Agbogbo-Za (Agbogboza)
The largest traditional festival of the Ewe people held each September to commemorate their ancestors' exodus from the walled city under the tyrant king Agokoli.
Where it happens
📍 Annually in September. · Togo
The Agbogbo-Za festival commemorates the exodus of the Ewe people from Notsie. It features historical reenactments, traditional ceremonies, and cultural performances celebrating Ewe heritage and history.
About Agbogbo-Za (Agbogboza)
Agbogbo-Za, also written Agbogboza or Agbogbozan, takes place every September at Notsé, the town in Haho Prefecture in Togo's Plateaux Region that the Ewe regard as their ancestral cradle.
The name means the festival ('za') of Agbogbo, the great sacred wall the Ewe were made to build at Notsé.
In the 17th century, the Ewe lived at Notsé under King Agokoli, remembered as a tyrant. He forced them to build a huge earthen wall around the city. According to oral tradition, the people escaped by having women pour wastewater on one spot until the wall softened, then breaking through and walking backwards so their footprints pointed toward the city and misled pursuers.
From Notsé, the Ewe dispersed across what is now Togo, Ghana and Benin.
The modern festival was instituted in the mid-1950s and has been held annually since. It draws Ewe chiefs and pilgrims from Togo, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria and the diaspora, including the Asogli State and the Anlo of Ghana.
It is both a remembrance of the exodus and a first-fruits celebration, with offerings of the new harvest to the gods and ancestors. It is organised by the Union Eweto and the Notsé traditional council under the paramount chief of Notsé.
Origins & significance
Scholars note the wall was archaeologically a religious and symbolic enclosure rather than a fortification, and that the wholly negative image of Agokoli may be a later reconstruction. The Anlo of Ghana commemorate the same exodus at their arrival point through the Hogbetsotso festival.
How it's celebrated
Historical reenactments, traditional ceremonies, cultural displays
Plan your visit
Fly into Lomé's Gnassingbé Eyadéma International Airport (LFW). Notsé is about 90-100 km north of Lomé via Tsévié on the main highway, roughly a 1.5-2-hour drive.
The main day is the Saturday grand durbar in early September, preceded by the first-Thursday rites. Atakpamé, the Plateaux regional town, lies further north and can serve as a base.
Whose festival it is
The culture
Ewe drumming and song. Documented at the festival are Agbadza, Borborbor, the Atopani talking drum, flute and castanet-style rattles.
The Ewe drum ensemble is built around a lead drum (atsimevu, or a master drum such as the agboba/gboba) with supporting sogo, kidi and kagan drums, the gankogui double bell and the axatse gourd rattle, over call-and-response singing.
Agbadza is the signature dance, alongside the recreational Borborbor. Dance and drama reenact the exodus, the crossing and the breach of the Notsé wall, echoing the tradition of the ancestors walking backwards as they fled.
Help keep this accurate
Festivals change year to year. If you know this one, from the community or as an organiser, a quick confirmation or correction keeps it right for everyone.
Log in to confirm this festival or suggest a change.
Embed this page on your site
Add a badge that links back to this official festival page.
