Cultural Heritage of Ghana – CAN 2008
Do you know that a nation without culture is like a man without a soul? And a man without a soul is as good as a dead baby? And a stillborn baby is that entity that was unable to take the first breath of life at birth? Is that first breath of life the soul that is part of the Almighty Creator Himself, without whom no human being can survive?
Perhaps the Holy Bible helps to better illustrate the point I am trying to make here. Just open the Bible, (King James Version) and look at Genesis Chapter 2:7. It says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. .”
On Sunday, January 20, 2008, the 26th MTN African Cup of Nations, named Ghana 2008, kicked off in the capital city of Accra. The tournament was to be held in four cities namely Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi and Tamale until February 10, 2008. The aim of this article is to try to review the Grand Opening Ceremony of the event, where the Ghanaian culture it was planted like a blooming rose. it will flourish in the center of the earth for humanity to contemplate, enjoy and appreciate. It was fantastic and “extraordinary” as the French will say. Similarly, that cultural pageantry that heralded the event was the breath of life infused into the veins of the games as the living soul to make Ghana CAN 2008 a living tournament.
First of all, Ghana and indeed Africa should be proud that there are citizens of the continent whose creativity is beyond imagination. For the person or group of people who sat, stood, or were on the move and, through attunement and meditation, received inspiration from the Supreme Creator and were able to transform their visualization into the realization of what was shown in the recently renovated Ohene Djan. Stadium to be witnessed by more than 4 billion people around the world, it deserves the acclaim. In fact, one wishes that at the end of the show, at least the directors and coordinators of the entire episode had walked to the center of the stadium to receive thunderous and endless applause and cheers. They did fantastically well! Bravo for all the artists and their directors.
I don’t know them per se. But I learned that some of the cultural gurus in whose fertile wombs she nursed and gave birth to the baby included Prof. F. Nii Yartey, Prof. Ancu, Prof. Martin Owusu, Prof. Kofi Ansah, and many, many others. May Jesus bless you all. Let them know that his reward is guaranteed in heaven! But those of them who want their payment instantly may have to kick the bucket anyway. I allow myself to grant the title of Professor to all those who participated in that historic inaugural ceremony. And if anyone dares to summon me before any court of law in the country, because of the saga of the chair, I will soberly beg for leniency, leniency and mercy. Period! I don’t want talk!
For the benefit of non-Ghanaians, who enjoyed the beauty of the cultural pageantry but might not have grasped the real significance of the drama’s outcome, here is the gist of what transpired that day. First of all, it is important to know that there are ten administrative regions in Ghana. And each region is endowed with a magnificent unique cultural heritage in terms of music, dances, songs, festivals, cuisines, drums and artifacts. There is no cultural or religious discrimination in Ghana. Therefore, whenever there is an event with a national dimension, traditional priests, Christian priests and Muslim priests are all invited to pray to God for the success of the event. Whether they call God, or Mawu, or Nyankupong, or Allah, He or She is the same Supreme Creator of all.
Also, every time a national event is held in the country and a cultural show is organized, dances and songs from the ten regions of the country are staged. For example, when the National Counseling and Information Ministry organized the National Counseling Awareness Program, where the Five Pillars were officially launched in August last year at the Accra International Conference Center, young children from all ten regions of the country conducted cultural dances. of their respective regions. This is what has made Ghana a unique land of cultural diversity in unity.
Therefore, the gigantic cultural extravaganza held at the Ghana CAN 2008 opening ceremony was an excellent representation of the Ghanaian culture of the ten regions, as well as a symbolic representation of the 16 African countries participating in a memorable tournament in the country.
First of all, the helicopter flying the Ghanaian national flag over the stadium symbolizes that we are all Ghanaians before any other ethnic considerations. The colorful fireworks represent the modern take on our tradition of gun salutes when a major national event is about to take off. The three majestic ladies wrapped in precious kente, who sang the National Anthem represent the trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit whose presence must be recognized before any national event.
The more than one hundred traditional horn blowers carrying brightly colored elephant tusks was the high point of creativity for the creators who conceptualized the ceremony. Until now, this author is wondering where they got all the numerous giant elephant tusks from. Unless they are some artificial plastic improvisation, I imagine there would be no more elephants in Bole National Park in Bole in the northern region or in another reserved forest in Ghana. The wonder is the creativity that went into creating that traditional musical instrument used by traditional horn blowers in Ghana. The symbol is what can be found in the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra.
The cultural meaning of the traditional horn blowing is that; in the palaces of chiefs or kings in Ghana, heralds the beginning of an event of great importance. The horns are used to announce the launch of an event. Like talking drums, the horns serve as a traditional communication tool to send messages to people in towns and villages. So, the hundred trumpets at the opening ceremony symbolically announced to Africa and the rest of the world that the 26th edition of the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations was about to start in Ghana, so everyone must be alert and ready. to embrace the event. And the trumpets emerged from the four corners of the stadium symbolizing the four cardinal points of the earth, namely East, West, South and North. And by providence, Ghana itself is situated in the center of the earth. Once again, symbolically, Ghana through the opening ceremony was radiating Light, Life and Love to all corners of the world.
Another amazing aspect of the opening ceremony was the acrobatic display of the youth from Ghana. In addition to various magical formations, there was the African Map with Madagascar created by human beings with human bodies. The design was amazing when seen on the television screen. As for the various national dances that are performed, the less said, the better. We witnessed dances ranging from Adowa, Atsiagbekor, Dambai, Kente, Borborbor, Kpanlogo just to name a few. They were performed with artistic finesse in fantastically colorful marching costumes. It was just great!
The last cultural aspect of the opening ceremony that cannot fail to be mentioned in this review was the parade of national flags from the different countries participating in the tournament. Many people did not notice this aspect of the ceremony. I remember when I pointed out the flags to the spectators around where I was sitting near the scoreboard in the stadium, they were in awe. Once again, the creativity that went into creating those flags was unparalleled.
The national flags of participating teams, including Ghana, Angola, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Egypt, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Senegal, Sudan and Zambia, were transformed into colorful umbrellas, held reverently parading as is done in the solemn procession of a grand durbar of kings and queen mothers in Ghana. The scene was really touching!
If not for nothing, Ghana has used its rich culture through the opening ceremony of the 26th Ghana CAN 2008 to project the beauty of African culture to the blue paradise. I suggest that the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) adopt and adapt the opening ceremony on DVD and CD in any modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as African Cultural Heritage for the cultural advancement of humanity for the glory of the CREATOR.