MMOATIA
neutralSpirit
The mmoatia, in the singular aboatia, are the little beings of the forest in the beliefs of the Akan of Ghana. R.S. Rattray, who described them in detail, distinguishes three kinds according to their colour: the black, the red and the white, the first passing for fairly harmless, the other two for fearsome. About thirty centimetres tall, their feet turned backwards, they communicate among themselves by whistling and are very fond of bananas, which are sometimes left for them as offerings. Their great power is the knowledge of plants: masters of the remedies of the forest, they pass for carrying off certain chosen ones, healers or diviners in the making, whom they keep for weeks on end in order to teach them the secrets of leaves and barks. Many Akan herbalists and traditional priests thus attribute their knowledge to the mmoatia. In the representations of witchcraft studied by Hans Debrunner, they are associated with the forest monster sasabonsam and with the sorcerers, whose wild domain they share. The oral tradition also gives them a place of choice: in the famous tale in which Anansi the spider buys the stories of the sky god Nyame, the price to pay includes an aboatia, which the cunning one captures thanks to a doll coated with glue.
Powers & Attributes
Role in the ROHO universe
Voice of the forest. MMOATIA watches the spirits of the woods and negotiates with the hunters the respect of the places. Bound to the Akan pantheon. Its alignment depends on the invoker's protocol.
Sacred Mask
An ancient ritual mask of fired clay, bronze and fossilised roots, engraved with symbols of forest and witchcraft, embodiment of the power of Mmoatia
Era
Ancient cycle
Frequently asked questions
Who are the mmoatia in the Akan beliefs?
The mmoatia are the people of the little spirits of the forest among the Akan of Ghana, comparable to goblins. About thirty centimetres tall, their feet turned backwards, they communicate by whistling. R.S. Rattray distinguished three kinds, black, red and white, the black passing for the most harmless.
What link unites the mmoatia to traditional medicine?
The mmoatia pass for the masters of the plants of the forest. Tradition tells that they carry off certain chosen ones, future healers or diviners, and keep them for weeks on end to teach them the virtues of leaves and barks. Many Akan herbalists and traditional priests thus attribute the origin of their knowledge to a stay among the mmoatia.
Do the mmoatia appear in the Akan tales?
Yes. In the most famous tale of the repertoire, collected by R.S. Rattray, Anansi the spider wants to buy the stories of the sky god Nyame. The price includes a python, a leopard, hornets and an aboatia: Anansi captures the little spirit thanks to a doll coated with glue, to which the aboatia remains stuck.
Related spirits
Sources and references
- R.S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti (1927)
- R.S. Rattray, Akan-Ashanti Folk-Tales (1930)
- Hans Werner Debrunner, Witchcraft in Ghana: A Study on the Belief in Destructive Witches and its Effect on the Akan Tribes (1959)
- Kofi Asare Opoku, West African Traditional Religion (1978)