Kente Festival - Part II

The Kente Festival was originally instituted to attract citizens who no longer live in the area to "return home and contribute to the development of their town." The annual festivities are intended to be "a rallying point for development projects and to promote the tourism value of Agotime as the foremost area of the original Ewe Kente fabric." Kente is a pride of Ghana. The people of Kpetoe hope this week-long celebration will become a national event and put Agotime on the world tourism map to help preserve the Kente cloth for posterity as people all over the world recognize the traditional weaving of this unique textile.

Celebrations throughout the week included activities for the young people to teach them of the history and intricacies of their culture. One day was set aside for a Kente weaving competition, where new patterns and designs are created. Another day was called Heroes and Heroines Day -- a time to remember ancestors who died or survived in wars. People dressed in the colors of war, red and black, and arrived at a designated area to display their magnificent costumes and finery.

  

The chiefs and queen mothers led each tribe into the arena.

Tribal wars were re-enacted to honor injured and fallen heroes.

  

The beating of the Kente drums was relentless!

Agotime has 37 towns -- each with a chief and a queen.

  

Re-enactment (I hope) of available brides for all to admire.

On non-festival days, the chiefs dress like anyone else in town.

  

The chiefs and queens are still loved and revered.

It's difficult to read the emotions behind these faces. 

  

The queen mothers still play an important role in the villages.

The chief is known as Nene; the queen is called Manye.

  

Symbols are chosen to represent each tribe.

The symbols are placed on top of the royal staff.

  

We would love to know the story behind each of the symbols.

Most traditions are passed on orally, not written down.

  

There were many adorable little faces at the festival.

It was all I could do to not pinch these fat little cheeks!

Here is a short clip of the people of Agotime parading and re-enacting wars between their tribes.