Festive foods and the nuances of religious coexistence in Madina

This paper investigates the dual function performed by festivities and festive food exchanges in Madina Zongo, a multicultural suburb of Accra. Bringing the commonly celebrated festivities (Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Christmas and Hɔmɔwɔ) in Madina into perspective, the paper draws on ethnography with semi-structured interviews, with relevant interlocutors practising the main religions in Madina (i.e. Islam, Christianity and African Traditional Religions) to uncover the dynamism set into motion by these festivities and their associated food exchanges. The study explores the sensory, imaginative and affective workings of food sharing during these festivities, through the quotidian lives and practices of the residents of Madina. The paper contends that while festivities and festive food exchanges can hold out conditions of inter-religious mutuality, they simultaneously have the potential of serving as a conduit through which contention could be triggered.