the relationship between a peoples’ socio-cultural space and their literature

8/10/2019 The Relationship Between a Peoples’ Socio-cultural Space and Their Literature

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The Relationship between a Peoples’ Socio-Cultural Space And Their Literature

Introduction

Literature is a broad term which comprises a body of imaginative and non-

imaginative works of a language, period or culture, produced by scholars and researchers,

specialized in a given field (Agyekum, 20 !"# $hus, imaginative works such as prose,

poetry, drama, fiction, drum language and myths as well as non-imaginative works such as

scientific, logistics and mathematics, and legal writings are grouped under the broad term

literature# %evertheless, literature in the conte&t of this work refers to imaginative

literature# Lefebvre ( ' ), p# *" states that +any search for space in literary te&ts is found

everywhere and in every guise enclosed, described, pro ected, dreamt of, and speculated

about.# /pace emerges as, and through, a massive comple&ity of socio-cultural structures

and relations, behavior and practices, language and discourses# n addition to that, space is

a product of historical and natural forces as well as of bodily perception, emotions and the

imagination# n other words, the 1uestion of socio-cultural space in literature has

overwhelming ramifications# or this reason will limit this work to the socio-cultural

space specifically, the religious beliefs of Akans# $he religious beliefs in the culture of

Akans are found in their literature# 3any scholars such as 4reenblatt, /oyinka, Angmor,

5ayness, 6du-7uandoh, innegan, among others, purport that there is a connection

between literature and culture because literature is a cultural production# t is against this

backdrop that this work seeks to discuss how Akan culture in general and specifically their

religious beliefs are related to their literature#

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Definitions and Forms of literature

Literature does not lend itself to a single definition, because the making of it over

the centuries has been as comple&, unwieldy, and natural as itself# %o definition of

literature particularly a brief one, is likely to satisfy everyone# 3eyer ( ''8" attributes this

to the fact that definitions of literature tend to weaken and re1uire 1ualification when

confronted by the uni1ueness of individual works# 6ven though, a definition of literature

can be too limiting, it would be appropriate to point out various definitions of literature by

scholars# /cholars define the term 9literature: based on different point of views# or some

scholars, literature is art; for others, literature is language; and yet for others, literature isaesthetic# Literature has also been seen as fictional, as e&pressive, and as affective# 3eyer

( ''8", for e&ample sees literature as fictional, imaginative and aesthetic# 5e defines

literature as +a fiction consisting of carefully arranged words designed to stir imagination#.

/tories, poems and play are fictional whether written or oral# $hey are made up or

imagined even when based upon actual historic events# /uch imaginative writing differs

from other kinds of writing because its purpose is not primarily to transmit fact or ideas but

it is a source of pleasure# $hus, literature is basically read for en oyment, delight and

satisfaction# 6llis ( '<'" defines literature as the verbal e&pression of human imagination

and one of the primary means by which a culture transmits itself# Angmor ( ''8", also

states that literature is life; because it stems out of man:s e&periences in life# 7ased on these

definitions, it could be noticed that literature contains universal ideas, human imagination,

human e&periences and human interest that are written or spoken and it uses language as a

medium to e&press human ideas, imagination and feelings# 5owever, language could be

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verbal or non-verbal# 5ence, a literary te&t pro ects the e&periences of a writer, an

individual or a society#

$he two ma or forms of literature are oral literature and written literature# $he

genres of literature (oral and written" are, prose, poetry and drama# =rose genres include

novels, short stories, legends, myths and folktales# Also poetry genres include epic, sonnet,

lyric, chant and surrogates such as the horn and the drum (found in oral literature"# $he

genres of drama include comedy, tragedy, romance and satire# $he ma or difference

between oral and written forms is that while the oral is spoken, written literature is written#

5owever, in many cases, there is a close interaction between the two# or e&ample, a poemfirst composed and written down, may pass into the oral tradition and be transmitted by

word of mouth; parallel to the written form, oral compositions, on the other hand, are

sometimes reserved by being written down# n short, the border-line between oral and

written literature in African communities, such as the Akan community is often by no

means a clear-cut ( innegan, 20 2"# According to Angmor ( ''8", oral tradition is ust the

indigenous counterpart of modern art which is the written literature# or most Akans

specifically and 4hanaians in general, oral tradition is their first encounter with literature#

n their bid to give an e&pression to indigenous culture, a number of Akan writers draw on

oral literature for their creative writing# or e&ample, >an1uah:s The Third Woman and ?#

