The Akwasidae Festival (alternate, Akwasiadae) is celebrated by 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 ...

and chiefs in Ashanti, as well as the Ashanti

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

. The festival is celebrated on a Sunday, once every six weeks.

Observance

The Akan annual calendar is divided into nine months which lasts approximately six weeks but varying between 40 and 42 days in a period; the celebration of this period is called the

Adae Festival Adae Festival (Twi: "resting place") is a celebration in Ashanti. Considered a day of rest, it is the most important ancestral custom of the Ashanti people. Observance Within a six-week cycle, Adae has two celebration days, once on a Sunday ('' ...

. The Adae Festival has two celebration days: the Akwasidae Festival is celebrated on the final Sunday of the period, while the

Awukudae Festival Awukudae Festival (meaning: "Wednesday ceremony", or "sacred Wednesday") is a traditional Ashanti festival in Ashanti. Like the Akwasidae Festival, celebrated on a Sunday, Awukudae is part of the celebrations within the Adae Festival cycle. The ...

is celebrated on a Wednesday within the period. The Friday preceding 10 days to the Akwasidae is called the ''Fofie'' (meaning a ritual Friday). As the festival is always held on Sundays (''Twi'' in Kwasidae), its recurrence could be after 40 or 42 days in accordance with the official Calendar of Ashanti. During the last Akwasidae of the year, which coincides with 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 ...

, special attention is given to make food offerings and donations for helping people. The festivals of Adae are not interchangeable as they were fixed from ancient times.

Practices

The rites on this day relate to honouring personal and community ancestors. A gathering called ''Akom'' occurs in which drumming, dancing and singing are a normal celebration to honour Abosom (lesser gods in the Akan tradition) and Nsamanfo (spiritually cultivated ancestors). Food offerings include special items such as ''eto'' (mashed

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n yam), garnished with hard-boiled eggs. Every Ashanti celebrates this festival. For those Ashanti who do not observe the festival of Odwira, the Akwasidae is very important to commemorate their ancestors. On this day, the Asantehene (King of Ashante) meets his subjects and subordinate chiefs in the courtyard of the

Manhyia Palace The Manhyia Palace (Akan language meaning ''Oman'' – gathering of the people) is the seat of the Asantehene, as well as his official residence. It is located at Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region. The first palace is now a museum. Otumfu ...

. The

Golden Stool The Golden Stool ( Ashanti- tw, Sika dwa; full title, Sika Dwa Kofi "the Golden Stool born on a Friday") is the royal and divine throne of kings of the Ashanti people and the ultimate symbol of power in Asante. According to legend, Okomfo Anok ...

(throne) is displayed at the palace grounds in the presence of the king, and people visit in large numbers, singing and dancing. The king holds his

durbar Durbar can refer to: * Conference of Rulers, a council of Malay monarchs * Durbar festival, a yearly festival in several towns of Nigeria * Durbar floor plate, a hot-rolled structural steel that has been designed to give excellent slip resistance ...

on the occasion of the festival, and people have the liberty to shake hands with him. Before holding the durbar, the king goes in a procession in a

palanquin The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

decorated with gold jewelry. He also witnesses a colourful parade, from his palace grounds at

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

. Participants of the parade include drum beaters, folk dancers, horn-blowers and singers. As it is festival of paying respect to ancestors, the king visits the Bantama Mausoleum and offers worship not only to his ancestors' chairs (stools), but also to the skeletal remains of his ancestors. It is argued that, the king do not worship the stools and the ancestors, however to pay them homage.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *{{cite book, last=Opokuwaa, first=Nana Akua Kyerewaa, title=The Quest for Spiritual Transformation: Introduction to Traditional Akan Religion, Rituals And Practices, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ax0FxTUykP4C&pg=PR92, accessdate=25 November 2012, date=30 May 2005, publisher=iUniverse, isbn=978-0-595-35071-1, pages=92– Ashanti people Cultural festivals in Ghana Ashanti Region Festivals in Ghana

Observance

Practices

See also

References

Bibliography