WETA HARBORBOR AND THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNALISM

Growing up as a young boy with both parents fully originating from the Volta Region, I had my fair share of the tradition. My dad loved Borborbor to the core and my mum couldn’t do away with the Agbadza. My Saturday afternoons were always filled with Channel R’s Ewe musical talk show. The talk show host was my dad’s friend, so occasionally we had a shout-out; one I fondly remember was during my birthday week in 2002. I was celebrated on radio.

The Ewe tradition in my home gave me a clear understanding of where I was from even though I did not stay in my hometown. My dad always said that no matter where we find ourselves we don’t point back at our hometown with our left hand. It was symbolic. I began to pick up lyrics of songs naturally and my command over the language grew phenomenally.

Of all the numerous experiences I remember about my childhood, one I never seem to forget is my mum’s Sunday afternoon Harborbor meetings. She almost always never missed. It was a part of her. So after church, she will hurriedly cook our meal, then we will watch the famous Cantata series together, then she will set off for her Harborbor meeting .

These Harborbor meetings appeared to bystanders as primitive but my mum took pride in it. These Harborbor meetings served as an avenue for the women to share experiences about life, and encourage themselves. My mum was always beaming after those meetings. I wouldn’t say there weren’t excesses but the positives of those meetings far outweighed the detriments. Every group has that.

The Weta Harborbor Union comprised of men and women from Weta and its environs. My mum is from a neighboring town ; closer to the Weta, hence, made her affinity easier. This Union has a head (ɛfia) who supersedes their activities. A Union Secretary, Financial Secretary and Porters. They had a definite and bureaucratic structure of running affairs.

As a common agreement, they paid monthly dues. These dues were used to run the organization, support a member in need, bid farewell to a deceased member or relative and celebrate annual commemorations. These celebrations were in grand style.

They were very effective in their dealings and they showed so much love to themselves that they will show up for any of their members at any point in time. This was devoid of the distance involved.

They were well uniformed and clad in Brown cloths that matched. The men will have the cloth on nicely on their shoulders and the women mostly had it sewn in kaba and slit and an additive cloth around their waist. They played their drums and sang joyously every Sunday afternoon to appease themselves and danced to the beautiful rhythm and percussion of the Agbadza .

In the spirit of coming together to support one another, they practised communalism to the highest order. Till date, years after not hearing about them anymore, I still admire the kind of support they gave one another. We live in an ever changing world plagued with a conundrum of inequalities. I strongly believe that in this world, everyone needs a support akin to that of Communalists WETA HARBORBOR to keep moving. The ones that you look up to for upliftment, candor and hope and then the ones that show up right in time to be at your mercy. That is the HARBORBOR COMMUNALISM.

Hododio!!!!

Hoo!