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Before Ghana’s National Friday wear, there was the Ewe Kente Festival
Posted On 25 Jul 2014
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The annual Agbamevorza (Kente Festival) marked in the Volta region is an ethnic example of the National Friday Wear where Ghanaians are encouraged to wear a local fabric anywhere they go especially work.
And so before government saw the need for cultural preservation strategy in 2004, the chiefs and people of the Agotime Traditional Area in the Volta Region, had instituted something similar nine years earlier – in 1995.
Nineteen years on, the people of Agotime will once again showcase the lavish use of the Kente cloth and project the cultural and aesthetic values of the cloth when they assemble all the indigenes to celebrate Agbamevorza.
It will take place from 7th to 14th September 2014. The Grand Durbar will be held on 13th September 2014 at Agotime Kpetoe, 25km from Ho. Events will start at 10:00am.
Kente is multicolored patterns of bright colors, geometric shapes, and bold designs popular in Ghana and in West Africa. There is a hub for it in Bonwire in the Ashanti region.
No wonder when people from the 37 towns, located it the festival’s catchment area, meet for the festivities, there will be a Kente weaving competition to spark a creative output of new designs.
Most definitely, the festival will see more of the cloth bought and sold. Another description for job creation.
Naturally, a display of culture is an magnet for tourism. After 19 years of celebrating Agbemevorza, tourism has received an incredible boost according to the organisers.
Agotime Agbamevorza (Kente Festival) 2014
Programme of Activities
Sunday (7th September)
- Christian Prayers at various Churches for a successful Festival
Monday (8th September)
- Visit to Afegame – the ancestral home of the Agotimes
- Donation of Medical Beds to the Afegame Health Centre
Tuesday (9th September)
- Health Walk
- Clean Up at the Kpetoe Health Centre
- Quiz Competition for all J.H.S.
- Football Gala (preliminaries)
Wednesday (10th September)
- Women and Children’s Day- Mini Durbar at Batume
- Kente Weaving Competitions (Speed & Best Designs) at Batume
Thursday (11th September)
- “Godigbe”
- Search for the 2014 Kente Treasure by Adotri & Dusi Divisions
- “Asiale Torme”
- Borborbor Night
Friday (12th September)
- Firing of musketry (Heroes & Heroines Day) at Wodome
- “Totokpakpa Food Bazaar” at Kpetoe
- Miss Kente 2014 Beauty Pageant & Dancing Competition at Kpetoe
Saturday (13th September)
- Palanquin procession by War Lords
- Grand Durbar of Chiefs and People at CEPS Division (GRA) Park, Kpetoe
- Kente Street Carnival after Durbar
Sunday (14th September)
- Inter-denominational church service
- Finals of football competition
- Night of Senior Citizens
