Our Culture
The Oti region could best be described as macrocosm of Ghana. The region is heterogeneous and has diverse socio-cultural practices. There are twenty-one (21) paramountcies in the region. There are about 25 different ethnic groups and dialects found in the region. Major ethnic groups are the Guan-speaking tribes, and they include Krachi, Nchumuru/Chonke, Buem, Nkonya, Asante, Akyode, Adele, Ntrobo, and others.
We equally have migrant settler tribes including the Konkombas, Ewes, Dagombas, Hausa, Kotokoli among others. In terms of religious practices, three (3) major religions are dominantChristianity (65%), Islam (25%), and African traditional religion (10%)
Festivals we celebrate
The people of the Oti Region celebrate various festivals which attract patronage from within and outside the region. The famous among these are; Yam festival of the people of Akyode and chonke traditional areas, Nanaba/Dente Akwambo festival celebrated by the people of Krachi, Sankyiba festival by Chiefs and people of Nkonya Wuropong, Akwantutenten by Chiefs and people of Worawora
Yam Festival
Yam festival of the people of Akyode
Gyogyi is the annual yam festival celebrated by the people of Akyode, in the Oti Region of Ghana. The Akyode as an ethnic have a unique culture which is very pivotal for socio-politico-economic development. Gyogyible on the other hand is the climax of all the yam festivals of the individual towns.
The origin of the celebration is the conscious acknowledgment of the blessing bestow on men through yam by the supernatural and the Brukum Stool. Men were able to change the wild yam into the current yam with varieties which produce big tubers within a few months against any other such root tuber crops known by the Akyode people.
Kete Krachi festival Nanaba
Nanaba Festival
Kete Dance Originated from Kete-Krachi
According to history, the Kete dance, although a dance from the Asantes was actually copied from the people of Kete-Krachi. It used to be a dance for the Kete-Krachi hunters and when the Asantes conquered them during a war, they took over the dance, this is evident of the symbolic cloth used to cover the Kete drums known as “sum ne mogya” meaning, “Darkness and Blood”.
Akwantutenten Festival
Akwantutenten Festival
The chiefs and people of Warowaro who are Akans celebrate their new revived festival called Akwantutenten. This festival is to commemorate the exodus of the people of Warowaro from Ashanti-land to their present abode.
It is celebrated like most Akan festival culminating in a colourful durbar of chiefs on a Saturday. Chiefs sit in state to receive homage from their subjects. Thousands of citizens and other Akans throng the town of Worawora to give of their best.
The festival, a major crowed puller, involves a pilgrimage to their first settlement up the hills overlooking the hills at which foot the present settlement is located.
Tourism
The Oti Region has many potential tourist sites scattered across the Region.
Kyabobo National Park
National Park (pronounced CHAY-a-bobo) is one of Ghana’s newest eco-tourism sites. The 220-square –kilometer Kyabobo National Park is recognized internationally as a unique mountainous conservation area with stunning views and well-protected wilderness.
Kyabobo is located in the Nkwanta district of the northern Volta region on the border with Togo. The nearest town is Nkwanta. The reserve was established in 1997. Ghana’s second-highest mountain, Mount Dzebobo is contained within the park and offers visitors an impressive view of Lake Volta.
Shiare waterfalls
Shiare is a village mountain settlement in the breast mountains in the Oti region of Ghana. The Oti Region is in the northern part of the Volta Region.
Shiare is a part of Nkwanta South Municipal District. It is noted that the village settlement is nine centuries old. It is north of the Oti Region in Ghana. The village is known as ‘The Hanging Village’. The closest town is Nkwanta.
Oral history says that the people of Shiare migrated from Ejisu in the Ashanti region. The Shiare village is on and around the Breast Mountains in Ghana. They practice their traditional religion. The village is believed to be 900 years old
The Hanging village
For over nine centuries, a village is said to have been built far North of Oti region in Ghana. Shiare is the name, also known as The Hanging village. The name ‘Hanging village’ was given to them by Europeans due to how far apart they were from the rest of the people within the region many years ago.
The people of Shiare are Guans and speak akyode. Living in a very unique style, their houses, made of rocks and clay are built on a terrace, formed along the contour of the mountain. The people of Shiare notably traditionalists also have Christians living among them.
The Breast Mountains at Odomi
Shiare is a village mountain settlement in the breast mountains in the Oti region of Ghana. The Oti Region is in the northern part of the Volta Region
The chief of Kromase is called kromase wura. But the chief of Shiare can be called shiare wura or osulewura, which means king of the kingdom. The Peoples