The Oguaa Traditional Council has announced a ban on noise-making, effective Tuesday, 5th August 2025, as part of spiritual preparations for this year’s Oguaa Fetu Afahye celebrations. The 21-day ban will remain in place until Tuesday, 26th August 2025.
Under the leadership of Omanhen Osabarima Dr. Kwesi Atta II, and with the support of traditional priests and elders, the Council conducted solemn rites at Emitsimadze to officially begin the annual 21-day ban on drumming, noise-making, and fishing in the sacred Fosu Lagoon.
This traditional observance marks the spiritual beginning of the Oguaa Fetu Afahye, a festival rich in cultural and ancestral heritage. The ban, which will last for three weeks, aims to invoke peace, cleanse the land, and spiritually prepare the community for the festival’s climax in September.
The rites were performed by the traditional priest of the Fosu Shrine, who called on the spirits of the ancestors and the deity of the lagoon to protect the people, grant a successful celebration, and ensure harmony throughout the period.
According to the Oguaa Traditional Council, the Fosu Lagoon is now closed to all fishing activities, and all forms of drumming, loud music, and noise-making are strictly prohibited in the municipality until the ban is officially lifted.
“We appeal to residents, churches, and all institutions to respect this tradition. It is not just a ritual, but a way of preserving the spiritual and cultural integrity of the Oguaa people,” said an elder of the Council.
The 21-day period also serves as a time for reflection, purification, and renewal — leading into the grand durbar and series of cultural events that climax the Fetu Afahye celebrations in the first week of September.
The Oguaa Fetu Afahye remains one of Ghana’s most iconic traditional festivals, attracting thousands of visitors annually and symbolizing unity, gratitude, and communal pride.
