Roles Of Art In Festivals Essay

Most people believe that festivals help them forge close bondage with their ancestors and ask for their protection. Festivals are also held in order to purify the whole community so that people can enter the year with confidence and hope (Falola and Salm, 2002, p: 113)
The rich cultural heritage of Ghanaians is manifested during festival. For example, chiefs are decorated with traditional regalia and carried in a palanquin. The hospitality of the Ghanaian is also exhibited during festivals. The ways the people speak and relate to others during festivals also portray their culture of friendliness. The artefacts, cuisine and other social activities portrayed during festivals also show their unique culture.
2.6 The Role of Art in Festivals

Gbadegbe (2009) concedes that the role of art in festivals cannot in any way be underestimated. This stems from the fact that festivals and art are related to the social well-being of a people. It has even been argued that a festival in itself is art, because it starts at a point and ends at another point, which is a clear display of aesthetics. Some authors are however, of the view that art plays roles in festivals, but are silent about the specific roles that they play. Drumming and dancing go on in all the towns of the state. Time, people and scale are the components which lift individual objects and activities into the realm of art, (Cole ,1975). Cole (1975) noted again that: Multitudes of objects, decorated people, dances, skits and sacrifices transform a once quiet space into an arena of colour, sound and motion. The festival embraces the community, raising both people and place onto a plane marked by aesthetics, spiritual and social