Fetu festival and the 77 deities of Oguaa

Cape Coast is one of the oldest and popular cities in Ghana. Many beautiful things and a few not so beautiful, gives it a unique place in the history of our nation Ghana. Its place is cemented in history forever.

Apart from the city’s enviable accolade as the birth of education in the country, there is no doubt that the town is one of the most peaceful in the country.

With its ever-increasing educational establishments, the first thing that comes to mind when Cape Coast is mentioned is quality education.

Educational institutions including Mfanstipim School, Adisadel College, Holy Child School, Aggrey Memorial Zion Secondary School Wesley Girls High School and Ghana National College have created and maintained this impression.

The ancient city of Cape Coast also stands on a pedestal as a custodian of historical monuments.

Cape Coast lies south of the Gulf of Guinea and has a population of about 169,894 according to the 2010 population and housing census.

The 77 deities

Being the smallest metropolitan assembly in the country with a total land size of 122 square kilometres, Cape Coast, known traditionally as Oguaa, is a home to as many as 77 deities.

The 77 deities are believed to play critical roles in the protection and prosperity of the indigenes of the town according to the traditional rulers.

One of the key gods of the land, Nana Paprata, receives a sacrificial cow at the Papratem shrine as part of activities to mark the annual Fetu festival.

Living in Cape Coast

There is also no doubt about the altruism that Cape Coasters as they affectionately called themselves, are very warm people who are noted for their generosity towards visitors.

One can easily identify him or herself with the people of Oguaa on the very day of visit. Cape Coast is a lively city to live in. The people are unassuming yet would not want to be taken for granted. The average Cape Coaster would not rush the day. He would rather do at his or her own pace. Many have called them lazy. Well, this has not done much to change their perceptions about rushing the day. They just don't rush it, period!

Transportation

Visitors to Cape Coast for many reasons, especially as tourists. But whether you come in as a tourist or a student , the frustrations in commuting through hectic traffic jams, which is a common feature of most of the cities in the country, especially Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi, is absent in Oguaa.

There is absolute comfort in commuting in and around Oguaa. There are virtually no traffic jams in the Cape Coast Metropolis. The metropolis also has quite a number of good roads.

The good road network within the city and its adjoining communities enable commuters to easily move from one place to another.

It must be put on record that unlike Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi where the major means of transportation is by “trotro”, the story in Oguaa is different. The major means of transportation in and around Cape Coast is by taxis.

Cape Coasters abhor old and rickety taxis

Drivers with old taxis in the metropolis only waste their fuel roaming in town in search of passengers.

Some of the drivers ply fixed routes with standard fares while others normally called “mprapram” roam the town to look for passengers.

Tourist sites, recreation centres

Cape Coast is perhaps known for its tourist sites more than any other thing .

There are so many historic places to visit in the town.

These include the magnificent Cape Coast Castle which played an infamous role in the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and the first Methodist, Anglican and Roman Catholic church buildings.

The first school in the country, the Philip Quaque boys school still exists educating young boys for life.

People who visit Oguaa for the first time have a lot to learn and stories to tell on their return.

Restaurants and eateries

Oguaa is perhaps one of the cities in the country where well-cooked dishes are served to the taste of all classes of people. Meat eaters as well as vegetarians can find restaurants to satisfy their tongues.

The town is dotted with many restaurants, fast food joints and “chop bars”. The menu list is endless. You can expect the popular banku with “Fante Fante stew”. Rice balls, fufu, kokonte, boiled plantain, beans and gari, fried rice, fried yams, among others are all served, in eateries in Cape Coast.

The ones that easily come to mind are Ahema Locals, the Emma Locals, Meet Me There, Geegees Spot, Oasis restaurant and the good old Solace restaurant.

Foreign nationals who visit Oguaa are not denied the opportunity to find foods they are used to. There are a number of restaurants that specialise in cooking both local and continental dishes.

There is no boring day in Cape Coast. Live band music is played at most of the restaurants and the beach resorts.

Revellers who visit Oguaa are often thrilled with the aesthetic beauty of the landscape of Oguaa with its old colonial buildings that makes you hate to love the ancient city.

Fetu Festival

The Fetu festival, which is celebrated by the people of Cape Coast in the Oguaa Traditional Area is one of the popular festivals in Ghana.

The festival attracts scores of observers and is celebrated in the first week of September every year.

The festival was referred to as “ Black christmas“ by the white colonial masters in the pre-colonial times . It is held to mark a bumper harvest season and to thank the 77 deities of the Oguaa Traditional Area.

Sights and sounds of the festival include colourful processions of the chiefs and queen mothers in their beautiful palanquins to the durbar grounds. The procession generates a lot of excitement as the chiefs and queen mothers are cheered on by their subjects.

The seven ’Asafo’ companies precede the chiefs in the procession. They have played very crucial roles in the development of communities defending their people in wars and cannot be ignored. They include the Bentsir, Anaafo, Ntsin, Nkum, Abrofomba, Akrampa and Amanful.

Before the grand durbar to climax the Fetu festival, the week-long celebration is packed with several uncommon activities including the popular “Akoms Night”.

The Akoms Night is the dance display of traditional priests and priestesses. The “Akomfo” (priests and priestesses) dress in white calico with white paintings on their legs and other parts of their bodies dance to the admiration of the patrons of the show.

Drumming and dancing by the various “Asafo Companies” (warrior groups) is what many people describe as the best part of the entertaining segment of the Fetu festival.

A significant feature of the Fetu festival is the regatta on the Fosu lagoon which takes place on the Tuesday preceding the first Saturday of September. The regatta is a sight to behold. All the Asafo companies engage in special racing on the lagoon to show their ingenuity in the use of canoes on the lagoon. This is after the Bakatue ritual. The Omanhen, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, throws a fishing net to symbolise the official lifting of ban on fishing activities in the Fosu lagoon.

"Orange Friday"

A new addition to the activities for the festival is the well patronised “Orange Friday”. It is an all orange procession of the youth through the principal street . One gets to know who has come for the festival.

51st anniversary

This year's celebration of the Fetu festival marks the 51st anniversary celebration. It is expected to be a great gathering, particularly the climax on September 5, 2015.

The Chairman of the festival's planning committee, Nana Kwodwo Addae, says this year’s celebration will be grand. He said all Ghana must troop to Cape Coast to join in the celebration of the city's history.