Reflections: Sallah in Kumasi
When it comes to celebrating the Eid-ul-fitr, Kumasi is always the place to be. That is why no matter what, I will always be in Kumasi to mark the end of the Ramadan fasting.
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By the time this piece appears on Saturday, which is Eid-ul-Fitr, I certainly will be in Kumasi to join the thousands of Muslim faithful who will throng the Kumasi Central Mosque to thank Allah for seeing us through another period of fasting. We shall certainly pray for the government and people of Ghana. We shall pray for peace in the country. We shall also pray for economic prosperity for Ghana.
Later in the day, from about 1 p.m., I will join the chiefs and people of Zongo in the annual procession from the Central Mosque through the main Zongo Street, descend from Ghana Legion down to Aboabo Station and up to Roman Hill where we shall all congregate at the original Sarkin Zongo Palace for the final prayers before we all disperse to our various homes to bring the curtains down on the celebrations of this year’s Eid-ul-Fitr.
Kumasi has a large Muslim community spread over Allah Bar, which is Zongo proper; Aboabo, Asawase, Akwatia Line, Sabon Zongo, Sawaba, Yelwa, Yati Yati and Moshie Zongo. It is one huge camp for the adherents of the Islamic faith and we all tend to do things together and in common.
Procession
There is another large Muslim community at Suame and Tafo which is far apart from the rest. They also tend to do their own thing there and rarely do they join other Muslims at the Central Mosque at Asawase for Sallah.
The procession from the Central Mosque to Roman Hill is an event which no Muslim in the Zongo community, old and young, would like to miss. After the Eid prayers in the morning, many go back to their homes to return later to participate in the procession.
The chiefs and the elders of the Zongo Community, however, do not go home. They all meet at a spot at Sabon Zongo, just some few metres from the mosque, where they take a rest before the procession.
The chiefs are arranged in order of their seniority. The first on the list is the Sarkin Zongo, the overlord of the Zongo Community, who is followed by the Head of the Yoruba community before the Moshie chief takes place as the third. Then the Grunshie, Mamprusi, Dagomba and other tribal chiefs in the community follow.
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This year, as in the past three years, the Sarkin Zongo, Sultan Omar Farouk Saeed, will lead the procession. He normally rides on horseback, decorated in beautiful colours. His elders will be behind him, with traditional music in the background. Many will be on foot while a few will ride in open pick-ups and other cars.
Next in line will be the Head of the Yoruba community, Alhaji Ahmed Rufai Aliu Alao III, who by tradition and custom is the next in command after the Sarkin Zongo. He will be followed by the elders and his cabinet. Last year, he rode on horseback even though in the preceding five years he rode in an open pick-up.
The Yoruba chief is always the centre of attraction and commands a large following from not only members of the larger Yoruba community, a number of whom are products of inter-marriages, but the entire Zongo community.
The Moshie Chief, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Adam III, is the third in command of the Zongo Community. At any ceremony, the Yoruba Chief sits to the right of the Sarkin Zongo and the Moshie Chief sits to the left.
There is a large Moshie population in Kumasi. Like the Yoruba, the Moshie also inter marry and there are so many half Moshie and half other tribes in Kumasi.
They are also easily identified by their music and dancing during the Sallah procession, just like the Yorubas. The other tribal leaders from the Grunshie, Mamprusi, Dagomba, Gonja and Kusasi also follow in that order.
The procession from the Central Mosque to Roman Hill lasts between four and six hours. The Muslim faithful and other admirers line up the main Zongo Street to catch a glimpse of their leaders.
It is always a spectacle to behold and I wonder if there is any such display of pomp and circumstance anywhere among Muslims in Ghana.
This is why I cannot afford to miss the Eid-ul-fitr celebrations in Kumasi for anything. My participation in the annual Eid procession dates back to my primary and middle school days when as teenagers we would sneak through the crowd to catch a glimpse of the chiefs.
Then came my days as a teacher in Konongo when I would come down to Kumasi and join my brothers, especially Alhaji Inusah Bello, to go on a ‘hijacking’ spree. We were also mere spectators.
But today I am happy I have become an elder of the Yoruba Community in Kumasi. For the past six years, I have always been part of the entourage of our leader, Alhaji Ahmed Rufai Aliu Alao.
I really enjoy it as we watch crowds of people on both sides of the Zongo streets cheering and dancing as their leaders pass by on their slow march to Roman Hill to offer the last prayers at the ancestral home of the Sarkin Zongo.
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I cannot also forget the various enclosed canopies along the road where various youth groups organise parties to give thanks to Allah for seeing us all through the Ramadan fast.
What remains to be done is for our Zongo leaders to be united and see themselves as brothers. It is only when they build on the prevailing unity that the current development and prosperity that we see in our Zongo community can be further enhanced.
Barka da Sallah to all my Muslim readers.