News
Funeral for Hunua Yao Dunyo to Be Held on October 17th
By Conrad Richter September 18, 2020
 |
| Hunua Yao Dunyo leading the Easter Festival procession in 2012. |
Hunua's funeral was scheduled originally for April but it had to be postponed when the Covid-19 pandemic took hold in Ghana. On March 22 the government imposed a lockdown on the country and a ban on large gatherings, religious services and funerals. It was not until the government eased restrictions in August that Chief Torgbui Klu Agudzeamega II and Queen Mother Mama Adzorhlor III, in consultation with the elders, were able to set a new date for the funeral.
Hunua was a tireless advocate for the village. Along with Torgbui Klu and the elders, he pushed for the electrification of the village, for education and the building of Dagbamete's primary and JSS schools, for the supply of running water to every home, for improved sanitation and building of wash closets, and for computers and internet access for the youth. As acting chief of the village and as chief priest of the shrine, many people across the country, and even around the world, came to know about the Village of Dagbamete.
As chief priest of the shrine, and as a dedicated servant of the shrine's main deity Apetorku, he served thousands of members who came to the shrine for help. In his role as a psychic healer he became an active and prominent member of the Ghana Psychic and Traditional Healers Association, eventually rising to become national secretary and then president. His healing work was not limited to the psychic sphere: he also relied on herbs and he pushed for a herbal clinic to be built near the shrine for sick who came to the village for help. In 1999 he travelled to Canada and the United States to speak on Ghanaian medicinal plants at two herbal conferences.
 |
| Hunua Yao Dunyo in 1971 at age 37. |
Over the course of his lifetime Hunua got to know many prominent public figures. He knew the former president of Togo, Gnassingbe Eyadema, the former vice-president of Ghana, Alui Mahama, the former speaker of parliament, Edward Doe Adzaho, the former minister of agriculture and of health, Courage Quashigah, and the current minister for chieftaincy and religious affairs, Kofi Dzamesi.
Among the dignitaries expected to attend the funeral are Torgbui Sri III, the Awomefia of Anlo State, Edward Doe Adzaho, the former speaker of Parliament, Kofi Dzamesi, the minister for chieftaincy and religious affairs, and Leo-Nelson Adzidogah, the district chief executive for Akatsi South District. These and others will be the guests of Torgbui Samlafo IV, the paramount chief of the Atsiame Clan, Torgbui Klu Agudzeamegah II, chief of Dagbamete, Mama Adzorhlor III, queen mother of Dagbamete, and the elders of the village.
Hunua leaves behind a large family of 11 brothers and sisters, 3 wives, 14 children, 44 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his second wife and a sister.
The corpse is expected to arrive in Dagbamete from the Sacred Heart Hospital in Abor-Weme on Friday, October 16th, at 4 pm. The funeral and burial will take place on Saturday, October 17, followed by drumming and dancing by the Apetorku Shrine members.
May you rest in peace, Hundu.
The funeral poster may be downloaded here.