Akan religion

Adinkra symbol representing the omnipotence and omnipresence of Nyame

The Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast consist of Ashanti people, fante people and other ethnicities. Ashanti is the largest group and most influential in Akans which have in common "social institutions and religious beliefs and rituals." And in addition to this, Ashanti deveroped their cosmology into its own. Thus akan religion is sometimes considered Asyanti religion.

Akans believe in a Supreme Creator who takes on various names depending upon the region of worship. The deity is commonly referred to as Brekyirihunuade ("almighty"). It's occasionally said that the Supreme god Nyame was a part of triune deity or triad which consisted of Nyame, Nyankopon and Odmankoma.

The Supreme Creator in the pantheon of the Ashanti is Nyame (also Nyankopon), the omniscient, omnipotent sky father. He and Asase Ya, his wife, have two children: Bia and Tano.

The Creator of the universe of the Ashanti is most often referred to as Odomankoma ("infinite inventor"). Other examples in the creation story include Oboadee ("creator") and Anase Kokuroku ("the great designer" or "the great spider").

The Ashanti believe abosom, or lower deities, more akin to spirits, assist humans on earth.

Anansi the Spider is a folk hero who is prominent in Ashanti folktales where he is depicted as a trickster. Abosom receive their power from the supreme creator and are most often connected to the world as it appears in its natural state. Priests serve individual abosom and act as mediators between the abosom and mankind. Many of those who believe in these traditions participate in daily prayer, which includes the pouring of libations as an offering to both the ancestors who are buried under the land and to the spirits who are everywhere.

Finally there are the Nsamanfo ("ancestors").