Why the Asantehene has postponed the Odwira Festival indefinitely

The planned 2025 Odwira Festival, which was scheduled to begin on October 31, 2025, has been postponed by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

The postponement by Otumfuo follows a decision that was reached and announced at a meeting of the Asanteman Council held at the Manhyia Palace on Thursday, October 16, 2025.

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According to a report by opemsuo.com, Otumfuo gave reasons for the postponement, stating that per Ashanti tradition, a successor for the late queen mother must be enstooled and the necessary rites performed.

Additionally, the report indicated that the demise of the late Asantehemaa, Nana Konadu Yiadom III, was also part of the reasons for the decision.

“Tradition demands that a successor is enstooled and the requisite stool rites done at Wirempe. After that, we will have to hold a funeral for the late queen,” the report quoted him as saying.

A new date, however, is yet to be announced and will be communicated at the appropriate time.

The report also said that it has been 64 years since the last Odwira Festival was observed.

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The Odwira Festival is celebrated annually with a series of traditional rituals performed to purify the town, the people, and most importantly, the ancestral stools of the chiefs.

It also marks the celebration of the harvest of new yams.

MAG/AE

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