According to reports we culled from 3News, a boy passed away at a fire festival in Aboabo, Ashanti Region. The deceased has been identified as a 14-year-old boy. The report says the teenager was struck by a stray bullet as partygoers performed feats of magic.
The Fire Festival is the first Dagomba festival of the year. It is celebrated in the first month of the Dagomba lunar year, the Bugum Goli (the month of fire), and is celebrated on the ninth day of the month. The festival is celebrated to remember the “lost of a chief son” during the old days.
The Bugum Festival got its start when a king tragically lost his beloved son. The king’s name and the identity of the alleged son are no longer known.
Others asserted that the incident occurred before the ruling elite settled in contemporary Dagbon, Mamprugu, and Nanung. The current chiefs and kings in Dagbon, Mamprusi, and Nanung are descended from the reigning class. According to the tale, a young youngster went outside to play with his friends. As they played, he grew weary and decided to sleep down under a tree. He quickly dozed off.
When they were done playing, the other kids left without thinking about him. The king and his wife did not see him in the evening. Both the monarch and the mother believed they were with the child when they were actually with the mother.
The mother asked the monarch to put the youngster to bed after dinner. They discovered that the infant was not with any of them at that point. The monarch gave the command for his subjects to explore the neighbourhood for the son. They failed to locate him. Even the kids he went out with were unable to recall.
That specific tree was dreaded by many in the town at the time since it was thought to be an evil tree. To remember the occasion, the king ordered that it be observed annually. They gathered in front of the king’s palace each year to observe the event. Traditionally, the king or leader would light the fire with his torch first whenever they started one. The chief didn’t travel very far before dropping his torch and going back home. The custom persisted, and the people would visit the wicked tree and light candles on it.
