Wednesday, September 16, 2009

OLD SKUUL REUNION 09


Sitting pretty at the top of Ghana’s social calendar over the past few years, this year’s annual Joy FM ‘Old Skuul Reunion’ lived its billing and hype when it came off successfully at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre in Accra.
After Joy FM had whet the appetite of attendants in their ‘jama’ contests by the various schools on their ‘Super Morning Show’ few weeks to the event, thousands of party rave heads from all walks of life thronged the Trade Fair to be part of this ground-breaking event.
Many schools from the length and breadth of the nation did all kinds of gimmicks for them to be easily recognized, however, the school which stood out tall and caught the most attention is Sakawa Sec. Tech. I am sure you might be wondering location of that school’s premises, but look no further if you spot any internet café because that is the school. Students of this ‘money making’ school displayed memorabilia’s like computer monitors, keyboards, mock coffin amongst others to the shock of many attendants.
It was an ‘Old Skuul Reunion’ indeed as majority of the artistes that mounted that gigantic Joy FM stage to treat the insatiable crowd at the Trade Fair Centre in La was of the ‘old school’ generation of the hiplife music genre in Ghana.
Among the ‘old’ faces that performed were Obrafour and Kontihene. Having been on the low since his last track ‘Heavy’ with Kofi B about three years ago, the man born Kwabena Okyere Darko and also known as ‘Ghana Rap Sofuo’ treated the crowd to hits after hits from his discography. From ‘Yaanom’, a song from his maiden album, ‘Pae Mu Ka’, to Kwame Nkrumah and the most recent ‘Heavy’, Obrafour left an impression on the crowd that he might be dormant at the moment but a big force to reckon with when it comes to stage performances and hiplife in GH.
Kontihene also made a case for the older generation of hiplifers in what looked like the old against the contemporary regarding artiste on the bill. He exhibited glimpses of his former self as the crowd sang along with him. Kwaw ‘King of the Streets’ Kesse, Sarkodie and Bradez represented the new faces.

Busta Rhymes Rocks GH


Having collaborated over the years to bring international artistes—Jay –Z, Shaggy, Kevin Little, Wayne Wonder amongst others—to mesmerize party raves in Ghana, events powerhouse Charterhouse and telecommunications giants MTN did it again by flying Brooklyn born MC, Busta Rhymes, to do a concert in commemoration of MTN’s 2nd Anniversary.
Starting two hours late albeit the 8pm stipulated, the concert at the Accra International Conference Centre was also used to celebrate Ghana’s second World Cup qualification of which MTN are the lead sponsors. Introduced by the master of ceremonies, Eddie Blay Jnr as the dynamic duo, Kwaku-T and D Black kick started the performances on the night with their two singles, “Move” and “Breathe” off their “Target Practice” album.
Backed by the dexterous Andy Dosty on the turn tables, the self titled best rapper alive, Okyeame Kwame had the half filled auditorium on their feet throughout his military choreographed performance. With arguably the hottest song in GH currently belonging to them, different kinds of cell phones and cameras were on display in the auditorium to capture the moment when 4X4 mounted the stage. Led by the silky voiced Fresh Prince, the group, clad in matching yellow jackets and sagged denims wowed the crowd throughout their performance.
The ladies turned on the fashion style on the night. The bevy of beautiful girls who thronged the Conference Centre to watch Busta Rhymes live displayed some real exotic fashion sense by wearing off the hook apparels. He started by performing renditions of various hip hop classics before coming to his tunes, however, MTN Music Icon Samini didn’t impress. With DJ Pepsi churning hits after hits from his discography, it was apparent that Samini has lost his flavour as the crowd was totally unfazed throughout his performance.
There couldn’t be a better prelude performance to Busta’s than that of his GH version, Sarkodie Obidi. Walking on stage with a buddy who was holding a wall clock to prove Sarkodie’s lyrical pace, he received the loudest applause of all the local artistes on the night. Tongue-twisting rapper Sarkodie proved why he is fast becoming fans favourite with an intense energy filled performance.
With the indefatigable DJ Black whetting the appetite of the now near filled auditorium with hits across the globe for some minutes, tattooed Busta Rhymes made a grand appearance on stage with his Flip Mode Entertainment protégé, Spliff Star and a hefty bodyguard. At exactly 40 minutes past midnight, Busta Rhymes alongside Spliff Star turned the auditorium on ‘fire’.
Born Trevor Taheim Smith Jr, Busta categorized his performances into three sections on the night—the retro classics, love duets and songs from the current album titled “Back on my BS”. Most popular in GH in the mid 90’s, the song ‘Dangerous’ from his second album “When Disaster Strikes” went down well with crowd. They sang lyric after lyric with the energized Busta Rhymes who couldn’t help but keep thanking the fans for coming out to watch him in his maiden performance in Accra.
Reveling in the frenzy and ecstatic atmosphere at the auditorium, many of the attendants were engaged in a battle of strength in front of the stage with their various digital cameras and cell phones to film Busta’s performance. Some even went to the extent of climbing the stage just to have a feel of the “Just Make It Clap” star.
After an intense one hour of performances of hits after hits, Busta finally brought the curtains down on the memorable night by proposing imaginary toasts to the organizers, his fans who came to see him live and the sitting first African American President of the United States, Barack Obama. He promised the insatiable crowd in the auditorium one thing before he bowed out: “I will be back”.

