Qui est Nyame dans la religion akan ?

Nyame, appelé aussi Onyame, Onyankopon ou Odomankoma, est le dieu suprême et créateur de la religion traditionnelle des Akan du Ghana et de Côte d'Ivoire. Divinité céleste omnisciente, il délègue le gouvernement du monde aux abosom, ses divinités intermédiaires, et donne à chaque personne une âme, l'okra, qui retourne à lui après la mort.

Que signifie le symbole Gye Nyame ?

Gye Nyame signifie littéralement excepté Dieu : rien n'existe en dehors de lui, rien ne lui est antérieur ni postérieur. C'est l'un des symboles adinkra les plus répandus au Ghana, visible sur les étoffes, les monuments et les objets du quotidien. Il exprime l'omnipotence et l'omniprésence de Nyame dans la pensée religieuse akan.

Pourquoi dit-on que Nyame s'est retiré loin des humains ?

Un mythe recueilli par R.S. Rattray raconte que le ciel était autrefois proche de la terre : une vieille femme qui pilait le fufu le heurtait sans cesse de son pilon, et Nyame s'éloigna dans les hauteurs. Ce récit explique sa distance apparente : il délègue les affaires du monde aux abosom, mais chacun peut l'invoquer directement, sans temple ni prêtre.

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NYAME

ally

Onyankopon

☥ SpiritAkan →Afrique de l'Ouest — GhanaElder

Gender: Beyond gender (often masc.)Sign: Soleil / ciel

Nyame stands at the summit of the cosmology of the Akan of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. His praise-names trace his nature: Onyankopon, the Great One, Odomankoma, the Creator of all things, or again Twereduampon, the one you lean upon and never fall. A famous tale, collected by R. S. Rattray, tells that he once lived close to humankind: an old woman pounding fufu kept striking the sky with her pestle, and Nyame withdrew into the heights. Too great to be enclosed in temples, he has no organised clergy: he is invoked directly, and many Ashanti homes once raised the nyame dua, the tree of God, a forked altar bearing a vessel where anyone could leave offerings. An Akan proverb teaches that no one shows Nyame to the child: the knowledge of God is innate. The adinkra symbol Gye Nyame, except God, expresses his absolute sovereignty. Father of the abosom, the deities who govern the rivers, the earth and the forest in his name, he gives each human being a portion of himself, the okra, which returns to him after death. His day is Saturday, and tradition then calls him Onyankopon Kwame.

Powers & Attributes

Celestial creator

Role in the ROHO universe

First Spirit emanated directly from Onionkupón, keeper of the initial breath.

Sacred Mask

A golden solar mask with radiating engravings — a symbol of creation and of the first light.

Era

10,000–8,000 BCE — Cycle of Origins

Words of the Spirit

“To learn the responsibility of creative power, and to understand the solitude of the divine.”

Frequently asked questions

Who is Nyame in Akan religion?

Nyame, also called Onyame, Onyankopon or Odomankoma, is the supreme god and creator of the traditional religion of the Akan of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. An omniscient sky deity, he delegates the government of the world to the abosom, his intermediary deities, and gives each person a soul, the okra, which returns to him after death.

What does the symbol Gye Nyame mean?

Gye Nyame means literally except God: nothing exists outside him, nothing precedes or outlasts him. It is one of the most widespread adinkra symbols in Ghana, seen on cloth, monuments and everyday objects. It expresses the omnipotence and omnipresence of Nyame in Akan religious thought.

Why is Nyame said to have withdrawn far from humankind?

A myth collected by R. S. Rattray tells that the sky once lay close to the earth: an old woman pounding fufu kept striking it with her pestle, and Nyame moved away into the heights. The tale explains his apparent distance: he delegates the world's affairs to the abosom, yet anyone may invoke him directly, without temple or priest.

Sources and references

R.S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti (1927)
J.B. Danquah, The Akan Doctrine of God: A Fragment of Gold Coast Ethics and Religion (1944)
Kofi Asare Opoku, West African Traditional Religion (1978)
Geoffrey Parrinder, West African Religion: A Study of the Beliefs and Practices of Akan, Ewe, Yoruba, Ibo, and Kindred Peoples (1949)