GHANA HOME TOURS' FESTIVAL PROGRAMS

Our culture is uniquely depicted in the many interesting and
colorful festivals celebrated throughout the year. Touring the
various regions of Ghana during these occasions is an
unforgettable experience, and a special opportunity to
appreciate some of our most ancient and revered traditions.

These annual festivals serve a variety of purposes, such as
purification of the ancestral "stools; " cleansing communities
of evil; ancestral veneration; and supplications to the
numerous deities for prosperity and unity.

Highlights of these festivals include drumming, dancing, skill
contests, and the firing of musketry. The most popular
festivals include:

ABOAKYIR
Celebrated in May by chiefs and people of Winneba. The main
attraction is a competition involving Asafo (traditional
warriors) companies as to who first catches a live deer for
purification of the state.

BAKATUE
Celebrated in July at Elmina to commemorate the beginning of
the local fishing season.

HOMOWO
Celebrated in August by the people of Accra. It marks the
annual reunion of all families to commemorate the big harvest
after a prolonged famine. Also, the occasion is used to
remember the dead.

FETU AFAHYE
Celebrated in September by the chiefs and people of Cape Coast.
Activities include the sacrifice of cows to the 77 gods of the
land. The high point is a colorful Durban of chiefs. This is
usually preceded by a procession of various Asafo clans dressed
to mimic the different Europeans who dominated the area during
the colonial era.

HOGBETSOTSO
Celebrated by the Anlo states in memory of their escape from
Notsie during the tyrannical rule of King Agokorli

GHANA HOME TOURS' OTHER PROGRAMS

EDUCATIONAL TOURS
These help tourists become more knowledgeable about Ghana's
customs and traditions. Special weekend tours are arranged for
students to directly experience the different aspects of
Ghanaian culture.

HOME LODGE TOURS
Our Home Lodge Tour program helps two types of visitors. First
it assists exchange students to find accommodations with
appropriate Ghanaian families. Second, it is a cultural program
for all tourists who want to stay with Ghanaian families to
learn their culture, and exchange experiences. Added features
include lectures at the African Studies Department of the
University of Ghana and lessons in traditional drumming and
dancing.

WEST AFRICAN TOURS
Tours to Ghana may be extended to include neighboring West
African countries such as the Ivory Coast to the west, and Togo
and Benin to the east.

SPECIAL PACKAGE TOURS
Special package tours are available upon request from the
tourist.