The Bakatue Festival is celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of

Elmina Elmina, also known as Edina by the local Fante, is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region, situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cape Coast. Elmina wa ...

in the Central Region of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

. The festival, established at least as far back as 1847, is celebrated on the first Tuesday in the month of July every year. Bakatue 2016 001 B001

The festival

The

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

reported existence of the festival at least as far back as 1847 and was mentioned in a report by Governor

Cornelis Nagtglas Cornelis Johannes Marius Nagtglas (born 16 May 1814 – 19 January 1897) was a Dutch politician and civil servant, who made a career in the administration on the Dutch Gold Coast. After originally beginning his career at the advanced age of 3 ...

in 1860. The festival is used to mark the beginning of the fishing season in Elmina. The name ''Bakatue'' is from the

Fante dialect Fante (), also known as Fanti, Fantse, or Mfantse, is one of the three principal members of the Akan dialect continuum, along with Asante and Akuapem, the latter two collectively known as Twi, with which it is mutually intelligible. It is prin ...

and translates as "draining of a lagoon". The celebration of the festival was instituted to commemorate the founding of Elmina by the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

in the early days of the colonization of the then Gold Coast. It also is used to offer thanks and prayers to the gods for a good fishing year.

Programme of activities

The Elmina states set aside the first Monday and Tuesday of the month of July for the festival.

Monday

All necessary customary activities are performed on this day.

Tuesday

It coincides with the annual rainy season of Ghana. Tuesday was chosen because it is regarded locally as the day for the sea god. As such in Elmina, as in many fishing communities in Ghana, fishermen do not go to sea on Tuesdays in order to honour the sea god. During the festival, the

Paramount Chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and arc ...

and his sub-chiefs and the entire state of Elmina offer the sacred festival food of eggs and mashed yam mixed with palm oil to Nana Brenya, the river god, and pray for peace. On the morning of the festival, all members of the Elmina royal family participate in a royal possession made up of chiefs and stool carriers. Chiefs of higher towns in the Elmina paramount area ride decorated

palanquins The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

. After the procession and the giving of various addresses by select chiefs and invited guest, the chief priest casts his net three times into the Brenya Lagoon.

References

{{reflist, 30em Festivals in Ghana Elmina