A# %ketia:s Nyankons[ m make use of folktale, @wesi @ay:s Maama, L# ># and

/utherlan:s The Marriage of Anansewa are dramatic rendering of folktales, Apraku:s

ɔbɔ foɔ Ba Ampomah includes chants of hunters in its te&t, A# A# Anti:s Obeede makes use

of myths# $he oral tradition has served as a source of material for the Akan written

literature#

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ature of literature

Literature is an e&pression of human feelings, thoughts, and ideas whose medium is

language whether oral or written# Literature can be a medium for humans to communicate

what they feel, think, and or e&perience to their audience# t employs easy and refined

language which alike affects the intellect and sentiments of the audience# $he language of

literature is highly connotative than denotative# $he connotative meaning means that the

words that are used in literary works have feeling and shades of meaning and that those

words tend to evoke the audience while denotative meaning means that the words refer tomeaning in dictionary# $he language that is used by literature differs from ordinary spoken

or written language# Literature uses special words, structures, and characteristics# =rimarily

the language of literature differs from ordinary language in three ways; first, the language

of literature is concentrated and meaningful; second, its purpose is not simply to e&plain,

argue, or make a point but rather to give a sense of pleasure in the discovery of a new

e&perience; and third, literature demands intense concentration from the audience# $his

indicates that the language of literature has originality, 1uality, creativity, and pleasure#

n this case, to differentiate between the literary te&ts and non-literary te&ts

(imaginative and non-imaginative", @leden (200) -<" states that literature can be

differentiated based on the kind of meanings that e&ist in a te&t# Literary te&t consists of

te&tual meaning and referential meaning but non-literary te&t only consists of referential

meaning# $he te&tual meaning is the meaning that is produced by the relationship of te&t

itself# hile referential meaning is meaning that is produced by the relationship between

internal te&t and e&ternal te&t (world beyond the te&t"# rom the use of language and the

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e&istence of meaning in literary works, it can be concluded that poetry, prose and drama are

put in literary works whereas article, ournalism, news, bibliography, memoir, and so on

can be categorized as non-literary works#

Culture

/cholars of varied disciplines have tried to view the term 9Bulture: in consonance

with their disciplines# 5owever, virtually all these varied definitions of 9culture: would

seem to anchor on anthropological definition given by 6dward $ylor in < # According to

him, culture is that comple& whole which includes knowledge, brief, law, art, morals,

customs and any other capabilities and habits ac1uired by man as a member of a society

(cited in >eutscher, 20 0"# or cultural critics, culture is process, not a product; it is a lived

e&perience, not a fi&ed definition ($yson, '''"# Bulture is the belief systems of a people,

their history, their present, future and also the rules of behaviour that is beneficial to the

society as a whole# 4yekye ( ''8, p# &iii" uses the term +culture. in a comprehensive

sense, to +encompass the entire life of a people their morals, religious beliefs, social

structures, political and educational systems, forms of music and dance, and all other

products of their creative spirit#. rele ( '' * " refers to culture as 9the spirit of a people:

which includes beliefs, knowledge, religion and verbal art# rele ( '' " states

A work of art which is created by the spirit of a people should be seen as

being inspired, imaginative, e&pressive, formally significant, creative;

though such work may be defective 9technically, morally and socially#:

