Some Aspects of Ashanti Religious Beliefs

SOME ASPECTS OF ASHANTI RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
Author(s): Thomas Addae

Source: Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dell'Istituto italiano per
l'Africa e l'Oriente, Anno 25, No. 2 (GIUGNO 1970), pp. 157-182
Published by: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO)
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SOME ASPECTS OF ASHANTI
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
by Thomas Addae
INTRODUCTION
The religious beliefs of the Ashantis (*) can be studied

of an investigation into the religious institutions and implicat
social nature. The result of such an enquiry is not a theolo
losophy, but an indiscriminated number of rites, practices
Thomas Addae , religioso del Collegio di S. Pietro Apostolo in Roma , freq

sionario Istituto Scientifico della Pontificia Universit Urbaniana. Egli si inter
particolare , anche attraverso la redazione di alcuni saggi , dei problemi etnico-reli
e specie della regione Ashantiy della quale originario.
(i) The Ashantis are known to be a warlike and powerful tribe. (C

Oliver and John Fage, A Short History of Africa , pp. 127, 157, 159) i
Ashanti region of modern Ghana. The word Ashanti is often used to
er the people themselves or the area in which they live. In this work,
nerally refer to the people by adding s to the word to distinguish the
area.
158 THOMAS ADDAE
which enuntiate beliefs that are

Ashanti religion cannot be pres
like antique religions, it has, fo
entirely of institutions, which,
is the testimony of Richardson
No doubt men will not habituall

taching a meaning to them; but a
rigorously fixed, the meaning att
same rite was explained by differe
Nevertheless, though the Ash

systematic statements of theolo
phical proposition, though ther
beliefs and practices without lo
dence that this attitude to life
its own, which to him, in his ow
personally satisfying. The integ
tices lies not in the fashoning of
but in his socially inculcated per
which he is part.
We can say that the religious
three main elements, namely, the
everybody and everything, in a
ted by God and are the interme
Being, and in ancestral spirits w
still interested in the welfare o
to do in this essay is to outline so
principal religious beliefs of the A
ligious practices and sayings. W
whether there exists any Suprem
(2) Prof. John S. Mbiti's important

(Heinemann, London-Ibadan-Nairobi,
en
London, 1970) - appeared when this st
be taken into account by the Author
mentioned books is published in this
(3) Richardson Smith, The Religion
George Williamson, Akan Religion and
SOME ASPECTS OF ASHANTI RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 159
"what names and titles the Ashantis give to such a Being. Th

opinion that the ideas about God in Ashanti are not native to t
but brought by foreign missionaries. For that reason it seem
to find out how far that opinion is right or false. After that
find out the existence, names and nature of the lesser gods.
we shall see the third main element of the religious beliefs in
namely, the veneration or worship of ancestors, their place and t
they lead, and their relations with the living. Surely, there a
beliefs, for example in charms and protectives, which we sh
but only lightly.
We shall, in the end conclude by finding out what may be
be considered the central and most important element in As
ligion.
THE SUPREME BEING
i) His Existence
The Ashanti belief in the existence of a Supreme Being is

from several facts, a few of which we shall take to show that the
of old and modern Ghana believe in a Being who is above all othe
and is even their originator.
In the everyday language of the people, the Supreme Bein
tioned and implored. Statements like if God gives me a goo
row... are very common.
Allusions to him are found in ordinary wise sayings and prover
like nobody need show God to a child , if you cheat the crab, G
looks at you from above , which clearly show how the Ashantis con
der the unlimited knowledge of God to be an intimate quality. Th
acknowledge God to be all-knowing and everywhere.
There are myths and tales in which God is one of the characters
In these stories he plays not just an ordinary person's role, but that
a hero, the just judge who condemns the malicious hero and rewar
the good one. In some of these stories, we find the Ashanti solutio
to the problems concerning God, as for example, his invisibility and his
present inaccessibility to man. Two of these stories are important
teaching the Supreme Being's inaccessibility because of the disresp
of one man:
160 THOMAS ADDAE
Long, long ago, God lived on earth

Now there was a certain old woman wh
shed yam) and the pestle used constan
(God). So Onyankopcn said to the o
do so to me ? Because of what you
off up in the sky. And of truth h
The second myth relates how th

bring him back:
But now, since people could no long

that old woman told all the children to
find and bring them and pile them on
to where Onyankopon was. And so h
mortars one on top of another, till th
kopon. Now since they could not get th
mother, the old woman, told her chi
bottom and put it on top to make th
a single one, and all (the mortars) r
the death of many people (5).
Ashanti songs and verses, heard f

full of praises of God and of his at
pical and frequent Ashanti drum ve
From time immemorial
The God of old bids us all
Abide by his injunctions.
Then shall we get whatever we want,
Be it white or red.
It is God the Creator, the Gracious One.
Good morning to you, God, good morning.
I am learning, let me succeed (6).
The other typical drum verse acknowledges that God is the oldest
and the creator of the river which is older than the path. It runs like
this:
(4) R. S. Rattray, Ashanti Proverbs , Oxford Univ. Press, London, 1969, p. 20.
The word Onyankopcn is an Ashanti word meaning God. We shall see its full mea-
ning when we come to the part on the names and attributes of God.
(5) Ibid., p. 21.
(6) J. H. Nketia, Our Drums and Drummers , p. 43.
O Path, thou crossest the River

O River, thou crossest the Path.
Which of you is the elder ?
We cut a Path, and it went and met the River.
The River came forth long long ago
It came forth from the creator of all things (7).
God plays a great role in Ashanti art. Designs and patterns made
on cloths and carvings have names which refer to God, or to his qua-
lities. One of these is the Gye Nyame (except God) design which
depicts the omnipotence of God. This design was even used by the
Ghana government on the three-penny postage stamps. Another de-
sign common on cloths is O God, everything which is above, permit
my hand to touch it . This pattern was stamped also on paper and
hung above the lintel of a door in the king's palace. The King of Ash-
anti used to touch this lintel, then his forehead, then his breast repea
ting these words three times (8). Still another design which alludes
to the eternity of God is the May God die before I die (9).
Another common fact to prove the existence of God, or of a Su-
preme Being, in Ashanti are temples erected in his honour, and some
years ago almost every Ashanti compound or house had its Onyam
dua (God's tree), a triple-forked branch of a tree set upright on the
ground and serving as an altar. On it a bowl for offerings rested and
sacrifices were offered at frequent intervals (10). Such altars may stil
be seen in Ashanti but not so common as they were some decades
ago (n). References to God appear also in symbols on ancient gold
dust weights, and this proves the antiquity of the belief in a Suprem
Being in Ashanti.
(7) R. S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti, p. 286.

