Harvest festival
Homowo, meaning “to hoot at hunger”, is the harvest festival of the Ga people of the Greater Accra Region. It remembers a famine in Ga history and celebrates plenty with processions, drumming and a special dish called kpokpoi.
Photo: nathaniel abadji / Unsplash
Usually in August, sometimes July or September, with dates set by Ga traditional authorities
In Ga towns and communities of the Greater Accra Region, with the climax in Ga Mashie in central Accra.
Watch processions with drumming and dancing and, if invited, share kpokpoi and palm soup.
Homowo: hooting at hunger
Homowo is celebrated by the Ga people, one of Ghana’s many ethnic groups. Its name combines the Ga words for hunger and hooting, and it is often explained as “to hoot at hunger”. According to tradition, the Ga faced famine on their journey to their present homeland and after settling there. When harvests finally became plentiful, they celebrated by mocking the hunger they had overcome.
The Homowo season begins in spring, when Ga priests sow millet. A ban on noise follows for several weeks so that the crops can grow undisturbed, and it ends with special drumming. Each Ga town celebrates on its own dates, set according to the traditional calendar, so the festivities move from place to place over the summer.
During Homowo week, Ga people who live and work elsewhere return home, often arriving on the Thursday, and join processions through the streets with drumming, singing and dancing. The day before the main feast is the Twins Yam Festival, when twins dress in white and celebrate. On the Saturday, families prepare kpokpoi, made from steamed millet or maize dough mixed with palm oil and okra, served with palm soup. The head of the family sprinkles some of the food and pours a drink on the ground to honour the ancestors, and people visit homes to share the meal. On Sunday, families exchange visits, remember those who have died and wish each other well for the new year. Homowo is a Ga celebration rather than a nationwide holiday, and customs differ between Ga towns and families.
Learn about Homowo at home:
Coming soon to the App Store.
Homowo is a community and family festival. If you are in Accra during the celebrations, watch the processions respectfully, ask before taking photos and follow local guidance. Roads in the festival areas may be closed.
It is usually translated as “to hoot at hunger”, celebrating plenty after a famine in Ga history.
The Ga people of the Greater Accra Region and Ga communities abroad.
A festive dish of steamed millet or maize dough mixed with palm oil and okra, served with palm soup.