5owever, the creative ingenuity and originality, notwithstanding, a work

of art originating from and meant for a particular society would have to

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take into account the 9ethos: or 9the social framework of the society:s

culture: (p# *!"#

Celigion or religious beliefs which form part of the culture of Akans are the

point of focus in this work# Celigion which is the awareness of the e&istence of spiritual

beings influences the thoughts and actions of the Akan people# $hus religion or their beliefs

is found in their literature#

Relationship between Literature and culture

Literature and culture are closely knit together# As $yson ( '''; p# 2'*" 1uotes4reenblatt

t appears that the analysis of culture is the servant of literary study, but in

a liberal education broadly conceived it is literary study that is the servant

of te&t and the culture in which it emerged and the cultures in which it is

interpreted cultural understanding." Bulture shapes the literature of a

people#

According to innegan (20 2, p# * ", literature is practiced in a society# t is

obvious that any analysis of Akan literature must take account of the social and historical

conte&t#: An artist:s work depends on the time and place of his e&perience# $his implies that

a literary artist, like all human beings live in a particular time and place, and their works

are influenced by innumerable conscious and unconscious ways by their own e&perience

within their own culture# $he human is shaped by the culture into which sDhe is born# 6very

society constrains individual thought and action within a network of cultural limitations

while it simultaneously enables individuals to think and act# $hus the sub ectivity of the

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individual is a lifelong process of negotiating hisDher way, consciously and unconsciously

among the constraints and freedoms offered, at any given moment in time, by the society in

which sDhe lives# Literature is therefore a cultural production and so it has its uni1ue

aesthetics and other characteristics as the culture conditions both its creation and reception#

hat one culture considers good literature may not necessarily be seen as such in another

culture# Bulture conditions a writer:s assumptions of his or her role as a writer# $his

inevitably results in the writer:s fashioning of a concept that governs the content and form

of his or her writing# /tated differently, there is a cultural tradition of literature and each

writer or verbal artist fashions his work to enhance, subvert, or transform that tradition withhis individual talent# $he cultural tradition provides the aesthetics with which to udge the

success or otherwise of a literary creation#

Again literature shapes the culture of a people# A literary te&t or any other kind of

cultural production, according to $yson ( ''', p# 2'*" +performs cultural work to the

e&tent to which it shapes the cultural e&perience of those who encounter it, that is, to the

e&tent to which it shapes the e&periences of members of a cultural group#. $he nature of

literature is that it uses language in an artistic way# Language is used for communication

and it is a vehicle for transmitting cultural values from one generation to the other# $hus

literature should be understood as a social and communicative system# t should be noted

that, an Akan writer in 6nglish or any other language works within two cultures the

metropolitan language and the indigenous culture in which the Akan writer was raised and

from which sDhe writes (E aide, 200 "# $his wide concept serves as a basis to understand

literature as a set of more or less social activities that mostly can be learned and fostered as

literary competences# Literature interests itself with society or man as a social unit# t is not

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satisfied with creating a literary work to satisfy only our sense of wonder, it also

concerns itself with the e&periences or problems of life and such themes have a

cultural value# Ene could argue that as much as the Akan writer, especially a poet, attempts

to be creative with the language; sDhe aims more to convey the sense of urgency of the

Akan condition than to solely advance the language# hile style stands out in a writer, the

focus seems to be the content although for most Akan writers, there is the attempt to

balance content and form# =ut differently, the content conditions the form of the literary

work# Art e&presses the totality of the people:s e&perience, worldview, and sensibility# n

other words, the Akan creative imagination reflects the daily lives, beliefs, struggles, andthe e&istential angst of the Akan people# %o aspect of the people:s e&perience is e&cluded;

hence no material F political, social, economic, religious, or any other F is e&tra-literary to

the Akan writer#

t has been established that literature reflects culture ust as culture informs artistic

creations# t would be pertinent at this point to look at a brief background of the religious

realties of Akans, from which their literature emerges# Celigion enters all aspects of Akan

life, determining practically, every aspect of life that it can hardly be isolated# n their

religious life and thought, Akans do not distinguish the religious from the nonreligious# n

all undertakings, whether it is hunting, fishing, cultivating, sowing, harvesting, eating,

traveling, etc# religion is at work (4yekye, ''8"# All actions and thought have a religious

meaning and are inspired or influenced by a religious point of view# Celigious beliefs of the

Akan could be e&plained in the conte&t of their belief in the /upreme 7eing, divinities, and

ancestors# $he /upreme 7eing, divinities and ancestors are unseen beings that which are

able to affect their lives either negatively or positively# $he Akans believe the /upreme

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7eing is the creator of all things including the divinities# 5e is referred to as Breator,

