Kobine Festival (Lawra – Upper West Region)

• About: A harvest thanksgiving festival marking the end of the farming season.
• Region/People: Lawra people.
• Time: September.
• Rituals: Drumming, dancing, chiefs’ durbars, and feasting.
• Modern Relevance: Promotes agriculture and cultural pride.

Kakube Festival (Nandom – Upper West Region)

• About: A harvest festival thanking God and ancestors for good yields.
• Region/People: Nandom people.
• Time: November.
• Rituals: Durbars, dancing, music, and traditional rites.
• Modern Relevance: Strengthens unity and celebrates the farming culture.

Kente Festival (Bonwire – Ashanti Region)

• About: Celebrates the famous Kente cloth weaving tradition of the Ashanti.
• Region/People: Bonwire people (Ashanti).
• Time: July/August.
• Rituals: Exhibition of Kente cloth, drumming, dancing, chiefs in palanquins, and weaving competitions.
• Modern Relevance: Promotes Ghana’s global identity through Kente.

Papa Festival (Assin Jakai – Central Region)

• About: A festival celebrating yam harvest and fertility.
• Region/People: Assin Jakai people.
• Time: September.
• Rituals: Yam feasting, dancing, chiefs’ processions.
• Modern Relevance: Promotes agriculture and family unity.

Abokyir (Deer Hunting Festival – Winneba, Central Region)

• About: Celebrates the Effutu people’s migration history; hunters must capture a live deer for the gods.
• Region/People: Effutu people, Winneba (Central Region).
• Time: First Saturday of May.
• Rituals: Deer hunting, sacrifice to gods, chiefs’ durbar, drumming, and dancing.
• Modern Relevance: A popular cultural tourism event in Ghana.

Ahobaa Festival (Agona – Central Region)

• About: A thanksgiving festival to avert calamities and promote peace.
• Region/People: Agona people.
• Time: May.
• Rituals: Sacrifices, cleansing rituals, drumming, and dancing.
• Modern Relevance: Preserves Agona history and promotes unity.

Akim Oda Festival (Eastern Region)

• About: A harvest festival of the Akim Oda people.
• Region/People: Akim Oda, Eastern Region.
• Time: November.
• Rituals: Durbar of chiefs, traditional dances, and thanksgiving.
• Modern Relevance: Highlights farming culture in Eastern Ghana.

Ndaakoya Festival (Upper East Region)

• About: A farming festival to thank the gods for millet and guinea corn harvests.
• Region/People: Frafra people of Upper East.
• Time: February.
• Rituals: Drumming, dancing, and feasting on millet meals and pito (local beer).
• Modern Relevance: Promotes indigenous agriculture.

Kloyosikplemi Festival (Yilo Krobo – Eastern Region)

• About: Commemorates the Krobo people’s migration from Krobo Mountain.
• Region/People: Yilo Krobo, Somanya.
• Time: November.
• Rituals: Bead displays, processions, purification rituals, and storytelling.
• Modern Relevance: Boosts Krobo bead-making industry.

Dipo Rites (Krobo Initiation – Eastern Region)

• About: A puberty rite for Krobo girls transitioning into womanhood.
• Region/People: Krobo people, Eastern Region.
• Time: April.
• Rituals: Dressing girls in beads, teaching them womanhood, rituals at sacred shrines.
• Modern Relevance: Maintains Krobo identity despite modernization.

Akwasidae Festival (Ashanti Region)

• About: Celebrated every 42 days, honoring Ashanti ancestors and the Golden Stool.
• Region/People: Ashanti people, Kumasi.
• Time: Every 6 weeks (42 days).
• Rituals: Pouring libation, drumming, dancing, chiefs in regalia, honoring Asantehene.
• Modern Relevance: A major cultural and political event in Ashanti kingdom.

Adae Kese Festival (Ashanti Region)

• About: A bigger version of Akwasidae, celebrating great Ashanti victories and milestones.
• Region/People: Ashanti, Kumasi.
• Time: December/January.
• Rituals: Grand durbar, rituals at the Manhyia Palace, sacrifices, and thanksgiving.
• Modern Relevance: Reinforces Ashanti statehood and traditions.

Ngmayem Festival (Manya Krobo – Eastern Region)

• About: Celebrates millet harvest that saved Krobo during famine.
• Region/People: Manya Krobo.
• Time: October.
• Rituals: Chiefs’ durbars, millet feasting, dancing, and bead displays.
• Modern Relevance: Preserves Krobo heritage.

Akwambo Festival (Agona, Gomoa, Winneba – Central Region)

• About: “Path-clearing” festival that remembers ancestors who cleared paths to settle in new lands.
• Region/People: Gomoa, Agona, Effutu.
• Time: August.
• Rituals: Path clearing, drumming, dancing, durbars, feasting.
• Modern Relevance: Promotes community development and tourism.

Asafotufiam Festival (Ada – Greater Accra Region)

• About: Honors Ada warriors who defended their land in past wars.
• Region/People: Ada people.
• Time: First week of August.
• Rituals: Re-enactment of wars, drumming, firing muskets, chiefs’ durbars.
• Modern Relevance: A festival of bravery and cultural pride.

Awubia Festival (Awutu – Central Region)

• About: Harvest festival thanking the gods for bounty.
• Region/People: Awutu people.
• Time: September.
• Rituals: Chiefs’ durbar, dancing, feasting, drumming.
• Modern Relevance: Highlights Awutu agricultural heritage.

Kundum Festival (Ahanta & Nzema – Western Region)

• About: Celebrates harvest and thanksgiving to God.
• Region/People: Nzema and Ahanta people.
• Time: August–October.
• Rituals: Dances, drumming, sacrifices, durbars, purification of stools.
• Modern Relevance: A tourist attraction along the coast.

Mmoaninko Festival (Offinso – Ashanti Region)

• About: Celebrates Offinso bravery in Ashanti wars.
• Region/People: Offinso people, Ashanti.
• Time: Every 4 years.
• Rituals: War songs, durbars, rituals honoring ancestors.
• Modern Relevance: Preserves Offinso war history.

Apoo Festival (Techiman & Wenchi – Bono East Region)

• About: Cleansing festival rejecting evil and wrongdoing.
• Region/People: Bono people.
• Time: April/May.
• Rituals: Satirical songs, public ridicule, chiefs’ durbars, drumming.
• Modern Relevance: Encourages accountability.

Yaa Asantewaa Festival (Ejisu – Ashanti Region)

• About: Honors Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa, who led the Ashanti war against the British in 1900.
• Region/People: Ejisu, Ashanti Region.
• Time: August (varies).
• Rituals: Re-enactments, durbars, storytelling, cultural displays.
• Modern Relevance: Celebrates women’s leadership and Ashanti resistance.

Pan-African Historical Festival (PANAFEST – Cape Coast/Elmina)

• About: Celebrates Pan-Africanism, African diaspora reconnection, and emancipation.
• Partager