Should "God/god" be used to refer to Afrikan Spiritual Entities?

[Obadele Kwame Kambon]

Should "God/god" be used to refer to Afrikan Spiritual Entities?

Click this link to vote in the poll: http://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/afrikan-spiritual-systems/36510...

[Abenaa/ Taundra]

I think that we should use the same terms that the ancient Afrikans used to refer to our Afrikan spiritual entities. If our names or din is analogous to water and carries specific vibrations and energy ; then it is very important for us to refer to our creator as Nyamewaa-Nyame.

[Obadele Kwame Kambon]

Mepene so! I agree.

Also take note that the words used to describe the feminine and masculine aspects of our Creator are Awurade-NyankopOn. Because this term has been co-opted by whitey-worshippers (aka christians), many do not know this. I am attaching a picture of a goldweight that depicts the original meaning of Awurade-NyankopOn. Awurade, the feminine aspect, is represented by the triangle, which is said to uphold life itself. This is represented in various Afrikan cultures from the Akan to the Bakongo by the three stones used in the cooking hearth.

The spiral with three spirals emanating from the central one is representative of the masculine aspect of the Creator. This is the visual representation of NyankopOn. I'll probably come out with an article or video on this at some point or another, but for now, here is the image.

Unfortunately, many would see this goldweight and not even know what they're looking at or that this is one manifestation of our ENTIRE WORLDVIEW regarding female-male balance as understood by the Akan!

[NANASOM]

Mikyia wo (Greetings) Obadele,

Meda ase for posting this. Yourself and Kwaku Ofori-Ansa are the only ones that I've seen who properly define Awurade as the Feminine. Most everyone else calls Awurade "Lord". We look forward to your article on this. There are many Akanfo in america, initiated akomfo and uninitiated asomfo, who continue to refer to Awurade as "Lord" as well. This should set the record straight..

Ma asomdwoee-Hetep (Peace)...

[Obadele Kwame Kambon]

BlackSolutely! I have this goldweight in my own personal collection and I also have some based on similar themes. I first came across the info through Nana Kwaku Ofori-Ansa's goldweight chart, so I wanted to go to Ghana to verify this for myself and sure enough I found the goldweight. I also have similar ones that are variations on the same theme all with Awurade represented as the feminine triangle.

Yes, this, when used by those exposed to christianity is invariably understood as 'lord', the krakkka itself.

Also, you were the first person I came across using the term Nyamewaa-Nyame to refer to the feminine-masculine aspects of the Creator. Is this terminology with the accompanying definition created by you/from an entity speaking through you?

Have you come across any adinkra, goldweights, ayan, proverbs etc where Awurade-NyankopOn was described in this way?

Obadele

[NANASOM]

Mikyia wo,

Do all of the variations have a central spiral with 3 spirals attached? Do any of them just have the central spiral? I ask because that spiral is a determinative metut (hieroglyphic symbol) for Ra in Kamit and Keneset and is also related to the adinkrahene symbol, which is Ra.

The information about Nyame and Nyamewaa is actually part of an upcoming article as well that we're going to publish.

The main reasons we use the terminology in this way are:

Nyame (Onyame) is the Akan name for the Supreme Being (Masculine). This is Ny-Ame. This same Ny-Ame is Amen (Amayn with a "nasal" 'n') of Kamit and Keneset (Egypt and Nubia). Amen is the Supreme Being (Masculine) in Kamit and Keneset.

In Akan dictionaries we find that Nyamewaa (Onyamewaa, Onyamewa) is defined as "Goddess". This is because Ny-Amewa is the Goddess/Ntorot/Netert named Amen.t (Amenet/Amenat) in Keneset and Kamit.

Amen and Amenet are, Together, The Great Father and The Great Mother Whom comprise The Supreme Being.

Below are pictures of Amen, Amenet and Amen and Amenet Together.





We find that Un and An are two sacred sanctuaries of Amen. We also find that Amen (Ame) as Nyame is known from East to West Afuraka/Afuraitkait (Africa) by the same name: Nyambe, Nyambi, Nzambi, Nyama, Njambi, Zambi, Amma..

In Ewe Vodoun, the Great Mother is Called Mawu. The Great Father is called Lisa. Mawu-Lisa is the Supreme Being. The God Lisa is called Leza by many Bantu people. One of the major titles of the God Chukwu amongst the Igbo people of Nigeria is: Olisa.

