Ivory Coast, a West African neighbor of Ghana is multi ethnic, multi lingual with more than 60 ethnic groups adding to the cultural diversity.The Akan are the largest group comprising of 43% of total population.

Akan people have deep rooted traditions, long history of wars and empire buildings in different regions of West Africa (Kumasi kingdom of Akan-ashanti in Ghana).

Akan worship a pantheon of gods ‘abosom’.

‘Abosom’ resides in some naturally occurring features such as a river, lake, forest, dense vegetation and can be summoned after performing some religious sacrificing ritual.

Nyame, according to Akan belief is the one who is the creator of each and everything, resultantly the master of all.

Samanfo, a deity or a spirit is one which if ‘ handled’ properly, will ensure safety and success of a particular clan.

The eternel human soul, okra or elaka, will lead to disarray if the respective person isn’t respectful to ‘samanfo’.

Sunsum is the innate spiritual force which describes the personality traits of an individual.

Obayifo are evil spirits who try to harm by leading a person astray from the right path.

Akan use time-honored signs and symbols to express emotional feelings, of love, respect, and awe, desires, culminated into collective consciousness.

The post Ivory Coast: ‘mystic’ beliefs, signs and sacrifices of Akan appeared first on Ghana Live TV.