The Ngmayem Festival is an annual harvest festival celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of
Manya Krobo in the
Eastern Region of
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
. 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
Dodowa is a town located in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, it is the district capital of Dangme West district, now Shai Osudoku District.
The city is 39 km from the capital city, Accra. The notable tourist site found there is the Dodowa ...
and also the Shai in the towns of
Somanya
Somanya is a town and the capital of Yilo Krobo District, a district in the Eastern Region of south Ghana. Somanya has a 2013 settlement
Settlement may refer to:
*Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the di ...
and
Odumase
Krobo Odumase is a town and capital of Lower Manya Krobo Municipal District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School was formerly located here.
Prominent sites
The town is a proposed site for the construction of ...
. 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
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
’. The festival is a commemoration of plentiful Harvest of 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.
[{{Cite web, url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/Manya-Krobo-2019-Ngmayem-festival-launched-761665, title=Manya Krobo 2019 Ngmayem festival launched, website=www.ghanaweb.com, language=en, access-date=2019-10-18]
References
Festivals in Ghana
October observances