The Annual Azambene Festival of the Chiefs and People of the Bongo Traditional Area aside bringing people together from all walks of life is also said to have over the years impacted positively on the social and economic development of the area.
The fire festival is celebrated annually to commemorate the victory, inheritance and the birth of present day Bongo which is the name of a python called in the frafra language ‘Booneh’.
It has been recounted that victory was chalked by a great ancestral hunter called Awubgo, who fought to claim the land from the original owners and then occupants of present day Bongo known as the Busasis through the use of fire, a fundamental reason behind the celebration.
According to the Chairman of the Azambene Festival Planning Committee Nsoh Atinane Emmanuel, the scope of the celebration has been widened to cover all communities of the Traditional area at the behest of the current Paramount Chief Bon-Naba Baba Salifu Atamale Lemyurum.
“Since he was enskinned over 15 years ago, he decided to make it a district festival and from there he added certain things to it, like the endowment fund whereby we have a very big durbar where funds are raised and used to develop his kingdom,” the planning committee chairman said.
He disclosed that all sub-chiefs within the enclave were charged to have representatives on the planning committee to further deepen and consolidate the celebration.
It has also emerged that funds raised from previous celebrations of the festival have significantly impacted several sectors including the Education Endowment Fund which was launched in 2012 and has since benefited several students from the Bongo area including 18 benefiting in the 2017-2018 academic year at various educational levels.
“The people of Bongo are lucky to have a radio station. It is Azambene that had a lot of proceeds and they used it to support the establishment of the Bongo Community Radio Station,” he added.
However, the annual durbar which has over the years served as the climax of the celebration would not be held this year due to the ban on gatherings as a result of COVID-19. The fire procession on the night of Saturday August 29, 2020 will be followed by performance of rituals to end the celebration.
