Nyame
| Nyame | |
|---|---|
| King of Heaven | |
Adinkra Symbol: Gye Nyame
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| Consorts | Asase Ya |
| Issue | |
Nyame (or Nyambe, Nyankopon) is the Sky deity of the Akan people of Akanland (South Ghana), the leader of the Abosom, the Akan spirits and minor gods.[3]
His name means "he who knows and sees everything" and "omniscient, omnipotent sky god" in the Akan language;
Function
He is called "omniscient, omnipotent sky god of the Akan people".
Nyame is portrayed as a benevolent god, if sometime aloof and distant.
One of Nyame's creations was Kamunu, the first human being. Nyame gave Kamunu the task of naming all the other creations.[4][5]
Family
His divine wife is Asase Ya, goddess of earth and fate and they have two children: Tano, river god of war and Bia, god of wild animals (he is also called Bea).[6] Also the son or servant and herald of Nyame is Anansi, the Spider Trickster god, bringer of knowledge and stories.[7]
Nyame and Anansi
A giant python once terrorised the Ashanti people, who then prayed to Nyame. Nyame was tired of a human named Kwaku Anansi, the Spider Man, boasting about his so called wit and intelligence, and as a punishment, assigned him with the task of dealing with the python.
Anansi tricked the python into eating a heavy meal and consuming strong wine. When the snake fell unconscious, Anansi summoned the villagers to beat the creature and drive it away. Nyame was pleased with Kwaku's wit and blessed him with tremendous wisdom and life.
See also
References
- ↑ God of waters.
- ↑ Also god of waters.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Origin of death
- ↑ Harold Scheub, Nyambe And The Origin of Death. A Dictionary of African Mythology, Oxford University Press, 2000
- ↑ African Mythology, A to Z by Patricia Ann Lynch, Jeremy Roberts
- ↑ See Ashanti linguist staff finial.
