, reflection, and celebration, serving as an opportunity for the community to unite and honour their gods and ancestors.
Kpone Kplejoo is celebrated on a Tuesday in June or July, depending on the lunar calendar.
The festival begins with the "journey to Le Sega" ceremony, where the chief (Mantse) and other traditional leaders, along with the traditional priests and priestesses, perform rituals at the Gao shrine.
The festival features the Kple dance, performed by traditional priestesses known as Wɔyei, who sing and dance to the rhythm of Kple songs.
A distinctive aspect of the festival is the involvement of various youth teams from different clans.
Teams, such as Baamuchi, Angelina, Boaje, Downtown, Kpookeke, K20, Rasters, Station and NBA, take to the streets, compose and sing songs that touch on issues affecting the community. In these lyrics, you hear only everything one dares to say aloud for this period.
The songs often critique the behaviour of community members, including older people, chiefs and other traditional leaders, while praising those who have excelled in various endeavours.
The festival offers a distinctive platform for social commentary and community participation, enabling people to vent their spleen on issues that impact the community.
It is a time for individuals to voice their opinions, and the songs often mirror the concerns and hopes of the community.
Kplejoo is not just a celebration; it is a reflection of society, where grievances are voiced in rhythm, critiques are concealed in melody, and praise is danced into memory.
