Religion

Akan Religion

In the traditional religion of the Akan peoples, ultimate worship is given to Onyame or Nyame, who is Almighty God. J.G.Christaller showed that the probable etymology of the name is from nyam, an adjective which can embrace the meanings "shining, bright, splendid, illustrious, glorious", and the related noun onyam, which can be used to mean "glory, dignity, majesty, grace". From the adjective is derived the word onyame, which can be used to mean "heaven, sky", but is also the proper name of the Supreme Being. Onyame is known by a number of other appellations, depending on the attribute which is being emphasised. One such is Onyankopon, which was held by J.B.Danquah to be "obviously derived from Onyame and koro, from biako, one, and from -pon, great, such that the entire name means .. 'The Only Great Onyame', 'The Only Great Shining One', or 'He who alone is of the Greatest Brightness'". It is this name that has been adopted by Christian translators of the Bible to represent the Judaeo-Christian Godhead. A third name of the Akan God is Odomankoma, which is used particularly in creation narratives, and is shown by I.Wilks to come from the Adomankomasεm or Odomankoma Tales, which is a body of oral tradition originating from Bron, the birthplace of all Akan. Christaller does not give an etymology, but suggests that "The word as a name of God seems to mark him as the boundless, infinite, interminable, immensely rich Being, or as the author, owner and donor of an inexhaustible abundance of things".

The power of Nyame is delegated to a host of lesser gods or spirits (the abosom), and it is chiefly with these that the traditional Akan has to deal on a practical daily basis. At the head of this pantheon are Bia and Tano who are the spirits of the great rivers of those names. They are the offspring of the union between Nyame, who is associated with the sky, and the goddess Asase Yaa, who is associated with the land. Her name means Earth Thursday, the latter being her dayname. But despite these intermediaries it is common to hear and see acknowledgement made directly to Nyame as benefactor in everyday conversation and life. A typical response to the question "Wo ho te sɛn?" (How are you?), might be "Nyame adom, me ho ye" (By God's grace, I am well), and the familiar "Nyame bekyerɛ" (God will provide) is ubiquitous as a lorry motto, shop name, and toponym.

It is perhaps because the religious view sits easily with life experiences that such sayings are not infrequently used as the basis for toponyms. The table below shows a selection of these.