Abstract
Africa has some of the world’s fastest-growing cities. While urbanisation could be a sign of economic growth, the expansion of these cities is often done at the expense of social and environmental concerns. This article uses the Sacred Texts Approach of African Biblical Hermeneutics in studying Psalm 46. It argues that the two-fold threats to the City of God, namely the cosmic and the human, are the same threats to the cities in Ghana.
Contribution: It demonstrates how the parallel reading of Psalm 46 and the Adinkra Fihankra contributes to the re-imagination of the city as a common household, a space of cosmic and social harmony in Africa.
Keywords: Psalm 46; sacred texts; Adinkra; African Biblical Hermeneutics; city; Ghana; Fihankra; household.
Introduction
Africa is the fastest-growing continent with a burgeoning youth population (Echendu & Okafor 2021:82). Closely related to this phenomenon is the rapid expansion of its urban centres. In Ghana, the exponential growth of cities such as Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi led scholars to predict that by the year 2020, more than half the population of the country would live in urban areas (Songsore 2020:123). This population explosion coupled with the largely unplanned growth of cities has not been without its attendant problems. The impact of the rapid growth of cities in Ghana is readily observable in the pressure it exerts on the environment in all its major cities (Mensah 2014:2). The problems range from the destruction of green spaces for construction, uncontrolled sand winning in the peri-urban areas and its attendant soil erosion, diversion of water courses for construction purposes and even the taking over of wetlands previously reserved as sanctuaries for birds and other wildlife (Yankson & Gough 1999:93–94). The consequences of this unplanned rapid growth have been dire. Flooding in the major cities of Ghana has almost become a perennial affair with loss of life and property running into millions of cedis yearly.
The impact of this rapid growth is not limited to the environment but extends also to the social sphere (Owusu & Oteng-Ababio 2015:318). Scholars have pointed out that much of the rapid expansion of Africa’s urban centres is neither inclusive nor democratic, leading to the increasing marginalisation of a large section of the populace (Owusu 2016:2). The consequences include the inability of the government to provide neither the social infrastructure nor create employment opportunities for young people. This in turn fuels the crime and violence that have become symptomatic of the continent’s cities, the case of Ghana being a good example (Appiahene-Gyamfi 2003:13).
These challenges, which impinge upon the well-being of the citizenry, have not only been the concern of government but also the religious fraternity. In October 2016, a communiqué issued by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference after their Annual Plenary Assembly in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale, on the theme ‘Reconciliation with God, Humanity and Nature in the Year of Mercy’, sought in the words of Pope Francis to draw the attention of Ghanaian society to the care of the earth as our ‘common home’. The reflection of the bishops reveals an acute awareness by the church hierarchy of the inter-relatedness between environmental concerns, the socio-economic well-being of the citizenry and religious beliefs (Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference 2016:1). What remains baffling is why the enunciated position of these religious leaders appears to be far removed from the reality of what pertains in most of Ghana’s cities. This study, using African Biblical Interpretation, thus seeks to interrogate the theological concept of the city as the common household in Psalm 46 and in the Adinkra text corpus.
There is little consensus regarding the genre of Psalm 46 (Zapff 1998:79). While many scholars classify the Psalm as a Song of Zion, together with Psalms 47 and 48, others regard it as a song of trust, perhaps inspired by Martin Luther’s ‘A mighty Fortress is our God’ (Lorenzin 2000:201; VanGemeren 1991:350). Jewish interpreters have also emphasised the messianic dimension of the Psalm (Folger 2013:38), while others have pointed to the eschatological themes developed in it (Kraus 2003:495). Beyond these concerns, Bang has rightly raised both ecological and theological questions about Psalm 46 asking what it would mean that God destroys the earth (Ps 46:7b) and ‘devastates the arable lands into deserts’ (v. 9), and the implications such readings would have for environmental hermeneutics (Bang 2017:70). What remains unexplored is an attempt to read this psalm through the lens of African Biblical Hermeneutics, particularly from the perspective of its intersections with African Indigenous Sacred Texts such as Adinkra. The study thus proceeds in three broad steps: Firstly, an exegesis of Psalm 46; secondly, an examination of Fihankra, a text in the Adinkra corpus; and thirdly, a discussion of the implications of the parallel reading of these two sacred texts for the re-imagination of the African city as a common household.
