Akan religion

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The traditional Akan religion is typical of West Africa. Not only does one find a complex world of divine beings, which ultimately arises from a cosmically interpreted monotheism, here, for example, in connection with ideas of souls and ancestors, one encounters a globally unique group and individual totemism . In this context, the religious aspect of the Akan pottery is also interesting. It is probably the remnant of an ancient world of imagination. In spite of all contact with and intermingling with religious ideas of non-Akan origin, including the extensive Christianization and Islamization of today's Akan society, numerous traditional elements have survived to this day and contribute to the cultural and religious diversity in today's West Africa south of the Sahara .

The world of gods

The supreme being

The supreme being in the traditional Akan religion consists of the divine triad Nyame-Nyankopong-Odumankoma , that is, it is a single deity in a threefold expansion ( hypostasis ). Nyame stands for everything material in this world (including sky, sun and moon), Nyankopong stands for vital force or life in itself and Odumankoma for consciousness or intellect. Nyame (in Nzima Nyamenle , with the East Akan on the Volta Wulbari ) is the owner of the rotating universe, it is synonymous with the sky, the sun expresses its masculine aspect, the moon that of its feminine aspect. Alternative Twi names for Nyame are “Ewim” (something airy) or “Osoro” (that up there). Nyankopong is more a general term for everything divine and the ritually revered objects associated with it. In Odumankoma , the creative aspect of God emerges most clearly. All other sub-gods, the Abosom, are his creatures. He also appears in the Akan religion as a bringer of culture by teaching a woman named Osra Abogyo in the art of pottery.

However, both the Ivorian Agni (Anyi) and Baulé and the Nzima make a separation between the primordial creator god and the sky and sun gods. The fact that this separation is otherwise not to be found among the Akan indicates an older worship that existed in these areas before the Akan groups immigrated here. With the Agni this primordial creator god is Dago ( Dagon ), with the Baulé Alurwa or Anangama , in Nzima it is Edenkema .

The earth goddess

The Akan earth goddess is Asase , sometimes also Asié , called in Nzima Azele . The name comes from the doubling of "ase", which means "underside of something" in Twi. Sometimes it is also called Aberewa , "old mother earth", in Nzima Sama Belewa (Sama Bolowa). Usually the suffix "Yaa" or "Afua" (Efua, Fua) is added to their name. “Yaa” is the Akan name for a person born on a Thursday, “Afua” for a person born on a Friday, which refers to the day sacred to the earth goddess, which can vary from region to region.

As the earth goddess, Asase is also the goddess of the dead and ruler of the realm of the dead. Whenever someone was buried with the Akan in the past, Asase was first given a libation in order to obtain a burial permit from her. In addition, Asase is also the goddess of peace, because in the religious world of the Akan it is she who has to absorb the blood of the killed and injured, which angered her very much. (To drown in the sea is something else.) If her anger is not appeased, according to traditional belief, there is a risk of crop failures, earthquakes or similar natural disasters. On the days that are sacred to them, the Akan are prohibited from all work that would "injure" the earth (field work, excavation work, etc.), and blood should not drip onto the earth on such a day, even if only from a cut. If it does happen anyway, the transgressor is called upon to make a reconciliation sacrifice. Sometimes a distinction is made between Asase Yaa as the goddess of the sterile soil and Asase Efua as the goddess of the fertile soil. In this case, Asase Afua is assigned eight as the sacred number, Venus as the sacred star and the goat as the sacred animal. Asase Yaa, on the other hand, is assigned the nine as the sacred number, Jupiter as the sacred star and the scorpion as the sacred animal. Despite these sacred animals, the snake (actually a python ) is considered a general symbol of the Akan earth goddess itself.

Asase is the divine wife of the Creator and Heaven God. All Akanic Abosom (sub-gods) are considered children of Nyame and Asase. This hierarchical position between the Primordial Creator and all other gods shows that the earth goddess is of non-Akanic origin and her incorporation into the Akan gods can be seen as an attempt to bring about peace between immigrant and native groups (who are considered to be the actual owners of the soil apply) on a permanent basis.

