Festivals of Ghana

What is a festival?

A festival is a special time when a whole community comes together to celebrate.

There is music. There is dancing. There are drums, colourful cloth, special food and sometimes a big procession through the town. Family members who live far away travel home.

Festivals are not only for fun. Each one remembers something: a good harvest, a victory, a long journey, or an important belief. By celebrating, people keep their history alive and pass it on to children like you.

Ghana has many festivals. Every ethnic group has its own. In this book we will visit seven of them, from the coast to the north.

Try this: Ask an older person at home which festival your family celebrates and when.

Why do people celebrate?

Think about why your family might hold a party: a birthday, a new baby, passing an exam. A festival is a party for a whole town, and the reasons are bigger.

People celebrate festivals to:

• Give thanks for food, rain and safety.
• Remember their ancestors and the story of how they came to live where they do.
• Clean and renew the community for a new year.
• Honour chiefs, kings and religious leaders.
• Bring families together, settle quarrels and plan for the future.
• Teach children the dances, songs and stories of their people.

Most festivals do several of these at once.

Try this: For each festival in this book, decide which of the six reasons above it fits.

Traditional and religious festivals

Ghana's festivals come in two main kinds.

Traditional festivals belong to a particular ethnic group and place. The Ga people celebrate Homowo in Accra. The Effutu celebrate Aboakyer in Winneba. They are led by chiefs and elders.

Religious festivals belong to a faith, not a place. Muslims across the whole country celebrate Eid. Christians everywhere celebrate Christmas.

Many Ghanaians take part in both. A Ga Christian may celebrate Homowo in August and Christmas in December. A Dagomba Muslim may celebrate Damba with the chief and Eid with the mosque.

Try this: Make two columns in your book: Traditional and Religious. As you read, put each festival in the right column.

Homowo: who and where

Homowo is the festival of the Ga people of the Greater Accra Region. It is celebrated in Accra and in Ga towns along the coast such as Teshie, Nungua, La and Tema.

It takes place in August or September, after the first harvest of the year.

The Ga Mantse, the paramount chief of the Ga, leads the celebration, and each Ga town has its own day for the festival.

Ama's grandmother lives in Teshie. Every year the whole family travels there for Homowo. "It is the day we hoot at hunger," she says.

Try this: Find Accra and Tema on a map of Ghana. They are both on the coast.

Homowo: hooting at hunger

Long ago, the story says, the Ga people suffered a terrible famine. The rains failed and there was no food. The people worked hard, planted and waited. At last the rains came and the harvest was good.

To celebrate, they laughed at the hunger that had nearly beaten them. In the Ga language, Homowo means "hooting at hunger".

That is why Homowo begins with planting. Weeks before, the priests sow millet. Then there is a ban on drumming and noise in the town, so the crops can grow in peace. When the harvest is in, the ban is lifted and the celebration starts.

Try this: Why do you think a quiet period was important for farmers long ago?

Homowo: kpokpoi and the sprinkling

The special food of Homowo is kpokpoi (also called kpekple). It is made from steamed maize meal mixed with palm oil, and eaten with palm-nut soup.

On the festival day, the chief and family heads walk through the town sprinkling kpokpoi on the ground. This is a way of sharing the food with the ancestors and giving thanks.

Families gather to eat together. There is drumming, singing and the kpanlogo dance. Twins are honoured with a special ceremony the day before.

People who have quarrelled during the year are expected to make peace at Homowo.

Try this: Draw a bowl of kpokpoi and palm-nut soup. Label the colours you would see.

Hogbetsotso: who and where

Hogbetsotso (say hog-beh-CHOCH-oh) is the festival of the Anlo Ewe people of the Volta Region.

It is celebrated at Anloga, near Keta on the coast, on the first Saturday of November. People come from Anlo towns all over the region and from Togo too.

The festival is led by the Awoamefia, the paramount chief of the Anlo state, together with the chiefs of the thirty-six Anlo towns.

Kwame's father is from Anloga. He says the festival is the one day every Anlo person tries to be home.

Try this: Find the Volta Region on a map. Keta is on the coast near the border with Togo.

Hogbetsotso: the great escape

Hogbetsotso means "the festival of the exodus", the festival of coming out.

