Damba festival

The tradition & historical record

The Damba festival is the largest festival in Ghana, celebrated by the people of the Northern, Savanna, North East, Upper East and Upper West Regions of Ghana. In recent time, Damba has become a multinational festival, attracting visitors from all over the world. The festival is celebrated annually in Germany, USA, and UK. The name Damba is in Dagbani. Other variation include Damma in Mampruli and Jingbenti in Waali. The festival is celebrated in the month of Damba, the third month of Dagomba calendar. The purpose of the festival is to celebrate the rich heritage, history and chieftaincy of Dagbon and related kingdoms. Dagbon is the birthplace of centralized kingdoms, chieftaincy and royalty in both Ghana and Burkina Faso. The month of Damba also corresponds to the third month of the Islamic calendar, Rabia al-Awwal. Damba was first celebrated to mark the birth and naming of Muhammad, but the purpose of celebration has largely changed to glorify heritage and chieftaincy. Damba has also been adopted by the Gonjas of the Savanna region. The Gonjas have specific months in which they celebrate the festival. The festival is categorized into three sessions; the Somo Damba, the Naa Damba (King) and the Belkulsi (farewell procession). ¹

The festival starts with the announcement of the start of the month by the Yidan Moli, to the Yaa Naa. On the 11th day of the month, the “Somo” Damba starts, followed by the ‘Naa’ (Kings) Damba on the 17th day. It is concluded with “bielkulsi”, which is the climax of the celebration, which is on the 18th of the month of Damba. Within this period, prayers are offered to ancestors, drumming and dancing, families pay visits to friends and exchange gifts. The festival also include Binchera Damba, where young people wear worn out but fashionable smocks, and Shinkaafa Gahimbu (picking of rice) ¹

Nightly rehearsal of songs of Damba, led by ladies of courts, across major palaces throughout Dagbon and related kingdoms. This takes place between the first ten days of the month. ¹

This is a torn couture (smock) show and dancing. It takes place at various palaces. The youth are the main participants. ¹

Involves prayers and dancing. ¹

This activity involves the picking of rice. It involves court clerics, led by the Yidan Moli at the Gbewaa Palace. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Damba festival”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Damba festival is festival celebrated by the northern tribes in Ghana which make them come together to show happiness, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²