[Author's Note: This story is fiction. As such, this is merely my interpretation of the Akan religion. I tried my best to be respectful, but the depiction is not accurate. If you're interested in the authentic representation of the religion, please do your own research.]
"Hello?"
"Are you home?"
"Yes. I already bathed and changed," Zane replied.
"Good." Mama Sarfowa nodded. "Do you still have the key to my apartment?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Go to my room, and you'll find my shrine inside. You can take the Anansi statue."
"That's it? How do I store it? Is there a ritual? Any taboos?"
"Can you wait for me to finish?"
"Sorry."
"The statue must be standing on something — it can't be on the floor," Mama Sarfowa explained. "Always be respectful, and before you worship, light three candles and then first pay respect to Nyame and Asase Ya in that order; then, you can invoke Anansi's name. Your worship must be at least twice a week: Saturdays and Wednesdays, and you must also bring a plate of offerings. Leave the food overnight, then dispose of it yourself the next day. But don't waste food — just eat it.
"My room doesn't have a microwave, but I won't die if I eat cold food," Zane uttered.
"Your offering can be fruits, but Anansi enjoys good food and a story, so you should change it up once in a while," Mama Sarfowa advised.
"I see." Zane nodded. "I'm curious: why these days? I guess Saturday is because that's my birth date, but why Wednesday?"
"That's Anansi's day. I'm pretty sure I've told you this."
Zane cleared his throat: "What else? Do I have to kneel when I pray?"
"If you don't want to, then don't. The key is to be respectful. And if you're going to this, then you must commit," Mama Sarfowa warned. "Don't do it just because you now know and believe our magic is real. If that's your motivation, it's best to just be respectful of our way of life and not partake."
"Hm, you have a point."
"So, are you prepared to commit?"
"To be honest, I'm suddenly not sure. I don't know anything about our philosophy and everything else."
Mama Sarfowa sighed deeply. "In this department, I've really failed the ancestor."
"Focus, Ma," Zane said, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Do your research, and you can ask me."
"Alright, but what about the altar? Do I still use it?"
"Lord Anansi probably wants to talk to you, so you can still bring it."
After hanging up, Zane headed out. Before walking to his mother's apartment, he first bought a pair of cheap sunglasses for a couple of dozen dollars, a bag of oranges, three candles, and a small wooden box. His mother's apartment looked clean and tidy as usual, so Zane placed the oranges on the kitchen table before heading directly into the room.
Opposite the bed was a large, brown dressing table with a long mirror. The surface was divided into two sections: the left contained an assortment of face care products, lotion, jewelry, makeup, and cream. Meanwhile, the right was a neatly arranged altar with two statues, candles, flowers, a plate of fruit, and an incense burner.
Zane glanced at the two small brown statues. The first was a naked woman holding her breasts, a bracelet on each wrist, a long torso, with her legs replaced by an oval rock too big compared to her slim body. After a quick search of his memory, he recognized her as Asase Ya, the Mother Goddess, the goddess of earth, love, fertility, peace, truth, and the wife of Nyame, the Supreme God of the Akan religion.
"She should be Ma's guardian," Zane thought briefly before shifting his attention to the second statue: a handsome human man with locks, standing in front of a throne, with countless spider legs coming from his back. "Why does it look so out of sorts? he thought. It's obvious that this statue was made by modern technique; compared to Asase Ya's statue, Anansi looks like something a modern individual might think Anansi looks like; the entire design involved making the Spider God look cool.
Zane shook his head and decided to ask his mother; he was intrigued by this incongruity. Without wasting time, he raised his hand to take the statue away before pausing. He suddenly remembered some of what his mother had told him about their religion. Many clans worship one deity, but their family worships everybody, which is why everybody has a different guardian.
"The Mother Goddess' presence makes sense, but why does she also have Anansi?" The answer hit Zane immediately: because he was his guardian. His mother must have set up this altar to pray for him. Zane gently caressed the statue, sighed, put it in the box, and carefully walked back home.