(8) R. S. Rattray, Ibid., p. 266.
(9) It is interesting to note that a creeping plant is called also by this name because
it grows wherever it is put and it takes a long time to wither.
(10) R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, pp. 139-142.
(11) Cfr. K. A. Busia, The Ashanti oj the Gold Coast, in African Worlds , (i954j>
p. 192, as quoted by Williamson, op. cit., p. 87.
162 THOMAS ADDAE
2) Names and Attributes of God.
There are several names by w

them there are four which are the
tance. The four names are Onya
and Ddomankoma (12). The mean
mes given to God are rendered by
in brief.
Christaller defines these names as follows: Onyame: sky; the Su-
preme Being, the Deity, God (13). Onyankopcn: the visible expanse
of the sky; God, the Supreme Being, the Creator, and Sovereign of
the universe (14). Otwereduampon : a by-name of God; it is said to
mean almighty (15). Ddomankoma : God, the Creator; manifold, plen-
tiful, abundant, copious (16).
Captain Rattray, who is known as the greatest authority on Ash-
anti anthropology, says that Onyame means the Sky-God and Ony-
ankopon, the Supreme Being. Otwereduampon, according to him,
means one upon whom men lean and do not fall (Lean-on-a-tree-and-
do-not-fall, which is its etymological meaning) and Ddomankoma, the
Creator (17).
The Ghanaian scholar, Dr. J. B. Danquah, believes that Onyame
is derived from the verb Nyam (to shine) and so it signifies the
Bright or Shining One . Breaking the word Onyankopon into
Onyame , koro (one) and pon (great), he makes it mean Alone-
the-Great-Nyame , namely, the Only Great Bright One (18). His
analysis of Otwereduampon is interesting. He divides the word into
Twi (a section of the Akans of which Ashanti is a subsection), Adu
(this, he says, is the corruption of Anu, the great God of the Akkadians
of old), and Pon (great, as we have seen in the case of Onyankopon).
(12) The letter d and letter o are often used or dropped in prefixes for the
sake of euphony. For a non-Ashanti reader the letter 0 used in the Ashanti lan-
guage can be replaced by the letter o for easy reading as it has been done by Rat-
tray in his books on Ashanti.
(13) J. G. Christaller, Dictionary of Asante and Fante Language , p. 356.
(14) Ibid., p. 358.
(15) Ibid., p. 551.
(16) Ibid., p. 90.
(17) R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, pp. 18, 298.
(18) J. B. Danquah, The Akan Doctrine of God, pp. 40, 43.
SOME ASPECTS F ASHANTI RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 163
Thus, he gives its interpretative meaning as the Great Anu of th

speaking people. Dr. Danquah goes on to say:
Further support is lent to this bold solution by the still further
blance between the worship ... of Onyankopon by the Akan and th
ship of Anu by the people who owned him as their God (19).
After abandoning his old opinion that Odomankoma meant

who is full of grace , Danquah adheres to Christaller's view
means the eternally interminable, infinitely, universally filled
in one word, the Inexhaustible Being (20).
Mrs. Eva Meyerowitz more or less agrees with Dr. Danq
garding the meanings of the first two names (Onyame and Onyan
and with Rattray's translation of the third name, Otweredua
She has, however, a new theory for the last one, Odomankom
The Takyimanhene (the King of Takyiman, a town in the Brong
Region) gave me the information that the name, Odomankoma, is
from Dom , meaning state and universe and Anko-ma or An
who alone gives , in other words, He who alone gives the univ
world (21).
Long before these writers published anything, Dennis Kemp had

given his explanation of Onyankopcn in these words:
. . . there is ... a supreme Being who controls the affairs of the universe.
The name given to this being is Nyankopon (The Great Friend), otherwise
Otcherampon (The Never-Failing One), the literal idea being that of leaning
against some stupendous object which never yields (22).
We cannot wholly accept all these explanations so it may be pre-

ferable to be guided by the language of the people and propose that the
best rendering of Onyame is The One who satisfies those who have
him because it is derived from Nya (to have, to get, to obtain) and
Mee (satisfied, or to be satisfied). Consequently, Onyankopon would
mean The Great one who alone satisfies those who have him, if we
accept Kopon to mean The Great one . It may safely be accepted
that Otwereduampon has best been explained by Captain Rattray and
(19) Ibid., p. 51.

(20) Ibid ., pp. 62-63.
(21) Eva L. R. Meyerowitz, The Sacred State oj the Akan , p. 83.
(22) Dennis Kemp, Nine Years at the Gold Coast , pp. 20-21.
164 THOMAS ADDAE
Dennis Kemp, though their explan

sfactory. This name for God m
(to help, to favour) and Ankom
Helper of the Hero , or the one o
makes somebody a hero. This solu
of another Ashanti word, Kuman
agree, is from Kum (to kill) an
The Killer of the hero (23).
Concerning these divine names
opinion that Onyame is related to
is a very potent name of Oynakopo
in the pouring of libation on any
Onyankopcn as the source of every
of hearts), if we make the word
vour) and Akoma (the heart).
As regards the attributes of Go
detail to explain what each attribut
attributes of God are many. Some
applied to him alone and others ar
given honourable positions in the
The attributes applicable to God
with their English renderings: Ob
the continuous Originator; Amosu
wia, the Giver of sunshine or light
Totrobonsu, the Creator of rain, u
nyame, the Creator of God (the O
rehunade, the Omniscient; Tetekw
Eternal One; Abomniubuafre, the Ref
Nyamenkose, One to whom we g
The words expressing qualities w
are the following: Ahunabobirim
One; Seadeeys = One who does wha
(23) Peter Kwasi Sarpong, A Catholic Vi