Methodological considerations
The reason for the choice of African Biblical Interpretation as an approach to discussing the problem of urbanisation in Ghana’s cities is based on the arguments scholars have advanced for a hermeneutic that addresses the real-life needs of the African community (Mbuvi 2023:97). This approach has been described as ‘the use of contextual principles and approaches to elucidate the meaning of scripture in a way that addresses the socio-cultural issues of Africa’ (Amevenku & Boaheng 2022:7) bibliography. Mbuvi justifies this approach as a ‘transformative interpretation that does not relegate the biblical text to mere theory or ethereal discourse’ (Mbuvi 2023:144), but on the contrary can change the course of society. Moreover, the simple uncritical repetition of traditional exegetical methods within an African context makes little sense when Africans can adopt their own epistemological frameworks as vehicles for dialoguing directly with the biblical text (Adekambi 2016: 32; Loba-Mkole 2008:1362).
One of the concerns that have been raised regarding the use of African Biblical Interpretation has been the question of its scientific rigour (Ossom-Batsa 2007:99). This issue about whether the approach is objective has been rigorously debated by Mbuvi who rejects any attempts to denigrate this approach as part of a condescending attitude that finds its roots in the Western colonial enterprise. In this light, Mbuvi (2023:109) asserts that ‘African scholars have found that the final form of the text provides a starting point for the interpretive process without necessarily denigrating historical analysis’.
The aforementioned observation informs my adoption of a synchronic method of exegesis employing a structural and literary analysis of Psalm 46, which focusses on the final text of the Hebrew Psalter (Barbiero 2008; Mensah 2016:1–7; Trublet 2010; Zenger 2010). The approach, best suited to the exegesis of poetic texts, begins with strophic analysis and involves dividing the text into stanzas and strophes (Raabe 1990:9–28). Van der Lugt (2006:76), who applies this method extensively in his study of the Hebrew Psalter, emphasises the importance of the development of the thought content, culminating in thematic analysis. In addition to the structural analysis, Berlin and Watson underline the importance of understanding the ‘poetic function’ of these texts, namely how phonological, lexical-semantic and grammatical elements determine meaning in Hebrew poetry (Berlin & Knorina 2008:31–126; Watson 1995:19). These form the basis for a theological engagement of the theme of the city in Psalm 46.
As regards the engagement of the biblical text with the African context, African Biblical scholars have approached the study in a broad variety of ways (Loba-Mkole 2008:1347–1362; Mbuvi 2023:103–174; Mundele 2012:78–86). Mtshiselwa (2016a:2) locates such approaches within the framework of a ‘cultural form of biblical hermeneutics’ which foregrounds the cultural resources available within the reader’s context. Olojede (2014:1) argues in favour of this approach, observing that ‘the skills and resources of the participants or recipients of knowledge are important and should count in determining the epistemological paradigm’. Thus, the strength of adopting these approaches lies, for West (2014:5), in the epistemological privilege they offer the ‘ordinary reader’, which should be valued as a significant contribution to biblical scholarship.
African scholars have thus employed a range of cultural resources to engage the biblical text. Mbuvi highlights several studies in which ‘interpreters read the biblical text side by side with African “texts” (oral narratives, proverbs, songs, etc.) as equals and mutually interrogate and critique both sources’ (Mbuvi 2023:173). Mtshiselwa (2016b:1), for instance, applies indigenous (Xhosa) orality and narratology in reading Old Testament texts as vehicles for offering a liberative perspective to the Naboth Vineyard narrative for the poor black South African reader. Similarly, the scholar uses Tshola’s song Indlala as a hermeneutical lens to re-read the Davidic collection of Psalms as a means to articulate the challenges of poor black South Africans (Mtshiselwa 2016a:7). Ramantswana (2017:6), arguing from the perspective of decoloniality, also employs the Vhufa (heritage) approach, which involves an epistemic delinking from Western paradigms and relinking with indigenous knowledge systems, particularly the African folktale as a means of engaging Psalm 82. Olojede (2014:6) focusses on traditional storytelling as an interpretive tool showing how these could help illuminate biblical stories ‘in ways that could be more readily understood’. Similarly, Sotho proverbs become an important element in Masenya’s Bosadi Hermeneutics, as a tool for giving voice to the marginalised African woman in South Africa (Masenya 1997:442–446, 2005:742).
