Nzema people

De **Nzema** be Akan people wey dey number about 328,700, wey 262,000 dey live for southwestern Ghana insyd den 66,700 dey live for de southeast for Côte d'Ivoire insyd. For Ghana insyd dem divide de Nzema area for three electoral districts for Nzema East Municipal wey dem san dey refer to as Evalue Gwira, Ellembele District den Nzema West, wey san be refer to as Jomoro District for Ghana. Dema language be san be known as **Nzima** (for Ghana insyd) anaa **Appolo** (for de Ivory Coast insyd).

De Nzema be mostly farmers. According to dema traditional calender, days be ordered for cycles of seven insyd, den dis dey follow each oda for three-week cycle insyd. Dem get matrilineal kinship system, plus descent den property wey dey pass thru de maternal lines.

Dem dey hold religious Kundum Festival annually all ova de Ahanta-Nzema area. Ein start time dey coordinate plus de harvest period, so local communities dey determine wen dat go be. E dey begin for de easternmost part for Ahanta insyd wey e dey advance southwestward together plus de harvest period. Ritual drumming, singing den dancing dey take place for four weeks, wey dem consider de way de community dey expel devils den dey protect ein good fortune. Dis festival be de main occasion for which young men dey perform de satirical *avudewene* songs.

## Notable people

* Kwame Nkrumah (1909 – 1972), pan-Africanist den Ghana ein first presido
* Alfred Augustus Akainyah (1907-1988) Ghanaian lawyer den jurist. Na he be barrister-at-law den Supreme Court Judge during de first republic.
* George Alfred Grant (1878 – 1956), popularly dem know am as Paa Grant, na he be merchant den politician insyd de Gold Coast wey na dem dey bell am "the father of Gold Coast politics".
* Anton Wilhelm Amo (c. 1703 — c. 1759), African-born German philosopher.
* Maame Harris Tani (d. 1958), religious leader.
* Meiway (born in 1962), Ivorian musician
* Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Angela Palmer-Buckle (born insyd 1950), Ghanaian Archbishop of de Roman Catholic Church.
* Isaac Chinebuah (1926 – 2006), academic den de foreign minister insyd de People's National Party (PNP) government of de Third Republic of Ghana..
* Lee Tandoh Ocran (1945-2019), Ghanaian politician wey na he serve as Minister for Education of Ghana from 2012 go 2013.
* Samia Yaba Christina Nkrumah (born insyd 1960), Ghanaian politician den chairperson of de Convention People's Party. She be de daughter of Kwame Nkrumah, first Presido of Ghana.
* Frederick Worsemao Armah Blay (born insyd 1951), Ghanaian politician den member of de Second, Third den Fourth Parliament of de Fourth Republic of Ghana.
* Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah (born insyd 1966), Ghanaian politician wey na he serve insyd de government of Ghana as Minister of Energy and Petroleum for de John Mahama administration insyd from 2013 go 2016.
* David Brigidi (1962-2018), lawyer by profession, na dem elect am Senator for de Bayelsa Central constituency of Bayelsa State, Nigeria for de start of de Nigerian Fourth Republic, wey dey run for de People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform top.
* Jewel Ackah (1945-2018), Ghanaian highlife den gospel musician.
* Lieutenant General Peter Augustine Blay, Ghanaian military officer wey na he be de Chief of Defence Staff of de Ghana Armed Forces.
* James Van Leuven Mensah (1937-2021), Ghanaian accountant, public servant, banker, den politician.
* George Yankey, Ghanaian lawyer den politician. He be de former CEO of Ghana Gas wey he serve as Minister for Health of Ghana.
* Robert Samuel Blay (1901-1979), Ghanaian barrister den judge. Na he be Justice of de Supreme Court of Ghana during de First Republic.
* Philip Edward Archer (1925-2002), Chief Justice of Ghana between 1991 den 1995.
* J. Y. A Kwofie, Ghanaian police officer wey na he be de Inspector General of Police of de Ghana Police Service from 1 January 1990 go 30 September 1996.
* Abraham Philip Akpor Kojo Kainya, dem know am as Lord Kenya, former Ghanaian Hiplife artist wey he currently be Evangelist.
* Peter Famiyeh Bozah, dem know am by de stage name Fameye, be Ghanaian rapper den musician.
* Ivan Addae Mensah, Ghanaian chemist den varsity administrator wey na he serve as de Vice-Chancellor of de University of Ghana, Legon from 1996 go 2002.He be Emeritus Professor of Chemistry for de same institution. He be Life Fellow of de Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of de Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences den Fellow of de Ghana Chemical Society.
* Professor Kaku Sagary Nokoe, former Acting Vice Chancellor of University for Development Studies.
* Matilda Amissah-Arthur, she serve as de Second Lady of Ghana from 2012 cam 2017. Na she marry de late former Vice Pee of Ghana, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur.
* Mary Chinery-Hesse, international civil servant den diplomat wey dey serve as de first woman Chancellor of de University of Ghana. Na she be de first female Deputy Director-General of de International Labour Organization.
* Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi, na she be part of de first batch of doctors make dem train insyd Ghana. As at 2022, she be de Presidential advisor for HIV/AIDS top for de Office of the President of Ghana.

## 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.
* 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.

## External links