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History
The exact
date of the Ewe settlement is South East Ghana is unknown, due
to the inconsistency of oral history. Settlement dates suggest
sometime between the late 15th century and the
early 16th century. The Ewe escaped from Notsie
(located in modern Togo) to settle in South East Ghana. Each
year a festival known as Hogbetsotso Za takes place to
commemorate this escape from the tyrant King in Togo. Early
settlements of the Ewe were actually on the beaches of the
Atlantic Ocean. However, being this close to the ocean offered
no protection from the European slave traders who often docked
their ships along these shores. Therefore the Ewe migrated
once again, but this time northward. Folklore, myths, and
songs still remind younger Ewe generations of the raids,
migrations, and hardships endured by the Ewe. Soon after the
Ewe migrated northward, they settled in the Keta Lagoon. Here
the waters were too shallow to allow European slave traders to
sail. In Keta Lagoon the Ewe began to construct canoes for
fishermen. Among the fishermen, hunters and farmers also
benefited from the canoes. The hunters were able to explore
new islands for game and the farmers were allowed
transportation to more fertile islands for crops. Thus the
canoes became an important part of the Ewe way of life.
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