Akan religion
The Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast consist of Ashanti people, Fante people and other ethnicities. Ashanti is the largest group and most influential among the Akans who have in common "social institutions and religious beliefs and rituals."[1]
The Akan believe in a Supreme Creator who takes on various names depending upon the region of worship. The deity is commonly referred to as Brekyirihunuade ("Almighty"). It is occasionally said that the Supreme god Nyame is a part of a triune deity or triad, which consists of Nyame, Nyankopon and Odmankoma.[2]
The Supreme Creator in the pantheon of the Ashanti is Nyame[3] (also Nyankopon), the omniscient, omnipotent sky father. Together with his wife Asase Yaa, he brought forth two children: Bia and Tano.[4]
The Creator of the universe of the Ashanti is most often referred to as Odomankoma ("infinite inventor").[5] Other examples in the creation story include Oboadee ("creator") and Anansi Kokuroku ("the great designer" or "the great spider").[6]
The Ashanti believe abosom, or lower deities, more akin to spirits, assist humans on earth.
Anansi the Spider is a folk hero who is prominent in Ashanti folktales where he is depicted as a trickster. Abosom receive their power from the supreme creator and are most often connected to the world as it appears in its natural state. Priests serve individual abosom and act as mediators between the abosom and mankind. Many of those who believe in these traditions participate in daily prayer, which includes the pouring of libations as an offering to both the ancestors who are buried under the land and to the spirits who are everywhere.
Finally there are the Nsamanfo ("ancestors").
Akan Religion in the Americas(Jamaica)[edit]
According to Long, Akan (then referred to as "Coromantee") culture obliterated any other African customs and incoming non-Akan Africans had to submit to the culture of the majority Akan population in Jamaica, much like a foreigner learning migrating to a foreign country. Other than Ananse stories, Akan religion made a huge impact. The Akan pantheon of gods referred to as Abosom in the Twi language were documented. Enslaved Akan would praise Nyankopong(erroneously written by the British as Accompong and is in no relation to the Maroon leader Accompong [Twi: Akyeampong]); libations would be poured to Asase Yaa (erroneously written as 'Assarci') and Epo the sea god. Bonsam was referred to as the god of evil.[7]
References[edit]
- Olson, James Stuart (1996). The peoples of Africa: an ethnohistorical dictionary. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-313-27918-8. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- Sykes, Egerton; Kendall, Alan (2001). Who's who in non-classical mythology. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-26040-4. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
- Forde, Cyril Daryll (1954), African Worlds: Studies in the Cosmological Ideas and Social Values of African Peoples, James Currey Publishers, ISBN 9780852552810
- Lynch, Patricia Ann (2010), African Mythology, A to Z, Infobase Publishing, ISBN 9781438131337
- ^ Forde 1954, p. 192.
- ^ Lynch 2010, p. 93.
- ^ Sykes & Kendall 2001, p. 144.
- ^ Lynch 2010, p. 94.
- ^ Sykes & Kendall 2001, p. 146.
- ^ http://www.cfiks.org/akanart/akanart/themes/akancosmology.htm
- ^ Long, Edward (1774). "The History of Jamaica Or, A General Survey of the Antient and Modern State of that Island: With Reflexions on Its Situation, Settlements, Inhabitants, Climate, Products, Commerce, Laws, and Government" (google) 2 (3/4): 445–475.
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