Mamprugu Kingdom Sets June 25 for Grand 2026 Fire Festival (Bugum Kyuu)
The Mamprugu Kingdom will on Thursday, June 25, 2026, celebrate one of its most revered traditional events — the Fire Festival (Bugum Kyuu) — observed annually by the Mamprusi, Dagomba, Nanumba, Moosi, and Gonja peoples.
The festival, held on the 9th day of Bugum gɔri, marks the beginning of the new year in the Mamprugu traditional calendar. Bugum gɔri corresponds to the Islamic month of Muharram. The celebration commemorates the dramatic recovery of a king’s beloved son who went missing and was found on this same date generations ago.
Across the kingdom, the day begins with landlords and clan heads offering sacrifices to their ancestors in gratitude for life and good health. His Majesty the Nayiri, together with chiefs and priests, also performs rituals to thank the gods of the land and to seek blessings for the year ahead.
A key cultural obligation of the festival sees husbands presenting guinea fowls to their fathers‑in‑law, a gesture deeply rooted in Mamprugu tradition.
As part of the royal rites, the King of Mamprugu, His Majesty Tiduguma Nayiri, brews pito for libation and for serving guests — a practice replicated by paramount chiefs, sub‑chiefs, and clan heads.
After nightfall, the kingdom comes alive. Chiefs, warriors, elders, Lunsi (drummers), and Goonji assemble at the forecourt of the Nayiri Palace. In a solemn procession, Mba Sakpa‑Naaba, one of the seven senior elders of the Nayiri, lights a ceremonial torch and hands it to the king. The Nayiri circles the torch above his head three times before casting it to the ground — a symbolic act that triggers the firing of muskets and signals the official start of the torch procession.
Youth and celebrants then light their torches and parade through the principal streets under the watch of the warriors, filling the night with fire, music, and jubilation.
The festivities conclude back at the palace, where participants bathe and drink waliga, a sacred concoction prepared by the Mamprugu Chief Imam, spiritual advisor to the kingdom.
The following morning, the Chief Imam appears before the Nayiri to deliver the Sabri lɔrigiri, a prophecy for the new year, followed by spiritual guidance on prayers to avert misfortune and attract blessings.