article

The sociological significance of ancestor-worship in Ashanti

Africa3 (4)Published In 1930 • Pages: 431-470

By: Clarke, Edith.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article is primarily a theoretical commentary on the material presented by Rattray. The article includes a discussion of the function of Ashanti religion, placing the emphasis on the worship of clan ancestors and de-emphasizing the worship of 'Nyame,' the high god. In this context Ashanti beliefs concerning the soul, its career after death, and its relationship to the living members of the clan are discussed. The article also contains comments on spirits other than ancestral ones, fetish or suman animisim, and certain lacks in Rattray's presentation of religious material.
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Akan
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2019
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Western Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Elizabeth Young ; 1954
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
not specified
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Ashanti; Ghana
NotesAdditional notes
by Edith Clarke
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
29010790
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Twi (African peoples)