On the other hand, Mawu, the Great Mother aspect of the Supreme Being has many praise names. One of them is Nyamewu or Nyamawu.

This Nyamawu, the Female Goddess, Female Half of the Supreme Being, is the same as the Akan Nyamewaa and the Amenat of Keneset and Kamit.

Nyamewaa and Nyame, or Nyamewaa-Nyame is the same as saying Amenet-Amen or Mawu-Lisa.

The introduction of the white ill-culture promoted and promotes the suppression of the female in all things including religion. Some Ewe therefore now refer to Mawu as "God" and "He". However, when you question them, "Isn't Mawu the Mother?" They will say, "Oh yes, that's right". The same has occurred in the Akan tradition and many other Afurakani/Afuraitkaitnit (African) cultures. Many have suppressed the Great Mother for so long, that they don't even realize She exists.

Even many in the Afrocentric community have unwittingly perpetuated the process. They speak of "God", "Amen Ra", but many have never seen a picture of, nor invoked the Spirit of, Amenet Rait. Many have never heard of the Goddess Rait (Raet, Rat), the Creatress of the World and Wife of Ra (Creator).

A major part of the restoration of our Ancestral Culture is to recognize, acknowledge and invoke the Goddess, the Goddesses and the Ancestresses, equally with the God, the Gods and the Ancestors.

We are going to delve deep into the information on Amen and Amenet and Their representation in Akan as Nyame and Nyamewaa in the upcoming article to show these facts conclusively.

Ma asomdwoee-Hetep (Peace)....

[Obadele Kwame Kambon]

Aane! Mo ne adwuma!

EyE asEmmisa pa! I actually have two more variations that I just photographed. One has the spirals emanating from the angles of the ahinasa. One has a spiral within the ahinasa. You'll see it in the attachment.

Yes! I understand that it is definitely consistent with the Afrikan worldview for there to be a balance as in the case of Awurade-NyankopOn that I checked into back in the 90's. I am also familiar with ethnic groups that have some form of /am/, /ame/ or /ami/ etc. in words for what we commonly refer to in whitey as "God" (personally I don't like to use this hateful indo-european epithet in reference to anything Afrikan). I am also familiar with the Mawu-Lisa case of the Ewe as I did research on that sparked by Chukwunyere Kamalu's Person, Divinity and Nature back in the day.

I am also aware that waa makes words feminine or diminutive. What I was moreso getting at was, in understanding the Afrikan worldview, did you bring forth the Nyamewaa-Nyame based on your own understanding of how to render the feminine form in Twi, was this revealed to you by an Afrikan Entity, did you find this in an Akan text, written, oral, drummed, carved, forged or otherwise?

It would not invalidate your bringing forth of the Nyamewaa-Nyame expression if it came through your understanding, was revealed to you etc. It would however add clarity, for me, in terms of why I have never seen or heard of the two together before your sterling contributions.

The reason why I ask is because whereas I know various artifacts can be seen amongst the Akan representative of Awurade-NyankopOn, I have never come across anything internal to the Akan that references Nyamewaa-Nyame inside any Akan ayan, proverbs, adinkra, goldweights, kente, carvings, songs, idioms, etc.

This way I could check it out in a similar way that I found the actual goldweights dealing with Awurade-NyankopOn.

I have, over the past decade or so, done in depth research on various expressions of the Akan both here and on the continent, but that is not to say that something couldn't have slipped past me.

It makes sense that there COULD be a Nyamewaa-Nyame as it is consistent with the worldview as it relates to our Ma'at-like understanding of balance. But I'm looking moreso at historically has this combination been expressed in this way in Twi to your knowledge? If so, what is the reference? It would greatly benefit me and others to have access to this reference in Akan. If you could touch on that now or in the article I would greatly appreciate it.

Meda ase pa ara! Thank you again for your contributions that continually push our work collectively forward!

Obadele

[NANASOM]

Mikyia wo,

Meda ase for the pictures.

The hyphenated use of Nyamewaa-Nyame is just a short way of using the term. We didn't see it in the Akan texts that we've studied. It is similar to using the form Amen-Amenet.

