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Okor Worli at the just ended Ada Asafotufiami festival

Dipo girls from Odumase Krobo annually pays homage to the people of Ada during the Ada Asafotufiami festival.

It’s known that the best beads comes from Odumase-Krobo in Ghana 🇬🇭.

What is DIPO?

The Dipo Rites is arguably one of the most popular yet criticized traditional festival and practice in Ghana, yet one of the most attended event in the country, receiving huge patronage from tourists. The traditional festival is celebrated by the people of Odumase krobo in the Eastern region of Ghana.

The festival is celebrated in the month of April every year.[2] The festival is used to usher virgin girls into puberty or womanhood,[3] and it signifies that a participating girl is of age to be married.[4] Parents upon hearing announcement of the rites send their qualified girls to the chief priest. However these girls would have to go through rituals and tests to prove their chastity before they qualify to partake in the festival.

- Wikipedia

ADA ASAFOTUFIAMI FESTIVAL

[ THE WAR FESTIVAL]

The first descendants of the Dangme -speaking founding fathers constitute the Adibiawe,Lomobiawe,Terkpebiawe and Dangmebiawe clans.

The descendants of the Akan-speaking founding fathers constitute Kabiatsu,Kabiayumu and Kabiawe-KPONOR clans.

Finally the descendants of the Ewe speaking founding members constitute KORGBOR,Ohuewem and Kudjragbe clans. All together the clans in ADA are ten in numbers.

Legend has it that the Dangme-speaking founding fathers came from a place called Sameh between two rivers called Efa and Kporla near the Niger River in what is now called Nigeria, the Akan speaking founding fathers came from Juaben and Bantama in Ashanti region. The Ewe speaking founding fathers came from Ketu in Dahome now Benin.

The festival is celebrated by the people of Ada. It is mainly in remembrance of the invaluable achievements of the founding fathers and Ancestors, especially in the many wars of survival and development of Ada. The Dangme expression of Asafotufiami simply means company or Divisional firing of musketry.

Therefore Asafotufiami is essentially a war festival that commemorate the heroic achievements of our ancestors, some of them whom bravely spilt their blood to save Ada from been overrun and destroyed by the various enemies of those days.

WARS FOUGHT

• 1750: The battle of Nonobe-Ada Anglo war, Adas supported by the Akwapim, Akim Abuakua Krobo and Agave Anglo was defeated.

• 1769: Again Ada defeated Anglo

• 1770: Unsuccessful invasion of Anglo by joint forces of Ada, Akim Abuakua,Krobo and parts of Mafi while Akwamu supported Anglo

• 1776: Anglo attacked Ada and burnt down the township.

• 1826: Kantamanso War near Dodowa against Ashanti attack on Accra and coastal areas.

Ada was invited by King Taxis of Accra,marched up to Kantamanso village near Dodowa to join the GA’s, Danes and other allies and Ashanti was defeated.

• 1876: Glover war Adidome Captain Glover led the allied forces from Ga,Ada,Krobo,Krepi,Akwapim against Anglo supported by Avenors, Mafi defeated Anglo and allies defeated in battles of Adidome Avenor and wheta.

GHANAIAN | KENTE | BLACK QUEEN | AFRICAN

Fort Kongenstein (Danish: Fort Kongensten) was a Danish trading fort located in Ada Foah, Ghana built in 1783. A greater portion of the fort has since been washed away by the sea waves.

The Dutch were the first to open trade between Europe and Ada in the 16th century and built a new trading post here in 1775. Later, the Danes took over, who at this time had power over the whole coast east of Accra. They remained in Ada for more than a century and had business relationships with the locals. To defend their trading post against the attacking neighboring tribes, the Danes built Fort Kongenstein in 1783.[2] This fort actually gave Ada Foah its name: Ada Fort, village of the fort - Wikipedia

Photography by Kwadwo Buenortey,2021

Potraite with the beautiful Asi

Photography by Buenortey 2021

My first time at a gallery like this.. you will love it. So much to learn and connects with. Feel so good to have captured this.

Buenortey ©2021

“I hope that my presence on your screens and in magazines may lead you, young girl on a similar journey that you would feel the validation of your external beauty but also get into the deeper business of being beautiful inside. That there’s no shade in that beauty.” – @lupitanyongo

Photography by ME