Every 42 days, on a Sunday, the Asantehene sits in state at Manhyia Palace in Kumasi. Chiefs arrive under great umbrellas with their linguists and their drummers; horns announce them; elders and visitors fill the courtyard. It is Akwasidae, and it is one of the few occasions anywhere when a visitor can watch a living royal court at work.
Because the date is fixed by the Akan calendar rather than by the month, it is the one thing in a trip that cannot move. So we plan the rest around it. Here is how a week might look.
Thursday: arrive in Kumasi
Fly up from Accra or drive through the forest belt from the coast. Settle in, and in the evening walk out for a first dinner. Kumasi is a trading city and it feels like one: busy, practical, quick to laugh.
Friday: the palace museum
Before the ceremony, the history. The Manhyia Palace Museum, in the old palace, tells the story of the Asante kings, the Golden Stool, and the wars with the British. A morning here makes Sunday legible: you will know who you are looking at.
Saturday: the makers
A day in the craft towns around the city. At Bonwire, weavers at narrow looms build kente strip by strip. At Ntonso, cloth is stamped with adinkra symbols in a dye made from bark. At Ahwiaa, carvers shape stools. We visit workshops as guests; you can buy, and there is no pressure to.
Sunday: Akwasidae
Dress modestly and arrive early with your guide, who will explain the order of things as it unfolds: who is arriving, why they sit where they sit, what the talking drums are saying. The ceremony runs for several hours. Photography is allowed at some moments and not at others; we follow the palace's rules on the day.
The Sunday at Manhyia decides the shape of the week around it.
Monday: rest, then onward
A slow morning, perhaps Kejetia market with a trader as your guide, then onward: north towards Mole and the savannah, or south to the coast. Either way, the week has a centre.
Finding the date
We project Akwasidae dates from the 42-day cycle and confirm each one with the palace before building a trip around it. See the festival and court calendar for the dates we are working with, or start planning around one.