The subscription

Under the collective name Abosom , also Abosommerafoo (Sing. Obosom, Bossum, Bassam) in the Akan religion all sub-gods are summarized, who are in the divine hierarchy under the creator god and the earth goddess. In Nzima they are called Awonzonle (Sing .: Bozonle). They are sub-gods, ie they can be punished with death by the creator god. According to the Akanic creation myth, the union of the Creator God and the Earth Goddess initially resulted in only four abosomes: Tano (Tando), Bea, Apo and Twe (Bosomtwe). All four are “waters” in Akanland and they were sent into the world from Nyame as part of the creation of the world to give blessings to people and to receive blessings from them. All other nature, water and forest deities are derived from these four original abosomes. Therefore, in the traditional Akan religion, water generally has a life-creating power and so all river and water deities are also regarded as fertility gods at the same time. (This only refers to land water, the sea is something else.) For the Ivorian Baulé it is Kwamnabo, the god of rain, who emerged from the union of the creator god and the earth goddess. In contrast to the Suman, the Abosom have their divine power from Nyame. In Asante it is said that an obosom was created to serve as god to the chief and the spirits of the ancestors of a village. However, the obosome can also be consulted by a single individual on personal matters, such as: B. in cases of illness, childlessness, crop failures, etc.

The Suman

A Suman (Souman, Summan) is in the traditional Akan imagination a fetish who embodies a personal house and family protective spirit. In this context, there is always a container that contains an object with which the reference to Summan is established. In the fetu of the 1660s, such a container with a religious mascot was called "Sesja". In every Akan family (in the sense of a maximum line) there was or is an appointed Essumanfo (Summan priest) who was or is responsible for the offering, the slaughter of sacrificial animals and the Summan family shrine. In the literature (Clarke) three types of Summan are distinguished:

  • Type 1: It has the usual, typical, magical structure of special, magically produced components. It has rites and conjuring spells, taboos must be observed, the object has a specifically limited function and it is used by individuals for individual purposes.
  • Type 2: They are said to have acquired their abilities through an association with, and obtainable from, fairies or forest spirits, or because the subject is the potential habitat of one or more "inner status" spirits, usually the animal kingdom belong. (Totemism)
  • Type 3: These are Summan, in which several have merged into a higher category in which, it appears, they clash with the subscribers. Summan of higher categories are mostly the protective fetishes of entire nations, such as B. in the case of Bora Bora Weigya, the main fetish of the Fanti nation, whose main sanctuary is at Mankessim. Mostly, however, the Summan serve as protective deities for villages. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, z. B. the most common among them Borgya and Abirwa. At that time, almost every village in southwest Asante and the neighboring regions had either a Borgya or an Abirwa shrine or both. Her admirers formed closed cult communities at village level, each with its own avoidance rules, admission rituals, rules of conduct and much more

Others

  • Summa was a deity among the fetus of the 1660s, to whom all misfortunes were ascribed that could happen to a person.
  • Among the Ivorian Baulé, Kaka-Gye is an ox-headed deity who guides the soul of a deceased to Nyame. Without his help, the soul would not find the way and would wander restlessly as a spirit, causing a lot of damage.
  • Nyevile ("the sea") replaces Nyame as the creator god in the coastal areas of Agni and Nzima. He is considered here as the spouse of the earth goddess.
  • Samanfo is the name of the Akan for the totality of ancestral spirits .

World creation

Regardless of the creation variant of the Akan, the creation was in any case ended on a Saturday. A male child born on a Saturday, traditionally called Kwame by the Akan , is therefore considered a lucky child. Ceremonies and rituals in honor of the Creator God therefore always take place on Saturdays. For example, the king's birthday in Asante always fell on a Saturday, even if he was actually born on a different day.

version 1

In the beginning God created the world, but there was only God in the world. He then made a "medicine" for himself, poured it on the ground and hills arched up, which finally broke up and animals, people and all other works of creation came out.

Variant 2

The first humans were created in heaven. While God was raining, the seven first humans, created by God, descended on a chain from heaven to earth. They brought the fire with them. When they got to earth, they lit a fire to cook food with. They had no water to boil, but there was no water to be seen. Two of them then went into the bush until they finally found a river with the water of which they could then prepare their meals.

Sub-variant 2.a): God gave his blacksmith Odunmangkoma the task of forging people and animals, which the Creator God then breathed life into. According to tradition, Odunmangkoma created water first, because water has life-creating power.
Sub-variant 2.b) (found especially with the Kratsche (East Akan) and partly with the Ashanti): It was Anansi, the spider , a servant of the Creator God, who brought the sun and the moon. She also "woven" the first people who then climbed down to earth on a thread she had woven.
Variation 3

The first humans are of both heavenly and earthly origins. A couple came down from heaven, another came from the earth.

