Live Deer Hunting Festival- Aboakyer Festival In Ghana

If you think you have witnessed a fascinating traditional festival of all time, then you probably have not watched the Aboakyer festival. That excitement I had at Winneba watching Aboakyer festival is worth sharing.

In this article,

What is a festival?
What is the Aboakyer festival?
Which People celebrate the Aboakyer festival ?
Destination guide to Winneba where Aboakyer festival is celebrated
History of the Aboakyer festival
When is Aboakyer festival celebrated?
Significance of Aboakyer festival
Accommodation in Winneba to watch Aboakyer festival

What is a festival?

A festival is a day or time of a year when people have a holiday from work, school and so on to celebrate some special event, often a religious event, musical concerts etc. There are lots of festivals being celebrated in Ghana, but Aboakyer festival is one of a kind you really don’t want to miss.

Which people celebrate the Aboakyer Festival?

Aboakyer festival is a festival celebrated by the people of Winneba in the central region of Ghana. Winneba also called Simpa traditionally is a coastal town in the central region of Ghana about 66 km from Accra the capital city of Ghana and 88 km also from Cape Coast where the Cape Coast castle is located.

When is the Aboakyer Festival celebrated?

Aboakyer festival is celebrated annually in the first week of May. It is a weekly program of each day having a specific activity and climax on the Saturday.

Accommodation in Winneba to witness the Aboakyer festival

Aboakyer festival has become so popular that reservations for accommodation are booked three months ahead of the festival. Planning to attend the event, book for accommodation ahead of time as all hotels, guest houses and lodges all get full months to the festival.

Aboakyer Festival

Aboakyer is a two syllabic word in the Akan language (Akan is the largest tribe in Ghana). ‘’Aboa’’ means an animal and ‘’Kyer’’ also meaning to hunt. Therefore, Aboakyer means Animal hunting or simply game hunting. The hunting is conducted in search for a live Deer with their bare hands and sticks, which makes the festival unique from all other festivals.

In the eve of the festival, the youth of Winneba are divided into two warrior groups Asafo 1 and Asafo 2 who are characterized by White and Red apparel. Various rituals and activities are done throughout the week to clear any bad omen on the day of hunt for the live deer which is Saturday.

At the Saturday dawn, the two groups set of for the adventure in a sacred forest with each chanting war songs in their regalia. While awaiting which group arrives first with the game, the chief and his elders, special dignitaries, visitors across the country and those from the diaspora gathers at the durbar grounds. Interestingly, lots of rumors are made to make the grounds vibrant while waiting for which group arrives with the live deer.

The chief and his elders on their way to the durbar grounds of Aboakyer festival

The chief steps on the live deer and declare the festival when the first Asafo group arrives with the live deer and that’s where the merry making begins. The live deer resting on neck of the leader of the Asafo group is been tramped the township of Winneba and finally to the grounds for sacrifice.

There are lots of cultural displays, song chanting, musical concerts and paraphernalia for the festival. You can miss that exciting live concerts and performances from top musician and celebrates all gracing the occasion.

History of the Aboakyer Festival

The Aboakyer festival is celebrated to mark the journey or migration of the people of Simpa from the olden Sudan Empire to their present home now Winneba. While on their way, they came with a god called ‘’Otu’’ who provided them with protection against danger and bad omen.

As a way of the people showing appreciation to the god, the mouth piece of the god called Penkyi Otu after consulting the god requested for human sacrifice. As the offer was too callous for them, they then pleaded for a humane offer. Their petition was accepted and later substituted to making provision of a live wildcat.

Annually the live wildcat would be offered for sacrifice and in their quest for the hunt of the live wildcat, lots of them got serious injuries and even to the extent of death. They then pleaded again to the fetish priest and the god accepted their plea. They were then made to offer a live deer for sacrifice annually and that is how the celebration of the Deer hunting festival or Aboakyer festival originated.

Significance of the Aboakyer Festival

The celebration of Aboakyer festival annually is to seek guidance and protection from the gods and also aid in production and bounty harvest in farming and fishing activities.