Now, in Kamit, you won't see Amen-Amenet hyphenated. What will be written is Amen hena Amenet. The term hena means "and" or sometimes "with", i.e. Amen and Amenet.

Sometimes, for brevity's sake when writing or speaking we just say Amen-Amenet. The same goes with the use of Nyamewaa-Nyame. In an Akan dictionary you'll see Nyamewa (Onyamewa) but it won't be hyphenated. Again, while we do often say Nyamewaa ne Nyame (Onyamewa and Onyame), sometimes for brevity's sake, we simply say or write, Nyamewaa-Nyame.

The same is even true for Maa (a God) and Maat (a Goddess). Maa and Maat are Brother and Sister in Kamit. Most have never heard of the Deity Maa, because Maat is so popular. Sometimes we write Maa/Maat, but in the texts, it would be written Maa hena Maat.

The hyphenation that we use is our own convention. Also, the clear and purposeful focus on making sure the feminine is always balanced with the masculine when speaking about The Supreme Being is also a convention that we are pushing amongst Afurakanu/Afuraitkaitnut (Africans~Black People).

Some in Igbo use the term Chukwu whenever they mean to say "The Supreme Being". However, Chukwu's Wife is Komosu. Some say Mawu as a catch-all term while others make sure they say Mawu and Lisa. We promote the idea that we should always mention the Male and Female together, to realign ourselves with the reality that Creation (the Divinely Created Abode/Universe) is an expression of the Balance of Male and Female.

This is also why we always mention Amenet and Rait when speaking of Amen and Ra.

Just as some Akan have changed the meaning of Awurade from the Feminine, to a masculine term "lord", so have some become unaware that the term Nyamewaa (Onyamewa) even exists. Even when they have been made aware of its existence, (read it in an Akan dictionary) some still prefer to call God "He" and say "Nyame, He created the universe by Himself."

In order to show that Nyamewaa is more than just a descriptive title meaning "goddess" we go all the way to Keneset and Kamit and show actual depictions of Ny-Amen and Ny-Amenat. In the earliest written texts that have been released (pyramid texts of the so-called 5th Dynasty) Amen and Amenet are mentioned. Amenet also had Her own temples and regions of Kamit dedicated to Her.

With regard to the hyphenated usage, while we use it as a way to convey the idea of balance, it may be that it does exist in the same fashion in certain texts that we haven't seen yet. We have seen other Afurakani/Afuraitkaitnit (African) groups from around the continent utilizing this form in their own languages. The Fon and Ewe using Mawu-Lisa, hyphenated, is just one example. We wouldn't be surprised if we did come across a goldweight where the form Nyamewaa-Nyame is used.


Ma asomdwoee-Hetep....

[Obadele Kwame Kambon]

Megye wo so!

Okay, that's clear. I was just wondering if you had gotten that from a source, written, oral or otherwise. It appears, for now, that the use of Nyamewaa-Nyame together used, written or oral in the sense of the feminine-masculine aspects of the creator is an innovation in terminological usage. However as you say, there may be a chance of coming across it in a goldweight or some other form, which would substantiate it historically amongst the Akan.

This is also not to say that Akwamuman here in the "Diaspora" should not have some innovations, or that a distinctive usage of language and other expressions of culture here is invalid. This is also not to say that things that we don't necessarily see on the continent...or at least haven't seen YET (leaving open the possibility of seeing something in the future), did not exist at some point in the past or will not exist at some point in the future...possibly as a result of contributions of Abibifo (Afrikans) here in aburokyire.

I just wanted clarity of order that there isn't necessarily a proverb, drum text, goldweight n.a. that we have now in hand upon which we are basing this use of Nyamewaa-Nyame, but rather an understanding of an Afrikan Worldview and Afrikan concepts of balance which are being evoked in using it in this way...and perhaps in the future we will see something in the way of a carving, adinkra, mmramoO, ayan, EbE, etc that will let us know that the usage is attested in this way historically amongst the Akan. Even if it's never substantiated as being attested amongst the Akan, that's not to say that it's automatically invalid...for as you well know, we are also Abibifo and have something to contribute to the corpus of knowledge of Abibifo (Afrikans) in Abibiman (Afrika) and elsewhere throughout Abibiwiase (The Afrikan/Black world)

I am glad that we are able to have this discussion as well, because this is also an opportunity for Afrikans to come to know about Awurade-NyankopOn and see images representative of Awurade-NyankopOn that exemplify this balance that are historically attested amongst the Akan. Also that this balance occurs even though it is not in the linguistic pattern that may have been expected as Nyankopommaa* or perhaps Nyankoponwa* or Nyankopommea* as we may create ourselves if left to our own facilities, devices, grammar books and dictionaries. Again, not to say that these forms as well did not exist at some point in the past or will not exist in the future and with an interpretation that we might expect in our "creation" or "rediscovery" of said terms.

