Deities of the Akan Religion

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Deities of the Akan Religion

Earthly Origins. The West African finds it quite natural to approach the gods and believes that the gods will listen and help because, with few exceptions (such as the Yoruba and Igbo sky gods Olorun and Amadioha), they are believed to have once been humans (or at least in familiar and close contact with humans) and to have at one point inhabited the earth. Yet, the gods are of a different ontological and hierarchical order from humans, so the need to worship them is far greater than, for example, the necessity to pay homage to the known ancestors of the clan.

Akan Religion. The Akan speak the Twi language and trace back their history in West Africa some nine hundred years. They are believed to have origins in the Middle East—as the Akkadian people of Babylon. The name Akan is believed to be a corruption of Akkane or Akkana. In 1076 the Almoravids drove the Akans from their ancient home in the Empire of Ghana to their current West African locations in the modern nation of Ghana and adjacent areas of Côte d’Ivoire and Togo.

Ideas of God. The Akan supreme being, Onyame, has many other names. Some of these names indicate Onyame’s most worthy attributes, such as Amosu (Giver of Rain), Amowia (Giver of the Sun), and Amaomee (Giver of Plenitude). Onyame is often thought to be female and associated with the Moon. Like other traditional West African religions, the Akan religion is polytheistic. While Onyame is considered supreme, there are many minor deities, the abosom, who exercise powers over believers but are in turn subordinate to Onyame. The abosom exercise their

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hold on the mind of the believer through asuman, charms, amulets, and other fetish objects associated with their powers. The Akan also have a second superdivinity, Onyankopon, who is a polar opposite to Onyame. He is male and associated with the Sun. Finally, there is a third, ultradivine element that binds itself with Onyame and Onyankopon into the one Absolute: Odomankoma, the infinite being. This Absolute has a trinitarian character: God as male, female, and relational principle; or, metaphorically speaking, Moon, Sun,and their bonding principle. Odomankoma is therefore the name Akan-language speakers use to describe the eternal entity who deserves the credit for the work of creation, including creating the concept of trinity—the idea of the union between Onyame and Onyankopon in the Odomankoma. Odomankoma is responsible for both natural and supernatural existence and is regularly praised during worship as the “Absolute Architect” (Borebore) of Nature.

Minor Deities. Subordinate to the Absolute (Onyame, Onyankopon, and Odomankoma), the minor deities are also vulnerable to the wishes, desires, and fortunes of the individuals who believe in them. In fact, many minor deities would not exist or would not have been considered necessary if the believers did not see them as effective intercessors, intermediaries, or messengers to the Absolute. Thought to have greater access to the Absolute than humans, the minor gods bring the needs of the mortals to the attention of Onyame, Onyankopon, and Odomankoma and carry back to humans important insights and communications. The minor gods are vulnerable to the

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people who choose, and in some cases create, them to fulfill such intercessionary roles. As J. B. Danquah has observed, “The gods are treated with respect if they deliver the goods, and with contempt if they fail.” A god who is perceived to have failed often is no longer worshiped. Among the minor Akan gods is Ananse (also spelled Anansi or Anyanse), who is often represented in myths as a spider and trickster—a mythological figure who is supposed to bridge the gap between God and humans through his divinatory and oracular wisdom. Ananse is so successful in dealing with the Absolute deity that the Akans hold him in high esteem and sometimes refer to God as Agya Ananse (Father Ananse).