Traditional religious beliefs and practices of the Akan people
Part of a series on
Traditional African religions
Religions
Akan
Baluba
Bantu
Kongo
Zulu
Bushongo
Dinka
Dogon
Efik
Gbe
Hausa
Nubia
Lotuko
Lozi
Lugbara
Luhya
Maasai
Mbuti
Odinala (Igbo)
San
Serer
Tumbuka
Vodun
Waaqeffanna (Oromo)
Yoruba
Doctrines
Divination
African divination
Dogon astronomy (the star Sirius)
Dogon astronomy (Nommo)
Index of African mythology and creation narratives
Philosophy
Serer astronomy (the star Sirius)
Deities
Index of African deities
List of African deities and mythical figures
Sacred places
Bandiagara Escarpment
Benin City
Dahomey
Fatick
Ifẹ
Igbo-Ukwu
Kanem–Bornu
Mount Hombori
Nri-Igbo
Nsukka
Ouidah
Oyo
Point of Sangomar
Sangha
Sangha Ogol Leye
Sine
Sine River
Somb
Tattaguine
Tukar
Yaboyabo
Youga Dogorou
Education
Ndut
Okuyi
Priesthood
Hogon
Houngan
Mambo
Saltigue
Relation with other religions
African diaspora religions
Persecution
Persecution of Dogons
Persecution of Serers
Traditional African religion and other religions
Category
Portal
v
t
e
Akan religion comprises the traditional beliefs and religious practices of the Akan people of Ghana and eastern Ivory Coast. Akan religion is referred to as Akom. Although most Akan people have identified as Christians since the early 20th century, Akan religion remains practiced by some and is often syncretized with Christianity. The Akan have many subgroups (including the Fanti, Ashanti, the Akuapem, the Wassa, the Abron, the Anyi, and the Baoulé, among others), so the religion varies greatly by region and subgroup.
Similar to other traditional religions of West and Central Africa such as West African Vodun, Yoruba religion, or Odinani, Akan cosmology consists of a senior god who generally does not interact with humans and many gods who assist humans.
Anansi the spider is a folk hero who is prominent in Ashanti folktales where he is depicted as a wise trickster. In other aspects of Akan spirituality, Anansi is also sometimes considered both a trickster and a deity associated with wisdom, responsible for creating the first inanimate humans, according to the scholar Anthony Ephirim-Donkor.[1] This is similar to Legba, who is also both a trickster and a deity in West African Vodun.[2]
^Ephirim-Donkor, Anthony. "African Personality and Spirituality: The Role of Abosom and Human Essence". Lexington Books, 2015: pp. 80.
^Herskovits, Melville J. and Frances S. "Dahomean Narrative: A Cross-Cultural Analysis." Northwestern University Press (1958), p 35.
Akanreligion comprises the traditional beliefs and religious practices of the Akan people of Ghana and eastern Ivory Coast. Akanreligion is referred...
The Akan (/ˈækæn/) people are a Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan speak dialects...
evident by the many specifically Akan aspects found in the religion. Very little was written about the original religion of the Jamaican Maroons because...
Egyptian religion (Ancient Egyptians) Abwoi religion (Inhabitants of central Nigerian plateau) Akanreligion (Akans of the Gold Coast) Bori religion (Hausa...
includes Akan Central Tano languages, a language group which includes AkanAkan (Ghana parliament constituency) Akan District, Hokkaido, Japan Akan, Hokkaido...
traditional religion encompasses the traditional religious beliefs of people in Africa. In West Africa, these religions include the Akanreligion, Dahomey...
through the gates. In Akanreligion, Amokye is the woman who fishes souls out of the river and welcomes them to Asamando, the Akan realm of the dead. A...
of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations...
the Dead in the Akanreligion Asase Afua, the goddess of the lush earth, fertility, love, procreation and farming in the Akanreligion Bia, personification...
was definitely Kumasehene by 1695) to the leadership of the small group of Akan forest states around the city of Kumasi, which were already grouped in a...
Momome is a female cleansing ritual among some Akan groups in the present day Ghana and Ivory Coast. The ritual is aimed at cleansing the community from...
deities. Traditional Akanreligion states that God created himself on Saturday and is therefore also named "Kwame". In the Akan culture, day names are...
retreated to a mountaintop and never interacted directly with man again. The Akan, Fante and Asante people of Ghana and Burkina Faso believe Nyame (also Oyame)...
Owuo is the abosom of Death in the Asante and Akan mythology of West Ghana and the Ewe, specifically the Krachi tribe of East Ghana and Togo. He is represented...
Traditional religions such as the Akan Traditional Religion and Dagbon Traditional Religion are the indigenous religions of Ghana. Islam was the first...
African religions (noting the many different belief systems) are the oldest belief systems among the populations of this region, and include Akanreligion, Yoruba...
The Akan people of Ghana frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. These "day names"...
Anyi follow a traditional belief Akanreligion and also Islam and Christianity. In the traditional belief Akanreligion living one's life so that one will...
influence of other religions. Ala (Igbo mythology) Ogbunabali (Igbo mythology) Eshu (Yoruba religion) Iku (god) (Yoruba religion) Owuo, Akan God of Death and...
Groß Friedrichsburg Common languages German, AkanReligion Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Akanreligion Elector of Brandenburg, later King of Prussia...
The Mfantsefo or Fante ("Fanti" is an older spelling) are an Akan people. The Fante people are mainly located in the Central and Western regions of Ghana...
(Asante Twi: Asanteman), today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted from 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It...
The Akwamu people are an Akan ethnic group in Ghana. They are native around the border between the Eastern and Volta Regions. The Akwamu founded an empire...