Bomforter, the 4reat one, the 4reat /pirit, the >ependable Ene, 6ternal, nfinite, etc#

Akans believe the /upreme 7eing is good, merciful and ust (3biti, ' *; 4yekye, ''8"#

Again, Akans believe that divinities are nature spirits which inhabit created things like

plants, animals, water bodies, stones, etc# $hey believe that these divinities can protect

them, grant them fertility, success in life, etc# when they worship them# $hey again believe

that when they wrong these divinities, the divinities can harm them# Also the Akan believes

that death is a metamorphosis and that the family on earth has a spiritual counterpart#

%ketia ( '** as cited in Angmor, ''8" states that; t is believed that there is a world of the dead built on much the same pattern as that of this world and that when aperson dies, he

goes to his Ancestors# $here are beliefs in the visitations of the dead, in invisible

participation of the dead in the life of this world and in the continuaton of ties of kinship

and kinship after death#

!"aluation of Some A#an Literar$ Te%ts&

$his section of the paper deals with an evaluation of some literary te&ts and how

they reflect the Akans: conception of the /upreme 7eing, divinities and spirits# $he first

te&t to be evaluated is ]bɔfoɔ Ba Ampoma by L# ># Apraku# $he second te&t consists of

four proverbs, and one myth# $hese literary te&ts are created by Akans and the place of

religion and beliefs in the social consciousness are e&posed in these te&ts# Celigious beliefs

of Akans can also be found in the oral traditions such as their folktales myths, legends,

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horn, drum, proverbs etc# this section deals with the religious beliefs of Akans found in

their proverbs# our proverbs are evaluated in this paper#

Apra#u’s }bofo] Ba Ampomah

} bofo Ba Ampomah which is the title of the book is the name of only daughter

of GbHmmHfo >ade in the te&t# HbHmmHfo >ade is a great hunter who hunts for the chief in

the village# 5e unfortunately kills a breast feeding lioness of which the lion, husband of the

lioness, tries to seek revenge on HbHmmHfo >ade and his only daughter# $he lion has powers

and so turns into a human being and visits Ampomah when her father goes for hunting# $he

human lion asks Ampomah to name the various animals her father has killed# Ampomah

names all e&pect for the lioness because she suspects the stranger will harm her if she does

so# Ampomah tells her father when he returns from hunting, the ne&t time the human lion

comes to visit again# Ampomah tells him all the animals her father has killed including the

lioness# $his angers the human and he turns back into a lion, ready to devour Ampomah

when HbHmmH >ade shoots him# 7oth HbHmmHfo >ade and Ampomah take ill after the

incident but unfortunately, HbHmmHfo dies, @abu human lion on which the deity,

Atetenkorona, rides# 7ecause the lion is a friend of the deity, Atentenkorona, it has spiritual

powers and could turn into a human# t turns into a human and hunts Ampomah the only

surviving daughter of Ebommofo >ade# Ebommofo >ade finds out it is the lion which has

turned into a human and is hunting Ampomah so he kills it# Infortunately, Ebommofo>ade dies as a result of his encounter with the human-lion leaving only Ampomah behind#

$he surviving son of the lion seeks revenge on Ebommofo >ade by deceiving Ampomah

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and taking her to the forest to kill her# Ampomah is fortunately saved by Esabene @ofi

whom she has been betrothed to#

Apraku portrays the religious beliefs of Akans that surround hunting in bofo Baɔ ɔ

Ampomah # 5e used literary devices such as themes, personification, which is making lions

talk; proverbs and others to reveal the cultural background of Akans#

n bofo Ba Ampomahɔ , we get to know that Akans believe that animals have spirits

which can cause hunters to be poor no matter how great these hunters are# $his is seen

page 8 of the literary te&t;

/Jnea te no, ab mm fo taa yJ ahiafo a w n nsam nni biribi titiriw bi#ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ

