Freedom and heritage
Emancipation Day, on 1 August, commemorates the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834. It honours the struggle, resilience and achievements of enslaved Africans and their descendants in Guyana.
The Emancipation Festival
The day is celebrated with the Emancipation Festival, including the well-known celebration at the National Park in Georgetown, with African drumming, dance, fashion, crafts and traditional food such as cook-up rice, metemgee and conkie. Village celebrations across the country recall the history of the villages founded and bought by freed Africans after emancipation.
Traditions
- Emancipation Festival at the National Park
- African drumming, dance and fashion
- Traditional food such as cook-up rice and metemgee
- Village heritage celebrations