Variation 4

It happened a long time ago that on a particular Monday night (Nkydwo), a worm buried its way up through the ground. He was followed by seven men, seven women, a leopard and a dog. Standing on the surface of the earth, they were confused by the new and unfamiliar impressions, and their eyes were filled with fear. Only Adu Ogyinae, who was the first to emerge from the earth, showed no signs of fear. By the laying on of hands, he succeeded in reassuring his companions as well. On Wednesday people started building huts. Adu Ogyinae was killed by a falling tree. Also at the same time the dog had left and when it came back it had fire in its muzzle. With the food heated on the fire, people then fed the animal (as an experiment, so to speak). When it started to build up fat, people decided to eat their food cooked from now on.

Ideas of the soul and belief in ancestors

The Samanfo (Sing .: Samman ) are the Akan spirits of the ancestors of an Abusua (all members of the maternal blood line). Their common abode is called Samandow . The singular Samman is generally translated as “clan spirit” and is also understood as a single spirit being, although strictly speaking it is a spiritual whole of many individual beings. There are essentially three ghosts:

Mogya

It is determined by the matrilineal clan membership and is given to the child by its mother when it is conceived. The gender of the child is irrelevant. The Mogya binds the child to the Matrilineage (Abusua) and through this also to the ancestors of the Lineage and the land they have taken possession of. The Mogya has its origin in Nyame and it is she who implants his Kra (life soul) into the individual .

Ntoro

The Ntoro is seen as the actual cause of conception in the traditional Akan religion. If conception occurs during a sexual act, then Mogya is constituted in the fetus from the “red” (“hot”) blood of the woman and the Ntoro from the “white” (“cold”) blood of the man (semen). Only when the two come together when Ntoro and Mogya meet, that is, when both soul elements “like each other and unite in love”, only then does new life arise. The Akan say in this case that the red, hot blood of the woman during successful sexual intercourse is “neutralized” or “cooled down” by the white, cool blood of the man (the sperm). It is the "Ntoro" who implanted his Nunsum (personality soul ) in the individual . It determines the patrilineal clan membership of the newly created individual. In contrast to Mogya, which comes from Nyame, the soul component of the Ntoro comes from an obosome.

Both parts of the soul, that is, the Mogya of the maternal blood and the Ntoro of the paternal blood, are associated with the Akan with certain properties and behavioral patterns that later show up in the individual and which are considered characteristic of the entire Abusua (Matrilineage) or Fekuw ( Patrilineage). After the death of the individual, the priest separates the Ntoro from the Mogya again via a special ritual, whereupon the Mogya migrates back to Samandow and the Ntoro rejoins the Ntoro community of his Obosom. Such an Ntoro community is, for example, that of the Twe, that is, the Obosom who resides on the bottom of Lake Bosomtwe.

Sunsum

The Sumsum is the shadow soul . It is the shadow that a person throws on the earth. According to the Akanic ideas, the Kra (life soul), the Nunsum (personality soul) and the Sunsum (shadow soul) in their entirety form the soul of a living person.

Mental doubles and "alter ego"

This is a pronounced form of group or individual totemism , which among the Akan sometimes exists independently alongside other religious ideas of the soul, but sometimes also merges with the term “Ntoro” soul. For example, there is a custom that the umbilical cord of a newborn is placed in a coconut and buried. If a tree actually grows at this point (and it does, if the conditions are right), then the tree and child will be connected to one another throughout their lives. They both grow up at the same time and the tree is also at the same time the carrier or home of the child's " alter ego ", that is to say, the psychological double. The same “alter ego” transmission also takes place when the umbilical cord is eaten by any animal.

Sometimes in the literature the appearance of the psychic doppelganger was also identified with the term "bush soul", which is also pretty close if one proceeds from the Nigerian bush soul belief, although there are some differences. For example, the bush-soul double in Nigeria always has the shape of a forest animal, but never that of a plant or anything else.

The "alter ego" being also has the character of a protective being. This mainly results from the idea that humans and animals influence each other and that they can convey their characteristics to the other partner. For example, a leopard protects the fields of its human comrade from the devastation caused by wild boars, buffalo, elephants and the like. Like. And also against human thieves. But the properties of an animal “alter ego” can also be transferred to humans. A leopard gives strength to its human partner, an antelope gives intelligence, etc. The animal is also able to warn its human partner of any dangers and on the other hand a human can influence the movements and actions of his animal partner. However, this is not only the case with the Akan traditional beliefs, but also generally in West Africa, where individual totemism in the form of “alter ego” beliefs can be found.