This methodological emphasis, namely the foregrounding of African Indigenous Sacred Texts is what this study intends to contribute to. African indigenous texts should not be construed as limited only to an oral tradition, but as a diverse range of cultural resources, which embed societal knowledge, values and norms. As in the case of the Adinkra of the Akan of Ghana and La Cote d’Ivoire, a written textual corpus is interpreted by an oral textual tradition. The engagement of the biblical text with this indigenous African Sacred Text tradition benefits from the African reader’s response to the biblical text, a response which West (2014:3) insists is ‘constitutive of the meaning of texts’. By a Sacred Texts Approach then, I refer to a parallel reading of selected texts from two or more distinct sacred traditions, in this case, the Bible and Adinkra, by which common concepts or phenomena may be identified, analysed, and evaluated and their significance for the lived reality of the contemporary African reader appropriated. This holds promise for a mutually enriching understanding of either text and for effectively communicating theological truths within the African context, which is the reason for the methodological choice underlying this study (Mensah 2022).
Interpreting indigenous Sacred Texts in Africa
In response to the abovementioned concerns I propose in this article to bring the biblical text into conversation with a particular dimension of African culture, namely African indigenous Sacred Texts. Geertz (1979:222) has observed that ‘the culture of a people is an ensemble of texts’. Harvey (1989:49) describes it as ‘a series of texts intersecting with other texts producing more texts’. In these texts, according to Leeds-Hurwitz (1993:17), are embedded symbols and signs that the researcher must study to understand how the larger culture operates.
Hanks (1989:101) observes that texts present themselves in a wide range – oral, written, transcribed, and could be transcribed into secondary codes such as drum, whistle or speech. In Africa, the practice of using what Barber (2003) has described as ‘text ingenious objects’ is common such that beads, linguist staffs, traditional symbols (such as the Adinkra), gold weights and umbrella finials are used ‘to fix or trap text in a material form’ (p. 327). Moreover, these texts whether written, oral, performed or artefacts are all subject to exegesis, permitting the interpreter to elaborate or expand on the original text. This is even more so when the text is ‘allusive, opaque, truncated or otherwise obscure’ (Barber 2003:328). The art of exegesis is thus ‘to expand these laconic formulations and to re-install the agent and his or her context of action’ (Barber 2003:328).
Sarpong (1977:56–57) recommends Turner’s approach in the interpretation of such traditional texts. These include three steps: Firstly, the exegetical, in which one seeks to recover what the indigenes understand by their traditional texts; secondly, the operational in which the interpreter, independently from what the indigenes say, observes and analyses the text to understand what it says, and thirdly, the positional, in which the interpreter observes the use of the text by the indigenes in different contexts to see whether a wider range of meanings emerges. These methods inform my engagement with African indigenous texts.
Following the dialogue between the biblical text and the African indigenous text in which their similarities and differences will be analysed, I will demonstrate how both texts engage contemporary African society, especially their potential for a reimagination of the city as a common household in contemporary Ghana.
The city in Psalm 46: From structure to theology
The attempts to find the structure of Psalm 46 coalesce around two main positions. The first, a division of the psalm into two main strophes (vv. 2–7; 8–12), proposed by scholars such as Zapff and Ravasi, is based on the two refrains in vv. 8 and 12 (Ravasi 1997:829; Zapff 1998:84 n. 17). The second and more widely accepted proposal is to understand the Psalm as being composed of three strophes (vv. 1–4; 5–8; 9–12) based on the repetition of סלה in vv. 4.8.12 (Brettler 1993:143; Cook 2015:460; Folger 2013:36; Jacobson 2020:314; Kraus 2003:495; Lorenzin 2000:201). This position is more amenable to a canonical reading of the text.
