Two companies of men race into the bush to catch a live deer with their bare hands. This is Aboakyer

In Winneba, on the first weekend of May, hundreds of men run into the bush before dawn with one aim: to catch a live deer with their bare hands.

This is Aboakyer, the annual festival of the Effutu people of Winneba in the Central Region of Ghana. The name means “game hunting”. Two rival Asafo companies, the traditional warrior groups of the town, compete to be first to catch a bushbuck and carry it back alive to the chief and people.

The two companies

The competitors are the Tuafo, known as Asafo Company Number One, and the Dentsefo, Number Two. Each has its own colours, songs, drums and history, and rivalry between them is intense. Members prepare for weeks. On the day, they set off into the hunting grounds with sticks and clubs but no guns, because the deer must be caught by hand.

The first company to return with a live deer is declared the winner. They carry it into town on their shoulders, singing and drumming, while crowds cheer and supporters of the losing company try to hide their disappointment.

Why a deer

The festival is tied to the Effutu god Penkye Otu. According to tradition, the Effutu migrated to the coast and settled at Winneba, and their god demanded an annual human sacrifice. The people pleaded for a substitute, and the god accepted a wild cat, caught alive. The cat was dangerous and hunters were hurt, so the offering later changed to a bushbuck, or deer.

The deer is presented to the chief and then sacrificed at the shrine of Penkye Otu. The ritual is meant to secure a good year for the town, and the way the deer behaves at the shrine is read as a sign of what the year will bring.

A festival and a homecoming

Aboakyer brings Winneba’s sons and daughters home from across Ghana and abroad. The days around the hunt are filled with durbars of chiefs, processions, drumming, dancing and parties. Tourists and visitors from other parts of the country come to watch, and the town’s hotels fill up.

Tension and safety

The rivalry between the two companies has at times turned violent, with clashes breaking out after disputes over the result or old grievances. Police are deployed in numbers during the festival, and in some years the hunt has been suspended or held under restrictions because of security concerns. Traditional authorities and the police now work together to keep the day peaceful.

Why it matters

Aboakyer is one of the clearest examples of how Ghanaian festivals combine religion, history, community pride and entertainment. It keeps alive the Asafo tradition, which once organised the defence of coastal towns, and it gives young men a public role in their community’s life.

For the winning company, the prize is a year of bragging rights. For the town, the prize is a deer caught alive, by hand, before the sun is high.