SAGGED JEANS: THE TRUTH BEHIND IT


It is rare for one to take a stroll through town, in recent times, without either spotting two out of five guys either in sagged denims or whatever shorts they are wearing and it seems this bug has bitten contemporary Ghanaian ladies in recent memory as they have adopted the sagging ‘flavour’.
Sagging is the practice of wearing a pair of trousers or shorts below the waist so as to reveal some or all the wearer’s underwear. Sagging is commonly reported in the media as having originated from the prohibition of belts for prisoners. Belts were banned because they could be used to commit suicide by hanging, to strangle others or as a weapon in a fight.
It is believed that this phenomenon caught up with the Ghanaian youth in the late eighties and early nineties. The term “Otto Pfister” as it is called in local parlance came about during the tenure of German Otto Pfister as coach of various national teams in Ghana. Known for his chain smoking, Otto Pfister was at the helm of affairs when the Black Starlets won the FIFA Youth Cup in Italy in 1991 and also led the Black Stars to second place finish at the African Cup of Nations in Senegal, 1992.
Despite his success with Ghana, this is a man who invariably has his trousers below his waist line. He rarely pulls his trousers up and it seems many of the youth at the time of his tenure adopted this style of dressing and has lived on as the ladies have also joined the fray. It is not only at nightclubs ladies are seen sagging.
Going by the women’s coinage of sagging as: “I am aware”, sagged trousers by women looks more serious than guys as many either refuse to wear ‘undies’ when they sag or wear a “G-string” types which lay bare their bums.
Sagging in Ghana can also be attributed to infiltration of cultures or vogue. The hip-hop culture in the Western world can be partly if not wholly blamed for sagging in Ghana. Most of the American rappers expose their boxers by sagging either in stage performances or award shows. With many of the youth having hip-hop artistes as role models, needless to say - they definitely copy their sagging style of dressing.
The hip-life music genre also plays a key role in the “Otto Pfister” trend amongst the youth and young artistes. A lot of youth seem to believe: one has to follow the status quo to thrive in this industry and only a few have succeeded without dressing in hip-hop or gangster fashion (whatever you will like to call it). Wearing baggy trousers, big medallions and dressing in flashy clothes has even become the norm in many self-acclaimed neighbourhoods for one to be accepted among one’s peers.
Sagging comes in two types - either to wear the trousers or shorts below the waistline with tightened belt or to let the belt loose to enable the trouser fall below the waistline. In this type, one has to pull the trousers up quite often.
Several reasons have been attributed to this Western style of dressing but What’s On decided to find answers to this question: what will prompt someone to sag? It is amazing some of the responses from people especially, the youth about why they will sag or why they need to sag. Senior high school graduate Evans said: “I don’t feel comfortable when my trousers are not below my waist line because I have worn it like that for a couple of years now”. Wannabe rapper, Don Winsky, was of another view of why one needs to sag: “sagging portrays you in a certain light and that shows you really know what’s going on. Also to become the rapper I want to be, I need to dress this way and that’s wassup”.
Popular radio and television presenter, Kofi Okyere Darko, was of the view that people have different reasons for sagging. “I think we have different types of jeans or trousers where some have loose waistlines therefore you don’t get any option than to wear it below the waist line. Also some copy it from rappers in the Western world”.
From a ladies viewpoint: Ellen thinks women are also into it more due to the fact that: “It is something that’s in vogue. It has come to the forefront these days because most of the shorts and trousers on the market for women are either loose or jsve been created in a certain way where it has to be below your waist line”.
Whatever the case maybe, sagging amongst the Ghanaian youth seems to be on the ascendency as one can now even spot sagged trousers at a ‘holy’ place like the church; banking halls and the senior high schools and universities are not faring any better.

