Festivals are very important occasions in Ghana; during this time many people travel to their ancestral home for the celebrations and to mark the occasion. Festivals are celebrated to mark both the beginning and the end of the traditional year and to celebrate great events of the past and purify the traditional state.

Types of festivals

• Religious festivals.
• Arts festivals.
• Food and drink festivals.
• Seasonal and harvest festivals.

In Ijebuland, traditional festivals are observed by the adherents of the traditional religion to mark important social and cultural events in the lives of the people and these are culminated in series of performances, entertainments, rites and rituals.

Importance of festivals to followers Religious festivals, and music festivals, are a pilgrimage. Music, like religion, brings people with a similar set of beliefs together. They’re a chance to relax into the comfort of being around people with the same mindset as you brings.

All festivals are cultural in one way or another. There are many types of cultural festivals such as National, Religious and Seasonal. They all serve the purpose of bringing happiness to our lives, and strengthen our sense of community. National Festivals: They connect us as a people of a nation.

When a festival comes all the relatives gather in a house and have lots of fun. This says that we should be unity. And they distribute sweets to all the known people. This tells us that we should share our happiness to others and make them to feel happy too.

By bringing people together, cultural activities such as festivals, fairs, or classes create social solidarity and cohesion, fostering social inclusion, community empowerment, and capacity-building, and enhancing confidence, civic pride, and tolerance. Culture is important to the vitality of all communities.

Cultural activities means sports or activities which contribute to or enhance the aesthetic, artistic, historical, intellectual or social development or appreciation of members of the general public.

Cultural events include performances or displays of artistic expression, but those are not the only kinds of cultural events. Cultural events could include family customs or religious ceremonies, but you are strongly encouraged to seek an event representing a culture different from your own.

Important South African celebrations

• The Royal Reed Dance. This festival marks one of the celebrated Zulu holidays and festivals.
• The Cape Town International Jazz Festival.
• Jacaranda Festival.
• Cape Town Minstrel Carnival.
• The Arts Alive Festival.
• Oppikoppi Bushveld Festival.
• Knysna Oyster Festival.

Culture in South Africa South Africa has been famously referred to as the rainbow nation because it is made up of so many diverse cultures and religions. Contained within South Africa’s borders are Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Tswana, Ndebele, Khoisan, Hindu, Muslim, and Afrikaner people to name but a few.

Blending Western technology with indigenous technology, Western traditions with African and Asian traditions, South Africa is a study in contrasts.

Top 10 Cultural Villages in South Africa

1. Shangana Cultural Village, Mpumalanga.
2. Basotho Cultural Village, Free State.
3. Shakaland Zulu Cultural Village, KwaZulu-Natal.
4. Botshabelo Historical Village, Mpumalanga.
5. Khaya La Bantu Cultural Village, Eastern Cape.
6. 6. !
7. Matsamo Cultural Village, Mpumalanga.

The Culture in Africa is varied and manifold, consisting of a mixture of countries with various tribes that each have their own unique characteristic from the continent of Africa. African culture is expressed in its arts and crafts, folklore and religion, clothing, cuisine, music and languages.

Here are 10 traditional South-African dishes that reflect the country’s diverse culture and palate.

• Biltong. Probably the most-loved South-African snack, biltong is a dried, cured, and spiced meat.
• Boerewors.
• Bokkoms.
• Bobotie.
• Koeksisters.
• Malva pudding.
• Milktart.
• Potjiekos.

Johannesburg

South Africa’s poorest province is the Eastern Cape. The wealthiest province is Gauteng. Around 880,000 of the mostly rural Eastern Cape’s people live in poverty. In Gauteng, a city region with the best opportunities for jobs, some 610,000 people live in poverty.

Kennedy Bungane

Cape Town

Durban