neration (an unpublished thesis), p. 5.
(24) J. B. Danquah, op. cit., p. 46.
(25) Here is another letter, e , which
even omitted when it comes at the end
easy reading for a non-Ashanti reader wh
nin = the Elder, which connotes not only seniority, but also exper
and wisdom (26); Nana = the Grandfather or Ancestor; Odssf
the Benefactor; Otumfoo = a Person of power and majesty; K
manto = One who does not break his pledge; Osaagyefoo = the W
rior who fights to redeem his people (a title which was used for K
Nkrumah, the ex-president of Ghana); Daasebre = the Merciful O
Kwame = a male person born on Saturday (27); Antoapoma =
ever-ready Shooter; Oteanankaduro = One who provides med
for snake-bite.
Finally, much of the lore about God is contained in sayings
proverbs from which the qualities of God can be deduced. Fo
purpose, we shall see a few of these sayings and proverbs in thei
glish translations: all men are God's children (the universal fathe
of God); it is to avoid cheating that God has given everyone a n
(God's justice); when God gives you sickness, he accompanies it w
its medicine, or it is Onyame who pounds fufu for the one-armed
(his mercy and providence); the wide world over, Onyame is the
(his seniority or eternity, his wisdom and experience) (28). Besid
God is seen as the master of life and death:
That he is recognized as the master of life and death is evident from the
custom, once prevalent in Ashanti, of making public supplications to him for
relief in times of drought and famine. On those occasions, the King of Ash-
anti himself was the chief suppliant. Again, every river that dries up an-
nually is named Asuo Dan-Nyame (depend-upon-God-river) (29).
To sum up, we can simply state that the Ashantis believe not only
in the existence of God but also in a number of attributes, some of which
cannot be applied to anybody or anything else but to God alone. The
attributes may not exhaust all the qualities of God, but they are enough
to enable us to conclude that the Ashanti idea about God is near to per-
fection.
(26) George Williamson, Akan Religion and the Christian Faith , p. 88.
(27) OnyankopDn receives the day-name, Kwame, because Saturday is reckoned
to be the Supreme Being's day of worship. This indicates that the Supreme Being is
thought of as personal. (Cfr. ibid., p. 87).
(28) For more proverbs dealing with God's attributes, see C. A. Akrofi, Twi
Mm3bus3m: Twi Proverbs , Macmillan and Co. Ltd., London, 1958; Captain Rattray's
Ashanti Proverbs , edited by Oxford University Press, 1969, is also useful.
(29) Peter Kwasi Sarpong, op. cit., p. 7.
166 THOMAS ADDAE
3) Ideas of God are not imported.
A few writers have doubted wh

God are original to the people of
A. B. Ellis, who in 1870, wrote:
By the words 4 religion ' and ' rel
lief in a Supreme Being, who contr
limited to but a small proportion o
twenty or thirty years the German
known to European ethnologists and
unaware of the real origin of this G
him as a conception of the native m
from Europeans and only thinly dis
Another writer of this thoug

He states:
Indeed it may be doubted whether the latter is really an indigenous deity

and not an improved article introduced by the white men, who, it must be
remembered, have had missionaries on the coast for over three hundred years (31).
Against these views, let us hear what Captain Rattray has written:
I had some year ago taken a stand against a school of thought which
denied that the conception of a Supreme Being in West African mind, and
his place in their religion, were due to any cause deeper or more remote than
the influence of christian missionary reaching. . . Further research, embodying
much investigation into Ashanti religious beliefs. . .has served to strengthen
the opinion which I had formerly expressed.
It is surprising to find that Ellis . . . was so greatly misled with regard to
such an important question (32).
Rattray goes on to say that Ellis should have been struck by what
his Dutch teacher, Bosnian, had written more than 150 years before
those German missionaries ever set foot upon the coast. Further
on, our Captain writes:
(30) A. B. Ellis, The Tshi-Speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast of West Africa ,
pp. 10 and 24-26.
(31) Richard A. Freeman, Travels and Life in Ashanti and Jaman , p. 290.
(32) R. S. Rattray, Ashanti , p. 139.
. . .1 am convinced that the conception, in Ashanti mind, of a S

Being has nothing whatever to do with missionary influence, nor is
ascribed to contact with Christians or even . . . with Mohammedan
those who find it incongruous that the West African ' Negro ', w
so backward in most things, should have so far progressed in religious d
ment, forget that the magnificent conception of one Supreme Deity
the prerogative of minds which we consider the greatest of old -
the Greeks and the Romans, but was a conception of primitive peo
lived after the Pyramids were built but before the advent of Greece
me - the Bedouins of the desert (33).
Our author goes on still to explain how a conception of G

not depend on an advanced stage in culture and what we term
zation. He can see no reason why the idea of one great Go
whom ultimately all life depends, should not have been the co
of a people living under those conditions of the Ashantis of
there is no just cause for attributing what we have come to r
one of the noblest conceptions of man's mind to dwellers in a
ders of cities, and to readers and writers of parchments and book
is nothing really incongruous or new in finding a belief in a
Being side by side with multitudes of minor gods, because On
considered too remote to be concerned very directly with the
of man, and, for that reason, he has delegated his powers to h
nants or lesser gods (34).
In another famous book Rattray writes:
. . . , in remote villages ... as yet untouched by European and m

nary influence, it would seem incredible that the Christian idea o
preme Being should, if a foreign element, after only some two or three
years growth, have taken such root as to affect their folk-lore, traditio
toms and the very sayings and proverbs with which their language
These proverbs and traditions. . .which speak of and contain refere
Supreme Being, are far more commonly known among the greybeards,
and the fetish priestly class themselves than among the rising youn
neration, grown up among new influences and often trained in the v
cints of a mission (35).
(33) R. S. Rattray, ibid., p. 140.

