The Akan Religion
The Akan religion is practiced by the people of Ghana and some parts of Ivory Coast in Africa. The Akan religion is believed to consist of prophetic teachings and revelations. Followers of the religion consider themselves Christians although only a small group has continued to practice it. Since there are different subgroups of the Akan people, the type of practices and rituals varies slightly from one subset to another. The Akan believe that there is one divine god who created everything on earth, and spirits who assist human beings in their activities.
Beliefs of the Akan Religion
The Akan religion is a polytheist faith since they believe in supernatural beings who have varying powers. The Akan believe in a supreme being known as Onyame, who gives the rain and the sun. Onyame is believed to be a female being. The people refer to their god as Amosu which means the giver of rains and Amowia meaning the giver of the sun (Danquah, 2014). The god is also referred to as the Amaomee which means a deity of abundance. Their god does not discriminate people based on their social status but treats them equally.
Hierarchy of Supernatural Powers
Second to Onyame are the minor deities who execute the powers of the most high. The minor deities are collectively known as the abosom. Besides, the Akan people have hierarchy of supernatural powers. There is the divinity represented by Onyame, followed by superdivinity, and ultradivinity which is the third divine power. Onyankopon is the superdivinity and is considered to be the opposite of Onyame, a male supernatural being. Both Onyame and Onyankopon are associated with the moon and sun respectively. The ultra-divine being is referred to as Odomankoma and connects Onyame and Onyankopon to one divine being (Parrinder, 2014). The three divinity elements explain the concept of Trinity there are three supreme beings joined as one. There are spirits or minor deities who assist people who believe in them. The spirits are able to grant wishes, satisfy desires, and cause fortunes in the lives of human beings. The spirits acts as mediators or intercessors between the humans and higher deities.
The Adae Ceremony
Adae or Adai is a significant ceremonial practice for the Akan people. For the Akan, the word Adae means the place where ancestral spirits rest and human beings can symbolically converse with them from there. During the ceremony, the people invoke the ancestral spirits by offering them libation and uttering certain symbolic words. They also worship the ancestral spirits and enquire from them about future events. Besides, the Akan people may invoke the powers of the ancestral spirits so that they assist them in a crisis facing the community. In one calendar year, the Adae festival is celebrated nine times. During the week of celebration, the festival held on Sunday is referred to as Akwasidae while Awukudae is the one held on Wednesday (Harvey, 2015). The significance of the Adae ceremony is to reinforce the connection between the Akan people and ancestral spirits.
Significance of Religious Functions
The religious functions are significant to the Akan people as they connect them with their creator, Onyame. Through religious practices, they obtain assistance in form of rain, provision of food and other necessities, and assistance from the gods. Besides, the festivals connect them with ancestral spirits. The Akan people believe that ancestral spirits are part of their daily existence and hence they have to honor them through frequent celebrations.
References
Danquah, J. B. (2014). The Akan doctrine of God: A fragment of Gold Coast ethics and religion (No. 2). Routledge.
Harvey, M. (2015). Medial Deities and Relational Meanings: Tracing Elements of an Akan Grammar of Knowing. Journal of Africana Religions, 3(4), 397-441.
Parrinder, G. (2014). West African religion: a study of the beliefs and practices of Akan, Ewe, Yoruba, Ibo, and kindred peoples. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
