Akan mythology: Anansi, Nyame and the spirits of Ghana
19 spirits documented in the Kunda Codex
The Akan tradition of Ghana and Ivory Coast centres on Nyame, the sky god, and Asase Yaa, the earth mother. It gave the world Anansi, the cunning spider of diaspora tales, but also darker figures like the forest vampire Sasabonsam. The entries below document these spirits with their myths and sources.
SpiritallyNYAME
Onyankopon
Guardian Spirit
EarthallyODOMANKOMA
The Shaper
Creator Spirit
EarthallyASASE YAA
Spirit of the Earth
SpiritantagonistANANSI
Guardian Spirit
SpiritallyOWUO
Death, fate
Spirit of the Dead
SpiritallyAMOKYE
Ferrywoman of the dead
Spirit of the Dead
SpiritallyABAM KOFI
Ancestral Spirit
EarthallyABEREWA
Goddess
Goddess
SpiritneutralABONSAM
Spirit
Spirit
SoulallyAKONADI
Goddess
Goddess
SpiritallyAKWABA
Goddess
Goddess
SpiritneutralASANBOSAM
Monster
Monstrous Spirit
WaterallyASHIAKLE
Goddess
Goddess
SoulallyDUBIAKU
Hero
Hero Spirit
EarthneutralMMOATIA
Spirit
Spirit
SpiritallyNIAMYE
God
Deity
SpiritallySAKARABRU
God
Deity
FireallySAKUMO
God
Deity
SpiritallyONIONKUPÓN
Yoruba threshold spirit
Être suprême
Frequently asked questions
Who are the main Akan gods and goddesses?
At the summit stands Nyame, also called Onyame, Onyankopon or Odomankoma, the supreme sky god and creator, who delegates the government of the world to the abosom. Beside him, Asase Yaa is the great earth deity, second in honour, a nourishing mother who gives fertility to the fields and receives the dead. Around them live Anansi the spider, the god of death Owuo, and the spirits of the forest.
Who is the Akan god of death?
Owuo is the personification of death in Akan religious thought. An inescapable power that none can defeat or corrupt, he marks each person's passage to the world of the ancestors. The adinkra symbol Owuo Atwedee, death's ladder, recalls that everyone will climb it one day.
Who is Anansi in Akan mythology?
Anansi is the cunning spider of the Akan tales of Ghana, a trickster hero and master of stories: in Ashanti tradition the tales themselves are called anansesem, the spider's stories. Carried across the ocean with the captives of the Atlantic slave trade, Anansi became Anancy in Jamaica and one of the great heroes of Caribbean storytelling.
What are the Sasabonsam and the mmoatia?
The Sasabonsam is a vampiric creature of the deep forest, perched in the great trees with iron teeth and long legs hanging from the branches. The mmoatia are the little spirits of the forest, about thirty centimetres tall, with feet turned backwards, who communicate by whistling and are masters of plants.