(34) R. S. Rattray, ibid., pp. 140-144.
(35) R. S. Rattray, Ashanti Proverbs , pp. 17-18.
168 THOMAS ADDAE
Some authors doubt that the b

ginal to the people because - they
sacrifices are not offered to him
tain Rattray refute such an opini
. . .it is hardly an exaggeration to

contains an altar to the Sky God, in
certain tree which the Ashanti call
the branches. . .is placed a basin, or p
nerally found (besides the offering)
axe) . . . Beside these rude altars, are
ners of the older palaces, beautifully
such is shown in the frontispiece of th
priests beside it (36).
Furthemore, we can say that almo

and ancestors contains references
to deities which existed long before
and therefore must have been in
saw the land (37).
Besides, there is the fact that th
ween the christian God and the
God is, above all, a father loving
the world. The Ashanti Onyanko
all powerful and just, as can be ju
who has punished him. Christ
God. Among the Ashantis, God h
have expected the Ashantis to ca
day) instead of Kwame (a male bo
of God had originated from Chr
day of worship.
From these we can conclude that the ideas about God in Ashanti
were not imported nor borrowed from Christianity or from christian
missionaries because the names and ideas about Onyankopcn are older
at least than the arrival of missionaries in Ashanti.

(37) R. S. Rattray, Ashanti Proverbs , p. 28.
THE MINOR DEITIES
i) Their Names and Existence
The names which are given to the lesser deities are genera
namely, Abosom ( Obosom being the singular form) an
man ( suman being the singular form).
It seems to some authors, like Christaller, that Obosom
rived from Oboo (stone) and Som (to worship, to serve
he was told that the fetishes which our forefathers served (by
them palm wine and sheep) were only stones (39). Meyerow
wever, is of the opinion that cbosom is the same word as
(the moon) because obosom... is the visible manifestation of
(soul, or vital force) of the moon (40). Christaller's opinion
is also that of Rattray) is more acceptable than that of Meyer
cause the word, obosom, agrees more with its etymologies
and som) than the word, bosome . Moreover, since man
older minor gods are in fact rocks, the benefit can be given to C
ler's opinion (41). These abosom are a category of non-hum
rits which can and must appropriately be called lesser gods or
gods (42).
The other class of minor deities is the asuman . These are among
the lowest grades of superhuman powers who derive their powers and
efficacy from the abosom (43). Broadly speaking, all these objects which
we would losely call charms, amulets, talismans, mascots, or fetishes,
the Ashantis call asuman, and the word fetish may be rightly con-
fined to designate such only (44).
Suman differs from obosom in that it is a manufactured object of
some sort that is worn on the body or hung in the house for protective
(39) J. G. Christaller, op. cit., p. 43.

(40) Eva L. R. Meyerowitz, The Akan of Ghana , pp. 24-25.
(41) Peter Kwasi Sarpong, op. cit., p. 11.
(42) Rattray notes in his book Ashanti that these abosom should never be
called fetishes because it is a totally inappropriate and misleading term and that the only-
correct word to use for the Ashanti abosom is god with the small letter to di-
stinguish it from the Supreme Being of the universe (pp. 90-91).
(43) Cfr. George Sidney Williamson, op. cit., p. 90. Cfr. also R. S. Rat-
tray, Ashanti , p. 86.
(44) Cfr. R. S. Rattray, ibid., p. 90. Cfr. also Peter Kwasi Sarpong, op. cit.r.
p. 12: It is the belief in Asuman that can rightly be called fetishism.
170 THOMAS ADDAE
purposes against evil powers. An

worn nor hung up. The asuman g
the abosom (though not always) s
the latter.
As regards the existence of the minor deities, there is no better ar-
gument than the fact that their shrines are found everywhere in Ashanti.
Every Ashanti village has its god, and, at least in the past, every non-
christian house had objects pointing to the acknowledgement of one
or the other god. This is au indication that the minor deities are nu-
merous in Ashanti. They range from the great national ones to the
little, private deities, and fall roughly into one of the following four
groups :
1) Those generally worshipped . . .by one or more tribes. These, which

may be termed General Deities, are few in number.
2) Those worhispped by the inhabitants of certain towns, localities, or
districts. These are local Deities. . .They are numerous, every locality having
several.
3) Those worshipped by smaller sections of the community, such as by

special families, or town companies. Each family or town has its own deity
of this class . . .
4) Those worhispped each day by one individual (45).
2) Nature of the Minor Deities
It is not an easy job to obtain from books, or even rom personal

research, precise information about the nature of the Ashanti abosom,
or gods. What, however, is certain is that they are spirits, created by
God and having as their earthly abode anything from rivers to creeping
plants, and from beasts to rocks. They possess astonishing powers, which
they use, some to the advantage of man, others to his detriment. They
are either males or females, but their power and influence are indepen-
dent of their sex.
The abosom are all sons or grandsons of God. ^ In fact there is a
myth which recounts how Onyame had various sons of whom one in
particular was a favourite son. Onyame decided to send these children
(45) A. B. Ellis, op. cit.t pp. 17-18.
of his to the earth in order that they might receive benefits from
confer those benefits upon mankind. All these sons bore the
what are now two rivers and two lakes known as the Tano (a
Bosomtwe (a lake near jKumasi), Bea (also a river), and epo (t
the great lake). These are not all the sons of Onyame; every ot
or water of importance is also his son. The tributaries of th
rivers are grandsons of Onyame (46).
The following are a few of the various attempts that hav
made by various authors to describe the abosom of Ashanti.
Richard Freeman says that inferior to Onyankopon are th
deities or spirits called abosom. Of these there are two classe
who are friendly to man, and those who are mischevious an
to him. They are themselves invisible, but are commonly ass
with visible objects, such as mountains, rivers, big trees, rock
culiar appearance (47).
George MacDonald affirms that no part of the former Go
is without its particular deity which is supposed to inhabit p
animals, forests, mountains, trees, rivers, and so on. The Tan
just to take an example, was a favourite fetish of the Ashantis
tinues to say that domestic fetishes consisted of rude wooden
of people and animals of the most extraordinary shapes and
tions (48).
In clear and precise terms is the report of the Archdiocesan Com-
mittee, appointed to study African customs, on libation:
For the ordinary man all the 4 abosom ' are a certain class of preter-human
beings, clearly distinct from God, their Creator, and from the ancestors. Some
are good towards man; others, on the contrary, are bad and intent on in-
flicting evil. They claim from man a religious cult in the form of ceremo-
nies, prayers and sacrifices. There exists some sort of hierarchical order among
the various gods, some being of a very high rank. . .There are the sky and
thunder gods, the innumerable nature gods of the rivers (e.g. Tano), and the
lakes (e.g. Bosomtwe), and the gods of the forest an the sea. They may
(46) R. S. Rattray, Ashanti , pp. 145-146.

