The Gye Nyame is my favorite Adinkra symbol. It represents the all
mighty power and immortality of God. In Ghana it is used by Muslims,
Christians and traditional believers alike. This breaking of religious
barriers to honnor the power of God is perhaps what appeals to me most
about this symbol. All who use it recognize a powerful God,
yet each have their own vision of who the all-powerful God is.
The proverb that goes with this is "This Great Panorama of creation dates
back to time immemorial, no one lives who saw its beginning, no one will
live to see its end, Except God.
This is an Adinkra symbol for unity. The symbol represents the
proverb
"sharing one stomach yet they fight over food". Often this is something
we forget in the course of fights. Within our society we fight amoungst
races, religions, genders, sexual orientations... Even within our
churches we fight amoungst the denominations. We often forget that we
are all united behind our dependance on this great earth and upon God.
We should take a leson from the lizards of this symbol and remember our
common stomach.
The background of my pages is an example of Kente cloth. The name of this
pattern
is Abusua y[ dom, representing the strength of family. The zig-zag
design is one rendering of "san k] fa" or go back to your roots
reminding us of the importance of our heritage. The other pattern on the
blue background represents the Asante stool. The word kente comes from
the word kenten, or basket refering to the cloth's basket like patterns.
Kente is more than just decoration. It is a woven story of history,
ethics, philosophy, proverbs, values, politics and more.
Sank]fa translates as return and fetch it. The proverb that goes
with the symbol is "S[ wo wer[ fi na wosank]fa a yenkyi" i.e. It is no
taboo to return and fetch it when you forget. It is often used to
symbolize a need for remembering one's roots or for the ability to go
back and correct mistakes. There are several different versions of the
sank]fa. One is seen in the zigzags of my background cloth. Another
popular one is a bird with a head turned back to his tail. It reminds me
to both honor my past, and those who have gone before me, but also to
learn from it and perhaps "undo" mistakes that have happened.
Biribi wo soro is a symbol of hope. The associated proverb is
"Nyame biribi wo soro na ma embeka mensa" i.e. God
there is something in the heavens, let it reach me. It is always
important to maintain a dream a "hope" it is these dreams and hopes that
keep us going through the difficult times. It is these dreams and hopes
that allow us to imagine a better world and then impower us to take
actions to make those dreams come true. Links: Republic of Ghana Adinkra page Akan Cultural
Symbols Project Kwadwo Boahene's Adinkra
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Gye Nyame
Funtunfunafu
Sank]fa
Biribi wo soro