With the drums pounding, these 3 women show off their excellent dancing skills on the third night of the Oguaa Fetu Afahye Festival in Cape Coast, Ghana.
The Oguaa Fetu festival lasts 5 days with activities day and night, ending on the first Saturday in September. There’s dancing and drumming, a cow gets sacrificed, there are boat races and a big parade with floats from the asafo companies where they carry their chiefs on decorative litters through the whole city – and let’s not forget the giant street party that is Orange Friday. It is a spectacle to behold.
In fact, after you watch this video, check out our most awesome post on What To Do in Cape Coast and get the full scoop on the best activities.
Oguaa is the official local name of Cape Coast. It means land of crabs and you can even see a crab statute perched atop a pillar in a central traffic intersection, a symbol of the city.
While the Oguaa Fetu Afahye Festival is not a tourist event, you will not be turned away if you find your way to the celebrations. That’s just not the Ghanaian way. It’s definitely a glimpse into traditions that is not always seen by outsiders.
I will note in Ghana they refer to this as traditional dancing, without naming it further. Though it definitely shares a style similarity to the Vodun dancers (Voodoo) of Benin. Both of these countries have strong Christian and Muslim communities, and each deals with their mix of traditional and current religions in their own way.
We actually spent a month longer in Ghana than we had planned so we could attend the Oguaa Fetu Afahye Festival, and it was well worth it. We love Ghana anyway so this was an easy decision. One of the advantages to slow, full time travel is that you can make up your plans as you go along – with the agreement of some very nice immigration agents.
Actually, we had 4 interactions with Immigration officials during our adventure in Ghana, and it’s the one country where we can say that every encounter with Immigration was great. I mean, seriously great.
You can read and watch more on all of our Ghana adventures.
Add comment