This handcrafted mask is beautifully constructed from local dark wood, it is inlaid with individually placed beads and painted to represent the colourful and popular Fanti Festival. The Fanti tribe is the third largest grouping of the Akan people after the Ashantis and Akuapem, and is popularly known for its rich and vibrant culture. The Fanti’s are from the central region of Ghana and originally the name Fanti, meant “the half that left’ referring to the group of people that went to settle in Mankessim. The Fanti festival is one of the most important celebrations in the Ghanaian culture, and is more commonly known and the ‘Oguaa Fetu Afahye’, which literally translates to mean the “adorning of new clothes”. It is celebrated on the 1st Saturday of September where local chiefs and their entourages, dressed in their full traditional attires lead the processions through the streets of Cape Coast.