Analysis Of The Aboakyer Or Deer Hunting Festival

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2.4.5 The Aboakyer or Deer Hunting Festival The Aboakyer Festival is celebrated by the Efutu of Winneba Traditional area along the coast of Ghana. The Aboakyer is one the most commonly held and important festivals celebrated in the Central Region of Ghana. The purpose of this Aboakyer Festival is to honour the tribal god of the people of Winneba called “Pankye Otu”. The god receives an annual sacrifice of a deer from the people. Aboakyer is usually celebrated in the month of May. The festival is believed to have originated about three hundred years ago when the Efutu people first occupied their present home along the coast. It is also believed that the people were able to establish their present settlement through the instrumentality of their god, …show more content…

Source: Impraim-Swanzy, 2015 The tribal god still helps and protects the people of Winneba; hence the people hold the festival to express their gratitude to him. Initially, members of the royal family were sacrificed to Pankye Otu, but as the royal family was dying out, they pleaded with Pankye Otu to accept a live leopard instead. The god agreed and for some time, a live leopard was caught and offered to the god. However, securing the live leopard often claimed human lives and many people were seriously wounded. In view of this, the people had to appeal to the god to accept a deer as a substitute for the leopard. It is explained that Pankye Otu accepted the deer because its stripped skin looks like that of a leopard skin. Others believe that the deer was accepted as a substitute for the leopard because its blood and that of leopard, is similar to man’s blood. The Aboakyer festival involves the two Asafo companies, Dentsifo and Tuafo in Winneba who compete among themselves to catch the deer first. The celebration of the festival begins in the evening around seven o’clock with a procession lead by a brass band that moves through the major streets of Winneba.

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