Open Collections

Pitek, Emily

Database of Religious History (DRH)

The Ashanti are an Akan people and have historically lived in south-central Ghana. This entry focuses on the Ashanti living in Kumasi state around the time of 1900, and largely relies on information from the principal ethnographic authority Robert Rattray (1923, 1927, 1929). At this time the basic social unit was the family group (localized matrilineage); various family groups came together under the head of one particular family to form territorial divisions or clans. Additionally, each individual belonged to one of two patrilineal exogamous divisions related to the concept of notoro. Ntoro is one of the two great elements in every individual, with bogya (blood) the other. While ntoro is transmitted patrilineally, bogya is passed through the female line. The ntoro divisions inform practices such as taboo observances and ritual activity. Key features of Ashanti religion (at the time this entry focuses on) include various supernatural beings, ritual objects, practitioners, and ceremonies. The supreme high god is known as Nyame, God of the Sky, Supreme Being of the Universe. Nyame is generally viewed as far removed from the daily life of the Ashanti but delegates some powers to other beings. Additionally, lesser deities are known as abosom, and ancestral spirits are known as samanfo. Other minor spirits, powers of nature, and beings such as fairies (mmoatia) and forest monsters (sasabonsam) are present. Certain objects are of religious significance, including obosom and suman. An obosom is a non-human spirit’s resting place, a shrine, usually consisting of a brass pan or bowl containing objects. Human spirits (ancestral spirits) are believed to inhabit objects as well, namely blackened stools. These stools were anointed during ceremonies and received offerings and sacrifices. Suman is the term to describe objects such as charms, amulets, talismans, mascots, or fetishes, which are imbued with supernatural or magical powers. Specialized religious practitioners are known as okomfo (priests). These individuals experience contact with a deity, and subsequently, enter a period of training before becoming an official priest of that particular deity. A variety of rituals and ceremonies were practiced, many of which centered around the propitiation of specific deities or ancestral spirits (such as formal clan leaders or royalty). Because religion was important to nearly all aspects of life, this entry considers the religious group to be coterminous with society itself.

Other

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0423182

Non UBC

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/