Traditional Setup

Traditional Authority, History and Festival

The Aowin Municipal is made up of two traditional areas namely Aowin Traditional area with its seat at Enchi and Suaman Traditional area whose headquarters is located at Dadieso. The heads of the Traditional areas are called Paramount Chiefs who rule with the support of other divisional chiefs.

Historical records indicate that the Brusas are among the people who settled in Techiman from Sudan in the 12th-Century.

It is believed that when these settlers including the Brusas realised that their population was increasing rapidly, they moved out from Techiman to Moree on the Coast near Cape Coast. It is said that the Brusas among other settlers found big whales which transported them along the coastline. The other settlers such as the Nzemas settled in the Akobra Basins down to the present day Half Assini. The Brusas being typical farmers, moved north east to the forest zone.

Another historical source has it that the Suaman people at the present day Dadieso migrated from neighboring La Cote d’Ivoire and settled along river Bia.

Oral history tells that the River was so hostile that they lost a lot of people through drowning. They therefore decided to move to a safer place which is their present place of abode.

The Aowin divisional area has a traditional festival called "Ellue" or Yam Festival. The yam festival is celebrated annually. The festival ushers in the new farming season and it is used to thank the gods and pray for another bumper harvest.

Tourism Attractions

Nature based eco-tourists will find Aowin Municipal a delightful place to visit. The large expenses of virgin forests, the rolling hills and valleys, the sparkling perennial rivers and the vast cocoa plantations make tourism to the Municipality intriguing for nature lovers. There are lots of specific outstanding displays of nature which are unique.

Examples include the “Asubensue” rock, which is a hanging rock at Dadieso and the “Biggest Tree”, a tree with a girth of 3.7 metres at Apugya near Yakasi, just to mention a few. Good hotel accommodation is available at Enchi, the Municipal capital and at Dadieso.

The Municipal Assembly itself has a guest house of Enchi and there are four other standard hotels in the town owned by private interests. Similarly, Dadieso has three good hotels, all of which provide suitable comfort for visitors.

In March and April each year, visitors to the district can enjoy yet another spectacle – the annual yam festival (Eluelie), celebrated by both the Aowin and Suaman traditional areas. The festival is celebrated to purify the stools and to “feed” the ancestors with the new yam before the populace consumes it.

The Aowin Municipal has several facets and lots of opportunities for investors and tourists alike. The Municipal Assembly, supported by the Central Government is earnestly upgrading the roads and other economic and social infrastructure. This is making it even easier for investors to exploit the numerous opportunities offered by the Municipality.

The Municipality is endowed with a huge potential for Tourism development. There are numerous places that would draw tourists into the Municipality if properly developed and packaged. These include Historical sites like Fort St. Antonio and Paa Grant’s House and burial place at Axim, First President Dr. Nkrumah’s birth place and original burial tomb at Nkroful, Nature sites like Ahunyame Rock formation, Boboayisi Island at Axim, 70km of sandy beaches and coves and the navigable Ankobra river linking the northern and southern parts of the Municipality, the Wetlands and the famous Kundum Festival celebration of the people in the Municipality.

The Assembly is ready to facilitate the identification of these potentials and encourage their development through Public Private Partnerships. This would create employment and generate revenue for the Municipality.