Feok war dance festival addressing security concerns in Upper East Region, Ghana

Abstract

The dissertation was an investigation of the Feok War Dance festival celebrated by the Builsa people in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study sought to establish the provenance of the Buluk state and the position of the Feok war dance festival in Builsa in contemporary Ghana, identify security concerns raised by the festival and utilize creative elements rationalized from the magical endowments as a resource to develop a scientific security training method that guarantee public safety. The field study was conducted using observations, interviews, focus group discussions and questionnaire as instruments for data collection. Data was reinforced with electronic coverage of both visual and audio. The heterogeneous population was principally war dancers, spectators, traditional leaders, workers and the Police. Findings of the study indicates that, the war dance is a form of communication; gesture language for peace making, unity, salutation and protection. The manoeuvres constitute a package of security tips in the form of illustrations which will help in interpreting a photographic evidence of crime pertaining to the area. Findings showed that some of war dance accoutrements pose health hazard to the public; an indication of a serious security threats coming from the abuse of traditional paraphernalia. The investigation revealed that, the use of deadly firearms at festival functions often account for the incidences of mass injuries and death. The objectives of the study were achieved and recommendations made for the adoption of the artistic concepts that were developed based on the findings as part of learning resources for Security Agencies and School; the adoption of the Bakankule dance for peace education and theatre, therapeutic sporting activity for schools and keep fit clubs. It further recommended for the integration of Builsa combat skills in Police training for the area and finally asked for the substitution of the use of deadly paraphernalia with miniature forms all to address the security deficit in the Region.