(47J Richard treeman, op. cit., pp. 289-290.
(48) George McDonald, lhe Gold Coast: Past and Present , pp. 46-47. Gir. also
A. W. Cardinall, The State of Our Present Ethnographical Knowledge of the Gold
Coast Peoples , in Africa , Journal of the International Institute of African Languages and
Cultures, Vol. II, No. II, 1929, pp. 407-408.
172 THOMAS ADDAE
dwell in special trees, rocks, mount

places of ' abosom ' are sacred (49).
From these passages, we can

The Ashanti abosom are always s
tures of God, and subordinate to
they possess extraordinary powe
God for the good or bad of mak
rits of the dead, and their dwelli
and things, as well as man-made
obedience from man, in default of
Their degrees of importance are c
they provide. National deities are
lowed by district ones. In turn, m
abosom than to those whose infl
clan. They have stupendous me
subjects. Some even do so by g
From what we have seen so far, i
deities should not be confused wit
nomena always associated with t
river, to give an example, and mak
itself. Yet in their language, the As
stinguish between obosom Tano
of going to offer sheep to Tano
his help, as if they were referin
ANCESTRAL WORSHIP OR VENERATION
Notwithstanding the admission that the Ashantis believe in

have a Supreme Being and minor deities and fetishes, it has be
serted many a time that the religion of the Ashanti is mainly anc
worship (51). This opinion is supported by Marett when he say
the predominant influences in the Ashanti religion are neither O
(49) Libation, Report of the Archdiocesan Committee Appointed to Stud

can Customs, pp. 10-11.
(50) Cfr. Peter Sarpong, op. cit., pp. 12-16.
(ji) Cfr. K. A. Busia, The Position of the Chief iti the Modem Political Sys
Ashanti, p. 23.
nor the abosom, but the spirits of the departed of the clan.
these affirmations are true or not, we can say for certain that
rits of ancestors play a very important role in Ashanti religiou
i) The Ancestors : who are they?
The name used to designate the ancestors and ancestresses i

manfoD (those of the spirit world), with its singular form as Os
Ancestors and ancestresses are the departed members of a clan,
a district, or a nation. Peter Sarpong states:
In general only an adult of either sex can be an ancestor. By an
here is meant a person who was married. Such a one is supposed
experienced at least some of the world's ups and downs and is in a
better position to rule or control the people - in this case, spiritu
A second condition is that anyone, young or old, who is enstoo
succeed a deceased elder, is already an adult or elder. The spirit, up
death of such a person even while still young, is considered matur
to a spirithead ' (52).
At death a person passes to the spirit-world (asamando) as a

man or spirit. The spirits can be divided into three groups :
pa , the good spirit, who has behaved responsibly on earth and
the full allocation of years; otooo , one killed in battle or thro
cident, who may be honoured because his end was not through
fault; then Dsaman twentwen, a wait-about-spirit. Such sp
main on earth for a period of time because through some accid
have to complete their destiny in this world (53). In general o
spirits of those in the first group are considered as ancestors.
Infants, adolescents, and others who, for no special reasons,
ned from marrying and therefore refrained from the attempt to
the number of relatives, are not considered ancestors. Those
commit suicide and those who are supposed to have been kille
obosom because the spirits of such persons were branded as evil (w
or witches) are not considered as ancestors. Again, a person wh
a bad life, or dies through an unclean disease, like leprosy, or
who pass away during child-birth, is also not considered as an
(52) R. R. Marett, General Aspects of Ashanti Religion , Religion a

in Ashanti by R. S. Rattray, p. 396.
(53) R. S. Rattray, Ashanti Proverbs , pp. 36-37.
174 THOMAS ADDAE
2) The place and life of the Ancestor
There is a belief in Ashanti that t

all the ancestors live in much the sa
That there is a life after this one ca
and eremonies performed at funera
Many funerals begin with the prepa

casion of the journey of the deceased
after (55).
It is absolutely necessary that at the moment the soul leaves the

body a little water is poured down the throat of the dying person be-
cause, in order to reach the world of spirits, a steep hill must be climbed.
This is considered a last pious rite, the omission of which is considered
a disgrace for the relatives of the deceased. Immediately after deaths
the corpse is bathed with very hot water - and for this a new sponge
and soap and towel are used - and dressed up in its best clothes and
adorned with precious articles, for one about to set out for a new world
must be neat, tidy and respectable. The next stage in the proceedings
is the preparation of food for the journey upon which the deceased is
supposed to have embarked lest he becomes hungry on the way. Re-
latives and friends of the deceased put gifts of gold-dust, cloths, blan-
kets, and so on into the coffin, with the belief that he would need these
things in the place where he is going (56).
There is a belief in Ashanti that when a man dies his spirit does not
go direct to the world below (to distinguish this place from the abode
of Onyame, which is above), but he has first to report himself to Ony-
ankopcn. The spirit is then informed if it is to go the spirit-world
or to haunt the earth temporily, or it is forbidden for ever to enter the
spirit-world (57).
In the world of spirits there is the same grouping of persons or spi-
rits into clans as on earth and there they live the same life as on earth.
They can feel sorrow but do not feel pain (bodily pain). If they had
(54) Cfr. K. A. Busia, op. cit., p. 23.

