The Spiritual Culture of the Anlo-Ewe People-gctid23950

[Oju]

The Spiritual Culture of the Anlo-Ewe People


I am an Anlo-Ewe, born and raised on the island of Anyako, the largest among a cluster of island settlements surrounded by the salty waters of the Keta lagoon. These island settlements are collectively known as a major island group of the Anlo-Ewe traditional state. A major coastal group is at south of the Keta lagoon along the shores of the Atlantic ocean and a major inland group is at the north of the lagoon.

Anlo-Ewe traditional state is presently among a political union of distinct traditional states known as the republic of Ghana. The political union was created by the British government during the period of the historic Western eureurasiaan partitioning of Kmt. It was originally called the Gold Coast and was renamed Ghana when it achieved self government on March 6, 1957. Anlo-Ewe land occupies the south eastern corner of the modern republic in an administrative region known as the volta region.

According to oral history, the Anlo-Ewe people settled at their present home around the later part of the 15th century (1474) after a dramatic escape from Notsie, an ancestral federated region currently within the borders of the modern state of Togo. The escape and subsequent resettlement are commemorated in an annual festival known as Hogbetsotso Za.

Earlier settlements were established along seamless stretches of white sandy beaches of the Atlantic ocean, from what is now the international border between Togo and Ghana and due west to the eastern shores of the Volta river. Names assigned to some of the settlements - Keta, which means "the head of the sand," Denu, which means "the beginning of palm trees" etc. - echoed the natural endowment and beauty of the landscape they were to call home.

The close proximity of the settlements to the sea, however, offered no safety from the frequent raids for slaves by eureurasiaan slave traders who would navigate their ships easily to the shores of the ocean for their human cargos. The memory of these raids and the loss of entire settlement populations have been deeply imprinted on the Anlo-Ewe consciousness through the holdings of oral tradition such as folklore, myths and songs. A mass migration northward and the establishment of lagoon island settlements begun as a necessary security against becoming a slave in some strange land.

The Keta lagoon became central to the early evolution of the Anlo-Ewe traditional state. Its shallow waters were not navigable by the large slave ships and provided a much needed buffer-zone between the settlers and the aggressive slave traders.

Development of small scale marine commercial activities for sustenance began immediately. These activities included the construction of canoes for fishermen who navigated the lagoon for united snakesble fishing sites and canoe landings. Hunters used the canoes to explore other islands and the inlands north of the lagoon for games, drinking water, farm lands and new settlement sites. Farmers shuttled by the canoes between the islands and the fertile inlands to cultivate crops. The canoe shuttle became an important tradition and a major means by which commodities and information flowed freely between the settlements.


The Religious Culture


Anlo-Ewe dance-drumming repertoire evolved as an essential component of three key cultures - thereligious culture, the military culture and the social culture.

The religious culture embodies the knowledge about divinities, their devotional activities, the nature of the universe or the living environment and more especially, the principles of divine or moral state of living.

The Anlo-Ewe conceives the universe as consisting of dynamic forces which are constantly influencing each other. Mankind, in both the living (visible) and non-living (invisible) states, animals, vegetables and minerals all possess this vital force in varying amounts. As a result of the constant interaction of these forces, which at times affects human existence in negative ways, it becomes necessary for mankind to gain the knowledge and use of these natural forces in influencing his or her own existence. Hence, instead of events occurring by chance or arising from unknown causes, these events could be controlled to occur at the intention and necessity of mankind.

Everything among the Anlo-Ewe has a spiritual meaning or is understood in a spiritual sense. For example, the birth of a new life, puberty of the adolescent and the marriage of the young adult are attributed to some divine goodwill. Sickness, death and other misfortunes are ascribed to some divine intervention. Performance of devotional activities to the divinities and the development of some principles of divine or moral state of living rank at the top of Anlo-Ewe hierarchy of values.

At the top of Anlo-Ewe hierarchy of divinities is Mawuga Kitikata, the Great and Overall God. Prayers requesting blessings from the divine world often begin with the following text: "Mawuga kitikata, adanuwoto be ye woashi kple afo" which translated freely means "The great and overall God, the great craft-person who creates hands and feet." Mawuga Kitikata is believed to be everywhere and does not require a shrine and devotional activities. Devotional activities are performed through other lower ranking divinities to Mawuga Kitikata.

The next ranking Anlo-Ewe divinity is Togbui Nyigbla, the divine protector of the traditional state, its people and the Anlo-Ewe chieftaincy stool, the most sacred symbol of royal authority among the Anlo-Ewe.

Afã is among the favorites of Anlo-Ewe divinities. Afã is popularly known as Kpoli (destiny) or "divinity of divination" and fulfills, among other things, the human desire to peep a little into the future through the art of divination.

Yeve is another revered divinity. Popularly known as "Tohono" or "divinity of thunder," Yeve often uses the forces of thunder and lightening in revealing concerns and anger.

Dance-drumming is a key element of the religious culture and each divinity offers a distinct repertoire for various devotional activities. These devotional activities include: rite of consecration or medium of centering oneself in the divine spirit, rite of invocation or yearning for spiritual communion with the divinity and rite of gratitude, reverence and respect for the divinity.


Social Culture


The social culture includes institutions devoted to the development of the Anlo-Ewe human infrastructure and the welfare of the people.

Communal enculturation of every Anlo-Ewe starts from infancy and comes to climax with ceremonies and rites ushering the youth into adulthood. The enculturation process begins at the dawn of the seventh day of birth with rites and ceremonies known as "ame-hehe-de-go". "Ame-hehe-de-go" literary means outdooring a person. The major activities of "ame-hehe-de-go" include, the formal naming of a baby, introducing the baby to community and community accepting a collective guardianship.

Rite of amedzodzo or reincarnation is the next major communal activity of the enculturation process. In Anlo-Ewe belief, every new born child is a partial rebirth of an old ancestral soul in a new body. Through intense divinations, soon after birth, the ancestral soul making a new beginning is identified along with other vital information that would guide in achieving a long and happy life.

Entering puberty is another critical period of the ongoing communal assimilation into the cultural tradition of society. The young child has developed the capability of reproducing sexually and must know the social responsibilities of that biological maturity.

Puberty rites known as "nugbeto" is the communal forum in which the Anlo-Ewe female acquires the knowledge of the social responsibilities of this critical biological transition. Very respected female members of the community are the officiating elders. Their wisdom, life experience, self-esteem and self confidence provide good role models for the young adults.

The traditions of occupational groups are other vital elements of the social culture. These groups are devoted to the development of the skill and resources to sustain the occupational activities of the Anlo-Ewe. Major occupational activities include, hunting, farming, fishing, and manufacturing of a traditional cloth called kente.

Generational group activities, such as clubs organized by the youth as social platforms for expressing their perspectives on virtually every aspect of the collective agenda, are the final dimensions of the social culture. These clubs are the fermenting ground of new ideas and musical innovations as the youth prepare to take over from their parents one day.

C. K. Ladzekpo

http://www.cnmat.berkeley.edu