The Ngmayem Festival is an annual harvest festival celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Manya Krobo in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The festival was established by Nene Azu Mate Kole in 1944 to replace the already existing festival called Yeliyem, which literary means "eating of yam". It is usually celebrated in the month of October in Dodowa and also the Shai in the towns of Somanya and Odumase. The festival is celebrated for one week, mostly from the last two Sundays of the month of October.
The festival
The meaning of Ngmayem is "Eating the new millet". The festival is a commemoration of plentiful harvest of pearl millet, which is called ngma, and it is a period in which the people of Manya Krobo give thanks to their creator for protection, and the plentiful harvest.
References
- ^ "The Manya Krobo Annual Ngmayem Festival". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- "Festival | The Embassy of the Republic of Ghana, Berlin, Germany". Retrieved 2020-08-16.
- "The GaDangme". www.thegadangme.com. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- Kropp Dakubu, Mary E. 2013. Dangme-English Dictionary with English-Dangme Glossary - Draft. Legon.
- "Manya Krobo 2019 Ngmayem festival launched". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-18.