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Tourist Attractions in the Region
Festivals and cultural events in the Region
The Central Region's culture is depicted through many interesting and colourful festivals throughout the year. These annual festivals serve a variety of purposes, such as purification of the "stools", cleansing communities of evils, ancestral veneration and supplications to the deities for prosperity and unity.
The festivals' major highlights include drumming, dancing and firing of musketry. Chiefs, adorned in rich Kente cloth and bedecked in gold, are paraded through the town in palanquins, shaded by huge and colourful parasols.
These celebrations attract many visitors. It is therefore advisable to reserve a hotel at least one month in advance. Some of the most well known festivals are:
Bakatue Festival
Literally translated to mean "opening up of the Benya Lagoon into the sea", Bakatue symbolizes the beginning of a fishing season, which is the main livelihood of the people of Elmina. It is celebrated annually in Elmina on the first Tuesday in July and originated centuries ago, long before the arrival of the Europeans. The splendid ceremonies include a durbar of chiefs, a colouful regatta of canoes on the Benya Lagoon and processions. A solemn "net casting" ceremony symbolizes the beginning of a new fishing season, and the catch is offered to the deities of the traditional area. You are invited to take part in the regatta and merry-making.
Edina Buronya Festival
This is the native version of Christmas which is exclusively celebrated by the people of Elmina (Edina) on the first Thursday of the new year. The festival was influenced by the Portuguese settlers who celebrated a similar event every January. For the people of Edina, it is a period of purification, sacrifices to the gods, remembrance of the dead, and the welcoming of a new year. Families pour libations and invite friends to participate in dining, and merry-making, throughout the town.
Aboakyir (Deer Hunt) Festival
"Aboakyir" literally, means, "game hunting". This popular festival is celebrated on the first Saturday of May by the chiefs and people of Winneba. The festival begins with a competitive hunt between two traditional warrior groups in a nearby game reserve, where each tries to catch an antelope live. It is an adventurous event to test the strength, bravery, determination and intuition of the two rival groups. The winner presents the catch to the Paramount Chief who sits in state with the sub-chiefs and subjects. The antelope is sacrificed as an invocation for good harvest and a bountiful fishing season. A durbar and procession of the chiefs and warrior groups in their colouful regalia is the highlight of the celebrations. Brass bands, dancing, performances of folklore and parties make this an unforgettable event.
Formerly involved capturing a leopard barehanded, the toll on human life eventually became so prohibitive that the divinity to whom the leopard was sacrificed was beseeched to accept a less dangerous substitute, and the leopard was replaced by an antelope.
Fetu Afahye Festival
It is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of September by communities in the Cape Coast Traditional Area (Fetu). It is characterized by a durbar of chiefs and processions of Asafo Companies (traditional warrior groups) and numerous social organisations. Every member of the group is adorned in rich and colourful clothes, thus creating the grandeur of this festival which literally means "adorning of new clothes". A procession of the 7 "Asafo Companies" in their unique costumes depicts a fusion of the Fante and European cultures, (typically, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish and British, which have been sustained over many centuries). Customary rites include the slaughter of a cow to the 77 deities in the area to obtain their blessings.
Odambea Festival
"Odambea" is celebrated on the last Saturday of August by the "Nkusukum" chiefs and people of the Saltpond Traditional Area. This event commemorates the migration of the Nkusukum people centuries ago from Techiman (500km away) to their present settlement. "Odambea" means "fortified link", a name resulting from the role played by the "Nkusukum" people in keeping the migrant groups in touch with each other following their exodus from Techiman. A special feature of the festival is the re-enactment of the ancient life styles of the people, which will provide you with a unique opportunity to learn more about their past.
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