Thematic considerations lend further support to the three-strophe division of Psalm 46. Strophe I (vv. 1–4) has a cosmic focus. The concept of the earth (ארץ) in the strophe is defined by the mention of the mountains (הרים, vv. 3, 4) and the waterbodies (מים/ימים, vv. 3, 4), which are responsible for the upheavals described in the strophe. The threat they pose to human habitation is underlined by the use of the term ירא (fear) in v. 3, thus evoking scenes of natural catastrophe (Jacobson 2020:316; Spieckermann 2020:550). The possibility of a mythical dimension to these natural hazards is not to be ruled out as Bang observes, because ancient cultures viewed these elements as monsters active in the primordial battle (Chaoskampf) (Bang 2017:88). However, God’s power over these and his reassurance are immediately asserted by the invocation of the one who is a helper (עזר) in times of distress (v. 2).
Strophe III (vv. 9–12), in contrast, presents a human dimension to the concept of the earth (ארץ). The marked shift away from the cosmic elements is replaced by references to wars (מלחמות, v. 10), and their attendant military equipment (Cook 2015:459 n. 38), the bow (קשת), the spear (חנית) and fire (אש), coupled with the struggle between nations (גוים, v. 11), indicative of social of upheaval (Ravasi 1997:830; Zapff 1998:88). Lorenzin describes the scenes presented in the strophe as a ‘political catastrophe’ (Lorenzin 2000:202). God, however, does not only have power over cosmic powers; He is also the commander of Israel’s armies. The use of the term מפעלות (works) is particularly significant. In Psalms 66:5–6, these works allude to YHWH’s drying up the Sea of Reeds and delivering his people from Egypt. Thus, God’s power over the human threat is equally established (Firth 2020:28).
The positioning of Strophe II (vv. 5–8), in the structural midpoint of the Psalm thus appears to be significant. The earth here is defined in terms of a habitable space, a dwelling place (שכן, v. 5), a city (עיר, v. 5) or a kingdom (מלכות, v. 7). Interestingly, of the seven-fold mention of God (אלהים) in Psalm 46, four occurrences are found in Strophe II (vv. 5, 6a, 6b, 7). Strophe II is thus not just the structural centre but veritably the theological centre of the Psalm. The structure of the Psalm may thus be illustrated as shown in Table 1.
As can be seen in Table 1, the concept of the earth (ארץ) in Strophe I is defined in terms of cosmic realities (הרים/מים). In Strophe III, on the contrary, the idea of the earth is defined in terms of human or social reality (גוים). At the structural centre (Strophe II) is the theological reality, which resolves the tensions between the opening and closing strophes. God’s presence in the city (עיר) makes it the ideal dwelling place for humankind.
The city as theological centre in Psalm 46
The structural and thematic centrality of Strophe II (vv. 5–8) has already been proposed in the preceding section. Which city or habitation is actually being referred to in the strophe is, however, a matter of greater debate. Junker (1962:198), for instance, argues that the city being referred to should not be taken as a real topographical concept but as a symbolic reality for the security that all those who believe in God experience. The other possibility is that the city being spoken of is Jerusalem. Kraus summarises five notions of the Holy City characteristic of the Psalms of Zion such as Psalms 47 and 48. Firstly, in these Psalms, Jerusalem is often referred to as Zion, the dwelling place of God. Secondly, Zion is seen as the throne of the Most High, a midpoint between heaven and earth (Ps 48:3). Thirdly, the city is watered by streams, a symbol of its fruitfulness and recalling the idea of a paradise (Gen 2; Ezk 47). Fourthly, the city is often threatened by the nations who pointlessly rise against it (Ps 2:2; 48:5ff). Finally, the city is impregnable and inviolable (Ps 87:5; 125:1) (Kraus 2003:499).
The evidence, given the above-mentioned indices, tilts in favour of a reference to Jerusalem. This notwithstanding, the characterisation of the city in the Psalm tends more towards a theological ideal, namely the Holy City, as the dwelling place of God and the perfect habitation of humanity, than a mere geographical reality. The presence of God (אלהים) mentioned four times in the strophe appears to be the major attenuating factor that secures the city from the destructive threats described in Strophes I and III.
