The Akan are a group of West African peoples living mainly in southern and central Ghana and in part of Côte d'Ivoire. They include, among others, the Asante (Ashanti), the Fante, the Akyem and the Bono. Their religious tradition is extremely rich in symbols: two in particular have achieved worldwide fame, the Asante Golden Stool and the adinkra symbols.
The Akan spiritual world
The Akan religious vision can be described as a system with several levels:
| Level | Who they are | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Onyame (or Nyame) | the supreme God, linked to the sky | creator, distant yet ever-present |
| Asase Yaa | the Earth, a female figure | sustains life; in many places the land is not worked on her day |
| Abosom | lesser deities | often linked to rivers, lakes, forests |
| Nsamanfo | the ancestors | watch over the family and the community |
Folk tales also feature Ananse, the clever spider who, according to a famous story, won from Nyame the ownership of all the world's stories. Ananse's tales travelled with the diaspora to the Caribbean, where the spider still stars in folk tales.
The human being according to the Akan
Akan thought describes the person as made up of several elements:
- the okra, the soul, a spark coming from God, which carries one's destiny;
- the sunsum, the personal spirit, which gives a person character and strength;
- the mogya, the «blood», passed on by the mother, which determines clan membership;
- the ntoro, the principle passed on by the father.
The link between mogya and the mother explains why Akan society is traditionally matrilineal: inheritance and succession pass through the maternal line.
Stools and ancestors
In Akan culture the stool (dwa) is not a mere piece of furniture. A personal stool is believed to hold something of the spirit of its user. For this reason, when not in use, it is often tilted against a wall, so that no other spirit may sit on it.
When an important chief dies, his stool may be blackened through a ritual treatment and kept in the stool house. These blackened stools become the centre of the cult of the royal ancestors and receive offerings at great festivals such as Akwasidae, celebrated periodically according to the traditional calendar.
The Golden Stool
The supreme symbol of the Asante is the Golden Stool, called Sika Dwa Kofi, «the golden stool born on a Friday». Tradition relates that at the end of the seventeenth century the priest Okomfo Anokye brought it down from the sky, amid clouds and thunder, onto the knees of King Osei Tutu, founder of the Asante union.
The Golden Stool is not a throne. It is believed to contain the sunsum, the soul of the entire Asante nation. The rules concerning it are strict:
- no one sits on it, not even the king;
- it never touches the ground, but rests on a support of its own;
- it is displayed only on solemn occasions.
In 1900, when a British governor demanded to sit on it, the request was felt as an intolerable affront. A war broke out, known as the War of the Golden Stool, led by the queen mother Yaa Asantewaa, remembered in Ghana today as a heroic figure. The Stool was hidden and protected, and never fell into the hands of the colonisers.
The adinkra symbols
The adinkra symbols are a vast repertoire of graphic signs, each associated with a proverb, a concept or a value. Traditionally they were printed on cloth with stamps cut from gourds and a dark ink made from the bark of a tree. Adinkra cloths were worn above all at funerals: the name itself is often linked to the idea of «parting» and «farewell».
Some of the best-known symbols:
- Gye Nyame, «except God»: the supremacy of God over all things;
- Sankofa, a bird turning its head backwards, or a heart-shaped motif: «go back and fetch it», that is, learn from the past to build the future;
- Dwennimmen, the ram's horns: strength joined with humility;
- Funtunfunefu Denkyemfunefu, two crocodiles sharing a single stomach: unity in diversity;
- Adinkrahene, concentric circles, «king of the adinkra symbols»: greatness and leadership.
Today adinkra appear everywhere: fabrics, jewellery, architecture, logos, monuments. Sankofa in particular has become a symbol of the African diaspora in the Americas, as an invitation to rediscover one's roots.
In short
- The Akan of Ghana revere Onyame, Asase Yaa, the abosom deities and the ancestors.
- The person consists of okra, sunsum, mogya and ntoro; society is matrilineal.
- Stools hold the spirit of their users; blackened stools honour the royal ancestors.
- The Golden Stool, which according to tradition came down from the sky, holds the soul of the Asante nation.
- Adinkra symbols translate proverbs and values into signs, such as Gye Nyame and Sankofa.
