Festivals
Fetu Afahye: Cape Coast’s new year, marched through the streets of Oguaa
Central Region
Fetu Afahye
Photo: Kwame Ayisi and Fiifiabban / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Oguaa state’s biggest festival closes out the year with Asafo companies parading from Kotokuraba Market to the chief’s palace, marking a historic purification that ended a plague.
Fetu Afahye takes its name from "efin tu", clearing the dirt, a reference to a historic purification that is said to have ended an epidemic in Cape Coast. It marks the new year for the Oguaa traditional area.
On the day, Asafo companies in distinctive uniforms and flags parade from Kotokuraba Market through Chapel Square to the Paramount Chief’s palace, with drumming and the firing of traditional muskets along the route. The day closes with an interdenominational service, reflecting Cape Coast’s mixed Christian and traditional character.
It is a fully public, street-level festival in a compact town, and pairs naturally with a Cape Coast Castle visit since the parade route runs through the same streets.
When it happens
When it happens
What to see
- Asafo companies parading in full regalia with their own flags and colours
- The procession from Kotokuraba Market to the chief’s palace
- Drumming and the firing of traditional muskets along the route
- The interdenominational service that closes the day
Quick facts
- Region
- Central Region
- Host town
- Cape Coast (Oguaa)
- When
- First Saturday in September
- Who celebrates
- The Oguaa traditional area
- Marks
- The start of the Oguaa new year
Getting there
- Cape Coast is about two and a half to three hours west of Accra on the N1.
- Intercity coaches run from Accra’s Kaneshie and Circle terminals to Cape Coast.
- The parade route runs through the town centre, walkable from Cape Coast Castle.
Get directions
Visitor tips
- Combine with a Cape Coast Castle visit on the same trip — the parade passes close to the castle.
- Roads through the town centre close for the parade; plan on foot rather than by car that afternoon.
- Cape Coast Castle
Central Region
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- Elmina Castle
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