Festivals

Festivals are common features of all the ethnic groups in the country. In the Ashanti Region, festivals are few. The Akwasidae is a major festival held regularly at six-week intervals and nine times in a year. It is celebrated to remember past Asante leaders and heroes / heroines.If it falls on a Sunday, it is celebrated as Adaekese.

Language and ethnicity

Like the other regions of the country, there are many ethnic groups in the Ashanti Region. The 2010 Population and Housing Census (PHC) shows the largest group as the Akan  including Asante (74.3%), followed by the Mole-Dagbani (11.3%), Ewe (3.8%) and Gurma (2.8%). About 30.5 percent of the Akan in the country are in the Ashanti Region. The Mole-Dagbani population in the Ashanti Region is the second highest in the country after the Northern Region, their ancestral home. The populations of Mande (35.1%) and Grusi (16%) in the Ashanti Region are the highest in the country. The people of Asante speak mainly a major branch of Akan called Asante Twi.

Religion

About 77.8 percent of the people in the region in 2010 are Christians of different denominations. The proportion of Muslims is 15.3 percent, the second largest, while those with no religious affiliation are 5.4 percent and 0.7 percent are traditionalists.

Tourist Attractions

The region has a number of tourist attractions that include the museum at the Asantehene?s palace, a Cultural Centre and a sword which was stuck in the ground by Komfo Anokye in Kumasi, the Bosomtwi crater lake, the inland fort in Kumasi, the kente weaving industry at Bonwire and the Akwasidae festival. Other tourist attractions include the Owabi Arboretum and Bomgobiri wildlife sanctuaries.

Ethnicity

Table 3.9 shows the distribution of the population in the region by ethnicity and district. The ethnic groups identified are Akan, Ga-Dangme, Ewe, Guan, Gurma, Mole-Dagbon, Grusi and Mande. The Akan – comprising Akwamu, Fante, Denkyira, Akyem, Kwahu, Sefwi, Wassa, Akwapim and Assin – is the predominant ethnic group in the region (74.2%), followed by Mole-Dagbon (11.3%), Ewe (3.8%), Gurma (2.8%), Mande and Grusi (2.0% each), Guan (1.5%) and Ga-Dangme with the lowest proportion (1.2%).

In the districts, Amansie Central (91.4%) is the most heavily Akan-populated district. In 25 districts the proportions of Akan are between 50 percent and 90 percent. Offinso North (44.2%) and Ejura-Sekyedumase (32.1%) have low proportions. The proportion of the Mole-Dagbon is highest in Offinso North (35.0%), followed by Ejura-Sekyedumase (31.5%). The proportions exceed 20 percent in Ahafo Ano North (21.6%) and Offinso Municipal (21.5%). In nine districts, the proportions are between 10 percent and 20 percent and in the remaining 14 districts, the proportions are below 10 percent; the lowest proportion is 3.3 percent in Bosome Freho.

The population of Ewe in the region is concentrated in Adansi South (18.5%). In eight districts, the proportions are between 5 percent and 10 percent. In another 13 districts, the proportions are between 1 percent and 5 percent and in the remaining five districts, the proportions are below 1 percent, with the lowest in Sekyere Central, 0.3 percent.

The population of the Gurma in six districts is from 10 percent in Offinso North and Ahafo Ano North to 17.2 percent in Ejura-Sekyedumase. In three districts, the proportions are between 5 percent and 10 percent. In five other districts, the proportions are between 1 percent and 5 percent and in the remaining five districts, the proportions are below 1 percent the lowest is 0.5% in Amansie Central.

The Grusi population is concentrated in two districts, Ejura-Sekyedumase (4.6%) and Sekyere Central (4.1%). In the remaining districts, the proportions are from 0.7 percent in Amansie Central, Amansie West and Afigya Sekyere to 3.0 percent in Mampong Municipal. In 18 districts, the proportions are below 2.0 percent.

The Mande are concentrated in four districts, Ejura-Sekyedumase (5.5%), Offinso Municipal (5.3%), Ahafo Ano North (4.3%), Ahafo Ano South (4.0%) and Atwima Mponua (3.9%). In the rest of the districts, the proportions are mostly below 2.0 percent.

The Guan population is mainly in Ejura-Sekyedumase (4.3%), Kumasi Metropolis (2.5%) and Asante Akim South (2.4%), while the proportions are mostly below 1.0 percent in the remaining districts.

The Ga-Dangme are mainly in three districts, Asante Akim South and Adansi North (5.7% each) and Adansi South (4.6%). In the rest of the districts, the proportions are mostly below 1.0 percent.

the remaining nine districts, the proportions are below 10 percent; the lowest is in Amansie Central (4.2%), followed by Bosumtwi (4.5%).

The proportions of traditionalists are between 2 percent and 4 percent in five districts. In 14 districts, the proportions are below 1 percent. Amansie Central (15.0%) and Amansie West (12.9%) have a relatively high population with no religious affiliation. In nine districts, the proportions of persons with no religion range from 8.0 percent in Ahafo Ano South and Ahafo Ano North to 9.4 percent in Offinso North. In another 12 districts, the proportions are between 5 percent and 8 percent. The proportions are less than 5 percent in the remaining four districts, with the lowest in Kumasi Metropolis (2.9%).