Kundum
Abisa.

Before the Abisa

Siedu — 18 October 2026.

Siedu is the Preparation Rite of the Abisa — Abisa Siedu Ɛhɔlɛ — held on 18 October 2026: the origins retold, the town cleaned, noise set aside, drums and songs rehearsed, libation poured, and the ritual food shared.

Siedu is not a show. Anyone who wishes to sit with the town is welcome. It is open to everyone.

See Siedu in the calendar

About the Abisa

How Kundum is celebrated.

Kundum is a festival celebrated by the Ahantas and the Nzemas to commemorate successful harvests of farm produce and fish and to keep away the famines that can befall the region. And to thank God/gods in the form of sacrifices, rituals songs, drumming, dancing and consultations in the spirit world to expel evil and invite goodness for their communities, as the saying goes “coming events cast their shadows”. Hence, Kundum is both a harvest and a religious festival; both social and spiritual.

Origin

The origin of the festival was passed on through oral tradition and involved a couple by names Egya Akpole Kuntum and Maame Afua Chie both living in Aboade in the Ahanta East. It is believed that Egya Akpole Kuntum came from the Royal lineage of King Kuntum family of Princes Town (Kpulisi) in Lower Dixcove of the Ahanta West District. Egya Akpole Kuntum a hunter and the spoke person for the village of Aboade, his wife also was a farmer.

One day, Madam (Maame) Afua Chie went to the bush to cut down some fire wood and chanced upon some dwarfs (or some spirit in the form of dwarfs) dancing in a circle to the beat of drums under some Myrrh trees. She observed the dance and wondered what it meant, run home to tell her husband Kuntum who also followed her to witness the dancing festival of these beings. This dancing festival they kept it secret over sometime and along the way Egya Akpole Kuntum got sick to the point of death, this really troubled the king of Aboade hence appointed both Abrema and Arsuoro leaders of the warriors and the messages respectively of the town to go to the Native Doctor at the outskirt of town by name Seidu to inquire or consult the divine for solution to Kuntum’s predicament.

They went to Seidu to inquire and he told them to go and come back the next day. The following day upon reaching Seidu’s place, he told them in vivid details what transpired hence became a fest celebrated annually to drive evil and thank God for plentiful harvest and provision. The name of the Festival was called “The Fest of Consultation” (Abisa avuyia) (Abisa means “consultation” and avuyia means “festival”) for during consultation that this festival was discovered but now popularly called “Kundum Abisa” literally Kundums Consultation.

Furthermore, other sources say, a hunter by name Akpole, during hunting work chanced upon some dwarfs dancing in a circle to the beat of drums. He observed the dance and wondered what it meant therefore came home and told it to the priest of the town. This priest out of jealousy that such revelation should have come to him first as a Priest did not take any steps to inquire about the matter, along the line he got sick and upon consultation that the true was known and was introduced to the people of Aboade. This dancing eventually developed into a way to drive the devil and evil spirits from the village, eventually became a festival for the Ahanta communities.

That said, one will ask this rhetorical question; how did the Nzema’s also celebrated this Ahanta festival? History has it that in those days at Aboade lived an Nzema man call “Belahua Aka Amihyia” from Beyin seeking healing and protection from the native doctor Seidu and belongs to the Nvavile clan, after participating in this festival for some years came back to his hometown Beyin and started it with his family to expel evil and call for protection over his household. With time when the community of Beyin understood and appreciated the history and benefits, they adopted it and made it an annual festival.

That said, but for Esiama the kundum festival was brought to town by the Alowoba (Oyoko) clan led by Egya KꜪdꜪba Ꜫkpa from Princes Town (Kpulisi). Kundum festival predates British colonization of the country, as the festival was first reported outside the region in 1704 in the Dutch edition of A New and Accurate Description of the Coast of Guinea: Divided into the Gold, the Slave and the Ivory Coast by Willem Bosman. Therefore, there is pre-colonial historical evidence for some of the Kundum activities from early participants and observers. The start of the festival is based on the day the fruit of the palm tree becomes ripe which usually is around September. The festival occurs separately in each town among the Ahanta’s and Nzemas. The festival usually is scheduled to start on Sunday and is independent of each other town.

