“Anyone who goes against the taboo is made to give schnapps, sheep and other materials to soothe the gods,".

It is the traditional law that binds the people of Atta Kura Number 2 in the Ashanti region.

Nobody goes to the farm on Friday. No harvesting, no ploughing or even going to the farm to protect farm produce from bad weather.

"I once go to the farm on Friday to open the birds to feed them and come back home", Unit Committee Chairman, Nabir Nsuchu.

Mr Nsuchu said, "I didn't go to farm or do any work on the farm because I didn't go with cutlass or hoe."

Mr Nsuchu wasn't terrified because the elders had already informed them that it is allowed.

"We came to meet our great grand-parents and they informed us about the daboni." Chief of the community, Paul Mayin.

Violation of sacred days is an abomination traditionally punishable in most rural communities in Ghana.

Violators of the sacred days are believed to suffer misfortunes, including strange illness and death.

Atta Kura Number two is a village East of Ejura.

The community was founded by a Konkomba man called Atta.

Residents are identified by common traditions and taboos which cannot be underestimated.

A taboo or fady bars people in a community from undertaking some activities on certain days.

Taboos are generally observed for two reasons; either adhered to out of fear of the unknown or in reverence to the elderly and ancestors.

Residents of Atta Kura number two believe violating taboos could cause misfortunes in the form of illness, crop failure, or even death.

"When you go to the farm on Fridays, your crops will fail. Because it is prohibited to go to the farm that day." One of the women in the community said.

But for another man, the day should be scrapped.

"For me, they should scrap the day but who am I?"

Planting and harvesting may take place on certain days of the week.

For many residents, it is unthinkable to anger the gods by violating the taboo by going to the farm on Fridays.

Paul Mayin talks about a misfortune that befell a resident who went out fishing on a sacred day.

"A man was stricken by an evil spirit when he went out fishing on Friday. He finally died on the way to the hospital, and it was as a result of flouting the taboo not to go to the farm on that day." The chief said.

Paul has lived in this community for forty years and has never gone to the farm on Fridays. 

There are several cases of residents who have had strange encounters disobeying the taboo.

"You wouldn't know what will happen to you on the farm that day. You won't even feel comfortable working." A resident concern.

Ayele Alhassan, for instance, went to the farm on a Friday to harvest sheanut. While on it, she saw a snake that mysteriously disappeared.

"We went to the farm on Friday to gather shea nut and we saw a snake. And eventually it disappeared. We didn't know where it went.

A friend said we should look for it and kill it, but I told them that we should go home because it is even a sacred day."

It may seem like just a day for the residents, but when they have crops to harvest or carry home, bad weather can cause harm.

There are challenges during the rainy season when we harvest our produce. Unfortunately, you can't go to the farm Fridays to check how things are." A resident.

"You wouldn't know what will happen to you on the farm that day. You won't even feel comfortable working." Bilafanim Andrews said.

Originally, the sacred day was marked on Sunday, but with growth in the Muslim population, the elders of the community moved it to Friday.

"When we came to this place, the sacred day was Sunday but because of the growth in the Muslim population, the day was moved to Friday so that they can go to the mosque and pray".

As I said earlier, the day was chosen by the elders in the community and ignoring it will only have negative consequences.

I don't know whether the gods chose the day or not.

At Atta Kura, the sacred day must be observed voluntarily for peace to reign.