Accra: Ban on noise making begins May 10

The annual month-long ban on drumming and noise-making in Accra for the year 2021 starts on May 10, it has been announced.

The season of Homowo, the revered traditional festival of the Ga people in Accra, starts with the ritual sowing of corn and yams with the coming of the first rains in early May and ends in late September when the crops are finally harvested.

Right after the ritual sowing, there is a period of quiet and servitude when the benevolence of the spirits, with respect to the growth and harvest of agricultural produce and fish, is solicited.

In times past, there were skirmishes between the traditional authorities and people who flouted the ban, leading to the destruction of properties and injury to a number of people.

For a couple of years now, however, the period of the ban has been tranquil.

This is as a result of the engagement of people of especially other faiths that has made communication on the festival open, bringing about more understanding and acceptance to especially some churches, as well as measures that have been put in place to prevent people arrogating to themselves the authority to whip in line people they consider to be flouting the ban.

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has indicated that the police a task force will be on guard to ensure that the ban is observed and help prevent clashes between the traditional authorities and other people.