Agortime celebrates Kente festival after five-year break

The chiefs and people of Agortime traditional area located in the Volta region and parts of the neighbouring country, Togo on Saturday, 10 August 2024 held a grand durbar to climax this year’s Kente festival in Kpetoe.

The celebration returned after being halted for five years. Thousands of people, including tourists from Europe, America and other parts of the African continent attended the last festival which was held in August 2019.

According to the planning committee of this year’s celebration, about 18,000 people attended the festival this year, and hundreds of African culture lovers from Germany, the USA, the United Kingdom and other Africans attended the durbar and participated in other activities to mark the festival in Kpetoe, the traditional capital of the traditional enclave.

Chiefs, Queens and their linguists from other traditional areas of the Volta region have also attended the festival, dressed in beautiful traditional regalia made of woven Kente clothes made in Agotime.

Ownership of Kente

In the 2019 celebration, Member of Parliament (MP) for the Agortime-Ziope district, Charles Agbeve, warned textile companies against printing kente designs without copyright permission from the people of Agortime, who are said to be the indigenous weavers of kente cloth.

Speaking at the durbar on Saturday, the MP reiterated the call on firms in the textile industry to seek copyright permission before printing designs of the kente cloth.

Over the years, textile industries mostly foreign industries, have taken advantage of Kente designs and colours, printing them out onto the market at cheap prices without copyright permission from its roots.

Kente, according to the Volta Regional Museum, is “woven in narrow strips that can be sewn together to make a large cloth and it is worn by Chiefs and people on special occasions to show their status and wealth.”

It further says that “the complex designs show the skills of the weaver and each design has a particular name and meaning,” and it is made out of cotton.

Using the festival to correct the wrongs

The Konor (Overlord) of the Agortime traditional area, Nene Nuer Keteku IV, in his welcome address at the durbar, called for unity in the area.

He said, “Some naysayers even wish this festival were not celebrated because the peacefulness it fosters bruises their selfish egos. To such people, I say, whether you are from the Togo side or Ghana side of Agotime, we share the same ancestors and together we can forge into a dawn of hope and a new beginning”.

The chief also used the occasion to call on the government to help the Agortime traditional area with potable water and health facilities.

“I want to highlight our acute water shortage and the importance of the Agenda 111 projects. Access to clean drinking water is essential for good health and increased productivity.”

The chairman of the grand durbar, Winifred Michael Kwaku Akakpo thanked all individuals and organisations who’ve supported the festival.

In an interview with the media, he outlined the importance of the festival and called for global attention. He also spoke about the economic benefits of the kente cloth, with a call on young people in the area to take advantage of the trade to support their education and career growth.

In his observation, he said the festival was well celebrated, devoid of partisan politics and feuds.

Kente, literally means, “open and wear”. It is woven out of cotton wool and commonly produced in Agortime.

Reporting by Albert Kuzor in the Volta Region

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