Long ago, the Ewe people lived in a walled town called Notsie, in what is now Togo. The king, Agokoli, was cruel. He made the people do impossible tasks, like making rope from clay.

The elders made a plan. For weeks the women threw their washing water against the mud wall until it was soft. One night the people broke through and escaped. To fool the king, they walked backwards so their footprints would seem to lead into the town, not out of it.

They travelled until they reached the lagoons of Anlo, and there they settled.

Try this: Try walking backwards across the room. Why was this a clever trick?

Hogbetsotso: the celebration

Hogbetsotso begins with a cleaning period. Towns are swept, quarrels are settled and the people make peace with one another. The old year is cleaned away.

On the big day there is a durbar: a grand gathering of chiefs. The chiefs arrive in beautiful kente cloth, carried in palanquins under large umbrellas. Drummers and dancers perform the agbadza dance, and the chiefs sit in state to receive greetings.

The journey from Notsie is remembered in song and in a march. Everyone wears their best cloth, and the day ends with feasting.

Try this: Listen to agbadza music if you can. Clap the rhythm.

Aboakyer: who and where

Aboakyer (say ah-bwa-CHAIR) is the festival of the Effutu people of Winneba, a fishing town in the Central Region, between Accra and Cape Coast.

It is celebrated on the first Saturday of May.

The name means "deer hunting" in the Effutu language. And that is exactly what happens: a real hunt for a live animal.

Abena's class took a trip to Winneba last May. "We saw the hunters run into the bush at dawn," she said. "The whole town was waiting on the beach."

Try this: Find Winneba on a map. Which two big cities is it between?

Aboakyer: the hunt

Winneba has two Asafo companies, traditional groups of warriors: the Tuafo (Number One) and the Dentsifo (Number Two).

At dawn on festival day, the two companies race into the bush. Their task is to catch a live bushbuck (a kind of deer) with their bare hands. No guns, no spears, no traps.

The first company to bring back a live deer wins. They carry it in triumph through the town to the chief, the Omanhene of Effutu.

The deer is then offered to the Effutu people's god, Penkye Otu. The story says that long ago the god asked for this offering to protect the people on their journey to Winneba.

Try this: Why do you think catching the deer alive, without weapons, is so important?

Aboakyer: what it means

Aboakyer celebrates the arrival of the Effutu people at Winneba, long ago, after a journey from the north.

It also celebrates bravery and unity. The two companies compete fiercely, but at the end of the day the whole town celebrates together.

People believe the result of the hunt tells them about the year ahead. A quick catch is a sign of a good year.

After the hunt there is a durbar of chiefs, drumming, dancing and feasting. The Asafo companies wear their colours and sing their songs. Visitors come from all over Ghana to watch.

Try this: Make up a short cheer for the Tuafo or the Dentsifo.

Damba: who and where

Damba is the festival of the Dagomba people of the Northern Region, and also of the Mamprusi, Nanumba and Gonja peoples. It is celebrated in Tamale, Yendi and towns across the north.

Damba follows the Islamic calendar, so its date moves each year. It falls in the third month of the Muslim year.

The festival is led by the Ya-Na, the king of Dagbon, in Yendi, and by chiefs in every town.

Kofi's uncle teaches in Tamale. "At Damba," he says, "the whole town wears its finest smock, and the horses dance."

Try this: Find Tamale and Yendi on a map of Ghana. How far are they from your town?

Damba: what it celebrates

Damba began as a celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Islam came to Dagbon many hundreds of years ago through traders from the north.

Over time, Damba grew into a festival of the whole Dagbon kingdom. Today it celebrates the Prophet's birth and the chiefs, the history and the pride of the Dagomba people. Muslims and non-Muslims take part together.

Damba has two parts: Somo Damba, the first week, when a bull is tied and feasted upon; and Naa Damba, the chief's Damba, the bigger celebration a week later.

Try this: Why do you think a religious festival became a festival for the whole kingdom?

Damba: horses, smocks and drums

Damba is famous for three things.

Horses. Chiefs and their followers ride beautifully decorated horses. The riders make the horses prance and turn to the music.

Smocks. Men wear the fugu (batakari), the hand-woven smock of the north, with flowing trousers and a cap. Chiefs wear the grandest smocks, with gold or red trim.

