The first of three Lalue Kpledo festivals came off on Tuesday in Prampram. It was a festive occasion for the residents. But for the African Americans and Caribbean immigrants who were present, the dance is a reminder of how much their forebears lost during the era of slavery, when they were yanked away from their abode; making them lose their identity, culture and identity.
Aretha Mills, 56, originally from New York, has been living in Prampram for nearly two decades. Until two years ago, she was a passive observer of the festival and did not think much about it beyond the dance and the happy faces.
She however had an awakening of the essence during last year’s symbolic visit to the ancestral forest, when in her own words; “I felt the presence of my ancestors which got me teary.”
On Tuesday she was in full swing, dancing her emotions out. And she was not off balance, thanks to her excellent body movement. The first Kple is often short partly because of the brief curfew associated with the custom, but that did not stop people from attending in their names.
Present at the celebration were Paramount Chief of Prampram, Nene Tetteh Wakah III, Naa Osabu Abbey I, Queenmother, Dawhenya Mantse Kodie Arden IV, elders from the various quarters, priests and priestesses.
