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Akan Cosmology
AKAN
COSMOLOGY
AKAN CULTURAL SYMBOLS
PROJECT
© G. F. Kojo Arthur and Robert Rowe -
1998-2001 Hye anhye - Unburnable
 The Akan believe that the universe was created by a Supreme Being,
whom they refer to variously as Oboadee
(Creator), Nyame (God), Odomankoma (Infinite, Inventor), Ananse Kokuroko (The Great Spider; The
Great Designer), etc.
The Akan religious thought is essentially theocentric and theistic, with the Supreme
Being, God at the center of it all. From this perspective, the Akan use their cultural
symbols to portray their beliefs about God, their attitudes towards God and His creation,
and the Akan's relation to God and His Creation.
The Akan also believe that human creativity affects the
universe positively or negatively. In essence, the Akan believe the universe is both a
natural and social creation. Social creation is in the form of institutions and products
human beings have invented. The Akan is required to safeguard the environment of the
universe for a continuum of society members consisting of the dead, the living, and the
yet-to-be-born.
The Akan claim the Supreme Being created life and death,
and death overcame the Supreme Being. However, the Supreme Being, having the antidote to
the venom of death, was able to overcome death. This Supreme Being,
Nyame or Nyankopon, has eternal
life.
The Akan believe the Supreme Being is spiritual in form and
is unburnable or indestructible (hye anhye). The Supreme Being
puts part of His/Her spiritual form into human beings as the human soul (kra).
This soul in the human being never perishes. That is why the Akan say Nipa wu
a, na onwuee - When the human being dies, he/she is not dead. This
soul reincarnates. When a child is born, the Akan give the child a soul name (kra
din) such as Kojo (boy's name)
or Adjoa (girl's name) for the child born on
Monday because that is the name for day of the week the human soul appears in this
physical world.
SAMPLES OF SYMBOLS
THAT ENCODE ASPECTS OF AKAN COSMOLOGY
GYE NYAME - EXCEPT
GOD
GYE NYAME - EXCEPT
GOD
Symbol of the OMNIPOTENCE and the
OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD
From the Akan aphorism: Abode santann yi firi tete; obi
nte ase a onim ne ahyease, na obi ntena ase nkosi ne awie, GYE NYAME.
Literal translation: This great panorama of creation dates back to time
immemorial; no one lives who saw its beginning and no one will live to see its end, EXCEPT
GOD.
The symbol reflects the Akan belief of a SUPREME BEING, the CREATOR who they refer to by
various names - e.g., OBOADEE,
NYAME, ONYANKOPON TWEREAMPON.
ABODE SANTAAN -
TOTALITY OF THE UNIVERSE
ABODE SANTAAN -
TOTALITY OF THE UNIVERSE
Symbol of the TOTALITY OF THE UNIVERSE - NATURAL AND
SOCIAL CREATION
From the expression: Odomankoma boo adee;
oboo awia, osrane ne nsoromma, oboo nsuo ne mframa; oboo
nkwa, oboo nipa, na oboo owuo. Ote ase daa.
Literal translation: God, the Creator; He created the sun, the moon and the stars,
the rain and the wind; He created life, the human being, and He created death. He lives
for ever.
The symbol incorporates the eye, the rays of the sun, the double crescent moon, and the
stool. The sun, the moon, and the eyes depict natural creation by a supreme being. While
the stool depicts the socially created institutions and the creativity of human beings.
HYE ANHYE - UNBURNABLE
HYE ANHYE -
UNBURNABLE
Symbol of the IMPERISHABILITY OF THE SELF, PERMANENCY
OF THE HUMAN SOUL and TOUGHNESS
This represents the idea that GOD, the SPIRIT, never dies, or GOD lives forever.The Akan
belief is that the human soul, an image of God, the Spirit, lives in perpetuity. Thus,
there is liFe after the death of the physical part of the human being.
ADWERA
- WATERY SHRUB
ADWERA - WATERY
SHRUB
Symbol of PURITY, SANCTITY, CONSECRATION, CLEANLINESS,
CHASTITY, and GOOD FORTUNE
From the expression: Adwera nsuo, wo ne nkwansuo, nsu
korogyenn a wohuru nso wonhye.
Literal translation: Water of life, you are the pure crystal clean water that
boils, but does not burn.
Adwera is a watery shrub that is used in esubo
(purification) ceremony and akradware (soul washing) ceremony.
For example, when one recovers from a long bout of illness, one performs an esubo
ceremony to sanctify one's soul and appease the spirits for protecting one's life. This
ceremony starts with a bath of water that has been seeped in adwera
leaves.
AWIA
REPUE - RISING SUN
AWIA REPUE - RISING
SUN
Symbol of VITALITY, LIFE SPARK, WARMTH, and ENERGY
From the maxim: Ohene ye awia.
Literal translation:The king is the sun.
God is king.
God is referred to as OMAWIA - SOURCE OF THE SUN'S ENERGY and VITAL FORCE.
