Ho: Museum, Missionary History and Asogli Yam Festival

Ho is the capital of the Volta Region and offers culturally minded travelers several distinct points of interest: the Volta Regional Museum, the church-history sites in Ho-Kpodzi, and the Asogli Yam Festival. These topics also have different historical time frames. The museum opened in 1973, while the history of the bell in Ho-Kpodzi dates back to 1929. The festival, in turn, takes place every September. If you are planning a trip to Ho, you can first consider whether a museum, a historic site, or a recurring festival will be the focus of your cultural visit. Together, these topics range from a single building to a festival that also involves surrounding places.

The Volta Regional Museum

The Volta Regional Museum is located in Ho, the capital of the Volta Region. Its building formerly housed the office of the Regional House of Chiefs. The museum itself opened in 1973. Thus, two historical references come together here: the building’s former use and the museum’s opening. The year 1973 refers to the museum’s opening. For travelers interested in the history of regional institutions, this distinction is a good starting point for understanding the museum as a cultural point of interest in its own right in Ho. The building’s former use points to the Regional House of Chiefs; the museum’s opening gives its present name its own historical context. In addition to this subject, the church-history sites in Ho-Kpodzi represent a different historical focus.

Church history in Ho-Kpodzi

In Ho-Kpodzi, the old church bell stands in front of the old chapel of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG). The bell is a relic of the presence of the Bremen missionaries. In 1929, church missionary Rev. Alex Funke returned it to its original location in Ho-Kpodzi after it had been in captivity for 60 years. The year and the long period in captivity make its return a specific part of the bell’s history. The chapel is one of the oldest multi-storey buildings in the Volta Region. Ho-Kpodzi also has a missionary cemetery associated with the area’s church history. The bell, chapel, and cemetery thus represent different aspects of its religious and architectural heritage. Those interested in these subjects will find a distinct point of interest in Ho-Kpodzi alongside the museum: here, missionary history and the old chapel take center stage.

Asogli Yam Festival: September harvest festival

The Asogli Yam Festival is a harvest festival of the Asogli State (Ho) and the surrounding towns of Sokode, Abutia Klefe, and Akrofu. It is celebrated every September by the Chiefs Togbewo and Mamawo and the people of the Asogli State in the Volta Region. Its stated purposes include giving thanks to God, the gods, and the ancestors for a bountiful harvest, as well as praying for health and prosperity. The festival thus combines the harvest occasion with thanksgiving and prayer. Every year, a durbar of the chiefs and the people of Asogli at Ho Jubilee Park is the highlight of the Asogli Yam Festival. The park is the specific venue for this annual highlight; the festival’s wider scope also includes the surrounding towns mentioned above. This distinguishes the festival from the permanent historical points of interest in Ho and Ho-Kpodzi.

If you are looking for hotels in Ho, your trip’s focus can help with planning: if you mainly want to experience the Asogli Yam Festival, include the celebration, which takes place every September, in your travel dates and check the exact dates for that year. For a trip focused on the museum or church history in Ho-Kpodzi, the historical sites are the main attraction instead. This way, you can plan your travel dates around your reason for visiting without treating the museum, Ho-Kpodzi, and the festival as the same kind of experience.

Discover more destinations: Juapong, Mepe, Sogakope, Dzodze, Hohoe, Anloga

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