/J mmoa a wokum w n nno sesa na JyJ w n saa o , sJ JyJ nkrabea o, obiɔ ɔ

nnim# Jwom sJ b mm fo >ade yJ n::aswuma yiye sJJ de, nanso odi hia#.ɔ ɔ ɔ

$his literally means that, 9As it normally happens, most hunters are poor# Ene does not

know whether it is the spirits of the animals they kill or it is their fate#: t is true that G

bomm fo >ade is a great hunter but he is poor# $his reveals that Akan attribute the povertyɔ

of hunters to spirits of the animals they have killed# %ot only poverty is attributed to the

spirits of the dead animals, but also any evil that befalls a hunter is attributed to the spirits

of the dead animals# 5unters being aware of this also have developed mechanisms to fight

the spirits of dead animals so that they will not cause harm to the hunters# $his is also

revealed when bomm fo >ade kills a lioness and there is some rituals performed for himɔ ɔ

by his fellow hunters# + b mmofo >ade ne ne mfJfo av mm fo abenfo k wura no nuɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔɔ

k faa aboa no baa fie beguaa no# oyiyii ne ho nneJma a ehia kHmaa Hhene# Jno akyi noɔ

sosii ab fo sJnea JbeyJ na aboa kJseJ yi sesa anyJ Jb mm fo >ade b ne bi# $his literallyɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ

means, 9HbHmmHfo >ade and his fellow hunters went to the forest for the lioness he had

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killed# After they had dressed it, they took the important parts of to the chief# After that,

they performed a ritual for HbHmmHfo >ade so that the spirit of the animal will not harm

him#

Again %ketia reveals Akans belief that parts of big and dangerous animals such as

can be used for medicine to cure diseases as well as used to prevent other malevolent spirits

from harming a person# or this reason many people when they heard b mm fo >ade hadɔ ɔ ɔ

killed a lion travelled from far places to come and purchase the parts of the lion for

medicine# $his is seen in page ,

+ b mm fo >ade nyaa aboa yi ho mfaso pii# %nipa a w repJ seb hoɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ

nneJma ak yJ nnuru, de akuru suman bJbora ha# Eyi a ose, mepJ ne duaɔ ɔ

akHyJ me suman so bodua# Eyi a, ose mepJ n:ab werJwkakraa bi akHkyewɔ

bHtH; obiako se HpJ ne nwi akyJ ayera aduru# 6binom mpo de, esiane

mmerewa anasesJmhuhuw akyidi bebrebe nti, sJbe o, tafrakyJaboa no bin

mpo na wHtH de koguaree de bi fraa nku srae# ose wode guare sra a, wo

koko yJ duru sJ aboa no de ara pJ na wunsuro hwee wJno nka mfuaw,

abayifo biara bH ne ho mmusu to wo aduru a, ntJmp ara na atew afa no so

ama waka n:ano asJm#.

$his literally means that 9HbHmmHfo >ade had many benefits from this animal# $he number

of people who needed parts of the lion for medicines and for u u were more hundred# Ene

said, wanted the tail for my u u# Another said, want its nails for my u u# Ene said sDhe

wanted it fair to use it for a medicine that can cause one to vanish# /ome, because of fables,

even went to the e&tent of buying it faeces for bathing and also mi&ed it with pomade for

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their bodies; apart from being strong, any witch who attempts to harm you will confess

hisDher deeds#:

Another belief about animals among Akans which is revealed in the book, is the belief that

spirits reside in the forests and these spirits can enter into animals or plants#

Enipa sebH no gyee no so bio sJ +%okwa, won ne yJ dJ, nanso JyJ me asJm

bJnK unim sJ JyJe a HsebH, mitumi dan nipK 3:agya na HkyerJJme# uram

mmao binom wHhH a wHaben sJ owusiw# Jne sJ wuram a yJte yi, JnyJ yJn nko

na yJten a mmom abosom ne asosomma pii ka yJn ho# Hbosom anaa

aosomma bi tumi fa wuram aboa bi adamfo tena no so no, ne ho antH lyima biara, efisJ sJ asJm bi to no saa a, Jka no bi# /J Hbosom bi tea boa bi so na H

