A Theological Reflection on the Akan Doctrine of the Human Soul

From the Akan perspective, even though it is Nyankopon (God) who ultimately creates the human being, the father and mother also contribute to the composition of their child. [...]the elements that make a person a human being derive from three sources: [...]a person may be impatient, unkind, corrupt, unloving, or unfaithful. [...]the term nipa may be used as a criterion for moral judgment aside from its use to denote a human being. According to Owusu-Gyamfi (2023:26), the reference to the human body as nipadua (lit. human-tree) is rooted in the Akan perception of the figure of a human being as fashioned in a tree-like shape with the hands and fingers as branches, the head/hair as leaves, the body to the feet as the trunk, and the toes as roots. According to Gyekye (1987:88), the term sunsum is used 'both genetically to refer to all unperceivable, mystical beings and forces in Akan ontology, and specifically to refer to the activating principles in the person'. [...]as part of fortification, one may have to increase the 'weight' of their sunsum.