Transitions in Abisa Festival

There are three (3) main stages that can be identify as the TRANSITIONS of the Kundum festival among the Nzemas; each is made up of various activities and functions and each of these stages is marked with a libation rite (ɛdɛneyelɛ), or the pouring of wine accompanied by invocations (nza ɛgualɛ) and they include:

The first stage, Preparation Rite popularly known as Abisa siedu ɛhɔlɛ in local parlance.

Secondary, Public Performance Rite of the festival (Abisa gua zo ɛralɛ).

The final stage; Purification Rite (Abisa azule nu ɛdolɛ).

The first stage, or the siedu ritual, culminates in six transitory activities. One consists of public narratives regarding the origins of the festival. These narratives serve to maintain a public memory of the history and development of the festival, to educate the community about the roles played by individuals and nonhumans in the creation of the festival, and to remind society about food crises and other conditions in the pre-colonial locality that led to the creation of the festival. Two other activities are a mass cleanup exercise and a silence-keeping ritual involving a ban on noise-making in order to ritually purify the community, to ensure a clean and healthy natural environment, to sustain public enthusiasm for the festival, and to secure the sacredness of the festival.

There are also preparations and rehearsals for the Kundum festival songs and dance performances to ensure a successful festival. These involve training the drummers, songsters, and dancers. Other activities in the first stage include a series of libation pouring accompanied by invocations and the eating of ritual food. Their purpose is collaboration with nonhumans to guarantee food, health, fertility, and protection; they also ensure the mutual consent between the living and the divinities and ancestors so that the festival can be practiced. The first stage also becomes an occasion on which village chiefs and their elders elect leaders for certain ceremonies of Kundum and select local artists and people with acquired knowledge of the festival.

The Nzema concept of siedu not only denotes a period or ritual of preparation but also a farmland, a place in the bush or outskirts of town (kandiba) where Kundum leaders and artists go to rehearse. During the first stage of Kundum, in some communities, the family head (Abusuakpanyinli) of the Nvavile clan leader the entourage as an honour to acknowledge that they brought the Abisa Avuyia to the Nzemaland, but in Esiama and others communities it’s the work of the Asafohene (leaders of the community) goes to the farmland that is considered to be the sacred site for some of the activities of siedu at about two o'clock on a Sunday afternoon to perform libation. He congratulated the people at siedu on their rehearsals for the drum-dance and Kundum songs.

The people asked him for a formal ceremonial speech (amaneɛ) to demonstrate why he had come to siedu. He will speak the typical words to the people that:

“It’s time to take the Belahua festival (note; not Kundum festival) from the farmland to town”

The next phase in the Kundum festival is the washing of the drums for the festival, followed by the eating of ritual food (afotɔ) which is mashed boiled plantain and eggs with red-palm oil and the pouring of libations accompanied by invocations (Abisa nza ɛgualɛ). This is how the washing is done:

“You wash the Kundum drums and metallic instruments with water and a white Geisha soup and decorated them with a Togo-made white powder”

After that, he poured libation to seek consent from Afakyɛ that the festival would be practiced in town. Here are the invocations in the Nzema language:

O Ɛdɛnkɛma Nyamenle,Yɛda wↄ ase kɛ wↄzinza yɛ wↄmaa ɛvolɛ ɛhↄhɛrado yɛ; eza yɛsɛlɛ wↄ moalɛ wↄ ɛvolɛ ye anu. Ↄmↄ Azɛlɛ Yaba wↄ nza ɛ. Egya Nyevile wↄ nza ɛ. Ɛɛ. ↄ amra bɛ nza ɛ. Filezo amra bɛ nza ɛ. Amgbɛlɛ wↄ nza ɛ. Atialɛka wↄ nza ɛ. Bɛralie nza bɛmaa awozonle mↄↄ bɛ nee bɛ di atoafɛlɛ la.

