Kente has a rich history in Ghana, but as cultures are beginning to cross, the people of Agotime feel they are at a critical point where they must affect the tourism trade in order to preserve one of the oldest art traditions in the world. The local artisans, who have the ability to weave complex designs and patterns that cannot be found or duplicated anywhere else in the world, are dwindling significantly. If steps are not taken, the Kente weaving trade and heritage will be lost. So the leaders of the Agotime Festival are making a huge effort to make the unique cloth Ghana's foremost tourist attraction and identity symbol.
The Grand Durbar (ceremonial gathering) was the climax of the week-long Kente Festival. Traditional leaders of 37 towns and villages formed a procession to the durbar ground, parading through the principal streets of Kpetoe. Dressed in traditional Kente regalia, they were carried in on palanquins (a covered litter for one passenger, consisting of a large box carried on two horizontal poles by four or six bearers) amidst loud drumming and dancing and cultural displays.
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| The chiefs entered the grand durbar on palanquins. | Crowds gathered for cultural demonstrations at the durbar. |
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| 500 Kente patterns have been designed since the 11th century. | Each design tells about history, ancestry or cultural practices. |
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| Togbe Agbovi IV of Kpetoe (center) in his royal Kente attire. | Agbovi (in lavendar) greeted us the previous day in his home. |
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| Nene Nuer Keteku III, paramount chief of Agotime. | Families of Agotime rulers dressed in their Kente regalia, too. |
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| Tents and large umbrellas shaded the chiefs and their guests. | Drummers pounded the relentless beat of the Kente rhythm. |
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| Traditional dances were included in the festival's entertainment. | These darling twins waited patiently for their turn to dance. |
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| The royal families exchanged greetings with the many visitors. | Kente is revered as an indispensable element of royal regalia. |
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It plays an important role in customary and spiritual functions:
1st birth rites, twins' rites, puberty rites, marriage rites.... | ....traditional marriages, installation of Chiefs and Queen
mothers, ordinations, celebrations and funerals. |
