Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ewe
The Ewe people live in Ghana and are the most important ethnic group in southern Togo.
The Ewe, who inhabit forests and fertile riverine soils, are accomplished agriculturalists
and their cultivation of yams (a staple of the Ewe diet) has taken on a near-mythical status.
The annual Ewe Yam Festival, called Hogbetsotso, is the highlight of the Ewe year and in-
volves farmers presenting their crops to the ancestors and purifying ceremonial stools
where, the Ewe believe, ancestral spirits reside. Funeral rites are another intricate Ewe ce-
remony.
Ewe chiefs, who are elected by consensus, must keep their heads covered in public and
must never be seen to be drinking. More generally, the Ewe are known for their hard work,
tidy villages, their love of education, their spirituality, and the power of their traditional
shrines and priests.
The arts play an important role in Ewe life, with their subtly coloured kente cloth (which
they learned from Ashanti weavers taken as prisoners by the Ewe) and for their
vu gbe
(talking drums) taking centre stage. The tonality of the Ewe spoken language and the
rhythm of particular phrases and proverbs are combined in drumming to produce messages
that range from the commonplace, which everyone understands, to a specialised repertoire
known only to the master drummers. Drum language is used for communication, especially
in times of crisis, and is an integral part of religious song and dance.
TRADITIONAL CULTURE
Chances to experience and access traditional culture include the following:
»
The Moro-Naba ceremony is held every Friday in
Ouagadougou
(
Click here
)
»
Musée de Poni
(
Click here
) in Gaoua is an excellent introduction to Lobi culture
»
Kumasi
(
Click here
) has monuments and museums dedicated to Ashanti traditions
»
Ikeji
is the annual new yam festival; the most important Ikeji festival takes place in September at Arochukwu in
southeastern Nigeria