Threats to the city and resolution in Strophe II
Strophe II opens in v. 5 with the mention of the waters, which give joy to the city. The use of the term נהר at the opening of the Strophe harks back to the threat of the waters (מים/ימים, vv. 3.4) mentioned in Strophe I (Spieckermann 2020:550). However, the introduction of the term פלג (canal) appears to moderate this threat. Schunck (2001:548) explains that the term פלג refers to a ditch, a canal or a wadi, which distributes water in a region. The use of the term within the context of a city underscores the likelihood that פלג here refers to those man-made canals used to direct the flow of torrents of water. Such a possibility is foreseen by Ahn in his discussion of the term נהר in Psalm 137:1, where he argues that the term נהר itself could also refer to irrigation canals; and hence, constructions intended to control the flow of water and thus represents an attenuation of the initial threat posed by the waters (Ahn 2008:276). If this is the case, the destructive force of the waters (מים/ימים, vv. 3.4) referred to in Strophe I are brought under control within the city, as expressed through the term ‘canal’ (פלג, v. 5) and pose no further threat to the city’s inhabitants. God’s city is thus the place where the cosmic threat is tempered.
A second threat in Strophe II is expressed in the mention of the nations (גוים) in v. 7. Bang suggests that the murmuring (חמה) and shaking (מוט) of the nations in v. 7a is because of ‘disasters caused by an earthquake’ (v. 3) (Bang 2017:87). This is rather unlikely in this context. The use of the term גוים relative to a foreign or political threat to Israel’s existence in general and to Jerusalem’s security is well attested in the Psalter (Ps 2:1; 9:5; 78:55; 149:7). Moreover, a similar tumult (רגש) of the nations (גוים) in Psalm 2:1 is traced to civil rather than cosmic unrest.
The response of God to the tumult of the nations in v. 7b expressed in the use of the term קול requires further precision. Hossfeld suggests that this ‘voice’ is expressed in thunder, characteristic of the Canaanite weather gods, resulting in the ‘melting of the earth’ (Hossfeld & Zenger 1993:288), which Ravasi considers to be a return to primordial chaos. VanGemeren (1991:171–172) clarifies that the term as used in theophanic contexts is used to establish the supremacy of God over ‘rebellious forces’ on earth and to indicate the prospect of impending judgement. Thus, as Cook (2015:466) explains, the reference to the voice of YHWH in v. 7b is to silence the nations. It is important to underline, moreover, that the reference to the voice (קול) of God, is also indicative of the non-violent response of God. God’s verbal intervention announced in v. 7b signals his destruction of all human military equipment in v. 10. The resolution of the human threat to the city in Strophe II is thus not by human agency but by God’s direct intervention. The internal structure of Strophe II may thus be illustrated as shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2: The structure of Strophe II (Ps 46:5–8). |
As shown earlier, Strophe II as the thematic centre of the Psalm resolves the problem of the two main threats to God’s city. In v. 5 the cosmic threat of the waters (נהר) is resolved through the channelling of its destructive force (פלג). This implies humankind’s ability to coexist in the same space with nature without the fear described in Strophe I. Similarly, the rebellion of the nations (גוים) in v. 7 receives a non-violent response from God through the imposition of his voice (נתן בקולו). It is instructive to note, that God does not destroy the nations. He only quietens and subdues them. The nations must learn to live in peace with Israel in the same city (Is 2:2–5). All this is made possible because God is at the centre of the city. The resolution of the problem of peaceful coexistence in the city lies rooted in a theological proposal. The divine intervention namely the non-violent subduing of the nations and the calming of the cosmic threat thus prevails and guarantees the security and stability of God’s city.
The city as the common household (משכן)
An important question regarding the nature of the dwelling of God in the city needs to be clarified. Both Kraus and Zapff simply identify the city as Zion (Kraus 2003:498–499; Zapff 1998:87). Hossfeld goes even further to suggest that the dwelling of the Most High refers to the Temple from which water flows (Ps 36:9; Ezk 47) (Hossfeld & Zenger 1993:288). VanGemeren (1991:352) views it differently and argues that the expression the city of God, refers to ‘the people of God’. Another look at the expression משכני עליון should shed some light on the subject within the context of Strophe II.
