Every 42 days, the Asantehene sits in state at Manhyia. How the Akwasidae festival keeps the Asante calendar

The Asante count their year in blocks of 42 days. At the end of each block, on a Sunday, the Asantehene comes out to meet his people.

That Sunday is Akwasidae. It is one of the Adae celebrations of the Asante, held roughly every six weeks, when the king of Asante, currently Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, sits in state at Manhyia Palace in Kumasi. Chiefs and queen mothers come to pay homage, drummers and horn blowers perform, and crowds gather to watch.

The 42-day cycle

The Akan traditional calendar combines a six-day week and a seven-day week, which line up every 42 days. That period, called adaduanan, meaning “forty days” in the old count, structures the ritual year. Each cycle has two Adae days: Akwasidae, which falls on a Sunday, and Awukudae, which falls on a Wednesday.

Akwasidae is the larger and more public of the two. Once a year, the celebration is expanded into Adae Kese, a grand festival that brings together chiefs from across the Asante kingdom.

Remembering the ancestors

Adae is a time to honour the ancestors, especially past kings. Before the public ceremony, rituals are performed at the stool house, where the blackened stools of departed rulers are kept. Food and drink are offered, and prayers are said for the wellbeing of the king and the people. On Adae days, many Asante avoid farming and other work, and some traditional restrictions apply.

The public durbar

The public part of Akwasidae is a spectacle. The Asantehene arrives in procession under a large umbrella, dressed in kente and gold ornaments, accompanied by attendants carrying swords, stools and regalia. The talking drums announce his arrival. Chiefs come forward in turn to greet him, often with dancing and drumming from their own retinues.

The ceremony is also a place for public business. Announcements are made, disputes may be mentioned, and gifts are presented. Visitors, including tourists, can attend the public durbar, and Manhyia’s courtyard fills with people in traditional cloth.

Why it still matters

Kumasi is a modern city, with traffic, malls and universities. The Adae calendar runs alongside the Gregorian one, and the Asantehene’s authority, though not political in the constitutional sense, remains powerful in land matters, dispute resolution and cultural life. Akwasidae is one of the clearest public displays of that authority.

For Asante living abroad, Akwasidae dates are often marked in community gatherings in cities such as London, New York and Toronto, keeping the calendar alive far from Kumasi.

For visitors

Anyone in Kumasi on an Akwasidae Sunday can see the ceremony at Manhyia. Dress respectfully, follow instructions from palace officials, and ask before taking photographs of chiefs and regalia.

The calendar that sets the date is older than the Asante kingdom itself. Every six weeks, it still tells a modern city when its king will appear.