Aboakyer festival
The festival starts with the hunt on the Saturday asafo members (hunters) are awakened by the sounding of drums, bugle, rattles and bells to start trooping to their respective meeting places
When does the The Aboakyer Festival take place?
The Aboakyer Festival takes place every on the 1st Saturday in May in the coastal town of Winneba where they celebrate their migration from Timbuktu with a traditional hunt, known as the Aboakyer festival. The name Aboakyer translates as “hunting for game or animal” in the Fante dialec.
When a catch is made, message gets to the people in town within minutes and this turns the people into jubilation. More people then troop to the durbar grounds for a glimpse of the catch. The jubilant Asafomen now carry the animal shoulder high, present it to the King who then performs the acceptance rites. This is a week long festival climaxing in the hunt and then the celebrations. The town of Winneba comes alive and is packed for this weekend.
