Hogbetsotso Festival
Hogbetsotso Festival, known by the locals of the Anlo land as Hogbeza or Hogbetsotso za is an annual festival celebrated by the people of the Anlo land in the Volta Region of Ghana.
The Anlo land is made up of the Anlo kingdom which comprises the 15 Anlo clans and the 36 Anlo States among which the people of the land reside and observe their unique culture.
Being annual means the festival is celebrated every year and it brings together people from other parts of the country and from almost all the 16 regions of the country.
Hogbetsotso Festival Date
Every year, the festival is celebrated on similar dates since it comes off in the first week of November every year.
This means that even if you don’t know the exact date of the festival, the idea of it coming on in the first week of November should guide you to make yourself available to attend.
Hogbe Za Tradition
Before the first week of November, there are series of a month-long events that take place across the Anlo Kingdom.
There is a 1 month period of no drumming and there is also an allocated period for cleansing the land from impurities and a period for kinds mini-durbar which is attended by basic school students and their teachers.
EdemFest Carnival
Just like many other festivals across Ghana, the Hogbetsotso Festival comes with its own carnival called the EdemFest.
Initially, the carnival is held on the streets of Keta but for some years, a son of the land, Edem who is a renowned musician has taken over the carnival and the transformation led to changing the location to the beach.
The EdemFest carnival comes off on the Friday night before the grand durbar and it brings to the Anlo land some renowned artists from across Ghana.
Grand Durbar
The grand durbar of the Hogbetsotso Festival comes off on the first Saturday of November every year. Or if I should say, it comes off on the first Saturday of November once the festival will come on that year.
