Bonwirehemaa calls for laws to protect local industries
The Bonwirehemaa, Nana Nyarko Frimpomah II, has called for the enactment of laws that will protect local industries in the country.
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This, according to her, will ensure that the country can use its comparative advantage to produce more for both the local and international markets.
She explained that such a law was a sure way of improving the nation’s economy, as well as creating job opportunities for thousands of youth loitering the streets of the country searching for non-existent jobs.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Bonwire, Nana Frimpomah commended the government for its recent effort at rebranding made-in- Ghana goods to promote their patronage.
She made the disclosure on the sidelines of the celebration of traditional rites to usher in the celebration of the Kente Festival by the chiefs and people of Bonwire in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality in the Ashanti Region.
The rites
The rites involve the slaughtering of a ram in the Ayowakesieho (a sacred grove in the community where the first Kente was said to have been woven by a giant spider).
Libation is also usually poured to the ancestors, as well as the sprinkling of local food to the deities in Ayowakesieho.
Discovery
History has it that about 300 years ago, during a hunting expedition by the legendary Kuragu and Ameyaw, (who are believed to have woven the first Kente) they spotted a giant spider weaving a web in a forest in an area called the Ayowakesieho at Bonwire.
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Upon seeing the animal in the crafty act, they hid themselves in the bush for a long time to observe keenly how the animal went about the weaving.
The weaving of the first Kente by the two legends was the beginning of Kente production in the country which has now spread to the rest of the world.
The Bonwirehemaa was optimistic that the nation could export more kente to boost its foreign exchange earnings by taking advantage of its knowledge in the art of weaving the cloth.
Kente Ffestival
The Bonwirehene, Nana Bobie Ansah II, announced that the community would celebrate the Kente Festival by the end of this year.
He said the successful performance of the traditional rites had paved the way for the celebration of the festival in the community which would showcase the rich Bonwire Kente to the rest of the world.
Nana Ansah said a delegation would soon visit the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to inform him of the performance of the traditional rites and the decision by the chiefs and people to celebrate the Kente Festival, after which the specific date for the event would be announced.
The chief debunked the notion that the first Kente was woven from elsewhere but not Bonwire, saying, “The first Kente was woven by Kuragu and Ameyaw who hailed from Bonwire and not any other part of the country as being peddled around.”
The Bonwirehene announced that the festival would be organised by the Bonwire Traditional Council in collaboration with the Ghana Tourist Authority, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and other stakeholders.
He assured all and sundry that the people of Bonwire were ready to host the festival with rich Kente and other activities.