Edina Bronya as a Lieux de Memoire: Developmental Inferences

Abstract

Many works exist on festivals in Ghana. Some of the works discuss the religious relevance of festivals whereas others touch on the social and political spheres. A little reflection on the historical patterns of life vis-à-vis the coming of the Europeans reveals a change. By change, the paper refers to an adaptation of foreign approaches into majority of Ghana’s festival celebrations. Moreover, one finds a shift from the indigenous approach to a foreign style. This change on one perspective has to some degree caused majority of Ghanaians to forget how their indigenous festivals provide a good basis for reconnecting the past with the present and vice versa. In this regard, this paper examines the “Edina Bronya”, (Elmina New Year Festival) peculiar to the indigenous people of the Edina Traditional Area as a case study in the Central Region of Ghana. The paper uses the historical and descriptive research design coupled with the ethnographical method of active participation and an interview of an oral historian. The paper systematically aims at contributing to historical literature on Dutch-Elmina (Ghana) relations. The discussion overlaps into showcasing the Edina bronya festival as a lieux de memoire; a site for continuos reconnection with the past. The first thesis is that theories as offered by cultural memory, comminicative memory and lieux de memoire offer applicable methodologies to African Traditional Religious (ATR) studies but also presents some limitations to such a perpetually oral society.  The paper through analysis also posits developmental potential as presented from the celebration of the festival as a second thesis for the write up. The findings of this research is aimed at contributing to literature on the continuos social importance of festivals as an appendage of African Traditional Religion and a better comprehension of the theories of memory in its relevant applications to it.

Key Words: Edina Bronya, Cultural Memory, Communicative Memory, Lieux de Memoire, Societal Development