Journal ArticleDOI
The Idea of a Supreme Being Among the aηo pEople of Ghana
TLDR
Mawu is a generic symbol for deity and is freely applied to the lesser gods which the AilJ1 people particularly refer to as Tr3 as discussed by the authors, and whether Mawu originated from its use for the Supreme Being or from its generic usage for deity in general is not easy to say.Abstract:
Mawu is the ABlb name for the Supreme Being. This same word is used by other Eue neighbours to designate their Supreme Beings. In a wider sense Mawu is generic symbol for deity and is freely applied to the lesser gods which the AilJ1 people particularly refer to as Tr3. Whether Mawu originated from its use for the Supreme Being or from its generic usage for deity in general is not easy to say. However the A1l1 people believe that the lesser gods have taken on some divine attributes because the Supreme Being created them and delegated divine authority to them to represent him in the world of men. This belief and A1J31 attempts at etymological solution seem to support the view that Mawu originated with the Supreme Being and was later adopted as generic symbol for deity. Many attempts have been made to solve the etymological riddle of Mawu. The commonest among the AIl3 people themselves is Ema ye wu, "this is the One who surpasses all." Others think Mawu is rather a combination of two particles: a negative ma and a superlative wu. Wu for others is the Eve for the verb "kill." Thus Mawu in AI319 thought is, on the one hand, "the One who surpasses all," "the Omnipotent" and, on the other, "the One who does not kill," the bountiful, the merciful. Some other researches into the etymology of Mawu appear rather wild guesses which may safely be ignored here. 1) But one fact which emerges from all these attempts is that Mawu is a proper name and like some other proper names, its real etymology is long lost in the mists of time. Perhaps this is the outcome of the same unqualified reverence for the divine name that still makes a riddle of the Tetragrammaton of Judaism. However, all these suggested etymological solutionsread more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Religion, history and the supreme gods of africa: a contribution to the debate
TL;DR: The status of the Supreme Being in precolonial traditional African religious thought has been the subject of innumerable studies within the fields of anthropology and religious studies as mentioned in this paper, and the debate that has raged between the so-called "Devout" scholars and the "De-Hellenists."
Dissertation
‘Wives of the Gods’: debating Fiasidi and the politics of meaning
TL;DR: In the south-eastern Volta Region of Ghana, a form of female religious affiliation to local shrines commonly known as trokosi, has been the subject of a campaign consisting of Christian-based NGOs and various government agencies that has successfully criminalised the practice and organized 'liberations' and rehabilitation of the initiates as mentioned in this paper.
Book
Slavery, Memory and Religion in Southeastern Ghana, c. 1850-Present
TL;DR: Based on a decade of fieldwork in southeastern Ghana and analysis of secondary sources, the authors reconstructs the religious history of the Anlo-Ewe peoples from the 1850s, focusing on a corpus of rituals collectively known as 'Fofie', which derived their legitimacy from engaging with the memory of the slave-holding past.
Hebrews' Christology and its contemporary apprehension in Africa
TL;DR: The Bible is a challenge especially to Christian communities as mentioned in this paper, and its significance is put into perspective by putting its significance into perspective in the context of the Bible challenge especially for Christian communities.