Adae Festival (

Twi Twi () is a dialect of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana by several million people, mainly of the Akan people, the largest of the seventeen major ethnic groups in Ghana. Twi has about 17-18 million speakers in total, includ ...

: "resting place") is a celebration in Ashanti. Considered a day of rest, it is the most important ancestral custom of the

Ashanti people The Asante, also known as Ashanti () are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asante ...

Observance

Within a six-week cycle, Adae has two celebration days, once on a Sunday (''Akwasidae'') and again on a Wednesday (''Awukudae''). The Adae cycle is repeated nine times in a year. In observance of the

Akan calendar The Akan people (a Kwa group of West Africa) appear to have used a traditional system of timekeeping based on a six-day week (known as ''nnanson'' "seven-days" via inclusive counting). The Gregorian seven-day week is known as ''nnawɔtwe'' (eigh ...

, the ninth Adae Festival, called the

Adae Kese Festival Adae Kese Festival ("big resting place") is an important albeit rare celebration among the Ashantis in Ghana.There are two main periods for this celebration. 1 is awukudae and akwadidae It glorifies the achievements of the Asante kingdom. It was fi ...

("big Adae"), coincides with celebration of the New Year. It is therefore celebrated to thank the gods and the ancestors for the new harvest. The festivals within Adae are not interchangeable, having been fixed from ancient times.

Traditions

The preparations for the Adae are quite elaborate. The day the preparations are made is called ''Dapaa'',(Normally on Tuesdays and Sundays) . On this day, houses and the area surrounding them are all cleaned. In front of the chief's house, drums are played by the “divine drummer” (after paying due respects to the chief), the whole evening from sunset till late night along with ceremonial songs. The chief takes a meal consisting of yam or

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

. (without

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

as it is the belief that spirits do not like it). With his processional party, he then proceeds to the chamber where the ceremonial stool (throne) is kept. The food that is left out after the chief has eaten is brought to the courtyard and sprinkled about for the dead spirits of ancestors to eat it; this is accompanied by the ringing of a bell indicative of the spirits eating the food. The ritual continues with the sacrifice of sheep by the chief's attendants. The blood of these sacrifices are marked on the forehead and chest of the chief. The queen mother then offers a paste of

fufu Fufu (or fufuo, foofoo, foufou ) is a dough-like food found in West African cuisine. In addition to Ghana, it is also found in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ...

(made of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

or yam). Then

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Phili ...

is poured over the stool, and what is left is consumed by those present at the chamber. All those present at the site greet the chief, who is ceremonially seated at the open courtyard with the greetings "Adae morn". Other ceremonial features include the court poet reciting poems which extol the deeds of the past chiefs, and drums are continuously beaten to the accompaniment of horns. The celebration runs until late at night. The food and drink offerings to the stool are removed late in the evening, except for the flesh which is allowed to remain there for more time.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite book, last= Roy, first= Christian ., title= Religion Traditional festivals. 2. M – Z , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKqOUfqt4cIC&dq=Adae+Kese+Festival&pg=PA2 , accessdate=24 November 2012, year=2005, publisher= ABC-CLIO , isbn=9781576070895, page=2 Ashanti people Cultural festivals in Ghana Ashanti Region Festivals in Ghana

Observance

Traditions

See also

References

Bibliography