Hogbetsotso Festival
The week-long Hogbetsotso festival commemorates the migration of the Anlo-speaking Ewes, an ethnic group on the eastern coast of Ghana, from the ancient walled city of Notsie in present-day northern Togo to their current home in Ghana. According to legend, the Anlo-Ewes escaped the wicked chief, Ago-Koli, by walking backwards amidst dancing and drumming to war songs. Each year the Anlo-Ewes hold the Hogbetsotso festival, or "Festival of the Exodus," to remember their journey and the brave leaders who guided them.
The Anlo-Ewes begin the observance of Hogbetsotso with a period of peacemaking, during which any outstanding problems are resolved. They perform a ceremony to purify the traditional stool that is an important fixture in Ghanaian culture, and they clean their villages by sweeping and burning garbage. The festival culminates with a grand durbar, or reception, of chiefs and their people, which takes place on the first Saturday of November in Anloga. At the durbar, the chiefs wear bright ceremonial clothing and sit in state, while citizens pay them tribute. The entire festival period is marked by singing, dancing and merry-making. Born of age-old oral legend, the Hogbetsotso festival has been celebrated for generations.
Where: Volta
When: November
