It’s yet November and the people
of the Anlo, located in the Volta Region are celebrating their festival; Hogbetsotso za. Hogbetsotso is a
festival celebrated by the Anlos to commemorate their escape from the
tyrannical rule of the once infamous King Agorkoli of Notsie in present day
Togo when they migrated from Southern Sudan.
The festival also known as
festival of exodus is a great time for the people because it marks a great time
in their history and also serves as a time for settling disputes and also
getting to know each other. There is a general cleaning in town which starts
from the estuary of the Volta Region to the Mono River in Benin.
The Anlo state is made up of 36
states with Anloga as their Chief City. The Anlos can be located in the
southern part of the Volta region in Ghana with most of the towns lying along
the Gulf of Guinea. Their economic activities mostly includes fishing, farming
and a well-developed Kente weaving industry and until recently retailing of
already made goods.
This year’s festival is the second
in succession after about 13years strife among the Royal Clans after the demise
of their Awoamefia Togbui Adeladza II. This situation halted developments in
all the state as there was no Awoamefia to push for developmental agendas until
the traditional Council and the people of the Anlo State loosened up to iron
out their differences for the Paramount Chief, the Awoamefia Togbui Sri III to
be installed and hence the re-enactment of the festival.
However, the month long festival which
is supposed to be the 50th celebration of the Hogbe was launched at the British Council in Accra under the
kingship of Togbui Sri III, the Awoamefia of the Anlos has reached its peak as its
illustrious sons and daughters from around the world are returning home to
witness their culture on display.
The event will be marked by a colorful
durbar of chiefs, elders and the people of Anlo-land amidst drumming and dancing
and the crowning of the Miss Hogbetsotso za at Keta on Saturday after a grand
durbar in the afternoon, followed by an inter-denominational church service on Sunday
and finally the beach fiesta on Monday meanwhile school children dressed in
traditional outfits paraded the principal streets earlier in the day to kick
start the last strings of activities to climax the Hogbetsotso za.
Finally, the celebration every
year marks the burning desire of the Anlos to remember, celebrate and re-affirm
their identity as Ewes and re-enact the historic character of the journey.
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