Hunting
Hunting has been done since the early days of creations. It is a form of survival for food and later became a profession practised across the world. However, in Africa, hunting is also practised as a sport.
In Ghana, the Aboakyer Festival, commonly known as the Deer-Hunting festival, is an annual festival that is celebrated on the first Saturday of May each year. The Festival is celebrated by the people of Simpa or Winneba (Efutus) in the Central Region of Ghana.
The Aboakyer festival honors the migration of the people of the Western Sudan Empire to Simpa or what is today called Winneba. The people were required to appease the god Penkye Otu who they believe guided them to their new land. The god required a human sacrifice from the members of the royal family and over the years, the people pleaded to the god for an animal sacrifice rather than a human sacrifice. The god accepted the deer in exchange for human sacrifices. This started the deer-hunting which has been transformed into a sport.
Groups of young men go into the forest from the start of the festival and the first people to return with a living and uninjured deer wins the sport. They get gifts and the deer is used for the sacrifice.
