Nyankapon-Nyame-Odomankoma

Onyame, Nyankopon (Onyankapon) and Odomankoma are the trinity of the supreme god of the Akan people of Ghana, who is most commonly known as Nyame.[4] His name means "He who knows and sees everything", and "omniscient, omnipotent sky deity" in the Akan language.

For the people with the name, see Nyame (name).
Nyame (Ono nya me)
Lord of the Sky
Adinkra Symbol: Gye Nyame
ConsortsAsase Ya/Afua
IssueTano
Bia
Anansi
Apo[1]
Bosomtwe[2]
Owuo[3]
Asase Ya/Afua

Names

Odomankoma

The name Odomankoma means "Creator" which is said to be derived from the literal translations of the two sections of his name, "Dom" (meaning state or universe) and "Anko-ma" (meaning "who alone gives"), meaning his name literally means "He who alone gives the universe or world".[5] However, others believe Odomankoma is an abbreviation of Odomankoma's full and true name: O-doma-ara-nko-ma in which all parts of the name (excluding the first o) has a meaning: doma meaning 'abundance', ara meaning 'only, alone', ma meaning 'full of'; and hence coming together to mean 'He who (of that which) is uninterruptedly, infinitely, and exclusively full of the manifold, namely, the interminable, eternally, infinitely, universally filled entity'.[6]

Odomankoma is known by the name Odomankoma wuo, which has a double meaning. In one vein, it means "Father Death". On the other it means "The Creator's death". Both of these meanings are a reference to Odomankoma being the creator of Death, whose name is Owuo, and Death in return killed him. Odomankoma also goes by various other epithets: Oboade meaning Creator (an additional name of Creator), Oboo nkwa meaning the Creator of life and Oboo-wuo meaning the Creator of death, another name that is a call-back to Odomankoma creating Owuo (Death).[7]

Odomankoma also has the name Borebore, meaning Architect, and Ananse Kokuroko, meaning the great designer or, literally, the great spider. This last name not only shows that Odomankoma possesses godly level of wisdom as in the Akom belief, it is believed that the wisdom of the spider is greater than that of all the world, but also shows his connection to Ananse, who is a spider and additionally might be directly Odomankoma's son[8]

Description

Nyame, Nyankapon and Odomankoma are 3 aspects of the trinity that make up the Supreme God in the Akom religion. They are, however, one God.

Odomankoma: Odomankoma is the creative aspect of Nyame, corresponding to reason, reality and the Absolute, is the spirit of the Universe and is one of the most dynamic and complex modalities of Nyame, the Supreme Being. Odomankoma is consistently cast in the role of creator. This creative function of Odomankoma is embodied in several maxims. One saying of the Akan surrounding Odomankoma is "Odomankoma boo ade", meaning Odomankoma created the "Thing" (the universe). Odomankoma created not only the "Thing," i.e., the universe. He also created life and created death as well. In a mysterious manner Odomankoma himself succumbed to death. This juxtaposition of life with death in Odomankoma is expressed by the most enigmatic and unutterable of all Akan maxims: "Odomankoma boo owuo na owuo kum no", which means Odomankoma created death (Owuo) and death killed him. Odomankoma accommodates the contraries of life and death within his being. As the creator of both life and death, he transcends both experiences. The story of Odomankoma does not end with Owuo killing him as after his death, it is said that life came to him and woke him up. From here he reived as Kra, and lives through Nyankapon, becoming Nyankapon's Kra (soul), as stated in the Akan maxim "Onyankapon onye Odomankoma sunsum" which literally means Nyankapon is Odomankoma's personality, symbolising that Nyankapon is Odomankoma's successor (as Odomankoma used to be the aspect of the Nyame trinity that controlled everything until Owuo killed him).[9] Odomankoma is also quite powerful and smart as after his "revival", Nyankapon/Odomankoma had a great struggle with Owuo in which they defeats Owuo with a resistance to Owuo's venom, kra (whom was now Odomankoma). Odomankoma then managed to achieve a total triumph over Death, as stated in the maxim "Odomankoma na orna owuo di akane", which means it was none but Odomankoma who made Death eat poison. In this second meeting between Odomankoma and his final creation, Owuo, Odomankoma unleashes his creative might upon Owuo as, after having been vanquished, death is made to eat his own poison. However, despite defeating Owuo, Owuo is still alive and causes death to mortals[7][10]

It is said that he talks through a drum and has a drummer for that drum called Odomankoma Kyerema, the Drummer of Odomankoma who is said to be the most knowledgeable person regarding Asante traditional history.[11]

Odomankoma is also represented by two animals: vultures and spiders. Odomankoma's link to vultures is expressed in the Akan maxim: "Odomankoma a oboadee, ne kyeneboa ne opete", meaning The animal that symbolizes Odomankoma who created the world is the vulture.[12]

Symbol

Nyame is the Twi word for god, and the Adinkra symbol "Gye Nyame" means "Nothing but God". The Akan people usurped the Adinkra symbols when their chieftain imprisoned Nana Adinkra, chief of Gyaman and his entourage.[13] The Akan chief had his scribes copy the Adinkra symbols and then appropriated them into their culture, changing the meaning to "there is nothing except God" in the Twi language of the Akan.

The symbol has adopted a different use and meaning in today's Akan culture due to the influence of Christianity.

See also

References
  1. God of waters.
  2. Also god of waters.
  3. Created by Nyame
  4. Willis, Roy (2006). World Mythology The Illustrated Guide. Oxford University Press. p. 266. ISBN 9780195307528. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  5. Addae, Thomas (1970). "Some Aspects of Ashanti Religious Beliefs". Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dell'Istituto italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente. 25 (2): 157–182. ISSN 0001-9747. JSTOR 41852579.
  6. Smith, Edwin W. (1945). "Religious Beliefs of the Akan". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 15 (1): 23–29. doi:10.2307/1156827. ISSN 0001-9720. JSTOR 1156827. S2CID 145465350.
  7. Brookman-Amissah, Joseph (1986). "Akan Proverbs about Death". Anthropos. 81 (1/3): 75–85. ISSN 0257-9774. JSTOR 40462026.
  8. Vecsey, Christopher (1981). "The Exception Who Proves the Rules: Ananse the Akan Trickster". Journal of Religion in Africa. 12 (3): 161–177. doi:10.2307/1581431. ISSN 0022-4200. JSTOR 1581431.
  9. Danquah, J. B. (1952). "The Culture of Akan". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 22 (4): 360–366. doi:10.2307/1156919. ISSN 0001-9720. JSTOR 1156919. S2CID 143029068.
  10. Rowell, Charles H. (1983). ""The Unraveling of The Egg" an Interview With Jay Wright". Callaloo (19): 3–15. doi:10.2307/2930927. ISSN 0161-2492. JSTOR 2930927.
  11. Daaku, Kwame Y. (1971). "History in the Oral Traditions of the Akan". Journal of the Folklore Institute. 8 (2/3): 114–126. doi:10.2307/3814101. ISSN 0015-5934. JSTOR 3814101.
  12. Grayson, Sandra M. (1998). ""Spirits of Asona Ancestors Come": Reading Asante Signs in Haile Gerima's "Sankofa"". CLA Journal. 42 (2): 212–227. ISSN 0007-8549. JSTOR 44323194.
  13. "All about Nyame: Supreme God of Akan African People – Atlas Mythica". Retrieved 2022-11-16.
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