ABLADE GLOVER’S 75TH BIRTHDAY ART EXHIBITION


The Artists Alliance Gallery in Accra has carved a niche for its self over the past few years as place where opportunities are offered to both local and international artists to exhibit their talents, therefore, the venue comes no better for famous Ghanaian artist, Professor Ablade Glover as he held an art exhibition to commemorate his 75th birthday in Accra recently.

The exhibition attracted a cross section of the media, art collectors, artists and some prominent personalities in legendary Ghanaian poet, Professor Atukwei Okai, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr. Nick Westcott amongst others. Most of the paintings on display were abstract oil paintings done by the Professor over the years.

In a very simple yet well organized exhibition, the art fanatics around looked very satisfied with the works on display as many were seen discussing the beauty of one painting after the other. Out of the fifty-two (52) paintings that Professor Glover put on display, many were contemporary art blended with primitive settings like fisher folks, market women, and religious settings amongst others.

Professor Ablade Glover, who also doubles as the Director of the Artist Alliance Gallery, told What’s On the rationale behind the exhibition and the paintings as he said: “As an artist, I paint things that interest me and those are about women. I like their courage so as you can see, there are a lot of women in my paintings. I also like to paint things about spirituality though I wonder if they are real.”

“These paintings are works I have done over the years and I have selected the ones I really because as an artist you like all your works to portray my seventy-fifth birthday.” The exhibition, which was to celebrate the diamond jubilee, of perhaps one of the finest artists Ghana has ever produced lasted for thirty days.

USAIN BOLT—A RARE GEM


Prior to his then world record of 9.72 seconds he set in New York in May 2008, Usain Bolt was anonymous to the sporting world— perhaps with the exception of a few athletics fanatics in Jamaica. The summer Olympic Games in 2008 officially unleashed him to the spotlight as he led the domination of the Jamaicans in the track and field competition at the ‘Bird’s Nest’. He did this with mind-blowing performances that included shattering two world records in the process.
Starting the 2009 season by competing over 400 metres to improve his speed, Usain Bolt suffered a minor leg injuries in a car crash in late April and also the resurgence of rival Tyson Gay from injury compounded pressure on Usain to add the world title to his Olympic titles in order to reach hall of fame status where he has gradually approaching or perhaps approached.
Turning a professional in 2002, this 23-year old is re-writing the history books in a way that pundits haven’t seen in a while. His exploits have even incited some of his rivals including compatriot Asafa Powell to make comments like they don’t think he is from this planet and the fact that someone has to come from space to stop this “thunderbolt” as he is called in Jamaica. At age 15, he had grown to 6ft 5in tall and at age sixteen; he had reached times that the legendary Michael Johnson couldn’t until he was age 20.
In his fifth senior race over the 100 metres distance, he broke Asafa Powell’s record of 9.74 seconds to 9.72 seconds. Combining both the 100 metres and 200 metres at the Olympic Games in Beijing, he won Jamaica’s first gold medal at the competition in a world record time 9.69 seconds. The remarkable aspect of this feat is that, he did this by visibly slowing down to celebrate and also his golden Puma spikes with the inscription “Beijing 100m Gold” were untied. He was criticized for showboating few metres to the finish line; however, the real argument was about how early he could have finished with a time of 9.52s from his coach.
Exactly a year to the day he won the Olympic gold in Beijing, on the blue tartan tracks at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the world was awe-stricken as Bolt won his first World Championship gold medal in 9.58s in what was the largest ever margin of improvement in the 100m world record since the beginning of electronic timing. Taking over a tenth of a second off the previous world record, his closest rival Tyson Gay finished in a distant second with a time of 9.71seconds (the best by any American thus far).
The athletics world and lovers of sports in general are trying to find new superlatives to describe what he is doing as those available are understatements to his achievements. He has taken 0.16 sec off the 100 m in just 15 months—previously the mark has been lowered by only 0.21 secs by seven athletes over a 39-year period. Being the first man to hold both 100 and 200 meters Olympic and World crowns with world record times, one won’t be wrong in saying Usain is the greatest sportsman ever!