(55) ] H. Nketia, Funeral Dirges of the Akan People , p. 7.
(56) Captain Rattray has given a detailed account of these rites in his book Re-
ligion and Art in Ashanti, pp. 147-181.
(57) Rattray, Ashanti Proverbs, pp. 36-37.
any bodily deformity on earth, it gives way to perfect integrity,

inequality of status persits (58). To the Ashanti, the spirit-wor
far from here.
The ancestors are not considered as gods but as relative
were human beings on earth and they remain human where
after death. Only their form as earthly creatures have chang
vertheless, the position they hold seems to be greater than tha
abosom, because even these latter pay respects to the ancestor
power is certainly more than just an intercessory one. Again,
wer is more than human power, though it has nothing divine
Peter Sarpong says:
One seems to possess this power by the mere fact of entering i
world of spirits or asamando just in the same way as the prime min
president of a democratic country gets the powers corresponding to his
as soon as he takes charge of the affairs of the state (59).
3) Relations Between the Living and the Dead .
It is universally admitted among the Ashantis that even w

spirit has gone to asamando, it is not necessarily considered to
vered all connexion with the world of the living, because anc
still are members of the clan and they continue to keep close
with the living members of the group to which they once b
on earth. They sometimes come to visit their relatives on ea
body sees them, but some lucky people notice their presence.
There are beliefs in the visitations of the dead, in invisible parti
of the dead in the life of this world and in the continuation of ties
ship and kinship after death. Consequently the living are anxious
up good relations with the dead, to remember them, to show conc
them, to identify themselves with them and to ask their favour (6
Very often fantastic stories are told of the activities of th

stors among the living. These stories, as a general rule, are co
with calamities believed to have been caused by the ancestors
proval of the misbehaviour of their relatives. Thus, for exam
(58) Cfr. Peter Sarpong, op. cit., p. 22.

(59) Peter Sarpong, ibid., p. 24.
(60) J. H. Nketia, Funeral Dirges of the Akan People, p. 6.
176 THOMAS ADDAE
funeral rites of a person considered

successor. Six or more years after
ved in an accident and break his
the ancestor could not have indic
at the contempt with which he was
cessor (61).
The ancestors are said to be the
tribal laws and customs. Those w
meeting their penalty in the form
tunes.
Belief in the power and authority of the spirit-ancestors is primarily

enshrined in the Adae rituals (62). At these ceremonies the spirit
of departed rulers of the clan are propitiated, their names and deeds are
recalled, and their favour and mercy are implored. In these rites the
is a ceremony which re-enacts the solidarity of the state with the a
cestors by acknowledging the chief's position as the inheritor of th
stool of his ancestors. The chief's position and function is essentiall
that of the sacred person who represents his people before the ancestors
and who sits on their stool.
The birth ritual is concerned with the clan and its ancestor spirits.
When the child is eight days old, it is brought out of the room for
the first time and, in a public ceremony, it is received into the lineage
and given its family names. Generally, the child is named after a dead
(61) Cfr. Peter Sarpong, op. cit., p. 25, and the story he tells about an inci-
dent of this kind in his own village.
(62) The word Adae in pure Ashanti is written Adee and it possibly is just
a special application of the same word adaye , which means a place of resting, or lying
down. The first in importance of those customs dealing with propitiation, solicitation,
or veneration of the ancestral spirits is the Adee ceremony. No one is permitted to
work or go to farm on an Adee which is a rite observed twi;e in every successive
period of 43 days. The two ceremonies are known as the Big or Sunday Adee (cal-
led generally Kwasidee) and the Wednesday Adee (called Wukudee or Kuud-
apaakuo ). The interval between one Sunday Adee and the next one is 43 days, and
a like time also elapses between each Wednesday Adee. The period between one Sun-
day Adee and the following Wednesday Adee is 22 days exclusive, or 24 days in-
clusive, and between the Wednesday Adee and the next Sunday Adee is 17 days ex-
clusive or 19 days inclusive. A person (whether male or female) born on any one
of these days has this word suffixed to his or her own name-day; for example,
a child born on Sunday Adee is called Kwasi Adee, if he is a male, or Akosua Adee,
if she is a female. Cfr. R. S. Rattray, Ashanti , pp. 92-93.
person as an honour done to the ancestor in the hope that the bab
emulate the good deeds of the one after whom it is named and
wards go to join him in the spirit-world. The following tran
from a novel is a good example of the sort of prayer that acco
the pouring of libation that takes place on the occasion of the nam
a child:
Grandfathers, our ancestors, here is a drink for you.

It is not becausc of any misfortune that we have gathered her
morning ;
By your own grace, N.N. has given birth to a child.
Today we want to name him after you N.N. ;
Stand firmly behind him.
Let him grow to full adulthood before we die;
So that when we come to you,
He may take our place and give us drinks.
Life to all of us (63).
When a girl reaches the age of puberty, it is the ancestors, as the

spirits most concerned in the continuance of the clan, who are propi-
tiated by sacrifices and implored not to 1er this infant come to puberty
only to die (64).
The individual lives with his dead, is convinced of their nearness
and active interest in the affairs of the living. For this reason the in-
dividual serves his ancestors as well as he can. He remembers them
frequently and makes offerings to them. There is a practice of giving
to the ancestors the first morsels of food, and, in fact an Ashanti gene-
rally never drinks without first pouring a few drops of the wine on the
ground for the inhabitants of the spirit-world who may happen to be
about. When the individual serves his ancestors formally, he may be
seen often taking offerings of food and drinks to the grave-side. There
he carefully sets the table and pours libation strongly and sincerely
believing that those gone to the spirit-world will come to eat and drink.
In some cases the fetish priests often direct, in case of illness for
example, that offerings be made by the sick person, not to the gods, but
(63) Cfr. Edwin Efa, Forosie, p. 21. The translation is taken from Peter Sar-
pong, op. cit., p. 28, with a few modifications of my own.
(64) Cfr. Edith Clarke, The Sociological Significance ot Ancestor- Worship in
Ashanti, in Africa , Journal of the International Institute of African Languages and Cul-
tures, Vol. Ill, No. IV, 1930, p. 462.
178 THOMAS ADDAE
to the departed spirit of a relative

