The first drumbeat arrives after weeks of waiting.

For two weeks before Ohumkan, the streets of Kibi and neighbouring Akyem communities fall into an unusual calm. Drumming stops. Dancing pauses. Even loud celebrations are set aside. Then, on Tuesday in June or July, the silence breaks.

The rhythm of traditional drums returns, chiefs emerge in colourful kente, and a celebration that honours both history and harvest fills the air.

Known as the first Ohum festival, Ohumkan marks the anniversary of the Akyem Nation while giving thanks for a successful harvest. It is one of the Eastern Region’s most cherished traditions, connecting generations through customs that have endured for centuries.

The festival centres on Kibi, the traditional capital of Akyem Abuakwa, but its spirit extends to surrounding villages where families gather, visitors return home, and public spaces come alive with music and ceremony.

The days of celebration feature grand processions of chiefs carried in palanquins beneath richly decorated umbrellas. Their arrival is greeted by the sound of talking drums, horn blowers and enthusiastic crowds dressed in vibrant cloth.

Elders perform customary rites that honour ancestors and reaffirm the community’s bond with its land, while prayers of thanksgiving recognise the blessings of the farming season.

The contrast between the quiet weeks beforehand and the joyful release of the festival gives Ohumkan its emotional power. The period of restraint encourages reflection, making the celebration feel earned rather than routine.

Today, Ohumkan remains more than a cultural spectacle. It strengthens family ties as relatives return home, provides a stage for local artisans and performers, and reminds younger generations that tradition is something to be lived, not simply remembered.

For travellers exploring Ghana’s heritage, witnessing Ohumkan offers something rare: the chance to experience a festival where silence itself becomes part of the celebration, and every returning drumbeat tells the story of a people proud of their past and hopeful for the seasons ahead.

The crack of muskets rolls across Ada’s coastline, and for a moment, history feels close enough to touch.

Every year, from the last Thursday in July until the first Saturday in August, the Greater Accra town transforms into a living tribute to courage.

Chiefs dressed in regal cloth lead colourful processions, warriors recreate scenes from battles long past, and crowds gather to celebrate Asafotufiam, one of Ghana’s most distinctive heritage festivals.

For the Ada people, the festival is more than a performance. It honours the victories of their ancestors, whose bravery helped shape the community’s history.

The word Asafotufiam itself reflects the military companies, or asafo groups, that defended the kingdom, making the celebration a reminder that peace today was built on sacrifice generations ago.

The festival’s atmosphere blends solemn remembrance with joyful reunion. Royal processions fill the streets as chiefs, queen mothers and traditional leaders receive greetings from residents and visitors alike.

Musket firing, carefully organised as part of the ceremonies, recreates the sounds of historic triumphs, while traditional drumming and dancing keep the energy flowing through the town.

Between the ceremonies, families reunite, old friendships are renewed, and local businesses thrive as visitors explore Ada’s hospitality.

The celebration also gives younger generations a chance to learn stories that are rarely found in textbooks, preserving history through lived experience rather than memory alone.

Set near the meeting point of the Volta River and the Atlantic Ocean, Ada provides a striking backdrop for a festival where heritage and landscape come together.

The surrounding beaches, estuary and vibrant streets add another layer to the experience, making Asafotufiam feel as much like a homecoming as a public celebration.

For anyone exploring Ghana’s cultural calendar, Asafotufiam deserves a place on the itinerary—not only for its dramatic ceremonies, but for how it keeps the spirit of Ada’s ancestors alive with every procession, every drumbeat, and every echoing musket salute.

Some of the world’s most compelling stories are hidden beneath our feet.

On Thursday, October 8, Accra will become the meeting point for architecture, history and environmental thought as Nairobi-based Cave_bureau brings its acclaimed lecture “Earth Spirit Practice: A Eulogy to Architecture” to Sir David Adjaye & Associates Limited.

Presented as the second event in the Earth and Other Works series by AFI x Adjaye Associates, the evening promises more than a discussion about buildings. It invites audiences to rethink the ground itself as a living archive of memory, resistance and repair.

Founded by Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi, Cave_bureau has earned international recognition for exploring caves, landscapes and geological formations across Kenya’s Great Rift Valley as places where forgotten histories can be rediscovered.

Their work connects architecture with art, research, storytelling and performance, asking what happens when the earth is treated as more than a foundation for construction.

Visitors can expect an intimate lecture that blends visual research, bold ideas and thought-provoking conversations about colonialism, climate change, materiality and ecological repair.

Rather than celebrating towering skylines, the session shifts attention underground, where layers of rock become witnesses to centuries of human experience.

For Ghanaian audiences, the event offers a chance to connect East and West African perspectives on heritage and the environment.

It also resonates with conversations around sustainable design and preserving cultural landscapes, issues that continue to shape Ghana’s rapidly growing cities.

International visitors looking beyond Accra’s beaches and nightlife will find an evening that showcases the city’s thriving creative and intellectual scene.

It is an opportunity to experience Ghana as a place where architecture becomes a bridge between continents, histories and futures.

As the conversation unfolds beneath the banner of Earth and Other Works, attendees will leave with a different way of seeing the ground beneath their feet—not as something ordinary, but as a story waiting to be read.