Story: A. Kofoya-Tetteh, Koforidua
THE Eastern Region, a land mass covering 19,323 square kilometres, like any of the political entities except Ashanti, consists of different tribes.
The tribes are the purely Twi-speaking Akyems, comprising Akyem Abuakwa, Akyem Kotoku and Akyem Bosome; the Guan-speaking people of Boso and Anum; Akuapems, who either speak Guan or Twi; the Juabens, who speak Asante Twi; and the Dangbe group made up of Manya and Yilo Krobos.
Despite the diverse cultural practices of such heterogeneous people, especially between the Twi/Akan group and the Dangbe stock as well as other migrants, such as the Ewes, and people from the three northern regions, the groups have coexisted peacefully over the years.
The situation can perhaps be attributed to the uniqueness of the traditional practices of the various tribal groups, coupled with intermarriages that have made it difficult to differentiate a Yilo Krobo from a Manya Krobo, an Akuapem from a Guan or an Akyem from a Juaben.
Such unique and pure indigenous practices — dressing, food and general way of life — which have for years portrayed the region’s culture to the outside world over the years, has, however, been alloyed with negative Western culture in recent times due to the advent of foreign films and the media.
Realising the danger of the traditional way of life being influenced by the negative foreign ones, successive governments after 1957 when the country attained political independence from Britain, decided to institute measures to reverse such an unfortunate situation.
A body solely responsible for that, the Arts Council, was therefore set up with its headquarters in Accra with offices in all the regional capitals and some district capitals.
The Arts Council, which was later re-christened Centre for National Culture (CNC), apart from helping to restore the "sanctity" of the indigenous culture, has also been given additional mandate to identify hitherto unknown cultural relics and tourist facilities, as well as the already known ones, with the view of preserving and promoting them.
Apart from its unique traditions, the Eastern Region has numerous tourist facilities, such as the Boti Falls, the newly discovered waterfalls at Adasawase, the Big Tree, at Aprokumase near Akyem Oda, supposed to be the biggest in West Africa, Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm at Mampong-Akuapem, as well as numerous others that were to be preserved and promoted.
The Regional Office of the CNC has, therefore, taken up the challenge by instituting a number of measures to promote the traditions of the various tribes, as well as identifying the unknown artefacts and tourist attractions to be exhibited together with the already identified ones.
Realising that such a laudable objective, especially the exhibition and promotion of the traditional practices, could only be achieved with a modern theatre hall, the government has over the past few years been putting finishing touches to a magnificent theatre/auditorium and a two-storey pavilion at Koforidua, the regional capital, where cultural festivals depicting the way of life of the region’s heterogeneous population, would be held.
The edifice, comprising a theatre/auditorium, which is now 80 per cent complete, has recently been allocated GH¢250,000 to speed up constructional work for its early completion to make it possible for its use.
However, despite the present state of the edifice, coupled with a number of problems such as an over-aged vehicle, which often breaks down, to be put back on the road at a huge cost, and poor remuneration for its staff, the CNC has for the past two years lived up to expectation to its assigned duties.
The CNC has drawn up an elaborate programme for cultural activities and festivals involving basic school children, students of second-cycle educational institutions, as well as cultural troupes drawn from mainly the New Juaben Municipality, which were organised within the edifice at specific periods within each year.
They include the Fontomfrom Festival made up of traditional dances based on the Fontomfrom sounds, the Palmer Buckles Vacation Camp Festival, an educational retreat programme initiated by the former Catholic Bishop for Koforidua now Accra Metropolitan Archbishop, Charles Palmer Buckles, for selected pupils in basic schools in New Juaben, who are schooled on traditional practices during the long vacation alongside academic programmes.
Other educative programmes on aspects of human endeavour, especially on the environment, are also conducted through theatre and dance by adult artistes within the theatre.
The recent performance was done by the Abibigroma Group from Accra whose talented artistes demonstrated how best to get rid of plastic waste that continued to engulf the environment and had become a worry to sanitation experts.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Koforidua, the Regional Director of the CNC, Mr Francis Kingsley Obeng, said although the theatre had not been fully completed, it had become necessary to make good use of it.
He said that would make it possible for the CNC to periodically put the youth, who, according to him, were being influenced by negative Western culture, on track to be abreast of the indigenous culture.
“We have been given the responsibility to help the young ones to appreciate the indigenous culture and we have to organise cultural events periodically so that they would not be swayed to the negative foreign culture; this can only be accomplished if such events are organised in the edifice, which has now been roofed,” Mr Obeng stated.
According to Mr Obeng, the CNC is involved in the organisation of some of the traditional festivals such as the Kloyosikplemi for the Yilo Krobos and the Akwantukese for the New Juabens at the respective traditional capitals of Somanya and Koforidua, which, he said, was helping a great deal in such traditional areas.
"Some of the traditional rulers have recognised our role in the preservation of indigenous culture and have been inviting us to their festivals, and since we have the responsibility to that effect, we do not turn down such invitations,” Mr Obeng stated.
Although the CNC is currently making good use of the theatre hall, its present uncompleted nature could not make it possible for the use of the necessary equipment such as lightening system to add colour or beauty to the cultural displays to attract more audience.
It is, therefore, anticipated that all efforts would be made for its early completion to make it better serve the purpose for which it has been constructed.
This would make it possible for the organisation of the National Festival of Arts at Koforidua, which last hosted that significant event more than two decades ago, to exhibit the region’s unique culture and artefacts to the rest of the country and the outside world.
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