11/02/2024
ABOUT FOKUO FESTIVAL
Ntoa deity resides at Sessiman, a community at Nkoranza South in the Bono East Region of Ghana, and inspired a festival that has been celebrated for over 500 years. Although not widely known, the Sessiman Ntoa Forkuo afahye has been described as Ghana's largest and oldest festival of all time, owing to its existence prior to colonization. Forty (40) days before the festival, the Sessiman township goes into a state of reflection which is marked by a ban on noisemaking and other social activities.
It is believed that the Ntoa deity hibernates during this Forty (40) days period. Ntoa appears after the 40 days, and the festival takes off. The week-long festival begins with a special drumming to announce its start, it is also believed that, anyone who makes a mistake while playing a specific drum called Afehyia twene dies. Even the smallest mistake from the drummer prevents the deity from emerging fully from its shrine.
Additionally, residents are expected to grind and smear charcoal extracted from specific trees on their bodies. The Ntoa deity has a long-standing history to have fought great battles for the town in the past, it provides security, and make the land flourish. Ntoa whose origin is unknown, has served as the primary intermediary between its people and the Creator (Oboade), and it is through Ntoa that prayers are transferred to the Oboade (Creator).
The shrine where the Ntoa deity reside was built in 1918 and surprisingly, no church is permitted to operate in the Sessiman enclave because the inhabitants have accepted Ntoa as their one and only true deity apart from the 'Oboade' (Creator). In relation to this, residents who are Christians travel to neighboring towns to worship the Christian God.
