{{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot)
Asafotu Festival is celebrated by the
Ga-Adangbe people of
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
and
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
. The Ada/Dangbe East people celebrate Asafotu which is also called 'Asafotufiam', an annual warrior's festival celebrated by
Ga-Dangbe people from the last Thursday of July to the first weekend of August. It commemorates the victories of the warriors in battle, fought by their ancestor which were all won, those who fell on the battlefield. To re-enact these historic events, the warrior dresses in traditional battle dress and stage a mock battle. This is also a time when the young men are introduced to warfare to become warriors.
The festival also ushers in the harvest cycle for this special customs and ceremonies are performed. These include purification ceremonies. The celebration reaches its climax in a durbar of chiefs, a colourful procession of the Chiefs in palanquins with their retinue. They are accompanied by traditional military groups called '
Asafo
Asafo are traditional warrior groups in Akan culture, based on lineal descent. The word derives from , meaning war, and , meaning people. The traditional role of the Asafo companies was defence of the state. As the result of contact with Europea ...
Companies' amidst drumming, singing and dancing through the streets and on the durbar grounds. At the durbar, greetings are exchanged between the chiefs,
libations are poured and declarations of allegiance made.
Festivals in Ghana
African culture