The concept of family in Frafra culture is a complex nest of relationships that go back to the past and outside one’s residence. The father is the head of the family. He had a double image: one at home and the other outside. In his home, he was the master, but outside, he became part of a community where he recognised that alone, he was vulnerable and made connections and friends with others. He had to hold a certain moral high ground to be recognised among the comity of men.
Tag: jesus
A Reflection on Frafra Ancestral Veneration
To the Frafra mind, God is supreme, but the ancestors are trusted intercessors, those who lived well, served their families, upheld justice, and died peacefully and elevated. They stand between the living and God, just as prophets, saints, and martyrs do in other religions. When libation is poured, it is not to the ancestor as a god, but to God through the ancestor. As we say: “To’e zom ta paa Nayine.” To wit, take this flour-water to God. We do not worship them; we commune with them and through them. Just as Christians pray through Jesus, and Muslims invoke prophets and angels, the Frafra invoke their ancestors, not because they are divine, but because they are family and have never failed when called upon. One does not go to strangers when one’s father is at home.
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