Abstract:
Festivals have aims and objectives that affect the community in one way or the other.
This study sort to investigate whether the Covid- 19 pandemic had any effect on the
celebrations of the Aboakyer festival of the people of Effutu and finally find out if there
were behind the scene pacifications that were used to circumvent the cultural and
traditional implications that hitherto would have affected the Effutu community. The
purpose of the study was to find out how rituals and any other rites were performed to
pacify the gods in the absence of the celebration of the Aboakyer Festival, find out if
there are any cultural and traditional implications and also investigate how it has
affected the people of Effutu. With the sample size, twelve (12) participants(people)
which is made up of six (6) Asafo companies; 3 from each of the Asafo groups, two (2)
Royals and Two (2) Vendors and two (2) indigenes of Winneba. Purposive and
snowball sampling were used as techniques in the study so that credible, appropriate
and valid data would be generated. Structured and semi structured interviews were used
to illicit information needed to make the study rich and complete. Based on the results
from the interviews, the findings were that, the Covid19 pandemic had a serious toll on
the celebration of Aboakyer festival in the year under review and though the celebration
could not come on, certain important rites were performed under cover to pacify the
gods without the involvement of the crowd. Vendors and other businessmen and
women were not able to make sales, hence were not able to make the expected income.
The study concluded that, the absence of Aboakyer festival celebration caused the
community to adopt new strategies in handling certain cultural and traditional practices
which hitherto were not adhered to. The study recommends that traditional and cultural
practices in the Effutu community should be looked at by stakeholders in Effutu so that
in case there is any form of pandemic it would not affect the community, the traditional
and cultural practices of the communities. A final recommendation is that, there should
be awareness creation and involvement in the preservation of the Effutu cultural
traditions and the significance of the festival through educational programs, cultural
events, and initiatives that encourage community members, particularly the younger
generation, to appreciate and actively participate in preserving the Effutu heritage.
Description:
A THESIS in the
DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC EDUCATION,
SCHOOL OF CREATIVE ARTS, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies,
University of Education, Winneba in partial fulfilment of the requirements for award
of the degree of Master of Philosophy in Arts and Culture