In addition, there is a pronounced group totemism among the Akan in the form of a certain animal or plant species or some other condition, which as a totem is inherent in every Akan clan and with which certain avoidance commands are associated. The totem animal is the manifestation of one or more ancestors who appear on earth in the form of the traditional totem animal to look after their descendants. Since the living cannot know exactly which animal it is, it is a general avoidance command for all clan members to kill even any specimen of this animal species or even to eat its meat. An example of this is the Akan family of origin, the "Ntwa" (also "Nitschwa"), the "dog family", whose members are strictly forbidden to kill dogs, let alone eat dog meat. Sub-branches of the dog clan are, for example, the “Ackwia” in Denkira, the “Abadzi” in Cape Coast and Assin, the “Appiadzi” in Cape Coast, the “Aduana” in Denkira, etc. In Denkira and Cape Coast were or are the families of the canine clan were extremely influential.

The appearance of clan totemism in West Africa is by no means restricted to the Akan, for example it is also found among the Nankanse in northern Ghana or the Ewe east of the Volta, to name just a few examples.

The Akua-Bà

An Akua-Bà (plural: Akua-mma ) is an African idol figure which characterizes a soul being that once lived in a person or will later inhabit one. In the first sense, this figure marks a former person who is dead, but who is venerable enough that one continues to venerate his soul after his death. The soul being inherent in Akua-Bà, however, is neither human nor deity, but can rather be understood as a being in the transition state from the earthly world and the cosmic world beyond. During this transitional state, the Akua-Bà figure should serve him as an apartment. (However, this is not to be equated with a totem , because it is precisely in this function that an Akua-Bà differs from a totem. Among other things, a totem unites the souls of the ancestors, which can therefore also be passed on to a person of the subsequent generation on the other hand is only a temporary apartment.)

On the Gold Coast, Akua-Bà figures are also often made and used to fulfill a previously unfulfilled wish for women to have children, and it is sometimes highly and sacredly sworn that this has also helped in numerous cases. The provision of an Akua-Bà apartment is then intended to make the Akua-Bà owner more attractive to the soul being when it is on the way to appearing as a living being somewhere on earth. However, such an effect can only be achieved with the help of a priest or magician. It is interesting that an Akua-Bà figure, although usually both female and male sexual characteristics are worked out at the same time (because it is not yet known which gender the future earthly being will be), basically from the Gold Coast inhabitants is considered to be of a feminine nature.

Apart from Asante, Akua-Bà figures are also known in particular from South Africa, where they can be found among the Bantu peoples (e.g. Zulu) in form and content identical shape. You can find an explanation if you allow both peoples to come into contact with ancient Egyptian culture. There is no question of this among the Bantu, as, according to linguistic knowledge (Kramar), they asked the pharaohs of the 6th and 11th dynasties when they came from the northeast, wandered through Egypt and penetrated the African continent. In the case of the ancestors of the Akan, this is more difficult to say, although numerous other cultural and religious elements also indicate a contact with ancient Egyptian culture.

In addition, a closer look at the Akua-Bà figures reveals further details relating to the religious ideas of ancient Egypt. An Akua-Bà figure undoubtedly has the outer shape of an “Ankh” symbol, which in hieroglyphic form means “life” as a sign of meaning. On a figure from South Africa (which is in the private possession of the author), a symbol is also carved on the back of the head that represents a wider, vertical line that is crossed by four narrow, horizontal lines. This was interpreted as the Djed tree, that is, the ancient Egyptian "tree of life", as we also find it in the Christian Bible. Representations from the Middle Ages, such as those found on numerous church windows in Europe, also show this tree with four side branches and an upper crown, on each of which an apple hangs and Eve commits original sin by nibbling the tenth apple. Another peculiarity of Akua-Bà is that, compared to the actual “Ankh” symbol, there is a neck between the oversized head and the rest of the figure. This neck is formed from nine rings in the present figure, other figures in the literature show figures with five or three neck rings. The number eight or nine could be associated with the ancient Egyptian godhood and unity of gods, while the number five is the sacred number of the "Odumankoma", the creator deity of the Akan.

The religious aspect of pottery

Pottery has a religious aspect with the Akan, as there is an analogy between and modeling in clay and incarnation in their traditional imagination .

Apart from water, which is traced back to Odumankoma with its life-creating power, in the religious world of the Akan all the components that make up a person come from the earth. It is the same with pottery. Here, too, just like in the conception process, water is mixed with earth components, ie life is created here too.

