Next: 7 Nov 2026
Hogbetsotso
The Ewe festival of the exodus from Notsie, with a durbar of chiefs, drums, and the symbolic casting-out of bad.
When is Hogbetsotso in 2026?
Hogbetsotso 2026 is on Saturday, 7 November 2026. Other years: 2027, Saturday, 6 November 2027; 2028, Saturday, 4 November 2028.
About Hogbetsotso
The Hogbetsotso Festival, held on the first Saturday in November in Anloga and other Ewe towns in Ghana's Volta Region, recalls the escape of the Ewe from the tyrant king Agorkorli of Notsie, in what is now Togo, some four centuries ago. According to the story, the people walked backwards in the wet-mud of the walls, so that the footprints would seem to lead into the town, and escaped. The festival is marked with a week of events. Chiefs in kente cloth are carried in palanquins, and a durbar is held with drumming and dancing in the adzogbo and agbadza styles. The people also hold a ritual on the shore in which the evils of the past year are cast off by shouting, and a purification and a communal meal follow.
Hogbetsotso dates: 2026, 2027, 2028
| Year | Hogbetsotso date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Saturday, 7 November 2026 |
| 2027 | Saturday, 6 November 2027 |
| 2028 | Saturday, 4 November 2028 |
What is eaten
- akple
- fish stew
- palm wine
Traditions of Hogbetsotso
Also part of it, and being written: Ewe people (The community of the festival.).
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Hogbetsotso" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Agbadza: JY midey, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kente cloth: ZSM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source