The Nzema are an
Akan people numbering about 328,700, of whom 262,000 live in southwestern
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 ...
and 66,700 live in the southeast of
Côte d'Ivoire. In Ghana the Nzema area is divided into three electoral districts:
Nzema East Municipal, also known as Evalue Gwira;
Ellembele; and
Nzema West, also known as Jomoro.
Their language is also known as Nzima or Appolo.
The Nzema are mostly farmers. According to their traditional calendar, days are ordered in cycles of seven, and these follow each other in a three-week cycle. They have a
matrilineal
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
kinship system
In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
, with descent and property passed through the maternal lines.
A religious
Kundum Festival
The Kundum festival is celebrated by the Ahanta and Nzema people of the Western region of Ghana. It is celebrated to thank God for the abundance of food at the time of the harvest period of the area.
History
One of the earliest written records ...
is held annually all over the Ahanta and Nzema areas. Its start is timed to coordinate with the harvest period, so local communities determine when that will be. It begins in the easternmost part of Ahanta and advances southwestward together with the harvest period. Ritual drumming, singing and dancing take place for four weeks, and are considered the way the community expels devils and protects its good fortune. This festival is the main occasion on which the satirical ''avudewene'' songs are performed by young men.
Notable people
*
Kwame Nkrumah (1909 – 1972), pan-Africanist.
*
Anton Wilhelm Amo (c. 1703 — c. 1759), African-born German philosopher.
*
Maame Harris Tani (d. 1958), religious leader.
*
Meiway
Frederic Desire Ehui , best known as Meiway (born 17 March 1962 in Grand Bassam), is a singer from the Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of ...
(d. 1962), Ivorian musician
See also
*
Aby Lagoon
References
* Burmeister, Jonathan L. 1976. "A comparison of variable nouns in
Anyi-Sanvi and Nzema."
* Egya-Blay. 1987. "Changing patterns of authority over children among the Western Nzema."
* Grottanelli, Vinigi L. (1988) ''The python killer: stories of Nzema life''. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...
.
* Rowson, Hilary M. 1987. "Health and the gods in contemporary Nzema thought."
* Valsecchi, Pierluigi (1999) "Calendar and the annual festival in Nzema: notes on time and history", ''Africa'' (Instituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente), 54, 4, 489-513.
* Valsecchi, Pierluigi (2001) "The 'true Nzema': a layered identity", ''Africa'' (International Africa Institute), 71, 3, 391-425.
{{Authority control
Ethnic groups in Ghana
Ethnic groups in Ivory Coast