Names
Odomankoma
The name Odomankoma means "Creator". Odomankoma is known by the name Odomankoma wuo, which has a double meaning. In one vein, it means "Father Death". On the other it means "The Creator's death". Both of these meanings are a reference to Odomankoma being the creator of Death, whose name isDescription
Nyame, Nyankapon and Odomankoma are 3 aspects of the trinity that make up the Supreme God in the Akom religion. They are, however, one God Odomankoma: Odomankoma is the creative aspect of Nyame, the spirit of the Universe and is one of the most dynamic and complex modalities of Nyame, the Supreme Being. Odomankoma is consistently cast in the role of creator. This creative function of Odomankoma is embodied in several maxims. One saying of the Akan surrounding Odomankoma is "Odomankoma boo ade", meaning Odomankoma created the "Thing" (the universe). Odomankoma created not only the "Thing," i.e., the universe. He also created life and created death as well. In a mysterious manner Odomankoma himself succumbed to death. This juxtaposition of life with death in Odomankoma is expressed by the most enigmatic and unutterable of all Akan maxims: "Odomankoma boo owuo na owuo kum no", which means Odomankoma created death (Owuo) and death killed him. Odomankoma accommodates the contraries of life and death within his being. As the creator of both life and death, he transcends both experiences. The story of Odomankoma does not end with Owuo killing him as after his death, it is said that life came to him and woke him up. From here he reived as Kra, and lives through Nyankapon, becoming Nyankapon's Kra (soul), as stated in the Akan maxim "Onyankapon onye Odomankoma sunsum" which literally means Nyankapon is Odomankoma's personality, symbolising that Nyankapon is Odomankoma's successor (as Odomankoma used to be the aspect of the Nyame trinity that controlled everything until Owuo killed him). Odomankoma is also quite powerful and smart as after his "revival", Nyankapon/Odomankoma had a great struggle with Owuo in which they defeats Owuo with a resistance to Owuo's venom, kra (whom was now Odomankoma). Odomankoma then managed to achieve a total triumph over Death, as stated in the maxim "Odomankoma na orna owuo di akane", which means it was none but Odomankoma who made Death eat poison. In this second meeting between Odomankoma and his final creation, Owuo, Odomankoma unleashes his creative might upon Owuo as, after having been vanquished, death is made to eat his own poison. However, despite defeating Owuo, Owuo is still very much alive and still causes death to mortals. Odomankoma is also represented by two animals: vultures and spidersSymbol
Nyame is the Twi word for god, and the Adinkra symbol "Gye Nyame" means "Nothing but God". The Akan people usurped the Adinkra symbols when their chieftain imprisoned Nana Adinkra, chief of Gyaman and his entourage. The Akan chief had his scribes copy the Adinkra symbols and then appropriated them into their culture, changing the meaning to "there is nothing except God" in the Twi language of the Akan. The symbol has adopted a different use and meaning in today's Akan culture due to the influence ofSee also
*References
{{Authority control Akan African gods Sky and weather gods Legendary progenitors Names of God in African traditional religions