Beyond the spiritual significance of the Kpledo Festival by the people of Prampram, one feature that cannot be overlooked is the unique costume of some of the participants. From jute sack to masqueraders’ outfits as well as the Ghana flag finding its way to the ground, the celebration has never been shot of variety in terms of the taste in outfits participants are allowed to wear.
There is no restriction, but one cannot strip him or herself naked before the ancestors. Be uniquely different but respectfully attired. After all, the festival is in reverence of our forebears on whose toil Prampram was founded.
The truth is, Prampram is no stranger to unique culture. It is embedded in the body and soul of its people and expressed through a dance, which has styled itself as a prominent fixture. On the Sunday before the festival, an elaborate customary rite took place across the various quarters in Prampram. The various priests and priestesses performed appropriate customs associated with the festival, including the evocation of blessings for the people. The period is also to pray for the souls of relatives who are no longer with the living.
A sombre spiritual exercise, it also creates the space for family bonding and community unity. On Tuesday afternoon – the day for the first festival, which is dedicated to the Lalue, the foundation deity of Prampram, residents had begun massing up at the venue for the celebration. The scorching sun was not going to discourage them. Along a stretch toward the District Assembly office, a gentleman dressed in a jute sack posed for pictures.
“We are celebrating our festival so everything has to wait,” he told somebody on a mobile phone. He was later joined by three more merrymakers and they entered a nearby drinking spot. When I later bumped into him on the ground for the festivity, he could not even recognise me. The truth is, he was in a happy place.
Atop an uncompleted building, a gentleman was observing proceedings with lots of intensity. He sat on a concrete block and kept raising his two hands in unison with several dancers on the ground. His attempt to grab the attention of a friend was droned by the sound of the drum. He persisted but to no avail.
Source: PramcitiTV, a YouTube channel based in Prampram.
