History would be made in Anloga today as the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is expected to join the people of Anlo to celebrate the Hogbetsotso festival, during which the Awoamefia, Torgbui Sri II, sub chiefs and the people will recount the migration history of their ancestors that spans over 193 years.
If the visit is fulfilled, it will be the first time in 154 years that an Asantehene will be in the Anlo State, since 1865 when Otumfuo Kofi Karikari and another King from Akwamufie visited Anloga to enter into a tripartite alliance of friendship after the Akatamanso War against some colonial elements.
It would, therefore, be seen as a renewal of friendship and a reciprocal gesture when the Asantehene graces the celebration of the migration of the Ewes from Notsie in present-day Togo, where they fled from the dictatorship of King Agorkorli.
On December 15, last year, the long-standing friendship between the Asanteman and the Anlo State was displayed at Manhyia, when the Awoamefia joined the people of Asanteman with a retinue of 150 people to celebrate the Akwasidae with the Asantehene in Kumasi.
Again, it will be an occasion when the Anlo and Asante cultures will blend colourfully in what is expected to be a spectacle, as the Asantehene is expected to make the historic journey with a delegation of more than 500 people.
Anloga, a town marked by a meandering lagoon and golden sand beaches along the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, is where the grand durbar will be held.
Ironically, the Paramount Chief of Notsie, Torgbui Agorkorli II, a descendant of the king the Anlos fled from, would be in attendance too — a gesture of reconciliation with the past and future of the Anlo State.
Dignitaries
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will also be at the festival. Also present will be Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State and President of the National House of Chiefs.
Historic
The Asantehene’s visit is historical in many senses. Although it will be the second after so many centuries that an Asantehene would set foot on Anloland, the official friendship between the two kingdoms was recorded in 1826 as captured by historian C. M. K. Mamattah in his book, History of the Ewes.
According to the historian, an Anlo Warrior, Abofrakuma, led a delegation sent by the Anlos to Kumasi to sign a friendship treaty.
“The Asantes first heard of the bravery of the Anlos after the Battle of Akatanmanso in 1826 and so sent a delegation inviting the Anlos to a friendship meeting. After that meeting, the Anlos became allies and blood-brothers to the Asantes,” the book chronicled.
The meeting in Kumasi was described as a lavish display of supernatural powers in a great trial of strength. In the end, there was a pact sealed with blood when two rams were slaughtered to signify a covenant of eternal friendship.
Relation between Ewes and Ashanti
On the friendship between the two kingdoms, another historian, Agbotadua Kumasah, said after the Anlo Ewes settled in their present location, the leaders decided to adopt survival strategies to tame the environment and put in place structures of defence for security and to consolidate the newly established kingdom.
They entered into alliances with powerful states, including the Asante Kingdom, for peace.
The terms of the alliance included building of settlements states in each other’s territory to prevent wars among them and also strengthen the bond of friendship.
In fulfilment of the treaty, Anloga township was to be established in Kumasi and Kumasi also in Anloga.
Mr Kumasah said fortunately, the Anloga township in Kumasi was established and developed to be an important suburb of Kumasi, but the Kumasi township in Anloga did not materialise but expressed the hope that it would happen some day.
He said Otumfuo Karikari, while on a visit to the Anlo State, presented a sword of perpetual friendship to the then Warlord of the Anlo State, Awadada Axorlu I, adding that the sword was currently in the stool house of the Awadada in Anloga.
History of Hogbetsotso
Tracing the history of the festival, the historian recounted that the Hogbetsotso was instituted to commemorate the exodus of the Ewes from “Notsie” to their present settlement in Ghana.
He explained that the term Hogbetsotso was derived from three Ewe words: “Ho” means to move with force, “Gbe” means day and “tsotso,” meaning crossing over. So literally Hogbetsotso means the day the people rose up and moved out of Notsie.
According to Mr Kumasah, the Ewe at “Notsie” were ruled by kings-both good and bad ones.The most legendary of them all, he said, was King Agorkorli, a despot who ruled his people with an iron fist.
He said that at a point in time, the king ordered his subjects to erect a security wall with the height of 24 by 18 feet around his kingdom with clay which he mixed with hedgehogs, bristle, prickly torts and broken pots.
Mr Kumasah said when the Ewes realised the wickedness of the king towards them had reached its peak, they resolved and escaped from the walled city and made their final journey to their present locations.
Significance of the festival
Hogbetsotso reminds the Anlos of their ancestry. It rekindles the relationship that existed between them and other Ewe-speaking people and also affords citizens the opportunity to appraise their development programme in the past year.
The festival is the occasion when the whole of Anlo opens up to visitors and where the full cultural value of the people is displayed.
Ritual preceding the festival
One of the most significant rituals that precedes the Hogbetsotso festival is a state of divination, which is performed by distinguished selected seers from major towns throughout the 36 divisions of the Anlo state.
Once the seers have announced the rituals that need to be carried out, the traditional priests perform the appropriate ceremony invoking the gods of the land. After that, all the seers gather at Atiteti on the estuary of the Volta Lake to perform additional sacrifices.
Another important ritual is the state cleansing and sanitation programme known as “Dodede and Apekplorkplor” which is also performed by recognised seers.
On the last Thursday before the durbar, the ritual performed is aimed at a social reconciliation of individuals and groups within the Anlo state.