kHtH afiri mu anaa HbHmmHfo bi tow no kum no a, Hbosom no nso wu bi tumi

ano abrJ ase na n:akHmfo ne n:akyidifo nyinaa agyigya; wonhu wHn ani so

nte wHn asom bio# 6fi dJn soK Hbosom no aw; aboa a Hte no so, kH ba no ahyia

akwan hyia awu, enti Hno nso awu bi# 6yi nti abosom nne abosomma fa

mmoa nnamfo saa a, Jnde wHhwJ wHn so yiye na abew anaa asiane bi

ansiane wHn# 6nti wHma mmoa o be yiye# %ea abosom no yJ ne sJ wokuru

sumanwH mmoa no yam# /esJkwa bi HbHmmHfo bi kum saa mmoa y mu bi an

ohu ayadufuaw yi bi a, Jnde HkH ho abisa nam so kuru suman ma Jdan H

sosom a wHkHm ano#

$his also literally means 9$he human lion responded again +Ef a truth, you have a

sweet voice, but how does that concern meK >o you know how a lion can turn into a

human beingK 3y father taught me# /ome animals in this forest are very powerful# $his is

because, in this forest we don:t live alone, many deities and children of the deities live with

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us# A deity or a child of a deity can befriend an animal and ride on it for its round# f a deity

or a child of a deity befriends an animal, sDhe protects the animal very well when riding on

it because if the animal dies, the deity also dies# A deity can be very famous and powerful

for some time; however, that deity can cease to be famous and powerful, losing its

followers#

$his reflects the Akans belief that deities empower animals that they use# Again if

the animals that these deities are harmed, the deities also are harmed#

Again, we find out Akans belief in ancestors and their ability to help their living

counterparts# $his belief is seen when the spirit of the dead father of Ampomah, Hbommofo>ade revealed himself to Gsabene @ofi and instructed him to go to the forest to save

Ampomah#

+3panyin taa ka sJ, onipa wu a, wawu de, nanso HwH hH# >a a HbHfoH 7a

Ampomah AhweneJ ne @abu sii mu kHe n anadwo kHnkHn a Hsabene @ofi ada

hate no, Hpatuw bHH pitiri nyanee# Hda hH redwinnwen ne tirim no, prJko J, H

dan no pon no buei# Hda hH saa no, ade bi yJJ nwaa yJn dan no mu begyinaa H

dan no mu# HbHH mmHden biara sJ HbJpenten ne ho asHre nanso Hkwa#

AnkyJ na ade no twiw bJn no pJJ de nne brJoo bi a Jpopo kasae nyaa bHH no

sobo sJ Hde n:ade pa bi agyaw no na adJn nti na wanhwJ so yiye# >ecode no

hamee, twiw Hsabene anim yiye no HhyJJ no sJ, akokH bHn kokkurokoo a, H

mmH ntoa mpoma kodiawuo nsim nkH HdumkyerJ asoJe# >ecode no ano sii pJ

no, egyinaa hH konin kakra na afei Jdan ne ho nwaa bio fii adi# Hsabene bHH

mmHden sHre tenaa ase dwen ne tirim komm ma JkyJe, na ose; +/o nyJ H

bHmmHfo >ade na wabeye ne ho adi akyerJ me yiK

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$his also literally means 9$he elders have a saying that, if a person dies, though sDhe is

dead, he is still around# >uring the night of the day Ampomah travelled with @abu (the

human-lion", when Hsabene @ofi had slept deeply, he woke up suddenly# hiles he was

thinking, the door open# /omething subtly entered the room and stood by its side# 5e tried

to sit up but he could not# t wan not long when the thing with a slow shivering voice spoke

to him# $he thing rebuked him for neglecting the precious gift it left with him# After the

rebuke, he told him to load his gun the following morning and go to HdumkyerJ (the forest

in which @abu held Ampomah hostage"# hen the thing had finished speaking, it stood

there silently for a while and left# Hsabene then sat up and thought about the message for awhile and then said, + s it not HbHmmHfo >ade who has revealed himself to meK. this

clearly shows that among Akans ancestors or spirits of the dead are able to reveal

themselves to them, rebuke or praise them when we do something bad or wrong, and also

to give them instructions or advice them in their lives#

Pro"erbs

=roverbs entail both verbal artistry and cultural meaning# =roverbs are models of

compressed or forceful language# According to %ketia, ( '*<, p# 2 ", +proverbs are not

only a body of short statements built up over the years and which reflect the thought and

insight of 4hanaians into problems of life, but also a techni1ue of verbal e&pression, which

is greatly appreciated by the Akan#. $he Akan language has beautiful proverbs which

cover all aspects of their life# @aplan (2002" e&plains that the nature of proverbs allows

them to be interpreted again and again, across time and in different situations# 5e said they

are interesting because they not only tap into universal themes in the human condition,

