Nana Fanyinama III, Chief of Wangara (Wangara Wura), on Tuesday urged government to help promote traditional festivals to ensure that certain values and morals were upheld especially among the youth.
She said festivals were also a way of promoting domestic tourism, saying, "it can promote national unity."
Nana Fanyinama III said this when the Ghana Tourists Board formally launched the celebration of the Kurubi festival, celebrated by the Wangaras in Ghana.
The Kurubi festival would be celebrated this year from November 25 to 27 at Kintampo in the Brong Ahafo region on the theme: "Using Festivals to Promote Tourism and National Development."
It starts on Thursday with a clean-up exercise, a home coming, spiritual and cultural rituals on Friday and climax on Saturday with a durbar and a "test for virginity."
Nana Fanyinama III explained that during the climax of such festivals, a wooden platform is mounted and young women in the community are expected to climb the platform.
"If a lady is not a virgin and she climbs the wooden platform it will break and it will be a disgrace not only to her parents but will also prevent men from approaching her for marriage', he added.
She noted that wives are also encouraged to do the climb and if the wooden platform does not break, it means she is a good and faithful wife and the husbands are encouraged to love them more.
Nana Fanyinama III said the Kurubi festival therefore helped prevent promiscuity and reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS in the Region.
She urged Ghanaians to patronize the festival and also help contribute to domestic tourism.
Mr Julius Debrah, Executive Director of the Ghana Tourists Board, said the Board was promoting festivals as part of its mandate of promoting domestic tourism and encouraged
Ghanaians to "discover their own country" through the patronage of such festivals.
Mr Ben Anane Nsiah, Events Manager at the Ghana Tourists Board, described the festival as an authentic Ghanaian cultural event and said it offered another variety of the Ghanaian culture.