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Since the early 2000s the literature on the Ga code of silence, or what is often referred to as a ban on drumming and noise-making, has focused predominantly on the violent clashes that emerge between the Ga Traditional Council, and Pentecostal and Charismatic churches in Accra during the commemoration of the annual Ga H ɔ m ɔ w ɔ  harvest festival. With most scholars perceiving the code as a ritual that instigates conflict, it has become a dominant point of reference for discussing conflict-related matters in Accra and Ghana in general. My interest here, however, is not to examine the code in relation to the conflicts it incites. As a ‘native researcher’ and ethnomusicologist, my findings suggest that the Ga code is about more than provoking conflict or settling scores with churches or non-Ga residents in Accra. The code presents selective Ga communities with an opportune moment to undergo a degree of introspection through the mediation on indigenous notions of sound and silence so as to renew themselves. In this article, I explore from a Teshie perspective the notions of the code and how it impacts the music performances of the H ɔ m ɔ w ɔ  festival. I argue that the Ga code, to borrow from Turner (1979), is a ‘frame’ within which Ga society is enabled to inspect itself.

‘The road is blocked’: notions of sound and silence in the Ga Hɔmɔwɔ festival, a Teshie perspective