The bicentenary durbar drew chiefs, queenmothers and former President Akufo-Addo to Akropong for one of Ghana’s oldest recorded festival traditions.
Okuapeman gathered at Akropong on September 25, 2026 for a Grand Durbar marking 200 years of the Odwira festival, one of the best known traditional celebrations in Ghana's Eastern Region.
Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo III, Paramount Chief of the Akuapem Traditional Area, led the gathering, joined by sub-chiefs, queenmothers, elders and residents from across the traditional area. Daily Guide Network reports that the durbar was held in full traditional regalia and accompanied by drumming, in a display organisers framed as both a homage to the ancestors and a statement of unity.
The bicentenary was held under the theme "200 Years of Odwira: Honouring Our Heritage, Securing Our Future."
Who attended
Among the guests were former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Samuel A. Jinapor, the Member of Parliament for Damongo. Other dignitaries were also present at the ceremony.
The presence of a former head of state at the durbar underlines how Odwira has grown beyond a purely local observance into a national cultural date, drawing political figures, business people and visitors to Akropong each year.
What Odwira is
Odwira is the annual festival of the Akuapem Traditional Area, whose seat is Akropong in the Eastern Region. A durbar is the formal public gathering at which chiefs sit in state, receive homage and address their people. It is usually the high point of a Ghanaian festival week, and it is where announcements about the affairs of the traditional area are often made.
Reaching a documented 200 years of continuous celebration is unusual, and it is the reason this year's edition was organised on a larger scale than normal.
Why it matters to Ghanaians abroad
For Akuapem families in the United States and elsewhere, Odwira is one of the fixed points on the calendar that pulls people home. Festival weeks are typically when funerals, family meetings, land matters and chieftaincy business are settled, because relatives who live overseas are in the country at the same time.
A bicentenary edition carries extra weight for those connections. The theme itself points forward as much as backward, pairing heritage with the future of the traditional area, which in practice usually means development projects, education support and investment drawn from both residents and the diaspora.
The festival's organisers have not, in the reporting available, announced specific follow-up projects tied to the 200-year milestone.
