Speakers at the launch of the 2017 Feok Festival celebrated by the chiefs
and people of the Builsa Traditional Area in the Upper East Region, have made a passionate
appeal to government to work towards the
inclusion of the Buli language in the
educational curricular. The event was organized by the 2017 Planning Committee together under the auspices of the Paramount Chief and prominent personalities of the Builsa Traditional Area. According to the committee, the launch will be climaxed in December 22, 2017 under the theme “Redefining Our Culture:
The Path to Sustainable Unity and Development”.This year’s launch came much earlier to open up the focus of the feok Festival based on the chosen theme.
Over the years, the celebration of the Feok Festival had been centered on the historical perspective of how Samori and Babatuu fought and won against their colonial masters upon arrival.
Launching the event, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, Dr Pascal Baylon Atengdem described the theme for the celebration as appropriate because those are the things that move people beyond history.
Dr. Atengdem stressed, that things that differentiate between people, are languages spoken, names, social institutions, stories, proverbs, dressing, music, drumming and dancing among others.
He lamented that if these cultural values of the Builsa’s were changing and losing focus, the Builsa culture risk being extinct and everything possible must be done to preserve it except the barbaric ones.
Dr. Atengdem indicated that, the Builsa’s have a rich culture and language is a key part of defining the people’s culture and if language dies, the culture dies as well.
He added that it was necessary to start the process to get it being taught at the basic school level based on the principles of using the mother tongue. On the issue of the free Senior High School policy,
Dr Atengdem said it was very sustainable and as a development sociologist, he believes money was not the issue but ideas.
The sustainability of it is for people to believe that it is necessary to raise the level of basic education to secondary, thus from the Junior High School to Senior High.
He cited India and China ruling the economy of the industrialized countries because of knowledge, adding that NASA will buy the best brain irrespective of where one comes from.
Dr Atengdem therefore advised that education is life and therefore should not be politicized. A former member of the Council of State, His excellency Adenzi Kanga advocated for a site to be acquired for the construction of a cultural village, where all artefacts of the Builsa’s can be stored and learnt by teachers to be taught in schools.
He pledged to sponsor key leaders of the Builsa communities across the country to come and contribute towards the proposed project.
Activities lined-up for the three month celebration leading to map out potential tourist sites for development, cleaning exercise in Sandema and Fumbisi, a soccer fiesta, Queen Mother’s kitchen, Feok Awards night and launching of Educational Fund.
The Paramount Queen Mother of the area, Poknab Atebalie said indigenous dishes and dress code will be expected especially young ladies in this year’s festival.
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