Drums and dance. The lunsi drummers play the talking drums and sing the history of the chiefs. Everyone dances the Damba dance, a slow, proud step with the arms out.

On the final day there is a great procession to the chief's palace.

Try this: Draw a man in a fugu smock riding a horse.

Odwira: who and where

Odwira (say oh-JWEE-rah) is a festival of the Akan people. It is celebrated by the Akuapem people at Akropong in the Eastern Region, and also by the Akwamu and some Asante towns.

It takes place in September or October, after the yam harvest.

The festival is led by the Okuapehene, the paramount chief of Akuapem, at his palace in Akropong.

Abena's mother grew up in Akropong. "Odwira is when the town is washed clean," she says, "and the new yam can finally be eaten."

Try this: Find Akropong on a map. It is in the hills north of Accra.

Odwira: cleaning and thanksgiving

Odwira means "purification" or "cleansing".

Odwira cleans the community for a new year. The town is swept, the stools of the chiefs (the sacred seats that stand for the chiefs' authority) are cleaned, and people make peace.

It is also a thanksgiving for the yam harvest. Nobody may eat the new yam until the Odwira rituals are done. On the day the ban is lifted, new yam is carried to the palace in procession.

The festival remembers too the Akuapem victory over the Asante at the battle of Katamanso in 1826, when the Odwira stool was brought to Akropong.

Try this: Why might people want to "clean" a whole town once a year?

Odwira: the week of celebration

Odwira lasts about a week. Each day has its own events.

• Day of clearing: the path to the royal burial ground is cleared.
• Day of the yam: the ban on new yam is lifted and yam is carried in procession.
• Day of mourning: people remember family members who died in the year. They wear dark cloth.
• Day of feasting: food is prepared and shared, and the stools are fed.
• Durbar day: the grand durbar. Chiefs in kente, carried in palanquins, with drummers, horn blowers and dancers. The Okuapehene receives greetings from his people.

By the end, the town is clean, the yam is eaten, the dead are remembered and the chief is honoured.

Try this: Which day of Odwira would you most like to see? Why?

Eid: who and when

Eid (say eed) is celebrated by Muslims all over Ghana and all over the world. The word means "festival" in Arabic.

There are two Eids each year:

• Eid al-Fitr comes at the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting.
• Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, comes about two months later, at the time of the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Both follow the Islamic calendar, so their dates move earlier by about eleven days each year.

Both Eids are public holidays in Ghana. Muslims are found in every region, with many in the north, in Accra and in Kumasi.

Try this: Ask a Muslim friend or neighbour which Eid is their favourite and why.

Eid al-Fitr: the end of the fast

During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset for a whole month. It is a time for prayer, patience and helping the poor.

Eid al-Fitr is the joyful day the fast ends.

In the morning, people put on new clothes and go to the prayer ground for a special prayer. Thousands gather in open fields in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale.

Before the prayer, every family gives zakat al-fitr, a gift of food or money to the poor, so that everyone can celebrate.

Then there is visiting, greetings of "Eid Mubarak" (blessed festival), and lots of food: rice, meat, and sweets for the children.

Try this: Why do you think giving to the poor comes before the celebration?

Eid al-Adha: the festival of sacrifice

Eid al-Adha remembers the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), who was ready to obey God even when it was very hard. God provided a ram instead.

On this Eid, families who can afford it sacrifice a ram, goat or cow. The meat is divided into three: one part for the family, one for relatives and friends, and one for the poor.

Like Eid al-Fitr, the day begins with prayer in new clothes. Then there is feasting and visiting. Children receive gifts and small amounts of money.

Kofi's neighbour, Alhaji Musa, always sends a bowl of meat to Kofi's family at Eid al-Adha, even though they are not Muslim. That is the spirit of the festival: sharing.

Try this: Name two ways Eid al-Adha is like Eid al-Fitr, and one way it is different.

Christmas: who and when

Christmas is celebrated by Christians on 25 December. It remembers the birth of Jesus Christ. Many Ghanaians are Christians, so Christmas is a big holiday across the country.

