Kente Festival - Part III

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.

  

The chiefs entered the grand durbar on palanquins.

Crowds gathered for cultural demonstrations at the durbar.

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.

Ghana's Kente Festival

Most African cultures have an ancestral heritage that has outlived many generations and survived until today. The people of Agotime have an ancestral heirloom that has become an international symbol of Ghana -- the Kente cloth, a beautifully woven cloth made by local weavers throughout the region. Agotime is a community whose livelihood revolves around the Kente heritage. Emmanuel Sadahem, a weaver and native of the village Kpetoe, introduced us to the Kente Festival, which is held every year to celebrate, promote and conserve the uniqueness of the Kente cloth. Several missionary couples traveled to the celebration to observe first-hand a few of the activities that took place.

Part I

Asia le torme is a tradition being kept alive by today's Ghanaians as a demonstration of the hospitality of the people of Agotime. According to history, this used to be an activity for old ladies and pure maidens when great men and women pass on or "go to the village."    

  

The women go to the river to collect water.

After collecting the water, the women return to the village.