An Asanka of Etor for happy occasions

kwame

August 9, 2016 4:45 PM

“Etor” is a popular dish among the Akans. In Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Eastern Regions of Ghana, it is prepared with plantain and or yam. Etor is often displayed in an earthenware bowl, locally called asanka and garnished with hard boiled eggs.

This delicious combination of boiled mashed yam or plantain and hot pepper and at times groundnut, a bit and dried fish and palm oil, is a sacred meal served to the gods and the spirits of ancestors during festivals like odwira and Addae.

The Akans are a very colorful people, from their brightly colored kente, to their gold rich lands and lush green forests, they have a lot to celebrate and they do so with an abundance of enthusiasm. Akan celebrations are never a dull moment as they are graced with drums of different sizes and tones crafted and painted with merry hearts, energetic dances that communicate with neighbours, kings and deities with agile limbs and music. Music that rises with the spirit of Asaase Yaa the earth goddess and tugs at the strings of her children’s hearts.

Above all, there is always food, to be precise, Etor at every gathering of happy Akans. Etor is not presented without colour, from the shiny black or rich brown Asanka that holds the sacred food of the gods to the yellow-red Etor itself and the pure white eggs that stand out prominently sometimes stained with palm oil, it easily blends into the colourfest.

Etor is symbolic; it is served to girls who have become women; when they have reached puberty. These girls are taught the etiquette and responsibilities of womanhood and then shown off to the community with a lot of pageantry. They are served a meal of Etor with hard boiled eggs which they are made to swallow whole to invoke the ultimate blessing of womanhood – child bearing. In modern times, these rights are rarely performed on a communal basis but nuclear families celebrate puberty of girls with a meal of Etor.

Apart from puberty, other happy occasions like birthdays, outdooring, school completions, and festivals are celebrated over a meal of Etor. But if you are like me who just can’t wait for a special occasion before I dish out a plate of Etor, the Onga Efie Eduane Series is here to the rescue. Go ahead and learn how to make the easily prepared dish and eat Etor everyday if you so wish. Even the gods agree that it’s so good.

kwame