The historic streets of Ga Mashie in Accra came alive with a colourful display of culture as the annual ‘Ye Yee Ye’ Twin Festival began, marking the official start of the 2026 Gamashie Homowo celebrations.
The festival, also known as Akwele Suma, is deeply connected to the history and beliefs of the Ga people. In Ga culture, the birth of twins and other multiple births is seen as a sacred blessing from the gods.
Twins are believed to have special spiritual powers that can bring fertility, good luck and prosperity to their families and the wider community.
The festival is therefore held to purify and appease the spirits associated with twins, with the belief that this will help bring good fortune to the Ga state in the coming Ga New Year.
The celebration follows a traditional series of rituals led by traditional priests and family elders. Early in the morning, high priests such as the Nai Wulomo offer libations at local shrines. Pieces of cut yam are also placed at the entrances and exits of spiritual houses as part of the rituals to call on benevolent ancestral spirits.
The Nai Wulomo then prepares a special herbal bath using seawater, schnapps, an egg and seven traditional herbs in a traditional wooden bowl.
The twins undergo the spiritual washing as part of the purification process. The remaining bath water is then collected and carried through the streets before being dumped near the Korle Lagoon. This symbolises the casting away of bad luck from the Ga state.
After the purification, the twins are smeared with white clay, which represents victory and long life. They are also dressed in identical white calico clothes.
The twins are then served Otɔ, a traditional meal made from mashed yam mixed with palm oil and served with hard-boiled eggs. The meal symbolises fertility and abundance.
After the family and indoor rituals, the celebration moves to the streets, where twins of different generations take part in a colourful procession. Newborn twins carried by their mothers, young twins and elderly pairs, including those in their eighties, all join the celebration.
The streets are filled with traditional songs, drumming and the chanting of the festival phrase, “Ye Yee Ye”. Crowds gather along the streets to celebrate the twins, praise them and give them small gifts.
The Twin Festival is held every year on the Friday immediately before the main Homowo celebration.
The following day, traditional chiefs and family heads sprinkle Kpokpoi across the communities as part of the traditional act of hooting at hunger. Sunday is then marked by family reunions and the settlement of disputes.
The 2026 celebrations are particularly significant as the Ga Traditional Council observes the Bicentenary Homowo Festival under the theme, “One Culture, One People, and One Future.”