Kellerman (1998:59) observes that the term is used about 103 times in the Hebrew Bible with a total of 11 occurrences in the Psalter. While the feminine plural form משכנות is used about 18 times in the Hebrew Bible, the masculine plural form משכנים records only two appearances (Ezk 25:4; Ps 46:5). The feminine plural form is used either, to refer to the temple as the dwelling place of YHWH in Jerusalem (Ps 43:3; 84:2; 132:5, 7) or to single or individual segments of structures. The masculine plural on the contrary, is used in the sense of a ‘collective plural’ which is most plausibly the case in Psalm 46:5. Kellerman’s observation is instructive. It suggests that the dwelling of God referred to in Psalm 46 is not necessarily the temple as Hossfeld posits. God’s dwelling is not restricted to some particular sacred edifice, but his presence is in the midst of the city. If this is the case, then it is right to conclude that Psalm 46 theologises the city as the dwelling place of God, a sacred space in which nature, humankind and the divine coexist peacefully.
Adinkra as an African indigenous Sacred Text
The use of traditional texts, particularly the Adinkra among the Asante people of Ghana is well documented. This ‘ideographic writing system’ (Wilson 2021:203), preserved in handwoven or printed fabrics and wood carvings is sometimes misconstrued simply as cultural symbols, following what Battestini describes as stereotypical attitudes, which are a by-product of the colonial project (Battestini 1989: bibliography 21–22). The etymology of the name adinkra has been linked to the Akan word for ‘farewell’ or ‘goodbye’, suggesting that it was used on funerary occasions (Adom 2016:1154). The origin of the texts is a more debated matter. While some traditional sources retain that this knowledge system was acquired through the military conquest of the king of Gyaman (Marfo, Opoku-Agyeman & Nsiah 2011:64), or of the people of Denkyira, other scholars have traced its origins to Islamic influence (Kissi, Fening & Asante 2019:30). One of the clearest indications of the retention of these texts as sacred is the explanation that Kissi et al. (2019:31) recount from traditional sources to the effect that ‘the adinkra cloth was folded up on top of the golden stool, brought down from the heavens’. This means that the texts are thought of as having Divine origins, a position which in traditional thought is not necessarily incompatible with the historical explanations.
Beyond the aesthetic value of the Adinkra, Kuwornu-Adjaottor, Appiah and Nartey (2016:26) have underlined their significance as interpretative of Akan faith and tradition. They convey the thoughts, beliefs and values of the people (Adom 2016:1153). They memorialise historical events or notable individuals and their contributions to society and embody shared traditions of origins and social responsibility (Owusu 2019:49–50). Owusu (2019:48) further observes that the dynamics of their use and the varied cultural spaces in which they are employed result in ‘multiple meanings associated with Adinkra symbolisms’. Consequently, Adinkra are texts that require interpretation, depending on the contexts in which they are used.
Fihankra: The common household in the Adinkra text corpus
Among Adinkra corpus of texts is the Fihankra, as shown in Figure 1. The term derives etymologically from the word fie, ‘house’ or ‘home’ and hankra meaning ‘compound’. Willis (1998:106) translates the concept literally as ‘an enclosed or secured compound house’ or ‘homes in one compound’. The text is an abstraction of the traditional Ghanaian architectural style in which compound houses consisting of four or more rooms enclose a central quadrangle. This building style is meant to ensure security and safety from external threats while guaranteeing solidarity, brotherhood and community between those who live within the house. This further anchors the values that the traditional society places on unity, family ties and togetherness (Arthur 2017, loc. 3112). This indicates that the concept of Fihankra is that of a collective unit, a common household, rather than several individual homes.
Arthur explains the various sections that comprise the Fihankra. The central courtyard, paado or adiwo, surrounded by the rectangular living rooms is a multi-purpose socio-religious space, which is used for common household activities such as cooking or eating, or even arbitrations. It is also the space in which children might be told folktales by the fireside by elders, thus providing educational space, preparing them to take up suitable roles in society. Solemn occasions such as the outdooring of new-borns or traditional marriage ceremonies, as well as funerals, are also held in the paado, such that its importance as ritual space is also preserved (Arthur 2017, loc. 3112). Equally important in this construct is the empty room dampan, used to receive guests, which underlines the traditional society’s openness to visitors and its values of hospitality.
