African Religion Defined (2nd ed.)

African religion is ancestor worship; it revolves around the dead, now thought to be alive and well in heaven (the Samanadzie) and propitiated by the living on earth. For the Akan, the ancestors’ stool is the emblem of the ancestors (Nananom Nsamanfo). Led by their kings and queen mothers as living ancestors, the Akan periodically propitiate the ancestors’ stools housing their ancestors. In return, the ancestors and deities influence the affairs of living descendants, making ancestor worship as