Togo, jewel of West Africa

Togo is a country of cultures and traditions. The ethnic groups that comprise it (about fifty) have their own rites, their festivals, their way of life and organization, their way of understanding the world around them. The richness of the country lies in their diversity and in their still relatively preserved and authentic character. One of the privileged moments to delve into these beliefs and traditions are the traditional festivals. They are generally an opportunity to thank the gods and ancestors and to remember the origins. Although initiatory rites tend to disappear due to modernity, some populations continue to practice them in an ancestral way. The Maritime region provides an opportunity to discover animist and voodoo rites around Aného and Togoville. These practices are deeply rooted in the communities and still rhythm the life of the villages. The region is the setting for very beautiful traditional festivals such as those of Epe-Ekpe (in Glidji, New Year of the Guin), Dezan (diaspora of Togoville) or Ekpan (carnival of Agbodrafo). Towards Tsévié and Notsé, at the heart of the historical center of the Ewe people, there are also some very beautiful festivals: Agbogbo-za in Notsé, Ayiza in Tsévié. The Western Plateau region is mainly populated by farmers and cultivators living in the mountainous regions of Kpalimé, Badou, and Atakpamé. Further north, one encounters the Islamized populations of the Sokodé region (Tem) who have organized themselves around traditional chieftaincies. In Kara, you reach the Kabyé country, "the stone farmers" whose traditions are still manifested today through the "Evala wrestling". To the west are the Bassar who knew the ancestral ironwork. 50 km to the north are the Bétammariba and perhaps the country's most prestigious site: the Koutammakou landscape (also known as Tamberma country) whose populations and fortified dwellings (takienta) are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Finally, in the Dapaong region, one will encounter the Moba-Gurma people and their ancestor worship. Each of these ethnic groups and cultures bears witness to Togo's very great cultural diversity.