A number of oral proverbs further elucidate the understanding of the fie in the Akan conceptual framework as a reality beyond mere architecture. The proverb efie dwo a, na ɛha mu dwoɔ, literally, ‘when there is peace at home there is also peace in the bush’, suggests that peace originates from the home. Similarly, efie abosea twa wo a, ɛsene sekan, literally, if the gravel at home cuts you, it is more painful than a knife, means that the hurt caused by someone intimate is worse than that caused by a stranger. For these reasons, the preservation of harmony in the fie is of utmost priority. The proverb efie ne fie, ‘there is no place like home’, expresses the irreplaceability of the home and particularly of the family relations, traditions, customs and norms, which originate from there. Efie kata asɛm so, ‘the home covers up problems’, exhorts family members to be discreet and to prevent their dirty linings from being washed in public. This is a way of ensuring that the dignity of the family is preserved in the eyes of the public.
Closely related to Fihankra is another Adinkra text, Mframadan, the well-ventilated house. This text, like Fihankra, expresses hospitality, fortitude, safety, resilience and shelter (Arthur 2017, loc. 6613). Together, the two texts emphasise the need for the home to provide an environment that, on the one hand, provides safety for human habitation, protecting humankind from the vagaries of the weather, but equally capable of harnessing the same elements of nature for human comfort. The foregoing should lead to two main conclusions. Fihankra forcefully underlines the importance of peaceful cohabitation in a common home or household expressed both through the architectural layout which underpins the text and the strong social connotations associated with the concept of fie (home or household). Moreover, Fihankra equally underscores the necessity of creating the sort of habitat in which humankind is not threatened by elements of nature but is able to direct them towards a serene coexistence.
Theological dimensions of the Fihankra
Important to the discussion on the Adinkra text Fihankra is the theological dimension of the text. Arthur points to the fact that the traditional Akan architectural design of the common household, which inspires the text, usually includes, in front of the house, the Nyame dua, that is, God’s altar, a symbol of the presence of God in the home (Arthur 2017, loc. 5481). Appiah, Appiah and Agyeman-Duah (2007) further explain, that the Nyame dua is:
[A] three or four pointed stick which is to be found inside most Asante houses, holding a bowl for offerings to the gods and forming a family shrine used to bless the house and family. (p. 215)
In similar manner, the reservation of sacred spaces for deities (abosom dan) is a common feature of the traditional Akan home. In the case of a chief’s house, this architecture includes the stool-house (Knwonnwafieso) where the chief ensures that ancestral veneration regularly takes place (Sarpong 1971:48). For the traditional Akan then, the concept of the fie is incomplete without the presence of the divine. The home is the space where God is continually acknowledged, through ritual actions such as libation, sacrifices, the veneration of the ancestors and the invocation of blessings upon the family.
The common household in Psalm 46 and in Adinkra
The foregoing discussions regarding the concept of the common household in Psalm 46 and in the Adinkra corpus permit a dialogue between the two sacred texts. This dialogue may be focussed on three themes, namely, the cosmic, the human or social and the theological dimensions of the concept of the common household in Psalm 46 and the Fihankra.
Firstly, the analysis of either text reveals a shared concern between the common household and the elements of nature. In Psalm 46, the threats posed by elements of nature, the waters and the sea, are tamed in God’s city such that they rather become a source of joy to the city (Ps 46:5). This is achieved through the channelling of the destructive force of the river into canals, which water the city. Similarly, the quadrangular architecture that undergirds the concept of Fihankra is intended to provide security not only from external aggressors but also from destructive elements of the weather. Thus, the household is supposed to be well-ventilated (Mframadan), harnessing the elements of the weather to create a homely atmosphere. Nature is not to be viewed as a threat but as an integral member of God’s city.
