Kpedze to celebrate 4th Awatukpe Festival from September 26
The fourth edition of the Kpedze Awatukpe Festival will take place from September 26, 2026, in Kpedze in the Ho West District of the Volta Region, with organisers seeking to preserve the community’s cultural heritage while mobilising citizens to contribute to its development.
Togbe Gaxa RFK Allu, Chairman of the Cultural Sub-Committee of the Kpedze Awatukpe Za 2026, said the month-long celebration would feature a series of traditional, cultural, sporting and social activities, culminating in a grand durbar on the last Saturday of October.
Explaining the origins of the festival, Togbe Gaxa said Awatukpe was closely connected to the identity and history of the people of Kpedze, who are known as “Awatukpedzeawo”, meaning “those who penetrated through bullets.”
“The name Kpedze was carved from ‘Awatukpedzeawo,’ while Awatukpe reflects the community’s historical identity and warrior tradition,” he stated.
He said a major highlight of the celebration would be the Awatukpe procession, “during which community members go into the bush with firearms as warriors, under the leadership of their traditional leaders and warlords.”
According to Togbe Gaxa, gunshots are traditionally fired from different directions during the procession, while participants collect the bullets in pots carried by a young woman, young girl or young boy.
The procession is also accompanied by traditional music, including the beating of the Kalevu, the drums of the warriors.
He explained that the festival goes beyond the preservation and promotion of Kpedze’s cultural heritage, as it also provides an opportunity to bring together people of Kpedze origin to discuss and support the development of the community.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Harnessing the Potentials of Citizens, Building Our Community Together.”
Togbe Gaxa said the theme was intended to encourage citizens, traditional leaders, the youth and other stakeholders to work together to restore Kpedze to its former glory.
He noted that previous editions of the festival had contributed to community development initiatives, including efforts to address water challenges.
For the 2026 celebration, he said the community’s major development focus would be the construction of an event and cultural centre.
He described the proposed facility as a major project which, when completed, would provide a platform for showcasing Kpedze’s culture and identity while also serving as a venue for community activities.
As part of preparations for the festival, Togbe Gaxa said the community would begin with a traditional town-cleaning exercise known as “Aƒe babla and gbɔme kpɔkplɔ”, during which residents would clean the town and its surrounding areas.
Other activities would include the pouring of libation and the singing of dirges through the town by women, as well as “Dukɔ nugbuidodo”, a traditional peace-pipe smoking ceremony among the people of Kpedze.
A food bazaar will also form part of the celebration, providing residents and visitors with an opportunity to experience traditional foods associated with Kpedze and its ancestors.
The foods will include kpokplotsikple, kelengedzogbor, Wɔkple, damekoe or dakpletsroe adibabli, Kpedze Detsi with fufu, roasted yam and cocoyam, amakple, as well as a special preparation of akple and Mamaama with red oil without salt known as “kɔlɛ.”
Togbe Gaxa said the food bazaar was intended to promote the preservation of traditional cuisine and reconnect the younger generation with foods traditionally eaten by their forefathers and grandparents.
The youth will also participate in a football gala, while Junior High School students in the community will compete in a quiz competition. Indoor games will also be organised to broaden youth participation in the festival.
Another key activity will be a visit to the community’s ancestral home, where participants will honour and remember their ancestors, some of whom Togbe Gaxa said were buried there.
He said libation would be poured, sacrifices made and traditional foods offered before participants returned to the community.
The Cultural Sub-Committee Chairman stressed that the participation of citizens from different backgrounds was crucial to the future development of Kpedze, noting that the responsibility could not be left to traditional leaders or the youth alone.
“We want to harness the potential of all our citizens so that we work and build Kpedze together,” he said.
He added that the 2026 Awatukpe Festival would therefore serve not only as a celebration of Kpedze’s history and cultural heritage but also as a platform for mobilising citizens and resources towards the sustainable development of the community.
