By Eunice Hilda Ampomah, GNA
Accra, March 6, GNA – The National Folklore Board, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, has launched the Ghana Folklore Club to expose children and the youth to the beauty of Ghanaian folklore.
Nana Adjoa Adobea Asante, the Acting Director of the National Folklore Board, said the current situation of the youth and folklore was nothing to write home about, adding that, “Indeed in most homes now, our young ones are not even exposed to their mother tongue.”
She said the laws of the country defined folklore as the literary, artistic and scientific expressions belonging to the cultural heritage of Ghana, which are created, preserved and developed by ethnic communities of Ghana or by an unidentified Ghanaian author.
Folklore includes music, dance, art, designs, names, signs and symbols, performances, ceremonies, architectural forms, handicrafts and narratives, and many other artistic or cultural expressions.
Folklore, Nana Adobea said, served as an integral part of a nation’s identity and destiny, adding that Ghana, through her rich display of folkloric elements, had shown herself as a true nirvana of folklore not just in Africa but the world at large.
She said it was sad that speaking of the Ghanaian languages in schools were an offence, adding: “My dear teachers, can we take off the ‘No Vernacular’ signages in our schools?”
Nana Adobea expressed regret that the many rhythmic music and dances the nation had, had been relegated to the background.
She noted that the National Folklore Board was taking a bold step to bring back what appeared to be disappearing, through young people who were still malleable and open to new and refreshing ideas.
“Reliving some of the experiences of your forefathers, my forefathers, our forefathers will re-echo that identity we share together as a Ghanaian people,” she said.
“Eat Ghana, because our forefathers ate Ghana to weather the difficult storms on their sojourn as a people, Wear Ghana to relive the memories of what they wore, definitely see Ghana to behold the beauty of what our forefathers bequeathed us with, and feel Ghana because the Ghanaian blood that runs through your veins will never run dry.”
The National Folklore Board is responsible for the registration, administration, promotion and legal protection of Ghanaian expressions of folklore.
In line with its mandate to promote local folklore, the Board has instituted a weekly campaign, dubbed: “The Did You Know Series” to provide information on different aspects of the nation’s folklore through the use of innovative infographics.
Present at the launch were representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, the National Commission for Civic Education, the African American Association of Ghana, UNESCO Ghana, and the Dubois Centre.
GNA
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