Ho: Museum, Church History, and Asogli Tradition

Ho brings together several distinct cultural and historical perspectives: the Volta Regional Museum, the story of a church bell in Ho-Kpodzi, and the annual tradition of the Asogli Yam Festival. The picture therefore ranges from a museum to specific sites of remembrance and a harvest festival in the wider travel area. When planning, consider whether you are particularly interested in historic buildings and church history, or would like to plan your stay around the festival in September.

Museum and Regional History in Ho

The Volta Regional Museum is located in Ho, the capital of the Volta Region. Its building once housed the office of the Regional House of Chiefs; the museum opened in 1973. Its former use and opening year give the site a specific historical context. For your trip, the museum thus combines a named cultural attraction with the history of a building that was once used as an office.

The scale is also useful for orientation: the museum is in the regional capital and bears the region’s name, while the building’s history is tied to its former use by the Regional House of Chiefs. If you are interested in these kinds of historical connections, you can take this focus into account when choosing where to stay in Ho. The museum information complements the other church histories, which are more closely connected to Ho-Kpodzi, with a distinct perspective of its own.

The Bell and Church History in Ho-Kpodzi

An old church bell stands in front of the old chapel of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG), in Ho-Kpodzi. Rev. Alex Funke returned it to its original location in Ho-Kpodzi in 1929, after it had spent 60 years in captivity. The bell is also a relic of the presence of the Bremen missionaries. Its precisely identified location and recorded story of return make it a distinct historical subject within Ho-Kpodzi’s cultural history.

The old chapel in Ho-Kpodzi is one of the oldest multi-storey buildings in the Volta Region. There is also a missionary cemetery there, associated with the town’s church history. The chapel, cemetery, and bell thus point to different but related aspects of this history: an old building, a place of remembrance, and the historical presence of the Bremen missionaries. For travellers interested in local history, these subjects offer a different perspective on Ho from the history of the regional museum.

The Asogli Yam Festival in September

The Asogli Yam Festival is a harvest festival of the Asogli State (Ho) and the surrounding towns of Sokode, Abutia Klefe, and Akrofu. In the wider travel area, it is celebrated every September by the chiefs Togbewo and Mamawo and the people of the Asogli State. Thanks are given to God, the gods, and the ancestors for a bountiful harvest; prayers are also offered for health and prosperity. The festival gives cultural planning a communal and seasonal focus, distinct from the year-round historical sites in Ho-Kpodzi.

Each year, a durbar of the chiefs and people of Asogli at Ho Jubilee Park is the highlight of the festival. If this celebration is a key reason for your trip, check the specific event dates in advance. That way, you can factor the festival period, which falls in September every year, into your plans without conflating it with the year-round cultural sites associated with the museum, chapel, cemetery, and bell.

Ho as a Place to Search for Your Trip

These cultural subjects make it easy to set a clear focus: in Ho, the regional museum and the Asogli Yam Festival take centre stage; Ho-Kpodzi is associated with the old chapel, the bell, and the missionary cemetery. If you are primarily interested in attractions located in Ho, you can search for a holiday rental there. If your trip includes the festival, the September date is also relevant. Which perspective suits your stay depends on whether you would rather focus on building and church history or the recurring festival tradition.

Discover more destinations: Sogakope, Mepe, Dzodze, Hohoe, Juapong, Anloga.

Back to the main travel overview: Volta.