AF020819

06
DAILY HERITAGE SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2019
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
History
The Afenorto
festival
Afernorto –
meaning “period
of rest at home”
– is the traditional
festival of
the chiefs and people of
Mepe traditional area. It is
celebrated annually to renew
the sense of oneness of the
people.
It thus provides a unique
opportunity for reunions, particularly
bonding with the extended
family and ancestors.
In 1874, General Sir Garnet
Wolseley moved against
the enemies of the ambitious
Ashanti kingdom who were
attacking the coastal tribes of
the Gold Coast and the wars
waged by Sir Garnet Wolseley
came to be known as Sagrenti
War (Sir Garnet Wolseley
War). Frightened by the
magnitude of the forces of
the Ashantis, the Anlos chose
to align with the Ashantis.
The gallant soldiers of
Mepe, on the other hand,
fought alongside the colonial
army for the freedom of the
people of the coastline, and
the alliance won most of the
battles. By this exceptional
valour, the Anlos gave Mepe
the accolade “Mepe kukuruku,
tsagblatsa, nekotsoe be
yewoe bi dzo wu Xe” – literally
meaning “ Mepe (i.e.
kernel shells) have proven
that they could produce superior
quality fire compared to
that which baphia nitidia (i.e.
Ashanti/ Anlo coalition)
could.”
Kernel Shells
Baphia nitidia is a prickly
tough wood well known for its
burning prowess. Mepe celebrated
its battle victories by
dancing to tunes of “Agbekor”
war drums. This became established
tradition, with our forefathers
setting a day aside (at the
end of July) for the annual commemorations
of what came to
be known as “Agbekortu”.
The period was chosen deliberately
to overlap the recurrent
floods caused by the yearly overspill
of the Volta river. During
this time, most economic activities
(particularly clam picking,
fishing and farming) along the
banks of the river came to a
standstill.
Family and Clan
meetings
So, all citizens returned home
( to Mepe ) on a forced occupation
holiday. “Apekpoe” (family
and clan meetings) were convened
to resolve differences,
build bridges, and deliberate on
issues of welfare, marriage and
so on.
Nevertheless, there was sudden
turn of the events in 1918
when an unprecedentedly high
incidence and morbidity rates
of “kpata” (the great influenza)
rocked the area, causing an
abrupt interruption to the annual
ritual for closely four
decades. A committee was set
up in 1951 to work on reviving
the festival and it reported three
years later the reinstating of the
celebrations and recommended
among other things that the “Agbekortu
and “time out at home”
and celebrations be integrated
and christened “Afenorto festival”
As the dynamism of culture
has never been in doubt,
Afenorto has undergone some
transformations in substance but
maintained virtually the same
patterns since its launch in 1955.
The undying characteristics of
the Afenorto festival are as follows.
Firing of muskets and
sounding of “Atupani” (talking
drum)
Libation at Vesime, a location
where twins were traditionally
named.
A procession of chiefs and
people of Mepe traditional area
to the durbar ground amid firing
of muskets, drumming and
dancing. Chieftaincy and customary
regalia are displayed with
splendour. The order en route to
the durbar grounds is as follows:
Activities
First comes Dzagbaku division
dressed in white, followed
by the Adzigo clan in green;
Sevie follows cladded in yellow;
Gbanvie comes next in red and
at the rear is Akorvie dressed in
assorted colours with the emblem
of cockerel embossed.
The grand durbar is held on
the first Saturday of August.
The celebrations span a little
over a fortnight
At the durbar, the chiefs and
queenmothers sit majestically in
state displaying their mace - their
symbol of authority. The paramount
chief presents the welcome
address to the guest of
honour- usually a government
official, who in turn gives a
speech in apparent response to
that of the paramount chief.
The grand durbar ends in the
afternoon with the return of the
chiefs in their palanquins to their
respective palaces amid pomp
and circumstance.
The ensuing days are marked
by special merry -making activities
some of which are targeted
at raising funds to support development
projects in the area such
as state harvest. Regatta, fun
beach, and dances are some of
the other activities.
The town equally places a lot
of premium on education and
this is evident in the Afenorto
program featuring the annual
speech and prize-giving day for
all schools in the area.
After the cleansing of ancestral/
ritual stools and final observance
for the dead, the curtain is
officially drawn on the festival.
Nonresidents then return to
their various places of residence
to patiently await the occasion to
come again the following year.