assistance of the abosom, have trac
tune (65). The individual calls up
to come to his or her aid when fac
mony to the truthfulness of his
dear to him to their care, as he g
Finally, when the Ashanti farm
the ground, he is conscious that he
ancestors, so he offers sacrifices to
CONCLUSION
So far we have tried to find out what is contained in the t

cipal elements of the religious beliefs in Ashanti. What se
sary to do now is to find out which one of the three is t
or of the greatest importance, in the Ashanti religious beli
So important is the role of the ancestors in Ashanti per
social life that the question, whether the veneration of ance
central and all else is peripheral, consistently presents itsel
answer is forthcoming, but the sociological evidence is stro
stermann, speaking generally of African Religion, says that
gations are rooted in social bonds, not in God (67). Dr. Dan
also written that Akan (of which the Ashantis are a sectio
in its highest, is worship of the race (68). "We have seen
also supports this opinion (69).
These assertions may be true to some extent but it woul
neous to stress too far the anthropocentric nature of Ashan
beliefs. The Ashanti is concerned to meet the demands of
involved in the social, economic and political relationship of
within an ordered society and, in particular, with the welf
tinuity of the clan. Closest to him in this life interest are
ancestors who have still the same interest.
(65) Cfr. R. S. Rattray, Ashanti Proverbs , p. 37.

(66) Cfr. Edith Clarke, Art . cit.,
(67) Cfr. Westermann, Africa and Christianity , p. 76, as quoted by George Wil-
liamson, op. cit. , pp. 95-96.
(69) Cfr. R. R. Marett, op. cit.
A mail's trading venturee may succeed as the right forces

or be unsuccessful because someone is spoiling his work by using
against him. It is impossible to turn in any direction and say
gods have no part in it. He looks therefore to his suman for the
to his disease, for cures to his ills, for answers to his prob
for protection from evil forces. His gods and ancestors also
part as sources of help and succour in the strenuous adventur
as well as in the larger sphere of the stool and the state. Nev
Onyankopon, who created all things, is the one on whom a m
and does not fall; he is the final hope and refuge of those wh
redress in life.
What importance may be attached to the Ashanti belief in
preme Being, OnyankopDn ?
Again, Westermann, writing about African religion in g
states :
Belief in God is a philosophy rather than a living faith. He is a God

who is neither loved nor feared. His qualities and demands are willingly
admitted, but they exercise little if any influence in praticai life. It is a re-
ligion of the thoughtful, not of the multitude (70).
To what extent may this judgement be applied to Ashanti belief

about OnyankopDn ? Edith Clarke hazarded the opinion that Onyame
was neither a Supreme God nor a source of moral law, but a Sky God
concerned only with fertility (71). Against such a view, some words
of Danquah are of interest - even if his opinion can neither be wholly
accepted - when he speaks in general about Akan religion:
Akan religion knows only one God. Everything else found in the land,
in the form of religion, is nothing else but superstition, and one may make a
study of the many ramifications or 4 systems ' of such superstitions - just
as many have made a study of witchcraft among European nations - but
in justice to the Akan, the cults of the private man desirous of short cuts to sa-
tisfy the natural craving of some religion, should not be described to the Akan
as their racial and national conception of God (72).
(70) Westermann, op. cit., as quoted by George Williamson, op. cit., pp. 97-98.
(71) Edith Clarke, in Africa , Journal of the International Institute oj African Lan-
guages and Cultures , 1950, pp. 431-470, as referred to by George Williamson, ibid.,
p. 98.
180 THOMAS ADDAE
It is, finally, Dr. Busia who puts

tably:
The Ashanti, like other Akan tribes, esteems the Supreme Being and
the ancestors far above gods and amulets. . .The gods are treated with con-
tempt if they fail; it is the Supreme Being and the ancestors who are always
treated with reverence and with awe (73).
With this quotation from Dr. Busia, we can conclude by stating

that, though the lesser deities and ancestors hold prominent places in
rites and ceremonies, Onyankopon, the Supreme Being, plays not an
inferior role in the life of the people of Ashanti because he is the Creator
of all things, whereas even the ancestors are as human as any human
being, in spite of their superhuman powers, and depend upon God for
their powers.
Thomas Addae
(73) K. A. Busia, The Ashanti of the Gold Coast , in African World View , 19
p. 205, as quoted by George Williamson, op. cit., p. 98.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Akrofi, C. A., Twi Mmebusem: Twi Proverbs , Macmillan and Co. Lt

don, 1958.
Busia, K. A., The Position of the Chief in the Modern Political System of Ashanti ,
Oxford University Press, London, 1958.
Cardinall, A. W., In Ashanti and Beyond , Seeley, Service and Co. Ltd., Lon-
don, 1927.
Christaller, J. G., Dictionary of Asante and Fante Language (2nd edition, revi-
sed and enlarged), Basel, 1933.
Danquah, J. B., The Akan Doctrine of God , Luther worth Press, London, 1944.
Efa, Edwin, Forosie , Methodist Book Depot, Cape Coast, 1944.
Ellis, A. B., The Tshi-Speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast of West Africa ,
Chapman and Hall Ltd., London, 1887;
Field, M. J., Search for Security: An Etho-psychiatric Study of Rural Ghana ,
Faber and Faber, London, i960.
Freeman, Richard A., Travels and Life in Ashanti and Jaman , Archibald Con-
stable and Co., Westminster, 1958.
Hayford, Casely, Gold Coast Institutions , Sweet and Maxwell Ltd.,