In Ghana the season is called Bronya in Twi and Blonya in Ga. People greet each other with "Afehyia pa!" (happy new year season) and reply "Afe nko mmto yen!" (may the year meet us again).

Christmas Day and Boxing Day (26 December) are public holidays. Schools close, and many city workers travel home to their villages to spend the season with family.

Try this: Ask someone at home how they say "Merry Christmas" in their language.

Christmas in Ghana

Christmas in Ghana starts early. From the beginning of December, shops play carols and the markets fill with new cloth and shoes.

On Christmas Eve there are church services late into the night, with singing, drumming and nativity plays by children.

On Christmas Day families go to church in new clothes, then come home for a feast: jollof rice, fried rice, chicken, goat light soup and fufu. Children receive gifts.

In the afternoon there is visiting, and in some towns, especially along the coast, masquerades in bright costumes dance through the streets to brass band music.

Try this: Draw your family's Christmas meal and label the foods.

The festival calendar

Here are the seven festivals in order through the year.

Month	Festival	Who
May	Aboakyer	Effutu, Winneba
August–September	Homowo	Ga, Accra
September–October	Odwira	Akuapem, Akropong
November	Hogbetsotso	Anlo Ewe, Anloga
December	Christmas	Christians, everywhere
Moves each year	Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha	Muslims, everywhere
Moves each year	Damba	Dagomba, Tamale and Yendi

Eid and Damba follow the Islamic calendar, which is about eleven days shorter than the calendar on the wall, so they come a little earlier each year.

Try this: Copy the table and add your own family's festival if it is not here.

Where the festivals are

Picture a map of Ghana.

• On the coast in the south: Homowo in Accra (Greater Accra Region) and Aboakyer in Winneba (Central Region).
• In the south-east, by the Togo border: Hogbetsotso at Anloga (Volta Region).
• In the hills north of Accra: Odwira at Akropong (Eastern Region).
• In the north: Damba in Tamale and Yendi (Northern Region).
• Everywhere: Eid and Christmas.

Each traditional festival belongs to the land and the people of one area. The two religious festivals belong to people of one faith, wherever they live.

Try this: On a blank map of Ghana, mark each festival with a dot and its name.

What festivals have in common

Look back at the seven festivals. They are different, but they share a lot.

• Cleaning and peace-making before the big day: Homowo, Hogbetsotso, Odwira.
• A story from the past: the famine (Homowo), the escape from Notsie (Hogbetsotso), the journey to Winneba (Aboakyer).
• Giving thanks for food: Homowo, Odwira.
• A durbar of chiefs: Hogbetsotso, Aboakyer, Damba, Odwira.
• Prayer: Eid, Christmas, and the rituals of the traditional festivals.
• New clothes, special food, visiting family: every single one.
• Drumming and dancing: every single one.

Try this: Choose two festivals. Write three ways they are alike and two ways they are different.

Chiefs and durbars

Many festivals end with a durbar. This is a grand public gathering where chiefs sit in state and receive their people.

The chiefs wear kente or rich cloth and gold ornaments. They arrive in palanquins, carried on the shoulders of strong men, under huge umbrellas that show their rank. Linguists carry gold-topped staffs and speak for the chief. Horn blowers and drummers announce each chief.

At the durbar, chiefs greet one another, the paramount chief gives a speech about the year ahead, and government leaders are welcomed.

A durbar shows the community its leaders and its history all at once.

Try this: What does the size of a chief's umbrella tell you?

Food at festivals

Every festival has its special food.

• Homowo: kpokpoi with palm-nut soup.
• Odwira: new yam, mashed with eggs and palm oil, carried to the palace.
• Hogbetsotso: akple with fetri detsi (okro soup) and fresh fish from the lagoon.
• Aboakyer: fish and seafood from Winneba's boats.
• Damba: tuo zaafi, rice, and meat from the festival bull.
• Eid: rice, meat, and sweets for the children.
• Christmas: jollof rice, chicken, fufu with light soup.

Sharing food is the heart of every celebration. A family that has little is still given a plate by its neighbours.

Try this: Which festival food have you eaten? Which would you like to try?

Clothes at festivals

Festival clothes tell you where people are from.