Mgbanyima mↄↄ gyigyi Abisa ye ati mↄↄ ɛhↄhmonvolɛ la, bɛ muala bɛ nza ɛ. Kenlekavolɛma mↄↄ ɛdu agyakɛ la, bɛ nza ɛ. Sua ye azo amra mↄↄ bedu bɛ nↄhalɛ adenle la, bɛ nza ɛ. Ɛɛ. b la, mↄↄ ɛhakyi bɛ gyakɛ anzi la, bɛ nza ɛ. Ɛɛ. b wu a ↄgyakyi agyakɛ, Ↄngyakyi mbaka. Ↄle aloamↄleɛ; bɛralie nza bɛnlo.Bɛmaa yɛ nwo ɛyɛ twetwe. Yɛdayɛ mↄↄ yegyi bɛ gyakɛ anu yelegua nza ye la, Bɛmafuovua yɛ. Yɛ ngoane zo o. Nvavile mmusua, bɛ ngoane zo o. Mmusua gyɛne gyɛne mↄↄ bɛbaboka yɛ yedi Belahua ɛvolɛ ye la, bedi bie a benwu o. Menli mↄↄ wↄ sua ye azo la, bɛ ngoane zo o.

Awie biala mↄↄ balua ɛlɛne nu arali ɛvolɛ ye bie la, munzule ɛnnyia ye o. Mraalɛ mↄↄ hↄle awolɛ ɛzɛne nu mↄↄ yeanyɛ boɛ la, bɛmaa bɛbele bɛ sa bɛgua bɛ nzi o. Ɛvolɛ ye anni bↄkyiyia la, saa yɛyɛ nu egyinli a yɛnwu o. Yɛgua a yɛgua ye saleɛ zo; yɛgua ye ngoane zo; yɛgua ye anyunlunyia zo.

Here is the translation:

Oh God our creator. Though you do not drink, we present the libation drink to you. Let us give thanks to you forever. Merciful God, your generosity knows no bounds; we will thank you every day. You have made it possible for Abisa avuyia to meet us in good health. We pray for your protection and support during the coming year.

Mother Earth, your name is Yaba because you were created on a Thursday, come for a drink. Father Sea, come for a drink. Come for a drink, both of you and give some to all other divinities with whom you eat from the same bowl. Family heads and community elders, who once held leading roles in Abisa avuyia but are now resting in eternity, come for a drink. Drummers, who are now resting in eternity, come for a drink. Members of this community, who are now resting in eternity, come for a drink. When the elephant dies, it leaves behind descendants, not trees. It has been so from the beginning of creation.

You should all come for a drink. Do not afflict in any way those of us who now take your place to perform this. Protect from danger those coming from various towns and overseas to participate in Abisa with us. Provide for the needs of everyone who has joined us in this libation. Good health to the Ezohile clan. Good health to other clans who have joined us in the festival. Good health to members of this community.

Provide fertility to married couples. Prevent droughts and provide a good harvest. Prevent drowning and provide a good fishing season. We pour this libation to ask for individual and community progress. We pour it to ask you to confer honor on us.

The mention of the name Belahua in his amaneɛ seems to substantiate the Nzema narratives that hold that the Kundum festival was historically promoted from Ahantaland to the Nzema through a male Nzema called Belahua Aka Amihyia. On the other hand, Afakyɛ is regarded as the deity of the Kundum festival thus her consent was sort.

The transition to the second stage of the Abisa Festival starts with libation to seek the consent of Afakyɛ and eating of ritual food (afotɔ). This transition offers moments for drum-dance, which functions as a public annual entertainment honoring clan forebears, celebrating clan histories, and educating the public about clan symbols and honorific titles. The drum-dance also serves as a ritual dance with nonhumans so they can grant purification and healing. Remembering and mourning the deceased is part of the second stage in the Kundum festival, serving as an opportunity to reflect on one of the most difficult transitions in life: death. Other activities involve dispute resolution to restore the solidarity of the community and to facilitate reconciliation between individuals, families, and clans in order to secure forgiveness, spiritual support, and protection from the Supreme Being, fertility deities, the ancestors, and other nonhumans. A group of participants performs festival songs to criticize local chiefs and political leaders as well as other individuals for corrupt behaviour. It also offers public entertainment and becomes a transition point for the final stage of Kundum.

