Ancestral Veneration of the Akan Community - Essay Example

Running head: ANCESTRAL VENERATION OF THE AKAN COMMUNITY Ancestral Veneration of the Akan Community Insert Insert Grade Insert Name 17 April 2011 Ancestral Veneration of the Akan Community Introduction The Akan community includes the numerous tribes in Ghana, a country located at the Gulf of Guinea. Although the country is divided into ten different tribes, the Akan ethnic group is attributed to be the major tribe to which most of the Ghanaians belong. It is impossible to discuss about the Ghanaian culture without mentioning the Akan ethnic group in the discussion. The Akan community was a larger tribe that involved various different tribes that included the Nzima, the Fante, the Akim, the Brong, and the Asante. The West African communities have a rich diversity of cultures ranging from religion to cultural practices. The day of the dead for instance was a cultural and traditional Voodoo that incorporated synergistic religion between Catholicism and African tradition that has survived in the trans-Atlantic voyage and it is practiced up to today. The ancestors were significant in the local Akan community and variety of beliefs and cultural activities were conducted in their commemoration. In their harvest festivals, the Akan community incorporated ancestral worship as they regarded that the ancestors as well as their gods had a huge hand in the production of the bumper harvest they had attained. In these festivals, the community is encouraged to spiritually connect with their ancestors as well as their gods. The cultural ceremonies were conducted in various respected grounds that included; the sacred grounds, the river banks by the roadside or any other respected grounds where the traces of the ancestors could be traced or believed to have existed. The Akan’s Cultures and ancestors The Akan community is generally regarded as one of the Gold Coast community. The Akan community was composed of different sub-groups that shared a common membership in terms of culture and language within the larger Akan community. This however does not mean that there existed a smooth and proper understanding between the different sub-groups within the Akan community. Intense rivalry existed between the various sub-groupings in the Akan community that made it difficult for the smooth operation of the umbrella community. The social organization of the Akan people was founded on the foundations of families, clans, and villages. This therefore indicated that as an Akan certain attributes of cultures were shared, as it is within these cultures that the various sub-groupings are identified from (Lentz and Nugent, 2000, p. 8). The ancestors played a critical role in the daily life of the Akan community. Having walked on the face of the earth in human form, they were regarded as ancient people who were full of knowledge and experience. Among the Akan Community, the ancestors were referred to as Nsamanfo or in other words the old people. Life after death was a cultural belief among the Akan community, as upon death the body of the deceased is believed to continue with its existence in a spiritual world called the Asamando. In the cultural context of the Akan, the ancestral spirits are feared while at the same time they are respected and loved. They were believed to be omnipresent, as they still exist after death but in spiritual world. In the order of supremacy, the ancestors were ranked third after the Supreme Being and the Asase Yaa respectively. The ancestors according to the Akan people are mandated with the responsibility of intervening between the Supreme Being and the human beings. Each family in the Akan community had ancestors that were directly linked to that particular family. This is despite the fact that whether the family knew them or not. Apart from providing a link between the humans and the Supreme Being, the ancestors were attributed to offering of protection, guidance, and care to the living members of the family. They were called upon in times of need through cultural rituals. However if the living strayed from the customary path that had been set by the ancestors, the ancestors were bound to create havoc in the family and the community at large. Respect is one of the major points of contention that if it was not properly checked, it could result to creation of havoc by the ancestors (Opokuwaa, 2005, p. 29). Ancestors in Akan community were remembered in a number of different ways. Setting of the ancestral altars as a remembrance of the ancestors was common cultural activity that was carried out by families in the Akan community. Rituals were carried out in order to maintain a constant link with the ancestors for the sole purpose of seeking spiritual guidance, comfort, and direction. Children are culturally named after the ancestors. In addition to this, the ancestors were invoked in rites as well as ceremonies. Offerings as well as pouring of libation were cultural activities that were conducted for the ancestors. Spirituality When a child is born in the Akan community, the first thing it must undergo is the spiritual naming. The spiritual naming ceremony was regarded as the Edin To, a private cultural ceremony that was performed on the eighth day from when the child was born. It is believed that the ceremony had a huge significant as it is regarded as the first ceremony that the child is taught about its cultures and its community way of living. Spiritual obligations are also adhered to in the ceremony, as they are believed to grant the born child a prosperous life ahead. Emphasis is instigated in the importance of the Nsamanfo, Abosom, and Odomankoma to the community and the aid they offer to the community. The community is involved in spirituality ceremony of the child four months later in another ceremony that is held outdoors in the public for a chance for the community to participate in the molding of the born child. Spirituality is regarded as Akan’s way of life and it supports the social values of the community at large. It is through these spiritual rituals that the values of the community are upheld and strengthened as a child is considered to have grown up in the presence of communal living as opposed to individualistic. The child’s bond with the spiritual world that includes the ancestors is created in the spiritual ceremony. The tie with the spiritual forces is established as the community bears the overall burden of ensuring that the child will grow surrounded by the ancestors who were in the spiritual word (Opokuwaa, 2005, p. 26). Ancestral ritual The ancestral ritual was conducted by the Akan community in order to achieve a physical, psychological, and spiritual fulfillment within the community context. The human understanding of the ritual can only be fulfilled by carrying out of the rituals. This is considered one of the oldest cultural performances that were passed through many generation of the Akan community. In the ritual, the soul was accessed as it was considered as a storage