Entertainment of Friday, 10 May 2013

Source: theodore m.k. viwotor

Honour mothers with Kente, Batakari-King Ayisoba

The King of Kologo Music and Ghana’s celebrated traditional musician, King Ayisoba, is appealing to all Ghanaians home and abroad to honor their mothers with a Kente or Batakari cloth as they celebrate Mothers’ Day on May 12.

King Ayisoba, who is currently on a special tour of some European countries to promote the his music and indigenous cloths, said from his location in France that, wearing or buying Kente or Batakari for mothers would be one of the ways to promote the products.

He said that would also enhance Ghana’s image and create employment opportunities for many Ghanaians working in the industry.

Ayisoba last year sought government’s approval of his proposal to make the second Saturday of May every year Kente and Batakari Day, as a way of promoting the traditional cloths and boosting Ghana’s image, while opening the industry up for its stakeholders to benefit from their labor.

“Kente and Batakari belong to Ghana and this is known across the world. What are we waiting for to nationalize it by making the second Saturday in May a special day for it?” he asked, adding, “I am currently promoting them here (Europe) so Ghanaians have to support this project”.

He once appealed to Parliament to pass a law that would recognize the day as a national day during which all Ghanaians, irrespective of age, tribe or political affiliation, would wear attires made of these two revered cloths.

Renowned for his use of traditional instruments to produced songs like ‘I want to see you my father’, King Ayisoba has risen from obscurity into the limelight and was nominated for Best Traditional Music at the Kora Awards held in Cote d’Ivoire last year.

He held a concert last year to draw attention to the Kente and Batakari Day and will be launching it in other parts of the world soon, with the US as one of the first destinations.

He is under the production of First Page Multimedia Productions, who are jointly organizing the Kente and Batakari Day with him.