Ashanti Mythology

Family Tree

Ashanti Mythology is the lore of the Ashanti people of Ghana.

The most important god in the pantheon of the Ashanti is Nyame (also Nyankopon), the omniscient, omnipotent sky god. His wife is Asase Ya and they have two children, Bia and Anansi. Asase Ya is an earth goddess of fertility.

Anansi is one of the most important and famous gods of Ashanti lore. He is a trickster and a culture hero, who acts on behalf of Nyame and brings rain to stop fires and performing other duties for him. Eventually, Anansi was replaced by a chameleon.

In some beliefs, Anansi created the sun, stars and the moon. He created the first man, but Nyame actually made him come to life. He taught mankind agriculture

Death

Interesting Facts

The Ashanti people prayed to the gods for death to no longer exist because the Ashanti people were afraid of it . The gods answered their prayers and death no longer existed but with no death the gods had no babies be born. The Ashanti people decided that they rather have babies on earth instead of there being no death.

Anansi is a west african god he often takes the shape of a spider and is considered to be the spirit of knowledge of stories, Also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy, in the Southern US he has evolved into Aunt Nancy. He is a spider but often acts and appears as a man.

Heroes

Ancestral kings and heroes may be transformed into minor deities for communities or entire nations. The line between legend and history is often blurred. Some mythic ancestors began as real-life personages whose deeds were exaggerated over time, while others are purely fictional. The Yoruba storm god Shango, for example, may originally have been a mighty warrior king.

The Shilluk, who live along the Nile in the Sudan, trace their ancestry to Nyikang, their first king. Later kings were thought to have been Nyikang reborn into new bodies, and the well-being of the nation depended on their health and vigor. The first king of the Zulu was supposed to have been a son of the supreme god. Many African peoples traditionally regarded their rulers as divine or semidivine.

Birth

Long ago a man and a woman came down from heaven, while another man and woman came out of the ground. The Lord of Heaven also sent a python, a non-poisonous snake of Africa, which made its home a river. In the beginning men and women had no children; they had no desire for one another and did not know the process of creation and birth. It was the python who taught them. He asked the men and women if they had children and on being told that they had none. Python said he would make the women conceive. He told the couples to stand facing each other and then he went into the river and came out with his mouth full of water. This he spayed on their bellies, saying ''Kus Kus'' (words that are still used in Clan rituals). Then the python told the couples to go home and lie together and the women conceived and bore children. These children took the spirit of the river where the python lived as their clan spirit. Members of that clan hold the python as taboo; they must never kill it and if they find a python that has died or been killed by someone else, they put white clay on it and bury it human fashion.

Ashanti Mythology

By: Zariah Bleus

Nakiya Nichols

Ariell Thomas

Many people of the tropical and meridional Africa accept the idea of a “God who stay in the sky” or a celestial deity often associated with lightnings and thunders; the Earth, the Sun and the Moon are the main deities. Among the west tribes are worshiped sea deities. Gods in general are good, although sometimes they have a double role: they give life, but they bring also sufferance and death.

Earth is a feminine deities who favors the ones who worship her, but punish implacably the ones who disobey or neglected her.

War/Conflict

Life

When the Ashanti tribe was forced with war they used drums to signal upcoming war.

1733 slave insurrection of St. John - Tacky War

Battle of Atakpamé anglo - Ashanti War

War of the Golden Stool

Like myths from other parts of the world, those of the African peoples reflect beliefs and values. But while the mythologies of many cultures are carefully preserved relics of ancient times, African myths and legends are still a meaningful part of everyday life. Some African myths deal with universal themes, such as the origin of the world and the fate of the individual after death. Yet many spring from the continent's own settings, conditions, and history.