Abissa Festival

What the Abissa is

The Abissa is the new-year festival of the Nzema (N'zima) people. It is held in Grand-Bassam and in other places such as Tiapoum and the villages of Nouamou, N'guiémé and Eboinda, and a relay system among Nzema sub-groups carries it into Ghana. Its custodian is the N'vavilé family. It is said to date back to the 1800s and was originally called Koudoum, a rite of mystical sacrifices.

When it takes place

Mostly in October and November. The dates move every year: 24 October to 7 November in 2021, and 23 October to 6 November in 2022. The 2018 edition, planned for 28 October to 11 November, was cancelled because of electoral violence. Our sources do not give the dates of the current edition: check with the organisers or the town before booking.

How the days unfold

The festival runs for seven days from Sunday to Sunday, with an eighth day for the closing ceremony. Days are dedicated in turn to the youth, women, the "forces vives" and the traditional chiefs, and the climax is the entrance of the king and queen. The rites follow three stages: the Siédou, the Gouazo and the Ewoudolé.

A time for public forgiveness

The festival lets people repent in public and allows the king to be criticised in song. Thousands of visitors attend each year, according to the source, which gives no figure.

Visiting

Grand-Bassam is 43 km east of Abidjan, and Assinie is farther east (see our Grand-Bassam page). We found no sourced information on entry conditions, programmes or hotel availability during the festival: ask the organisers and your accommodation. As a courtesy, ask permission before photographing people during ceremonies.

Sources

Wikipédia, Abissa (dates, days, stages, origin, custodians); Wikipédia, Nzema (peuple) (custodian family). The source gives two different periods (October-November, and late August to early December) without reconciling them, mentions no UNESCO listing, and offers no reliable source for the origin of the name.