15



such as the physiological system of the human life cycle, but they also vary in ways that

appear to reflect specific cultural differences# n the home and in other community settings

alike, proverbs are used to pass on rich cultural traditions, to transmit folklore, and to

communicate e&pected codes of behaviour# =roverbs are drawn from careful observations

of social events, the lives of people and animals# /ome are also drawn from e&periences in

occupations such as farming, fishing, hunting, and weaving# e have proverbs that talk

about family and human relations, good and evil, poverty and riches, oy and sorrow# Akan

proverbs are a reflection of the philosophy of the Akan# =roverbs are used to pass on rich

cultural traditions#God pounds the one-armed person’s fufu for him.

ufu is a local Akan meal whose preparation re1uires the use of two hands, not one#

$he real meaning of this ma&im, as of the ne&t, is that 4od mercifully satisfies the needs of

people, helping them in pursuits that may otherwise appear impossible and hopeless# $hus

4od care for his people#

Because God does not li e e!il, he ga!e each person a name.

4od, it is believed, e&ecutes ustice at the appropriate time and provide due recompense#

4od:s sense of ustice is best e&pressed in the Akan ma&im# $he kind of evil referred to in

the ma&im is moral evil, those wrongful things such as stealing, lying or killing, committed

by one human individual against another# A name identifies a specific person and

distinguishes him or her fromal others, so that wrongful acts by that person the blame and

sanctions that go with them may not be tagged onto another person# t is only fair that

people be held responsible for their own actions# And, it part of 4od:s moral nature to see

to it that ustice and fairness are pursued or carried out in human societies#

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wooden mortar with a long wooden pestle# henever she did so, the pestle

hit the abode of 4od, which was the sky# /o one day 4od said, +7ecause of

what you have been doing to me, am taking myself far away where men

cannot reach me#. /o he went up till men could no longer reach him# here

upon the old woman instructed her children to collect all the mortars they

cloud find and pile them one on top of the other# $hey did so and at last they

need only one mortar to add to the pile, to make it reach up to 4od# 7ut they

could not find another mortar# $he old woman said to her children, :take the

mortar from the bottom an put is on the top#. $he children accordinglyremoved the mortar form the bottom, but as they did so, all the other mortars

rolled and fell to the ground, killing many people#

$his myth reveals Akan:s belief that 4od is beyond the reach of human language,

description and the human mind, however must it tries, cannot fully comprehend the nature

and ways of 4od# t also reveals that beyond 4od nothing else, or no one else is beyond

4od there is nothing greater# $he myth teaches humans to humble themselves before the

incomprehensible and supreme 4od and seek ultimately to depend on him# Akan believe

4od dwells far away in the heavens beyond the reach of human beings#

Conclusion

rom discussion above, it can be concluded that there is a very close relationship

between literature and culture# n fact, the two are closely interrelated# Literature is

influenced by and influences culture# Literature is influenced by culture because the literary

artist, specifically, the Akan literary artist is a social being who in lives in a community and

18



therefore is influenced by the worldview, philosophy, religion, customs, etc, found in

hisDher culture# t is from his society, that he takes his resources and then uses them to

create literature# $he literary artist takes content, language, style and form of literature from

his culture# $hus his culture and that of his people influences and shapes literature that he

creates# Again literature shapes or influences the culture of a people because, the language

the artist uses in creating literature is a powerful tool used to view and understand the

worldview and philosophy of a particular society# $herefore the language carries the culture

of the artist, especially the Akan artist# 6ven if, the artist does not use his native language,

he as a social being, has a role in promoting or reflecting his culture# $hus literaturereflects, shapes or influences culture# $herefore literature is used as a mirror to reflect

cultural practices and also it is used as a lens to view and understand the social practices

and day-to-day activities of the Akan people#

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the relationship between a peoples’ socio-cultural space and their literature

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