Agbozume or Klikor-Agbozume is a town in Ketu Municipal District in the

Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi- ...

of southeastern

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

.Ketu Municipal District
/ref> The main language spoken is the

Ewe language Ewe (''Eʋe'' or ''Eʋegbe'' ) is a language spoken by approximately 5 million people in West Africa, mainly in Ghana and Togo. Ewe is part of a group of related languages commonly called the Gbe languages. The other major Gbe language is F ...

History

The National Archives UK - CO 1069-34-119-1-001

Agbozume is a settlement of the Somey people, whose subordinate position to the

Anlo The Anlo Ewe are a sub-group of the Ewe people of approximately 6 million people, inhabiting southern Togo, southern Benin, southwest Nigeria, and south-eastern parts of the Volta Region of Ghana; meanwhile, a majority of Ewe are located in the ...

was confirmed in 1912 when Francis Crowther, Secretary for Native Affairs in the Gold Coast included Agbozume in the Anlo State under his friend Togbi Sri II. Agbozume-Klikor is perceived to be a very powerful town. Klikor has one the most powerful shrines in Ghana. They believe that the God's of Klikor protect them from evil. Even though the Trokosi culture practice has been abolished in most parts of the world, the people of Klikor still practice it. Agbozume is the traditional capital of the Somey Ewes. They were the original people of Keta. Awanyedor and Akaga who were sons of Torgbui Wenya- the founder of Anlo State, left Anloga to found Keta as a fishing village. The

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

later built a fort in Keta (Fort Prizenstein = Prince’s stone Fort) after the Sagbadre War of 1784. That enabled Keta to flourish in commerce. A civil war between Keta and Anloga in the year 1794 initiated by the Danes culminated in the defeat of Keta. Majority of the Keta people escaped across the lagoon to Klikor and Agbozume was built partly on land granted by Klikor and also on land seized from the Whlis (Ewe for weaver birds), the original inhabitants who were defeated in war. Historically, the people of Keta were known as Agudzeawo (Easterners in old Ewe) because they are east of Anloga. Etymology : Ewe language- Agbo dzo me In the ram’s horns.

Geography

Agbozume lies on the main road between

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

and the border with

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

Aflao Aflao is a border town in the Ketu South District in the Volta Region of Ghana on the Ghana–Togo border, border with Togo. Aflao is the twenty-eighth most populous Human settlement, settlement in Ghana, in terms of population, with a populat ...

, a border town is about 20 km away from Agbozume, as well as the coast of the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

. The town is adjacent to another place, Klikor, which is separated by only one path. The two settlements are often referred to together with Klikor-Agbozume.

Economy

The town has a large market, which takes place every four days. The market is popular for the sale of

Kente cloth Kente refers to a Ghanaian textile made of hand-woven strips of silk and cotton. Historically the fabric was worn in a toga-like fashion among the Asante, Akan and Ewe people. According to Asante oral tradition, it originated from Bonwire in th ...

where traders from Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria come to buy the cloth and export it. On market days people from surrounding villages also come to Agbozume to trade various goods.

Protests

In December 2013, 600 residents from Agbozume took part in a protest against the Kesington Salt Factory, who they claimed had endangered their livelihoods by creating a crater to remove sand to build a road. This, they said had damaged the banks of the

Keta Lagoon Keta Lagoon, also called Anlo-Keta lagoon, is the largest of the over 90 lagoons that cover the 550 km stretch of the coastline of Ghana. This lagoon is 126.13 km in length. It is located in the eastern coast of Ghana and separated from ...

and created the threat of flooding. This used to be the largest salt mining in Volta Region.

References

{{Reflist Populated places in the Volta Region