This symbol became associated with the Progress Party in the
1969 general parliamentary elections in Ghana. To the Progress Party this symbolized the
rising sun (awia repue) as an indication of progress.
KERAPA - SANCTITY
KERAPA - SANCTITY
Symbol of SANCTITY OF SELF, SPIRITUAL STRENGTH, GOOD SPIRIT, GOOD LUCK, and GOOD
FORTUNE
From the aphorism: Kerapa
ye Nyame ahoboa: ote se okra, okyiri fi na okram fie te se pete nti na Nananom de no yi
mmusuo.
Literal translation: Sanctity is part particle of the good;
it is like a cat, it abhors filth; and it clears filth like the vulture does; that is why
it is used to drive away evil and diseases.
This symbol was woven into the bedside mat on which the
king would step three times for good luck before going to bed. Every year, a cleaning
ritual (mmusuyidee) was performed in the past. During the ceremony all streets of the
townships were swept clean each morning and evening to remove mystical danger and to
prevent disease or death from entering the township.
ASASE YE DUR - LAND
IS MIGHTY
ASASE YE DUR - LAND
IS MIGHTY
Symbol of POWER, LIFE'S SUSTAINER, MIGHT, WEALTH, and
AUTHORITY
From the maxim: Tumi nyinaa ne
asase.
Literal translation: All power emanates from land.
This symbol reflects the importance of land to the Akan.
Even though land is communally owned among the Akan, land ownership by group or
individuals is an important source of economic and political power.
The Akan consider asase (land) as
the physical and feminine aspect of the dualistic nature of the universe. God, the Creator
is the spiritual and masculine aspect of this duality. Hence, the Akan refer to asase
as Yaa (among the Twi-speaking Akan) or Afua (among the
Fantse-speaking Akan), and God as Kwame.
NYAME DUA - GOD'S ALTAR
NYAME DUA - GOD'S ALTAR
Symbol of the PRESENCE OF GOD, GOD'S PROTECTION, HOLY
PLACE, and SPIRITUALITY
The symbol represents God's presence everywhere and every time. The Akan used to place the
God's altar in front of the house as a sign of God's presence and protection.
 Actual Nyame Dua tree stump that is placed in
front of houses
OWUO KUM NYAME - DEATH KILLED
GOD 
OWUO KUM NYAME - DEATH KILLED
GOD
Symbol of the INVINCIBILITY OF DEATH, and the POWER OF
GOD TO OVERCOME DEATH
From the maxim: Nyame boo owuo na owuo kum Nyame;
na Nyame na ote nanka aduro nti odii owuo so nkonim.
Literal translation: God created death and death killed God; yet the Eternal One
also created the antidote to the venom of death, and God, therefore, overcame death.
The Akan believe that
The Creator created things;
When He created things,
He created Life;
When He created Life,
He created Death;
When He created Death,
Death killed Him;
When He died,
Life came into Him and woke Him up;
Thereafter, He lived forever.
BIRIBI WO SORO - THERE IS
SOMETHING IN THE HEAVENS
BIRIBI WO SORO - THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE HEAVENSSymbol of HOPE, EXPECTATION, and ASPIRATION
From the aphorism: Nyame,
biribi wo soro na ma emmeka me nsa.
Literal translation: God, there is something in the
heavens, let it reach me.
This symbol was hung above the lintel of a door for the
king to touch three times repeating the words of the aphorism for good luck, high hope and
good expectations as he went out to carry out his duties each morning.
OSIADAN NYAME - GOD, THE BUILDER
OSIADAN NYAME - GOD, THE BUILDER
Symbol of GOD, THE BUILDER AND CREATOR
In Akan belief, God is the Supreme Creator. His creation is considered as housing
construction within which He provides abode for all His creation.
This symbol is found in Akan architecure.
CHURCHES AND AKAN SYMBOLS
Kerapa
The picture above shows some of
the Akan cultural symbols that have been incorporated into the liturgical art of the
sanctuary of the Roman Catholic Holy Spirit Cathedral, Accra, Ghana. Other religious
denominations have incorporated several of the Akan symbols in various aspects of church
activities and church symbolisms. Church choir robes, for example, often incorporate some
of the Akan symbols (particularly, the Gye Nyame
and Kerapa symbols) that encode
aspects of Akan spirituality and religious beliefs.
The Gye Nyame symbol on the altar in
a Catholic Church, Tema
The Emmanuel Methodist Church at Labadi, Accra has
arranged a number of adinkra symbols, including the following, to apparently
declare that "God's Son became the Sacrificial Lamb for the Household" - see
Arthur (2001, p. 34-35).
    
God
Son
Sacrifice
Lamb Household
 The two pictures on the
left and on the right, respectively, show a man and a woman wearing clothes in which the
Except God symbol had been embroidered. These people were coming from Sunday church
services.
AKAN CULTURAL SYMBOLS
PROJECT
© G. F. Kojo Arthur and Robert Rowe - 1998-2001
08/28/2008
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