Awukudae Festival (meaning: "Wednesday ceremony", or "sacred Wednesday") is a traditional Ashanti festival in Ashanti. Like the

Akwasidae Festival The Akwasidae Festival (alternate, Akwasiadae) is celebrated by the Ashanti people and chiefs in Ashanti, as well as the Ashanti diaspora. The festival is celebrated on a Sunday, once every six weeks. Observance The Akan annual calendar is div ...

, celebrated on a Sunday, Awukudae is part of the celebrations within the

Adae Festival Adae Festival (Twi: "resting place") is a celebration in Ashanti. Considered a day of rest, it is the most important ancestral custom of the Ashanti people. Observance Within a six-week cycle, Adae has two celebration days, once on a Sunday ('' ...

cycle. The festivals of Adae are not interchangeable, having been fixed from ancient times.

Observance

The festival is observed on Wednesday, and its recurrence could be after 40 or 42 days. It is celebrated particularly in the Eastern Region. It is one of the two forms of Adae, the other being Akwasidae, which is celebrated the third Sunday after Awukudae. The observance is an ancestral rite by the chiefs and elders of the Akan clan around

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...

. The Tuesday which falls 8 days before Awukudae is known as

Kwabena Kwabena is an Akan masculine given name among the Akan people (i.e. Ashanti, Akuapem, Akyem, Fante) in Ghana that means "born on a Tuesday" in Akan language, following their day naming system. People born on particular days are supposed to exh ...

; and the Saturday following Awukudae is known as "Memeneda Dapaa". The festival announcement is made by drummers the evening before on "Dapaa" day. After every eight Awukudae Festivals, the "Adae Butu" ritual marks the start of the

Odwira festival The Odwira festival is celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Fanteakwa District and Akuapem in the Eastern region of Ghana. The Odwira Festival is celebrated by the people of Akropong-Akuapim, Aburi, Larteh and Mamfi. This is celebrated annual ...

Traditions

Awukudae Festival is marked by ''Wo tu adae'' (announcing the day's celebration) drumming on the day preceding it and on Wednesday morning. Atumpan drums and single-air drums perform, but not Fontomfrom drums. In the forenoon, ceremonies are carried on in the Stool-House. The drumming symbolizes the seeking of protection for the guardian ancestral deities to the soul of the ruling king and it unifies the people under his reign. It is believed that Nsamanfoɔ and other ancestors are wandering around to see if this festival is being observed properly. On this occasion, it is also a practice to give donations for charitable causes such as feeding the hungry and helping the sick. On this day, Akanfoɔ consider travel as dangerous and hence remain at home, as it is an emotional day for them.

References

Bibliography

* * * *{{cite book, last=Roy, first=Christian, title=Traditional festivals. 2. M - Z, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKqOUfqt4cIC&pg=PA26, accessdate=25 November 2012, year=2005, publisher=ABC-CLIO, isbn=978-1-57607-089-5, pages=26– Ashanti people Cultural festivals in Ghana Ashanti Region Festivals in Ghana

Observance

Traditions

See also

References

Bibliography