Religion and Art in Ashanti

Record summary

R. S. Rattray’s Religion and Art in Ashanti documents Asante religious concepts, ritual objects, priesthood, oral narratives, and visual symbolism. Its relevance includes accounts of Nyame and other powers associated with the heavens, rain, thunder, lightning, and sacred fire or illumination, alongside material evidence such as shrines and regalia. The book is especially useful for comparing verbal myth with ritual and artistic representation. Its colonial setting, selective informants, and English translations mean that motif identification must be checked against Asante-language scholarship and later historical studies.