There are thousands of shrines and sacred spaces in Ghana, commemorating ancestors, gods, historical events, and everyday life.
According to oral tradition these shrines which host deities helped our ancestors over hundreds of years to overcome their enemies. Because of this, attachment to these gods and ancestors is held in high esteem in Ghanaian traditional settings.
Not just that but Ghanaian culture and traditions were interwoven with the worship of these gods.
Let’s look at some of these gods (who primarily reside in shrines) and how they are seen by Ghanaians.
Posuban Shrines
These are shrines built in honor of soldiers (Ancestral soldiers) who fought for their towns and these shrines are very popular among the Fantis.
Posubans, are elaborate concrete shrines in the urban areas of Fante settlements.
The word “posuban” is a combination of the corrupted form of the English word “post” that is “posu” and the word “ban” meaning a fortification.
A “posuban” is the religious center of an ASAFO company.
In remembrance of the three warriors (Obumankoma, Odapagyan, Oson) and the Gods who led the Fante people during their migration to Mankessim, a Posuban shrine was erected on the 3rd November, 1891 and renovated on 8th September, 1979 at Mankessim and replicated among Fante communities in the coastal regions of Ghana.
Nogokpo Shrine
Nogokpo is a small village located in the Ketu South Municipal of the Volta Region of Ghana along the Trans–West African Coastal Highway. It is noted for its traditional and spiritual shrine.
The Nogokpo shrine was reportedly first served by Torgbui Sabah in the 1900s and according to Torgbui Agbodzalu Amuzu, the deity has its origins from Agbozume, another Volta regional town.
The Nogokpo shrine earned its fearsome reputation for rendering justice for those who reckoned they had been wronged and hence wanted justice or retribution.
Antoa Nyaamaa Shrine
This shrine seems to be one of the most popular deities in the country because, at the slightest provocation, people use it’s gods to invoke curses on their offenders and it is believed that it works. It is situated in a stream in a small village known as Antoa.
The founding of Antoa village is attributed to Ampoma, the younger of the twins of Adwoa Birago, ancestress of the Asene clan. It is said that Ampoma had a daughter named Bua Dadom, and two sons namely, Boansi Kofo and Damfo Amanfo.
The latter died at Amakom, while the former left Amakom together with his sister and founded Adomanu. He became the first chief of Adomanu.
The story indicates that Nana Sarkodie of the Asene clan came from Wonoo to join the Asene people at Adomanu during the reign of Nana Boansi Kofo and King Obiri Yeboa of Kumase.
It is an accepted fact that Nana Boansi agreed to change the name Adomanu to Antoa to signify ‘the coming together of the two elders on one land.”
JGC: p.499, “toa, v. [red. toatoa] 1. to join, conjoin, bring or put together”.
“Antoa Nyamaa: The Antoa shrine is located in a small stream called Asuo Nyamaa in the Antoa village some seven miles away from Kumasi.
It is a very renowned deity and people in the Ashanti Region very often use it for duabɔ ‘grievance imprecation’ and nsedie ‘assertive self-imprecatory oaths’.”
To be Continued…
Source: http://african-research.com/