Secondly, the concept of the common household in either of the sacred text includes the rejection of violence by means of dialogue. In Psalms 46:7 the murmuring of the nations’ receives a response from God, namely the imposition of his voice, which is a choice to embrace non-violent resolution of conflict. God destroys the weapons of war (Ps 46:10). Similarly, the concept of Fihankra involves the preservation of the central quadrangle and the dampan, social spaces in which conflicts and disagreements are quickly resolved in order to guarantee social cohesion and peaceful coexistence. The aggressor is not thrown out of the household. Rather steps are taken to heal wounds and to cure divisions in the family through dialogue.
Thirdly, the concept of the common household always includes the presence of God. In Psalm 46, God is mentioned several times in the central strophe. He is in the city, and it is his presence that guarantees peace. Likewise, the concept Fihankra, without the participation of the divine is almost inconceivable to the Akan worldview. God is necessarily part of the family, just like ancestral veneration finds its place. Indeed, that which holds the household together is the respect for the divine, which guides all human action. Moreover, it becomes clear that God’s dwelling in Psalm 46 is not some edifice reserved for God. God dwells not necessarily in the temple but in the common dwelling places (משכנים) habited by his people. God is indeed in the midst of the city. Similarly, Fihankra conceives that God dwells in the common household as though He were a member of the family. The ideal household in either sacred text is one in which God, humankind and nature peaceably cohabit the same city.
Theologising the city in Ghana
The preceding discussion on the theology of the city in Psalm 46 and in Fihankra has implications for the crisis of urbanisation in Ghana. Three of these could immediately be identified and analysed. Firstly, the concept of the city in both textual traditions is a common household. It is a space that accommodates humankind, nature and God in a non-threatening, peaceful environment. The maintenance of this balance has implications both for the ecological and spiritual consciousness of human agents. The wanton destruction of the environment currently being witnessed in our cities and peri-urban areas must be exposed as inconsistent with the faith of 71.2% of Ghanaians who profess the Christian faith (Ghana Statistical Service 2023). This requires sincere reflection and an adjustment in the social ethos.
Secondly, the concept of the common household underscores the importance of inclusiveness in society. In both Psalm 46 and Fihankra, there is an openness to the other, and even those thought of as enemies are not expelled, while differences are healed through dialogue. The concept is important for Ghana’s cities where the divide between the rich and poor is widening, where many are increasingly marginalised, and several communities remain in extreme deprivation. This is at odds with the concept of the common household where resources are shared and concern for humanity does not permit the exclusion of the weak. Ghana’s urban centres need a better solution that actively seeks to resolve the problems of homelessness, of street children, and of poverty, which attempts to create a class society in its cities.
Thirdly, the concept of the common household prioritises the space for the divine in the midst of the city. This concept whether in Psalm 46 or in Fihankra does not imply a separate exclusive habitation for God. The concept is particularly crucial at a time when Ghanaian society is divided on the question of dedicating millions of dollars for the construction of a national cathedral (Mensah 2023). But it goes beyond that. God, in these sacred texts, dwells in the midst of the city, and not in some separate edifice. Religious belief is not insulated from or unrelated to the social disequilibrium experienced in Ghanaian cities. God’s presence is to be experienced in every space in the common household in the same way that religion is interwoven into every aspect of traditional Ghanaian family life. It is rather by the social and cosmic harmony that God is experienced in the common household.
Conclusion
The problem of the rapid growth of cities in Ghana has become a multifaceted challenge with ecological, social and even theological dimensions. The resolution of the problems associated with the phenomenon, thus requires the efforts of all stakeholders including biblical scholars. One of the ways of tackling the issues is to adopt African Biblical interpretation as a vehicle for understanding the social phenomenon in the light of the biblical text. Psalm 46 lends itself to such a purpose because it provides an understanding of the city as a common household. This same concept can be found in the Adinkra text corpus, particularly in Fihankra. Reading these two sacred texts side by side leads to an appreciation of what is needed for the reimagination of the city in Ghana as a common household. It requires an ecological consciousness, embracing inclusivity and ultimately a theological readjustment to guarantee social and cosmic harmony within the city in Ghana.
Acknowledgements
Competing interests
The author declares that he has no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.
Author’s contributions
M.K.M. is the sole author of this research article.
Ethical considerations
This article followed all ethical standards for research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
Funding information
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Data availability
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of position of any affiliated agency of the author, and the publisher.
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