The Nzema are an ethnic group numbering about 328,700, of whom 262,000 live in southwestern

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and 66,700 live in the southeast of

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

. 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, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...

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 tha ...

, with descent and property passed through the maternal lines. A religious

Kundum Festival The Kundum festival is celebrated by the Ahanta and Nzema people, Nzema people of the Western Region (Ghana), 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 ...

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 Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

(1909-1972), pan-Africanist and Ghana's first president * Alfred Augustus Akainyah (1907-1988) was a Ghanaian lawyer and jurist. He was a barrister-at-law and a Supreme Court Judge during the first republic. *

George Alfred Grant George Alfred Grant, popularly known as Paa Grant (15 August 1878 – 30 October 1956), was a merchant and politician in the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast

Maame Harris Tani Maame Harris Tani, sometimes known as "Grace" (c. 1870s/1880s – 1958) was a Ghanaian religious figure. Born in the town of Krisan in the Western Region (Ghana), Western Region of what would become Ghana, Tani was a member of the Nzema people. She ...

(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 and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast ...

(born in 1962), Ivorian musician. * Jean-Baptiste Mockey, Ivorian politician. * Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Angela Palmer-Buckle (born in 1950), Ghanaian Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church. * Isaac Chinebuah (1926-2006), an academic and the foreign minister in the People's National Party (PNP) government of the Third Republic of Ghana.. * Lee Tandoh Ocran (1945-2019), Ghanaian politician who served as Minister for Education of Ghana from 2012 to 2013. * Samia Yaba Christina Nkrumah (born in 1960), Ghanaian politician and chairperson of the Convention People's Party. She is the daughter of Kwame Nkrumah, first President of Ghana. * Frederick Worsemao Armah Blay (born in 1951), Ghanaian politician and a member of the Second, Third and Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. *

Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah (born 1966) is a Ghanaian politician, Member of Parliament of Ellembelle constituency in the Western Region and Minister for Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (Ghana). He served in the government of Ghana as ...

(born in 1966), a Ghanaian politician who served in the government of Ghana as Minister of Energy and Petroleum in the John Mahama administration from 2013 to 2016. * David Brigidi (1962-2018), a lawyer by profession, was elected Senator for the Bayelsa Central constituency of Bayelsa State, Nigeria at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, running on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform. * Jewel Ackah (1945-2018), Ghanaian highlife and gospel musician. * Lieutenant General Peter Augustine Blay, Ghanaian military officer and was the Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces. * James Van Leuven Mensah (1937-2021), Ghanaian accountant, public servant, banker, and politician. * George Yankey, Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He is the former CEO of Ghana Gas and served as Minister for Health of Ghana. *

Robert Samuel Blay Robert Samuel Blay, was a Ghanaian barrister and judge. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana during the First Republic. He is often referred to as the first Nzema lawyer. He was president of the Ghana Bar Association on two occasions ...

(1901-1979), Ghanaian barrister and judge. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana during the First Republic. * Philip Edward Archer (1925-2002), Chief Justice of Ghana between 1991 and 1995. * J. Y. A Kwofie, Ghanaian police officer and was the Inspector General of Police of the Ghana Police Service from 1 January 1990 to 30 September 1996. * Abraham Philip Akpor Kojo Kainya, known as Lord Kenya, a former Ghanaian Hiplife artist who is currently an Evangelist. * Peter Famiyeh Bozah, known by the stage name Fameye, is a Ghanaian rapper and musician. * Ivan Addae Mensah, a Ghanaian chemist and university administrator who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon from 1996 to 2002. He is an Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the same institution. He is a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the Ghana Chemical Society. * Professor Kaku Sagary Nokoe, former Acting Vice Chancellor of University for Development Studies. * Matilda Amissah-Arthur, She served as the Second Lady of Ghana from 2012 to 2017. She was married to the late former Vice President of Ghana, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur. *

Mary Chinery-Hesse Mary Akuokor Chinery-Hesse, , née Blay (born 29 October 1938) is an international civil servant and diplomat, serving as the first woman Chancellor of the University of Ghana, inducted on 1 August 2018. She was the first female Deputy Director-G ...

, An international civil servant and diplomat serving as the first woman Chancellor of the University of Ghana. She was the first female Deputy Director-General of the International Labour Organization. *

Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi is a former Ghanaian diplomat. In the 1960s, she was part of the first batch of doctors to be trained in Ghana. As at 2022, she is the Presidential advisor on HIV/AIDS at the Office of the President of Ghana. Early life an ...

, She was part of the first batch of doctors to be trained in Ghana. As at 2022, she is the Presidential advisor on HIV/AIDS at the Office of the President of Ghana. * Nana Kwasi Aryeh, Is a Ghanaian highlife singer, songwriter, and a performer; he was a former lead member of the music group

Dobble ''Dobble'' is a game in which players have to find symbols in common between two cards. It was the UK’s best-selling game in 2018 and 2019. The game is sold as ''Dobble'' in Europe and ''Spot It!'' in the US. The name is a play on the word ' ...

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 university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

. * 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

Notable people

See also

References