facility of ancestral memory and a source of spiritual energy. The accessing of the soul was conducted under invocations that were carried out in appropriately in order for the ancestral memory to be petitioned. Upon touching the soul, the ancestral spirit is retrieved that empowers both the mind and body to greater spiritual satisfaction. The soul is considered the fundamental reality of the Akan people and it is attributed to the imagining of the mind (Harrison and Edwards, 2002, 317). Akwasiadae The Akwasiadae is a festival that conducted the Akan community in a 40-42 day cycle that seeks to commemorate the ancestors. The festival was always conducted on a Sunday and it was not associated to Christianity in whatever circumstances. The impact of the Akwasiadae is enormous in the sense that in the past few years church activities have been planned by the church leaders to coincide with the Akwasiadae. In addition to this, the different families of the Akan community normally set aside the Akwasiadae day to hold special celebrations in their unique ways. Naming According to Opukuwaa, children were named after ancestors as a way of maintaining a long lasting impression of the ancestors within the community. The naming of the ancestors was a well-scrutinized culture that involved a collection of a number of factors that amounted to the appropriated ancestor to be named after. The Saman-paa for instance was a title that was attributed to an ancestor that had died naturally due to old age or old age related diseases or complications, a death that was regarded as a good death. In order to attain the Saman-paa title the deceased had to be over 70 years of age. Honorable deaths that referred to deaths that were incurred in riots or at the war front were considered to be under the same category of Saman-paa. Other factors that were considered in order for the deceased to qualify for this category involved the fact that the deceased was a father or a mother prior to his or her death and the deceased is known for his or her outstanding role within the family and the community at large. The children of the living members of the family and community will hence name their children after Saman-paa in remembrance of distinguish ancestor and a title dedicated to an honorable member of the society. Burial rituals and libation It is the belief of the Akan community that the burial rituals and burial are supposed to be conducted properly as per the traditions of the community. These rituals are supposed to be carried on one year after the actual burial date of the deceased. It is believed that despite the burial of the deceased’s body, his or her spirit still lingers around the family for a period of eight days before commencing its journey to Asamando, the land of the ancestors. The journey is believed to take 40 days before the spirit crosses the river of life. It is on this 40th day that the living are suppose to commence the 40-day rites for the deceased. After another 40 days, the spirit is believed to have reached the Asamando and that called for other rites to be performed. The final rites are considered lengthy as they are performed for a year (Opokuwaa, 2005, p. 30). This however is not the end of the remembrance rites performed to the ancestors; there is libation, which was a ritual that involved pouring of portion of any festival drink in remembrance of the ancestors and inviting their presence in the midst of the occasion. According to Garines (2001), during the Akan drinking ritual the first priority was dedicated to the ancestors as a portion of the first palm wine is poured on the ground in remembrance of the ancestors. Spiting a mouthful of palm wine at the fetishes worn at the feet and arms was also another means of libation. It is believed that if this ritual were not adhered to the drinking ritual would not progress in peace. The ancestral stool was considered one of the spiritual symbols among the Akan that was powerful in the sense that it was an earthly representation of departed member of the community. In a year, food and offerings were placed several times on the stool and later alcohol libation conducted. In addition to this, libation was considered to indicate reverence to ancestors and in response the ancestors, showered ancestral blessings upon the living. The cultural activities of the Igbo of conducting the libation ceremony in both private and public events emphasize the commemoration spirit the Akans had towards their ancestors (Garines, 2001, p. 215). Conclusion Despite the crucial roles played by the ancestors, the fact remains that the ancestors or the Nsamanfo are not to be worshipped but rather they are to be venerated. The Nsamanfo are still regarded as part and parcel of the living society despite their departure to Asamando. This is evident to the numerous rituals such as the libation rituals that are conducted to invoke the presence of the Nsamanfo in the midst of the living. The presence of the Nsamanfo in Asamando indicated that the living had established a link with the Supreme Being and thus the ancestors would have acquired some power that would use in protecting as well as punishing the living least they depart from their ancestral way of life. The stool ritual is one of the most important events among the Akan ethnic group as it is a unifying ceremony that involved stool cleansing and stool feeding. Libation, which is known as Mpaee or Nsaguo, is regarded as a form of prayer among the Akan community. This type of prayer has elicited strong negative reactions from Christians living in Ghana who question its significance in the modern age of living. However, according to Ampene numerous occasions among the Akan ethnic group cannot be complete without the libation ceremony. Events such as wars, calamities, child naming, puberty rites, bestowing of a chief and funeral rites goes hand in hand with the libation ceremony and events are bound to fail if the libation ceremony is not conducted (Ampene, 2005, p. 127). Apart from the events such as libation, the Akan ethnic group incorporated burial rituals, child-naming ceremonies and the Akwasiadae ceremony as part and parcel of their commemoration ceremonies to the departed members of the society who are headed to Asmando. References Ampene, K. (2005). Female song tradition and the Akan of Ghana: the creative process in Nnwonkoro. HR: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Garine, de I. and Garine, de V. (2001). Drinking: anthropological approaches. NY: Berghahn Books. Harrison, C. P. and Edwards, G. (2002). Black theatre: ritual performance in the African diaspora. PA: Temple University Press. Lentz, C. and Nugent, P. (2000). Ethnicity in Ghana: the limits of invention. NY: St. Martin’s Press, Inc. Opokuwaa, K. A. N. (2005). Akan Protocol: Remembering the Traditions of Our Ancestors. NE: iUniverse, Inc. Opokuwaa, K. A. N. (2005). The Quest for Spiritual Transformation: Introduction to Traditional Akan, Religion, Rituals and Practices. NE: iUniverse, Inc. Read More