Abstract:
Costume and design within indigenous societies are transmitted from one generation
to another and are established through periods of relatively long usage establishing
what is known as clothing customs. Costume and designs at Asorgli State during
festivals has become too adulterated and lost its finesse. The costume that patrons of
the Asorgli festival wear for the occasion has dramatically deviated from what it is
supposed to be and this trend has made Asorgli festival lose its credibility and cultural
significance. Based on this the study aimed at the significance of traditional costume
and designs as cultural symbols at Asorgli festival in Ho, Volta Region. The
objectives of the study were to explore the traditional costumes and designs at
festivals in the Asorgli traditional area, identify the factors that affect traditional
significance of Asorgli traditional festival and strategies to enhance the significance
of the traditional costume and designs. The researcher adopted survey as the research
design for the study. Purposive sampling and simple random sampling technique were
used to collect data. The study used questionnaire, interview and observation as the
instruments for data collection. The study found that African prints, "Kente" and
"Adawu" are the main costumes and designs used by the Asorgli people during
festival. The study indicated that the arrival of western education, contacts with other
cultures, and creativity and innovation affects the traditional significance of Asorgli
traditional festival. Based on this, conclusion was made and it was recommended that
the traditional leaders should enforce the young people to promote their
cultural significance through costumes and designs during the festival. The
community leaders especially the Asorgli (Asorgli traditional ruler) should ensure that
the festival is celebrated in a peaceful displayed of their costume and designs in a
conducive atmosphere.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of FASHION DESIGN AND TEXTILES
EDUCATION, Faculty of VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION,
submitted to the School of Graduate Studies , University of Education, Winneba
in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the Master of
Technology Education (Fashion Design and Textiles Education) degree.
DECEMBER, 2016