Cape Coast Festival

Last weekend we went to part of a six week long festival in the beautiful oceanside city of Cape Coast. The Afahye festival, celebrated by the Fantis (a group of people native to Southern Ghana, originated as a result of a severe epidemic. The festivals purpose is to clean the lives of people as well as the town. It also is a New Years Eve celebration because the main weekend of the festival marks the New Year for the Fante.

Ritual events at the festival consist of many different activities such as the confinement of the King, cleansing rituals with physical activities, the slaughtering of a bull, and dances where priests and priestesses can become possessed by spirits.

The bull is thought of as being the largest domesticated animal that one can sacrifice. In past years, University of California Education Abroad Students (UCEAP) have made attempts to let the bull free or to buy the bull to no prevail. It is being sacrificed for the sins of the people.

Part of the celebration during the festival includes a huge parade where all of the chiefs in Ghana come together with members of their tribes. The festival helps to renew political bonds between the King and other sub-chiefs. It also facilitates interaction between the government and people at the local level. 

Cape Coast, which usually has a population of about 170,000, swells to just over one million people every year for the slaughter and parade. Naturally this makes the nightlife scene very chaotic.

The weekend was a great cultural experience, be sure to check out the festival if you’re ever in Ghana for it!

Random Fun Fact: Sometimes avocados are purple in Ghana!