Just as in the Akan society, for example, pregnant women have different rules of behavior and avoidance rules (which mainly come from the "Ntoro" avoidance rules of the husband's family), so there are also strict instructions for the potters, who are usually from come from those river deities with whose waters the modeling process is carried out. If a pregnant woman disregards the “Ntoro” grazing commandments imposed on her, her child may be born with deformities or malformations or even stillbirth; If a potter violates her commandments, her pots may burst or false fires occur. Based on this religious analogy between ceramic pots and humans, it is also understandable that the willful breaking of pots was a very dangerous act among the Akan in the past and was punished as a ritual outrage that amounted to an insult to the Earth Mother and Heaven Father. In the past, at least one expiatory sacrifice in the form of a sheep or a goat was called for, precisely at the point where the pot was broken.

Numerous Akan proverbs revolve around this human-pot analogy, such as B. "Having children is like buying clay pots." Means: With a newborn you can never be sure who or what is hidden in it, how it will develop one day, whether it will soon leave the earth again, etc. ... It is similar when purchasing pottery, you are not safe from surprises, especially not without a thorough prior examination, because: "Only when you tap off a pot do you notice that it is cracked."

Pot types with religious functions

In the traditional Akanic religion, pots can be carriers of all kinds of magical powers that an individual can make use of, regardless of whether these are positive or negative forces.

Abammo pot

An Abammo pot is a special form of Akan's ceramic vessels that is reserved exclusively for twins (and other multiples), as well as children who have emerged from the mother's third, sixth and ninth pregnancy. In the traditional religious world of the Akan, these children have, in addition to their already existing psychological double, an additional guardian spirit in the form of an Abam deity. In this context, the Abammo pot fulfills the function of a shrine for the Abam of the person concerned.

Eggs in particular are sacrificed to an Abam, ie they are an essential part of all ritual dishes. In addition, the dishes prepared for the Abam sometimes also contain gold dust or a yellow pearl, with which one asks for future wealth, and yellow is also the symbol of maturity, long life and warmth. In addition, leaves of the Adwira plant ( Lonchocarpus cyanescens ) are sometimes added together with “Hyire” powder (white clay), which is supposed to create ritual purity and harmony with the spiritual world. The baby is also given a red Abammo bead tied to its head, which is intended to ward off evil forces.

In addition, in the traditional Akan imagination, every person has a protective spirit that is assigned to the day of the week on which they were born, which is often already reflected in the naming. On this day of the week of birth, it is e.g. B. In the Ashanti country it is common to cut your hair. A few of these cut hairs are also put in the Abammo pot. In addition, certain rites for the Abam deity take place regularly.

At the next sowing, which takes place after the birth of such a child, the mother plants three, six or nine new bulbs of yam for the child, depending on which place the child occupies on her pregnancy list. These yam bulbs are especially used to prepare the “Abommo-bayere” on the “Afehyiada”, ie on the child's annual birthday, with palm oil being added to the cooked yam porridge and, depending on the child's place on the birth list, with three , six or nine eggs is stirred. A little of it is also put in the Abammo pot as sacrificial food, the rest is given to the child to eat. An Abammo pot should remain intact until it reaches adulthood, if possible. In the event that a child dies despite all religious protective measures, the pot should accompany this child to the grave.

An Abammo pot is mandatory, especially for twins. If the mother fails to set up an Abammo pot for them and to arrange the necessary ceremonies, the children face poverty and anger according to traditional religious beliefs. Twins would then become wild and boisterous and very difficult to control. If twins are not lucky in their life, the traditionally religious Akan blame the parents for this, as they seem to have failed to regularly perform the Abammo rites when they were children.

Ancestral or family pots

"Family or ancestral pots" (Twi: Abusua Kuruwa ) are ritual vessels for the Akan to worship certain deceased family members. They are given to the deceased by the Abusua, i.e. H. Established by relatives of the maternal bloodline in particular if the deceased was an important person and if the latter died a "good" death. Most of these pots also carry a picture of the deceased. Sometimes they are also used in funeral rites. For this purpose, every Akan cemetery has a “place of pots” (Twi: “Asensie”; in Agona also called “Gsiebia”), where the ancestral pots can be deposited. More often, however, they are placed in the family ancestral shrine, where the sacred ancestral chairs and other cult objects are also kept. There these pots serve as storage vessels for various objects loaded with magical powers, such as B. the cut fingernails of the deceased, which are kept together with the shaved head hair of the deceased by the surviving Abusua members. They also serve as libation vessels, i.e. H. as vessels in which drink offerings are offered to gods and ancestors. Occasionally, the head of the family is permitted to use one of them as a container of water because it is he who is closest to the ancestors on earth. An Abusua Kuruwa symbolizes the unity of the Abusua, which the ancestors from the hereafter also contribute to maintaining. The pots represent the link between this world and the hereafter. Often these vessels also have numerous small openings, which are considered "mouths", just as the living family is composed of numerous "mouths".

