A canoe glided slowly across the waters of Lake Togo, carrying the mystical Aklima tam-tam drum to a sacred wood to herald a momentous event: the 363rd unveiling of the sacred stone.
For the Guin people, the annual Epe-Ekpe or Ekpessosso festival in September marks the start of the new ancestral year.
The traditional "taking of the sacred stone" ceremony is an integral rite dating back to 1663 and started by settlers from the former Gold Coast -- modern-day Ghana.
Believers eagerly await the emergence of the stone, whose colour, which varies from year to year, is interpreted as a sign of what the coming 12 months will bring.
"The stone can be several colours: white, a symbol of peace and prosperity; sky blue, a sign of abundant food crops; or red, heralding a year of famine, war and misfortune," said Wlomo Nomo Combietey VIII Nii Labite, guardian of the sacred wood.
