Exactly my point:
I wrote as follows: "The religious cosmology or mythological cosmology of the Akans of Ghana teaches that Onyankopong (God, the Creator) inhabits "soro" or space and sky where the sun, moon, stars, etc. reside."
Akan ritual performance of libation begins with this:
Osorosoro nsa, Asase Yaa nsa, Nananom Abosom nsa, Nananom Mpayinfo nsa (God above or in the sky we give you drink; Earth Goddess, we give you drink; Esteemed Deities, we give you drink; and Mighty Ancestors, we give you drink....."
I would leave the "borrowing" part to specialists who study the diffusion of religion. What I know is that long before Euro-Christianity gained roots in Akanland, precolonial Akans and absolutely many other states and societies believed that God and other supreme forces and elements that shaped life resided in the sky. The pouring of libation or indigenous "prayer" which was frowned upon and demonized as "pagan and fetish-worship" by wrong-headed European Christian missionaries and their overzealous African agents, antedated Euro-Christianity, yet it includes Osorosoro nsa (God above or in the sky).
The argument I would make is that the preexisting belief among Akans that God resides in the sky (soro) made it easier for them to accept Biblical teachings of the "Christian God" who resides in Heaven - above the sky or soro.
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2013 6:29 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series -equiano the african?
Wait a minute guys: Ken and Kwabena,
The Akans start the Lord's Prayer in the Christian church with the words ' Yen Agya a owo osoro' , translated ' Our Father who art in Heaven'. Since Christianity is a modern day religion compared to our African religions, the Christians must have borrows the phrase 'Our Father who art in Heaven' from ' Onyankopong who resides in the skies' or the Igbo 'god who dwells in the sun'. On the other hand, either the Akans and Equiano interpreted the phrase 'our Father who art in heaven' directly into their languages after the Christian-inspired colonization. I am not sure who borrowed from whom. It is not clear to me that we had the same interpretation of God's dwelling place as the Christians do when we are separated by millennia of generations.
Kwaku Mensah
Chicago
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Akurang-Parry, Kwabena
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2013 1:43 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series -equiano the african?
Ken:
The religious cosmology or mythological cosmology of the Akans of Ghana teaches that Onyankopong (God, the Creator) inhabits "soro" or space and sky where the sun, moon, stars, etc. reside. I have not studied Igbo religious and mythological cosmologies, ontology, and worldview, but from a comparative standpoint, Equiano's statement that the Igbos have a "god who dwells in the sun" is true and speaks to the religious beliefs of many precolonial African states and societies. See the classic African Religions and Philosophy by John S. Mbiti.
Kwabena
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] on behalf of kenneth harrow [harrow@msu.edu]
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2013 1:04 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series -equiano the african?
i should add that in reading equiano's account, intuitively speaking, and not as a specialist in 18th c igbo, i found his account not credible when describing africa. i know there is a big polemic about this; but i wonder if anyone on this list could also chime in on their intuitive reaction to his account.
ken
On 1/28/13 4:24 AM, ChidiAnthonyOparaPoetry/Quotes wrote:
(Poem By: Chidi Anthony Opara)
I come before you
This hour before dawn
Chukwu.
You, who dwell above,
Below
Is your foot stool.
You, whom the gods
Genuflect in his presence,
Before you I come
Clean,
Devoid of dirt.
Your covenant with my forebears
Bound me to come before you
On this market day,
At this hour
To purge my soul of impurities
Of the period past.
I have washed my body
And rinsed my mouth
With the waters of onu ngara.
No human is worthy
To present sacrifices
And libations in your presence.
My sacrifices
I have presented to the good gods,
My libations
To my ancestors.
I stand before you in awe,
Yet
I must make my confessions
Before the din of dawn.
Reproductions in part or in whole, in whatever forms, of ChidiAnthonyOparaPoetry/Quotes except for non-profit information and education purposes, without a written permission from PublicInformationProjects is not allowed.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
-- kenneth w. harrow faculty excellence advocate distinguished professor of english michigan state university department of english 619 red cedar road room C-614 wells hall east lansing, mi 48824 ph. 517 803 8839 harrow@msu.edu --
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
No comments:
Post a Comment