BERTHA WINS STARS OF THE FUTURE SEASON FOUR


In arguably the most competitive season by far, ‘Stars of the Future’ Season 4 came to a thrilling climax at the National Theatre in Accra. After thirteen weeks of intense singing battle between 12 competitors, the finale had only four remaining in Akosua, Bertha, Nyaneba and the affable Christian.
Former contestant and Season 1 second runner-up Jane Awindor set the ball rolling after a few delays as she exhibited her good singing abilities with two of the official soundtracks from Shirley Frimpong Manso’s hit romantic movie, The Perfect Picture. The contestants started by performing duets in a group of two which earned Nyaneba and Christian deafening cheers from the auditorium when they performed Wyclef Jean and Claudette Otis’s hit single “Two Wrongs”.
The final which was in two rounds had the contestants in the first round performing renditions of songs by other artiste and the second round had them performing tracks written and composed by them. Each contestant performed creditably well in the first round but medical student, Bertha, was the toast of the audience as she performed Whitney Houston’s ‘Greatest Love’.
Anchored by the hunky and versatile Chris Attoh, the regular judges of the competition: ace music producer Zapp Mallet, veteran broadcaster Doreen Andoh of Joy FM fame and the ever critical Kiki Banson were joined on the bench by MOBO award winner Samini and ‘Stars of the Future’ Season 1 winner, songtress Irene Logan as guest judges for the finals.
Akosua started the second round of the competition with a nice ballad she composed titled “I will survive”. This round also had the contestants composing a forty-five minutes jingle for the FIFA World Cup in 2010 sponsored by MTN. Christian stole the show of this round as his song titled “Fakye” and produced by Ghana Music Awards winner Richie had the near-filled auditorium on their dancing feet.
Following the first guest artiste on the night’s—Jane Awindor—sterling performance, music producer cum singer Richie raised the roof with his sultry tracks. He showed his versatility as an all round performer with a few choreographed dance moves that will rival Michael Joseph Jackson in his tribute to the ‘King of Pop’.
Fast lyricist and one of the hottest hiplifers in Ghana today, Sarkodie Obidi didn’t disappoint either as his tongue-twisting went well with the audience who sang along with him in his entire performance. However, in what looked like flawless performances by all the guest artistes was contrasted by last year’s winner, Adina. In a performance that will pass for a Senior High Variety Show, the audience could not help but boo her off stage.
After two hours of good performances by all the contestants, Akosua won the forty-five minutes World Cup jingle competition from MTN and she took home a cool 1,000 Ghana Cedis and a 2010 World Cup treat for her prize. Tense and nerve wracking would be the best words that can describe the mood in the auditorium and amongst the competitors when MC Chris Attoh mentioned the results.
With the results collated by the event statisticians, Media GSM, Akosua was the third runner up and Nyaneba came up as the second runner up. Establishing herself as a favourite during the competition, Bertha was announced, and deservedly so, as the winner of ‘Stars of the Future’ Season 4 with Christian placing a close second much to the delight of the audience.
Covered in confetti, Bertha received her prize for a recording and performance contract worth 25,00 Ghana Cedis and a KIA Picanto from the Marketing Manager of the headline sponsors of the competition, telecommunication giants, MTN!

