WHY #HOGBETSOTSO HAS A LOT IN COMMON WITH THE #YEAROFRETURN THAN ANY OTHER FESTIVAL IN GHANA
HOGBETSOTSO is the “festival of exodus” celebrates by the “ANLO” people every November about their historic escape from #SLAVERY into #Freedom under the cruel ruler King Agorkorli in his walled ancient city of Notsie to their current home by using wits and without a single bloodshed.
Now the key words here is #Exodus #Slavery, the fight for #Freedom and #wits which are all essentials to what the “Year of return” stands for. And this exodus of bringing home Blacks from the Diaspora to Africa must happen with wits without a single bloodshed. And the Anlo people have a history of using wits to outwit their oppressors.
Long before the coming of the Europeans and the start of the Trans-Africa slave trade, mighty Kingdoms with expertise in warfare emerged in Africa and one such Kingdom was #Notsie. So to stay safe away from slave raiders and wild animals, group’s of people and tribes sought refuge within the gated walls of Notsie.
So did the the Anlo people who once sought refuge in the gated wall of Notsie under King Adela as part of a collective tribe called Ewe-Dogbo, and enjoyed a relatively peaceful existence until Torgbui Agorkorli became King of Notsie after the death of King Adela. This was when everything changed and they became slaves in Notsie.
Oral history has it that King Agorkorli was a ruthless and wicked tyrant and subjected the Anlo and Ewe people to slavery in Notsie. He used forced labour from the Ewe-Dogbo people to build a mud wall around his city which measured 24 feet tall and 18 feet wide. He made them mix the mud with broken pots, hedgehogs bristles and prickly thorns, and so after working all day and night they all returned home limping and some even died.
Some say the wall was to keep slave raiders out whiles others said it was intentionally built by Agorkorli to keep his enemies from escaping his tyrannical rule.
But after decades of suffering under the wicked rule of King Agorkorli, The Ewe-Dogbo’s made a secret witty plan to escape. The plan had the women pouring waste water at a particular portion of the wall to soften it as well as pour the water from washing their menstrual underwears at the same portion to weaken the spiritual fortifications in the wall. It is believed menstrual water weakens the potency of mystical powers and Agorkorli had fortified the wall with mystical powers as well.
The ritual of pouring the waste water at the designated portion of the mud wall went on for days and probably months until they felt is was weak enough to be pushed down.
It is said that the Ewe-Dogbo people organized a drumming night and one leader Torgbui Tsali who was endowed by potent spiritual powers was said to have enchanted the drums to put all the royals and Torgbui Agorkoli to sleep and then one other powerful elder of the Ewe people Torgbi Tegli was carried in from were his was hidden and he used his “ADEKPUI”(spiritual dagger of liberation) to pierce the wall and speak some enchantments to weaken the spiritual fortification of the wall and then they pushed it down amidst the enchanted drumming.
Then they escaped by walking backwards with their faces towards the town so that their footprints appeared to be going into the town in order to confuse their persuaders.
Now this story has a lot in common with the year of return which is also a story of “Exodus” of Black people with a history of “Slavery” back home to “Africa” to find their roots and search for their identities. And where else to start from but with a people with a history of slavery resistance and a united struggle for freedom!!!
Two stories of a fight for freedom and self identity by the same tribe in 2 different centuries. Because the people of Anlo have suffered slavery from being caught in the early slave raiders attacking folks on the coast to being attacked by Armies backed by European forces especially the Danish who built #Fort_Prinzenstein, and the British who later bought the Fort.
The history of Anlo’s involvement in the Trans Atlantic slave trade cannot be underestimated for any reason by either the Ghanaian Government, the Danish Government or even the British. And the story of slavery in Anlo is a whole piece of essential history worth telling the world. And this story must be told, traced and preserved to help the Blacks from the Diaspora get in touch with their ancestry, culture and roots.
“HOGBETSOTSO” is the festival of EXODUS and the “YEAR OF RETURN” is also a festival of EXODUS. And this is why the government must tell our brothers from the Diaspora this rich history of how their Ancestors have used both wits and might to fight for freedom from slavery.
And the Anlo people have one of the best traditional foods the world would fall in love with.
Story By: Selorm Ameza Blackocean