At the stage of Abisa azule nu ɛdolɛ, six activities are held. These include the ritual expelling of diseases, misfortunes, spirits, and various social problems. In addition, water is sprinkled on festival participants and the chief as a ritually purifier. These activities aim to ensure a prosperous year: to secure good seasons for farming and fishing and to purify and heal to promote human progress. Nowadays, there is also an interreligious service and fundraising initiative to sustain coexistence and to encourage interreligious collaboration and interaction between local community and political leaders.

The third stage also yields communal meetings with local and central government officials and businesspeople in order to encourage peaceful coexistence and meaningful interreligious collaboration within the religiously diverse community. It serves as an opportunity for public interaction between the local community and political leaders tasked with encouraging a collective effort for development.

Drums and their Symbolic Meaning

There are basically four (4) drums, a Gong gong and four different sticks; one for each drum together they produce the Kundum rhythms! There are also different rhythms and their corresponding dance and shootings’/ voices tones. The names of the drums are as follows:

EDOGBOLE: the Great Talking Drum, bearer of the Soul of NZEMA people. Each drum represents a spiritual personality or persons and beating it either invites that entity and/or communicates a specific language across board. Two sticks are designed to be use to invite or beat the drum; the common one is “Ewa stick” but Dodoba is the master peace.

Afakyɛ: Is the deity of the Kundum itself and wife to the “Edogbole”, Stands for Fertility; so as the people dance to rhythm produce by it fertility is broadcast abroad. Two sticks are designed to be use to invite or beat the drum; the common one use for all the smaller drums is “Fieba” but Akpasua is the master peace.

Abrema: Meaning “Abrafu Manya” literally community of the executioners. Therefore sound / rhythm from it invite the execution spirits to drive all evil and crush it out of town and establish the good proclaimed by the Arsuoro. Usually these executioners are invited by “Fieba” stick but Kpakpaki is the best.

Arsuoro: Is from the word “Arsumafule” The messengers; they bring the new and sent it as well. Arsuoro starts the “Kundum” story, Rhythm and the Dance, therefore the lead drum and the game changer! Fieba stick is use but best is Kpakpaki

Programmed Of Activities

The major activities of the Kundum festival include drumming, singing, dancing, eating, sharing of food, mourning for the deceased, dispute resolution, and the ritual expulsion of evil. The ritual is a dynamic one: the organizers of events blend new activities into this pre-colonial festival to reflect contemporary issues. These might include a religious service for a multi-religious congregation, football games, singing and dancing competitions between neighboring towns, and the telling of jokes. Beauty pageants and beach visits are other new events that have been created and incorporated into the festival. Every night special meals are cooked and eaten to keep the participants going until the final day of the festival. Kundum reaches a climax with a durbar of chiefs and people, which is a meeting to discuss the community's development and unity. This is also a modern innovation.

In the traditional four week celebration the drummers will spend the next three weeks in the outskirts practicing and preparing for the fourth week. No drumming or dancing is done on the Monday of the fourth and final week. The ritual Kundum fire is lit at the chief’s palace and is kept burning throughout the festivities.  The fire serves as a center of activity and heat source for preparing the main festival meal. On Tuesday, sacrifices of fowl or sheep are offered in the stool room. The stool room is a sacred palace where the stool of departed chiefs and elders are kept. All of the sacrifices in the stool room are performed privately by a small designated group. Finally, a public sacrifice of a fowl is performed in the court yard. Singing begins on Tuesday and on Saturday, the chief joins festivities.

The Chief enters on a palanquin accompanied by a parade of people singing and drumming. All the food is collectively prepared using the Kundum fire by the women and directed by the elder women. The remainder of the week is spent performing the ritualized Kundum dancing. There are dances performed by men and others by women and some by other unclassified people on Tuesdays in the chief palace to showcase the various dancing, performing groups. The traditional purpose of the dancing is to drive the evil spirits and devils from the town and therefore preserving another successful year.