The Asogli State has changed its annual celebration from Asogli Yam Festival to its original name, Asogli Te Za.
The restoration of the original name according to a press statement issued on May 8, 2018 and signed by secretary to the Asogli State Council, Mr. Stephen Tetteh, is to ensure the festival reflects its traditional and cultural roots.
Asogli Yam Festival, now Asogli Te Za is celebrated annually by the Chiefs (Togbewo, Mamawo) and the people of Asogli State in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is celebrated every September to thank God and also the gods and ancestors for a bumper harvest, and as an occasion to offer prayers for good health and prosperity.
The statement said the cultivation of yam which is called “ete” in Ewe, meaning, it is swollen, was started by a hunter who found the tuber in the forest on his hunting expedition during the famine period.
The statement further said the cultivation of yam started when the hunter cooked some of the tuber for a meal and hid the rest in the soil for use some other time. When he later went back for it, it had germinated and grown bigger.
The celebration was brought into Ghana by the Ewes when they migrated from Notse in the Republic of Togo where it is still celebrated.
Mr. Stephen Tetteh also added that “the restoration of the original name of the Asogli Yam Festival to Asogli Te Za coincides with the 15th anniversary of the coronation of His Royal Majesty Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli State.”
By: Ewoenam Kpodo/voltaonlinegh.com