In addition, the Akan family and ancestral shrines often contain vessels whose ornamentation is associated with a certain proverb, such as: For example: "All family members fight for food, and yet everything ends up in the same stomach". Such “proverb pots ”, (Twi: Abedudie ), are often found in the ancestral shrines as water vessels. They are also known as "Abusua Kuruwa".

The "Abusua Kuruwa" also include the "Abogye-abogye Kukuo" (Sing .: "Mogye-mogye Kukuo") (lower jaw pots). They are mainly used to store palm wine, which is spilled over the chairs of deceased family members at regular intervals as a libation. They also serve as props for important vows that affect the entire family. On the occasion of such an oath, after a libation for the ancestors, all those present take a sip of palm wine from the "Mogye-mogye Kukuo". All who have drank from this vessel then form an indissoluble community that will continue to exist beyond death. Breaking such an oath then has particularly dire consequences.

Family or ancestral pots are modeled exclusively by old and experienced potters. Together with their lids, they are very elaborately and carefully modeled and in a certain sense represent the perfection of Akan pottery art. Women of childbearing age are prohibited from making ancestral pots, as this would amount to an insult to the ancestral spirits.

In historical times, a person also had to give up his life when it came to making a particularly powerful ritual pot. For this purpose, the potter made the vessel incomplete and without fire, and the condemned man was commissioned to transport this vessel. He then had to carry this vessel around until it broke at some point. The vessel destroyer then lost his head, and the real "Abusua Kuruwa" was modeled and fired from the crushed shards and the blood of the executed person.

Medicine pots

"Medicine pots" are the Akan (Asante) pots with which one would like to prevent or fight diseases in a magical way. They contain mainly plant and animal parts that are believed to have magical powers, as well as fresh water. According to traditional beliefs, water generally has life-giving powers. Medicinal pots are often red and preferably show the motif of a beetle in their ornamentation. This beetle refers to the saying: “Anyinaboa beetle, the fire may reach you!” (... when the tree in which you are hiding has burned down). Intentional meaning: The consequences of his evil deed will inevitably catch up with the perpetrator. Medicinal pots also often show numerous knobs or gnubbel, which is also supposed to be a defense symbol against diseases.

Widow pots

A "widow's pot" (Twi: Kuna kukuo ) is carried by the Akan by the widow or widower in front of the procession, which guides the transport of the coffin with the deceased from his house towards the cemetery. In this pot there are three stones and numerous parts of plants to which various magical powers are ascribed in traditional religion. When the train reaches the edge of the village, the mourners and the widow turn back after the widow has smashed the widow's pot. By smashing the pot, she symbolically destroys the bond of marriage and all obligations arising for her from the marriage are thus canceled. Only the members of the deceased's Abusua, that is, the blood relatives of the maternal bloodline, continue their way with the coffin outside the village into the "ghost thicket" (the jungle), where the cemeteries are usually laid out, and complete the burial.

Further avoidance rules

In general, Akan women are prohibited from making pottery on days when they are required to stay away from men. These are all menstrual days and all “bad” days of the week, including “chief's day”, Friday. (The Akan divide the 7-day week into “good” and “bad” days of the week. A (very) bad day of the week is, for example, Tuesday.) In addition, the prospecting of raw material should not take place on the day of the week which the Earth goddess Asase is dedicated, which is Thursday or Friday depending on the region. Pregnant women are also not allowed to enter mining sites.

literature

  • Ute Ritz: "Nobody breaks a pot of water the first time you stumble." On the analogy of pot and human in the Asante (Ghana) . In: Paideuma . 35 (1989) 207-219.
  • Elizabeth L. Anderson: The Levels of Meaning of an Ashanti Akua'ba . In: Michigan Academican . 21 (1989) 205-219.
  • Werner F. Bonin: The Gods of Black Africa . Contributions by John S. Mbiti and Niitse Akufo Awuku. Verlag der Collectors, Graz 1979.
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