As I mentioned, I have come across Awurade-NyankopOn hypenated in texts and said together orally by many (even with libations starting with appellations to Awurade-NyankopOn).

Also, as I mentioned previously, your work was the first time of my hearing Nyamewaa together with Nyame in the way that you use it. Now I understand why, as a text (and I use this term loosely to encompass all of the various means used autochthonously to codify and transmit knowledge) has not yet been identified in which Nyamewaa-Nyame are used together or in this way. I do know that nyamewaa or nyamewa is used amongst the Akan and I can attest to its usage as my first time coming across the term was in an Akan language play that we were reading in Literature of a Ghanaian Language, Akan section back in Ghana at Legon in 2001 where we were dealing with translated novels and it was used as a descriptive for feminine Abosom, as you also see lowercase in dictionaries, and not used to refer to a feminine counterpart of Nyame. It was rather used as a description of the feminine messengers of Nyame who had proper names of their own. I wouldn't rule out that this could be a misinterpretation, but at the same time, it would be good to have some concrete source to point to in Akan that could be referenced showing an anterior meaning of nyamewaa

[NANASOM]

Mikyia wo,

Aane, the distinction between the recent conventions and the common usages of terminology must be addressed. In the upcoming article, we're going to show the differences.

We do a presentation entitled:

The Spiritics of Gender as Defined in Afurakani/Afuraitkaitnit (African) Ancestral Religion

In the presentation we delineate the differences in recent conventions and common usages with regard to terminology describing The Mother-Father Supreme Being. Much of this presentation will be included in the article. (I also need to get with you on Awurade-Nyankopon so that it can be introduced as well). This includes the suggestion that we should invoke both equally.

Another example is that of the Senufo people. The Great God is Kolotyolo. However, very often Kolotyolo is invoked without the invocation of The Great Goddess, Katyeleo. Instead of using the God's name to "cover for both" we suggest that those who are Senufo, or find out through Ancestral communication, ritual practice, etc. that they are Senufo (which many in america are), should invoke Kolotyolo and Katyeleo, whenever they mention Supreme Being. Some may begin to say Kolotyolo-Katyeleo, etc.

Some of the work in cultural restoration deals with establishing new conventions as you mentioned, while some of the work is about resurrecting information that has been suppressed or forgotten (neglected) for decades or more. (This of course includes the information regarding the Akradinbosom).

I've seen the usage of Onyamewa (Nyamewaa) as a way to indicate Female Abosom as well. This is why it's going to take an extensive in-depth analysis to establish the identity of Amenet and Nyamewaa.

It may possibly be published in the next issue of AFURAKA/AFURAITKAIT Nanasom Nhoma.

We also have to deal with the title of Nyame, mentioned by Akesson, "Aberewa Gyame Kunu---the husband of the Elderess (Female) Gyame. I'm going to send you some info. on that soon..

Ma asomdwoee-Hetep..

[Obadele Kwame Kambon]

Abenaa, are you still in the discussion?

[Abenaa/ Taundra]

Yes, very much so. I'm still in the learning process about Afrikans spirituality's. I know no official names of any of our deities unfortunately. That's why I'm on this site, to learn and share. I must learn first so I know what to say to others. Everything that I know comes from a place inside Me. I never knew about Abenaa or Heru Behudet howeve;r I always knew there was something special I was created for just like the rest of our Afrikan sistas and brothas. I feel things but I guess until my house in perfect order my voice will still escape me. I'm working toward having a great voice on day.

[Abenaa/ Taundra]

Meda ase for the pictures of the gold weights and for your wisdom. I'm learning a lot.
People value lots of "things"; for me to lay eyes on the gold weights and pictures of Amen and Amenet ;"priceless".