don, 1903.
Kemp, Dennis, Nine Years in the Gold Coast , Macmillan and Co. Ltd., Lon-
don, 1898.
Kyerematen, A. A. Y., Panoply of Ghana , Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd.,
London, 1964.
McDonald, George, The Gold Coast: Past and Present , Longmans, Green and
Co. Ltd., London, 1898.
Meyerowitz, Eva L. R., The Akan of Ghana , Faber and Faber, London, 1958.
Idem, The Sacred State of the Akan , Faber and Faber, London, 1958.
Idem, Akan Traditions of Origin , Faber and Faber, London, 1950.
Nketia, J. H., Our Drums and Drummers , Ghana Publishing House, Tema, 1968.
Idem, Funeral Dirges of the Akan People , Achimota, 1955.
Rattray, R. Sutherland, Ashanti , Oxford University Press, London, 1955.
Idem, Religion and Art in Ashanti , Oxford University Press, London 1959.
Idem, Ashanti Law and Constitution , Oxford University Press, London, 1969.
Idem, Ashanti Proverbs , Oxford University Press, London, 1969.
Sarpong, Peter Kwasi, A Catholic View of the Ashanti Blackened Stool Ve-
neration , Pont. Univ. Sancti Thomae, Romae, 1963.
Williamson, Sidney George, Akan Religion and the Christian Faith (edited
by Kwesi A. Dickson), Ghana University Press, Accra, 1965.
Report of the Archdiocesan Committee Appointed to Study African Customs,
Libation, Cape Coast, 1958.
Articles :
Cardinall, A. W., The State of Our Present Ethnographical Knowledge

of the Gold Coast Peoples , in Africa , Journal of the International Institute
of African Languages and Cultures , Vol. Il, No. II, 1929.
Clarke, Edith, The Sociological Significance of Ancestor- Worship in As-
hanti , in Africa , London, Vol. Ill, No. IV, 1930.
Field, M. J., Some New Shrines of the Gold Coast and Their Significance ,
in Africa, London, Vol. XIII, No. II, 1939.
Opoku, Kofi A., Traditional Religious Beliefs and Spiritual Churches in
Ghana, Research Review , Vol. IV, No. II, Institute of African Studies,
Legon, 1968.
Smith, Edwin W., Religious Beliefs of the Akans , in Africa, London,
Vol XV, No. I, 1945-
182 THOMAS ADDAE
RIASSUNTO
L'Autore esamina con accurata e approfondita analisi i tre eleme

cipali delle credenze religiose dell' Ashanti (o degli Ashanti, dato il
del concetto geografico con quello etnico): l'Essere Supremo, le div
nori e gli antenati, giungendo alla conclusione, condivisa da K. A.
gli Ashanti, al pari delle altre trib Akan, collocano l'Essere Supr
Antenati molto al disopra delle divinit minori e degli amuleti, e c
Supremo, in quanto Creatore di Ogni Cosa, occupa a sua volta un p
minente rispetto agli Antenati, i quali, nonostante i poteri sovrumani c
loro dall'Essere Supremo, rimangono esseri umani.
RESUM
L'Auteur examine les trois lments principaux des croyances rligieuscs

de l'Ashanti (ou des Ashanti, tant donn que le concept gographique coin-
cide avec le concept ethnique): l'tre Suprme, les divinits mineures et les
Anctres, parvenant la conclusion, partage par K. A, Busia, que les Ashanti,
ainsi que les autres tribus Akan, placent l'tre Suprme et les Anctres bien
au dessus des divinits mineures et des amulets, et que l'tre Suprme, en tant
que Crateur de tout ce qui existe, occupe son tour une place minente vis--vis
des Anctres, qui, quoiqu' ayant reu de l'tre Suprme des pouvoirs surhumains,
restent des tres humains.

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SOME ASPECTS OF ASHANTI RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

Author(s): Thomas Addae

The religious beliefs of the Ashantis (*) can be studied

Thomas Addae , religioso del Collegio di S. Pietro Apostolo in Roma , freq

(i) The Ashantis are known to be a warlike and powerful tribe. (C

which enuntiate beliefs that are

No doubt men will not habituall

Nevertheless, though the Ash

(2) Prof. John S. Mbiti's important

"what names and titles the Ashantis give to such a Being. Th

THE SUPREME BEING

The Ashanti belief in the existence of a Supreme Being is

Long, long ago, God lived on earth

The second myth relates how th

But now, since people could no long

Ashanti songs and verses, heard f

O Path, thou crossest the River

(7) R. S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti, p. 286.

2) Names and Attributes of God.

There are several names by w

Thus, he gives its interpretative meaning as the Great Anu of th

After abandoning his old opinion that Odomankoma meant

Long before these writers published anything, Dennis Kemp had

We cannot wholly accept all these explanations so it may be pre-

(19) Ibid., p. 51.

Dennis Kemp, though their explan

(23) Peter Kwasi Sarpong, A Catholic Vi

3) Ideas of God are not imported.

A few writers have doubted wh

Another writer of this thoug

Indeed it may be doubted whether the latter is really an indigenous deity

. . .1 am convinced that the conception, in Ashanti mind, of a S

Our author goes on still to explain how a conception of G

. . . , in remote villages ... as yet untouched by European and m

(33) R. S. Rattray, ibid., p. 140.

Some authors doubt that the b

. . .it is hardly an exaggeration to

Furthemore, we can say that almo

(36) R. S. Rattray, Ashanti , p. 142.

THE MINOR DEITIES

i) Their Names and Existence

(39) J. G. Christaller, op. cit., p. 43.

purposes against evil powers. An

1) Those generally worshipped . . .by one or more tribes. These, which

3) Those worshipped by smaller sections of the community, such as by

4) Those worhispped each day by one individual (45).

2) Nature of the Minor Deities

It is not an easy job to obtain from books, or even rom personal

(45) A. B. Ellis, op. cit.t pp. 17-18.

(46) R. S. Rattray, Ashanti , pp. 145-146.

dwell in special trees, rocks, mount

From these passages, we can

ANCESTRAL WORSHIP OR VENERATION

Notwithstanding the admission that the Ashantis believe in

(49) Libation, Report of the Archdiocesan Committee Appointed to Stud

i) The Ancestors : who are they?

The name used to designate the ancestors and ancestresses i

At death a person passes to the spirit-world (asamando) as a

(52) R. R. Marett, General Aspects of Ashanti Religion , Religion a

2) The place and life of the Ancestor

There is a belief in Ashanti that t

Many funerals begin with the prepa

It is absolutely necessary that at the moment the soul leaves the

(54) Cfr. K. A. Busia, op. cit., p. 23.