Spanish La Liga: The Must Watch Season


The English Premiership might be touted as the best league you can find anywhere on the globe right now, it might have the biggest purse regarding television rights, it might also have the largest fan base in Ghana or perhaps on the African continent at large. However, only a name comes to mind as to which league will garner the most attention this season, grab the most headlines and perhaps produce the next world best, and that is: the Spanish La Liga.
Commanding an average attendance of 29,029 for league matches—third highest of any professional league behind the Bundesliga and the Premier League—this twenty-team league has been on the back pedal to the English game for a couple of years now.
The astronomical spending of giants Real Madrid and Catalonia club Barcelona has painted the picture of a two-team race for the league crown next May, however, the ability of some other big clubs to hold on to their prized assets this term means they could challenge the huge spenders for the crown. Even if the other clubs don’t perform and it turns out to be a two-club race, the scrimmage for the other two Champions League spots will be more than interesting.
Having arrived back at the Estadio Calderon from a loan spell at Portuguese outfit Benfica, former Arsenal and Sevilla star, Jose Antonio Reyes will bolster an Atletico Madrid team that showed glimpses of promise last season. With last year’s Pichichi (name for top goal scorer in the La Liga) winner Diego Forlan and Sergio “Kun” Aguerro being one of the feared strike tandems in La Liga last season, a different tune will be sang at the Calderon come at the end of May if these players should find their groove and gel.
Sevilla will us also be a delight to watch as they have been for the past couple of years. Having miraculously held on to 2009 Confederations Cup top scorer, Luis Fabiano, to stay, and with Frederick Kanoute also in the offing, La Liga will definitely not be a two-man race as Sevilla is likely to battle it out with the ‘big boys’ till the final day of the completion. With David Villa and David Silva still at Valencia, that means this Mestalla outfit could also join the party that will take the Spanish La Liga down to the wire this season.
Florentino Perez’s return as the President of Real Madrid for the second time meant the return of the ‘Galatico’ era II. This second coming Perez—a civil engineer by profession—revolutionarized the transfer market as Real Madrid shattered their former world record in transfer fees by bringing Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United. Adding Kaka, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Raul Albiol and Arbeloa to their roster this season, Real Madrid’s overall summer spending have been pegged above 200 million Euros and it places a mammoth pressure on Chilean coach Pelligrini and his men to perform.
With problems such rifts in the dressing room; ego clashes and off-the-field antics by some of these stars coming hand-in-hand with assembling ‘Galaticos’, it will be totally wrong for one to presume that the men in white from Madrid will totally dominate this season. Despite the big name purchases, all of Madrid’s new stars are new to the terrain in La Liga and would need time to be in-sync with each other. This won’t be an easy feat as the ever-expectant fans and the media would expect them to win everything being competed looking at the huge cash spent to put them together.
Barcelona still remains the team to beat despite their rivals from the capital huge spending. Achieving an impeccable record of being the first Spanish team of winning an unprecedented treble responded to their rivals by making Zlatan Ibrahimovich the second most expensive player in history as a replacement for departed Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o. Barcelona can pick up six trophies this campaign with the European Super Cup and the World Club Championships all on their agenda.
With a chunk of the players of the record winning treble feat still around, the title looks likely to go to Catalonia again. However, there will be an increased work load for Pep Guadiola’s men this term and their ability to respond to the pressures of travelling to Japan for the World Club Championships, defending their UEFA Champions League crown and going toe-to-toe with Real Madrid in the league will define their season.
Getting around 7000 Espanyol fans turning up to welcome him to the La Liga, former Celtic midfielder and Japanese dead ball expert, Shunsunke Nakamura, and English man Jermaine Pennant are few of other new faces who have switched to the Spanish league this season; not forgetting our own Ghanaian Derek Boateng – now with Getafe.
The chunks of the summer transfers are now in the La Liga, the world best players for the past two years are also there and the highest paid player in the world is also in Spain, therefore, this league which has produced majority of the world best players over the past decade certainly topples all the others for this season!

GHANA @ THE 2010 WORLD CUP: THE JOURNEY STARTS NOW


The Black Stars enviable feat of being the first African nation alongside hosts South Africa to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2010 reaffirms Ghana’s football supremacy on the African continent. Also, it goes on to prove that the Black Stars maiden appearance at the Mundial in Germany three years ago was no coincidence.

In what seemed daunting to the Stars till November, 2005 in Cape Verde, this consecutive World Cup appearance didn’t come without the usual hullabaloos and skepticism. Characteristic of the Ghanaian media, much noise was made of how unimpressive the team looked going into the qualifiers and also considering the fact that Ghana was paired alongside a rejuvenated Mali under the tutelage of Nigerian Stephen Keshi, Sudan and bogey side Benin.

Serbian tactician Milovan Rajevac’s appointment in August 2008 to steer the affairs of the Black Stars also fuelled the criticism on the team. Virtually a novice on the African terrain and nothing concrete to write about in his resume, Coach Rajevac was received in Ghana with much skepticism than confidence.

Ghana’s lackluster opening day qualifiers win against Benin in Kumasi dent the World Cup dream from the onset. However, the return of some of the key players from injury and the incredible performances and enthusiasm displayed by some of the young lads like Kwadwo Asamoah and Samuel Inkoom in the absence of their senior colleagues rekindled the dream and led to impressive wins against Mali and Sudan in their own backyards.

