Bakatue Festival

The Bakatue Festival is celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Elmina in the Central Region of Ghana.[1] The festival, established at least as far back as 1847.It is celebrated on the first Tuesday in the month of July every year.[1]

Bakatue festival in 2016

The Dutch reported existence of the festival at least as far back as 1847 and was mentioned in a report by Governor Cornelis Nagtglas in 1860.[2] The festival is used to mark the beginning of the fishing season in Elmina.[3] The name Bakatue is from the Fante dialect and translates as "draining of a lagoon".[4] The celebration of the festival was instituted to commemorate the founding of Elmina by the Portuguese in the early days of the colonization of the then Gold Coast.[4] It also is used to offer thanks and prayers to the gods for a good fishing year.

  1. ^ a b "Festivals in Ghana". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  2. ^ Doortmont, Michel René; Smit, Jinna (2007). Sources for the Mutual History of Ghana and the Netherlands: An Annotated Guide to the Dutch Archives Relating to Ghana and West Africa in the Nationaal Archief, 1593-1960s. BRILL. p. 285. ISBN 90-04-15850-2. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  3. ^ "Bakatue". www.ghananation.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Edina Bakatue Festival". www.ghanaexpeditions.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2011.