• Kente, the woven cloth of gold, green, red and blue, is worn by Akan and Ewe chiefs and by many people at Odwira and Hogbetsotso.
• The fugu (batakari) smock is worn in the north at Damba.
• White cloth is worn for joy at Homowo and at Christmas church services.
• Boubous and kaftans, often white or embroidered, are worn at Eid.
• At Aboakyer, the Asafo companies wear their company colours.

New clothes are part of almost every festival. Parents save for months so the children can look their best.

Try this: Draw a festival outfit from one of the seven festivals and colour it.

Music and dance

Each festival has its own music.

• Kpanlogo drumming and dance at Homowo.
• Agbadza, the war dance of the Ewe, at Hogbetsotso.
• Lunsi talking drums and the slow Damba dance in the north.
• Fontomfrom drums and adowa dance at Odwira.
• Asafo songs and brass bands at Aboakyer.
• Brass bands and masquerades at Christmas on the coast.
• Praise songs and the call to prayer at Eid.

Dances tell stories. The agbadza remembers battles. The Damba dance shows pride. Kpanlogo was made by young people in Accra in the 1960s and is still danced today.

Try this: Learn one dance step from a festival. Teach it to a friend.

Festivals and respect

When you visit a festival that is not your own, you are a guest. Guests show respect.

• Dress neatly. Dark cloth on a day of mourning, bright cloth on a day of joy.
• Greet chiefs and elders properly. Do not walk in front of a chief.
• Do not touch sacred objects such as stools or drums.
• Ask before taking photographs of rituals.
• Join in the dancing when invited, and eat what you are given with thanks.

Ghana is proud that people of different groups and religions celebrate together. At Christmas, Muslim neighbours send greetings; at Eid, Christian neighbours share the meat.

Try this: Write two rules of respect for a visitor to your own festival.

Festivals and the nation

Festivals matter to the whole of Ghana, not just the towns that hold them.

• Tourists travel from abroad to see Hogbetsotso, Aboakyer and Homowo, bringing money to hotels, drivers and market women.
• Government leaders attend durbars to meet the chiefs and hear what the people need: roads, schools, clinics.
• Festivals keep languages, songs and crafts alive: kente weaving, drum making, smock sewing.
• They remind every Ghanaian that the country is made of many peoples who live together in peace.

Try this: If a visitor from another country came to your town, which festival would you take them to? Why?

Quiz

Answer in your book.

1. Which people celebrate Homowo, and what does the name mean?
2. In which month is Hogbetsotso, and what does it remember?
3. What animal is caught at Aboakyer, and how?
4. Name two things Damba is famous for.
5. What does Odwira mean?
6. What is the month of fasting that comes before Eid al-Fitr?
7. On what date is Christmas?
8. Which festival is celebrated at Winneba?
9. Which two festivals are public holidays for the whole country?
10. Name one festival food and the festival it belongs to.

What you have learned

You can now:

• Explain what a festival is and why communities celebrate.
• Tell the difference between traditional and religious festivals.
• Describe Homowo (Ga, hooting at hunger), Hogbetsotso (Anlo Ewe, the escape from Notsie), Aboakyer (Effutu, the deer hunt), Damba (Dagomba, horses and smocks) and Odwira (Akuapem, purification and new yam).
• Describe Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Christmas, and who celebrates them.
• Say roughly when and where each festival happens.
• Name the food, clothes, music and customs that festivals share.
• Behave with respect as a guest at any festival.

Next you will learn about the chiefs, stools and symbols of Ghana's traditional areas.

Learn more

• Wikipedia: Festivals in Ghana — a list of festivals by region with their dates
• Wikipedia: Homowo — the history and customs of the Ga festival
• Wikipedia: Hogbetsotso festival — the Anlo Ewe story of the escape from Notsie
• Wikipedia: Aboakyer festival — the Effutu deer hunt at Winneba
• Wikipedia: Damba festival — the Dagbon festival of horses and drums

Watch more

Think about it

1. Why do so many festivals start with cleaning the town and making peace?
2. Homowo "hoots at hunger". What might your family hoot at, if you made a festival of your own?
3. Why do Eid and Damba fall on different dates each year while Christmas stays on 25 December?
4. What might be lost if a community stopped celebrating its festival?
5. How can people of different religions and ethnic groups share each other's festivals with respect?