As soon as he was alone, he hopped online to search for the Akan religion and its philosophy. After a few hours of research, Zane was a bit confused; there wasn't much to go on, but the information available seemed a bit contentious. The religion's key philosophy is attaining [personhood]. However, in his research, Zane found two popular definitions or explanations of personhood.
The first is about an individual's achievements, status, and capabilities. This definition or interpretation states that to achieve personhood, an individual must develop their abilities to gain more rights, power, and political capital, allowing them to take responsibility for their family and community.
The second interpretation holds that a person can achieve personhood only through morality, ethics, and decency. A person's status, wealth, and talent matter less than their humanity and how helpful they are to their community and the world. This philosophy focuses on developing humanity through positive actions and good deeds.
"So, which one should I choose? Do I even get a choice?" Zane thought. "Hm? Right on time. Hello."
"Well?" Mama Sarfowa said.
"Well, what?"
"Did you do any research? Do you have any questions?"
"Oh, I did, and I was just thinking about personhood and the two interpretations. So, which is right?"
"There is no right or wrong. While I do believe in humanity and community, and not individual pursuit, I won't force you to choose." Mama Sarfowa replied.
"Doesn't our clan follow one philosophy?"
"Not exactly. Most of us believe in humanity, but a few others don't. There are even those who believe it's possible to combine the two philosophies."
"I see." Zane nodded. "Do I have to choose before joining?"
"No, you can let nature take its course to see which path best suits you."
"That's good to hear." Zane nodded.
"So, have you made a choice?"
"Not even close. But I do have two questions."
"Go ahead."
"I'm worried about Nyame or Nyankanpo — the Creator. The things I read about him—especially his omniscience and omnipotence—reminded me too much of the Abrahamic God. And I don't know how I feel about worshiping an all-knowing and all-powerful being."
"You have it all wrong," Mama Sarfowa said. "While Onyame is often depicted as a Deity — even with a physical form — we don't actually treat him as such. Nyame is the manifestation of nature, of the universe. So when we say he's 'omnipotent and omniscient,' we don't mean it in the sense that he's an all-powerful entity. It's more like we are Nyame: the earth, mountain, forests, ocean, sky, sun, stars are Nyame; the energy that sustains us and everything in both the material and physical world is Nyame; he is life, and he is death — he is everything."
Zane suddenly remembered a proverb and instinctively stated: "Odomankoma boo owuo na owuo kum no (Odomankoma created death (Owuo), and death killed him)." Nyame has many names, including Onyame, Nyankanpo, and Odomankoma. In this proverb or story, Nyame created death itself, and eventually he is killed by it, showing the cyclical and transcendent nature of his existence.
"Exactly. Onyame never manifests itself. In fact, I've never even heard of records of his appearance. So, we only deal with the Abosom, which are his messengers."
"Do you think there is a connection between Nyame and the Plane Will?"
"Don't mention this for now," Mama Sarfowa swiftly said.
"Why not?"
"Your cousin mentioned a similar point yesterday, and many people were not happy."
"What do you think?" Zane asked.
"I'm open to the idea, but I don't know much about the so-called Plane Will."
Zane nodded. "Wait, do you guys have a secret chat group?"
"It's not secret."
"Are you going to invite me?"
"Wait until after the ceremony."
"Is Alli in the group?"
"She is?"
"How come?"
"Because she's a believer."
"Fair point."
"What's your second question? Hurry up; someone is already calling me."
"I want to know why Anansi's statue is so different from the Mother Goddess?" Zane asked. "Why does it feel so modern?"
"Because it is," Mama Sarfowa explained. "The Mother Goddess' statue is based on surviving records from ancient times. Meanwhile, all artifacts and records of how ancient practitioners — I mean shamans — used to worship Anansi have been destroyed because of colonialism.
"The Mother Goddess is more traditional, so I used that version. Meanwhile, Anansi doesn't worry too much about the small details, so I had someone make it after your incident."
"But why can't Anansi remind you of his old designs? Or even share lost records? Isn't he the God of Knowledge?"