The Akan Doctrine of God

The Akan Doctrine of God
Author: J.B. Danquah
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2014-01-02
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1136971696

First Published in 1968. Danquah's desire with this title is to expound Akan thought in such a way as to make it comprehensible to western thinkers and to demonstrate that it is comparable to their system. In pursuance of this objective, he calls forth his philosophical training and indulges in metaphysical and ethical speculation. The effects of this are evident in the whole book, whether in his discussion of the nature of the supreme Being or in his exposition of Akan ethical thought.

Akan Traditional Religion

Akan Traditional Religion
Author: Kofi Bempah
Publisher: Booksurge Publishing
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2010-02-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781439249451

Among most products of alien education, there is total lack of moral virtues, honesty, integrity, eagerness to serve and readiness to sacrifice. Rather, he is enslaved by the glittering fancies and fascinations of other cultures. He has embraced, and is enthused by, a religion which compels him to acknowledge that he is a sinner who has to work hard to attain purity which he already is. If the new religions made him more caring, honest, sincere, God-fearing and less sin-loving' there would be no need for this work. He has assumed political and judicial roles and is ruling a society, the majority of whose members live with, and cherishes, the traditional knowledge he holds in contempt and disdain. His rule can be successful, fruitful and beneficial to himself and others if he re-educates and equips himself with the philosophy underpinning his religious/spiritual heritage, instead of using political power to impose his new-found religion and its values on his people. In Akan Traditional Religion, the author has revisited the native religion of the sophisticated Akans who built the vast Asante Empire even before the British dreamt of an empire. He has re-examined, analysed and reinterpreted this heritage from the Akan point of view rather than as part of the colonial legacy in Africa. He concludes that the Akan traditional religion is no less holy than, or the ethical values it espouses inferior to, any other religion. Akan traditional religion proclaims that the one God is, and in, everything, that is to say, a living universe based on Universal Consciousness. (This is why Akans readily accept any name, such as Allah, Jesus, Krishna, the Father, etc. used by other communities to denote the One God). In other words, it espouses the doctrine of unity in diversity. The individual forms (bodies) are activated and operated by the same one God. The differences between individuals only reflect the diversity. The self-aware individual shares in divine power and majesty; the totally ignorant person thinks he is the body and caters only to the needs and comforts of the body. Identification with the body makes him prone to suffering from excessive desires which expose him to fear, anxiety, lust, anger, pride, etc. as a consequence. The heaven/hell dichotomy is absent in Akan doctrine. All will become divine, eventually. This principle of unity in diversity, rather than conflict and strife, guides the Akan in his personal life, (wo yonko da ne woda; i.e. the bed you make for your neighbour is the same one you will lie in), as well as the organisation of his society (wo amma wo yonko antwa nkron a, wonso wonya du ntwa; i.e. your right to ten can be exercised if, and only if, your neighbour's right to nine is guaranteed). The esoteric significance of the title 'Nana', which every Akan 'Ohene' or 'Ohemaa' bears, has been clarified and the phrase, 'Nananom Nsamanfuo', means 'the Enlightened Ones' rather than 'ancestral spirits'. (Ch. 5) Anatomical analysis of prayer has shown that the Akan congregational prayer, 'Nsa Guo' is as valid a prayer as any offered to the Supreme Deity and has no resemblance to the Judaic tradition of libation pouring. Therefore, 'Nsa Guo' cannot be described as 'Pouring Libation'. (Ch. 9) The concluding chapter will make interesting reading for those toying with the idea of Africanising the Christian religion or Christianising Africa.(Ch.14)

Fighting Words

Fighting Words
Author: Dominic Davies
Publisher: Race and Resistance Across Borders in the Long Twentieth Century
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Books
ISBN: 9781906165550

Can a book change the world? Fighting Words looks at how the book has fuelled resistance to empire in the long twentieth century. What emerges is a complex portrait of the vital and multifaceted role played by the book in both the formation and the form of anticolonial resistance, and the development of the postcolonial world.

The Akan, Other Africans and the Sirius Star System

The Akan, Other Africans and the Sirius Star System
Author: Kwame Adapa
Publisher:
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2020-01-27
Genre:
ISBN: 9781952228018

The Akan are an African indigenous group found primarily in the southern parts of Ghana, as well as in Cote d'Ivoire and in Togo. This book explores certain aspects of Akan language, culture and tradition that point to association with star beings from the Sirius star system. Akan language and culture offers clues and revelations that point to links with the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and of the Nile valley. Among these revelations, Kwame Adapa shows that names of Akan deities can be traced back to Egyptian and Mesopotamian deities who have links with the Sirius star system. Having grown up in Akan culture, it was a starting point for Kwame Adapa to do more research on the Akan and other African people. Among the revelations in this book are language and cultural connections between the Akan and other African groups as well as with human groups beyond Africa. Kwame Adapa tells an engaging story that implies that the Akan, the Bakwama, the Bambara, the Dogon and just about every African ethnic group is connected to the Sirius star system in one way or another. These connections can be found in their legends, their language and their culture.