With other perennial super powers on the African continent—Nigeria, Cameroun and Egypt—currently struggling to make it to the first World Cup to be staged in Africa, it won’t be wrong for one to say Ghana’s early qualification is a blessing in disguise. The two remaining matches in the qualifiers will offer Coach Milo, as he is affectionately called in Ghana, the luxury to fill all the pores in the team and invite new players to justify themselves in the team as well.

The Black Stars lack of potency in front of goal is far from over. Despite being one of the top five teams which created the most scoring chances at the last FIFA World Cup, they scored a meager four goals at the tournament and couldn’t make it past the second round. The apparent naivety of the Stars strike force was most evident in their second round tie against Brazil where many pundits thought they could and should have won.

Asamoah Gyan’s inconsistency in front of goal, Junior Agogo’s rustiness and the injury prone Matthew Amoah needs rejuvenation if the Stars are to make any better mark in South Africa. Another problem with the Black Stars that need serious shore up is the lateral defence. John Paintsil has come under a barrage of criticism over the years for non-performance but he has managed to silence his critics recently with good performances for both club and country.
Picture this scenario: the midfield tandem between Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari doesn’t gel on match day, John Mensah gets injured at the back or the ever reliable Richard Kingson sustains an injury? The repercussions of such a scenario far outweigh the positives because the team has been built around a few players. This is a serious cause of concern for the handlers of the team as an unexpected injury or punishment for any of the senior players will spell doom for the Black Stars.

For the Black Stars to go past the second round in South African and etch its name in the history books, they shouldn’t rest on their laurels on being one of the first ten (10) countries to qualify for the thirty-two (32) nation showpiece in ‘Mandela’ land next year. Rather, the remainder of the qualifiers should be used to fine tune the current squad and find worthy backups.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

KPOKPOI


It is usually found during the months of July and August when the Homowo festival is celebrated by the various Ga communities - La, Osu, Nungua, Teshie, Ga-Mashie, Tema - or only on special occasions when sacrifices are being performed to the gods. Regardless of the occasion for which it is prepared, ‘Kpokpoi’ is an essential food to the Gas during the Homowo festival.

‘Kpokpoi’is the festal meal used in celebrating Homowo. Lore has it that the Homowo festival recounts the odyssey of the Gas from Israel through Ile Ife in Nigeria to their present location in Accra. In their journey, they were struck by severe famine, which encouraged them to embark on a massive food production exercise the following season that yielded a bumper harvest. They reveled with a festival that ridiculed hunger.

This meal which is prepared by women early on Homowo morning is made up of steamed corn flour, palm oil and is eaten with palm soup and a variety of fish from the sea. The preparation starts with the soaking of the corn in water for three days. The corn is ground and molded in a way that a little water is added which does not allow air toenter.

The ‘Kpokpoi’, which is sprinkled by Chiefs of Homowo celebrating communities along the principal streets of their communities, is cooked with the traditional pot. The pot is covered with a colander which is attached to it with corn dough and ashes. A traditional sponge is then put in the colander in order to allow the steam to gently evaporate while getting the kpokpoi steamed slowly.

The corn flour is then spread evenly in the traditional colander till it is covered almost to the brim. The corn flour will be steam-cooked in twenty to thirty minutes and then it is poured into a traditional mortar called ‘nmetso’ normally used to pound palm fruits. Here palm oil is fried with shrimps and an onion which is then mixed with the steamed corn flour in the ‘nmetso’. It is then pounded until the palm oil is uniformly mixed with the corn flour. At this point, a little okra is also boiled and ground to be mixed with a steamed corn flour with palm oil mixed corn dough.

The corn dough is then poured on a sieving material called ‘agbadza’ and sieved. During the sieving, the crumbs of the corn dough are left on the ‘agbadza’ and the fine ones which goes under either a basin or a big bowl that has been placed under the ‘agbadza’ is collected and moulded finely in plates. The rough ones left on the ‘agbadza’ are thrown away.

This meal which is sprinkled to the gods and ancestors for their guidance of inhabitants in Homowo celebrating communities, looks set for consummation after it has been sieved in the ‘agbadza’ and it is usually served with palm nut soup .