Immuna Land and Ocean

Nature as sacred space got invaded by man millions of years ago. They used to live in good communion, but as years passed, humans got estranged from their natural way of being. In Immuna we have rediscovered, through the spirituality of the landscape and the people’s ancient beliefs in gods and abosom¹, a more natural way to go back to our roots, to reconnect with nature and divinity.

The grandparents and elders from Immuna know that nature has to be taken care of, to be protected and respected, as they feel connected with their environment by worshiping gods that live in trees, rocks, water and houses. Feeling the spirituality of those places and understanding their spatial and architectural qualities, was a way to raise awareness for the young generation of Immuna, by triggering  emotions about the natural, cultural and historical heritage of the village.

Focusing on seven out of 77 gods and spiritual places that exists in Immuna through the media of drawing, I implemented into the research three different layers of information and interpretation: my personal approach, children's innocent perspective and elders knowledge transmitted through incantations and dance by the fetish priest woman of the village. With a group of seven children, we visited this sacred places (Obosom Bradam, Tongo, Obo-da-Obodo, Immuna, Bawar, Ekyinaba, Acirum). They draw with their pure and innocent creativity their perception, using their perspective as locals at a different scale.

For further urban planning and for implementation of strategies for the restoration and preservation of the lagoon, we mapped the locations of Abosom, as many spiritual places are close to it, for enhancing the liquid condition of the lagoon and the territorial condition of the land.

The elders of Immuna know that nature has to be taken care of, to be protected and respected, as they feel connected with their environment by worshiping gods that live in trees, rocks, water and houses. Experiencing the spirituality of those places and understanding their spatial and architectural qualities, was a way to raise awareness for it among the youngest generation of Immuna, by triggering interest in the natural, cultural and historical heritage of the village.

Focusing on 7 out of 77 gods and spiritual places that exist in Immuna, I implemented three different layers of information and interpretation into the research through the medium of drawing: my personal approach, the "pure" perspective of children and the elders´ knowledge. With a group of seven children, we visited and drew seven selected sacred places (Obosom Bradam, Tongo, Obo-da-Obodo, Immuna, Bawar, Ekyinaba, Acirum).

For future planning- and implementation strategies, and in regard of the potential preservation of Immuna´s lagoon, we precisely mapped the locations of these Abosom, as many spiritual places are close to it.

¹ In the Akan tradition, abosom (deities/divinities/ lesser gods; singular: obosom) are the children and messengers of Nyame (Creator). The abosom are spiritual forces evincing and operating throughout the Akan universe, assisting Nyame in the task of managing Creation, namely humanity. Although the abosom often embody various manifestations of nature (i.e., wind, bodies of water, trees, mountains, hills, animals, etc.), these objects are used only as temporary dwelling places and should not be confused with the abosom themselves. The abosom are essentially spirit. - Asante, M. K., & Mazama, A. (2009). Abosom. In Encyclopedia of African religion (Vol. 1, pp. 3-4). SAGE Publications

COLLABORATORS
Mohammed Ibrahim, Rahmatu Entsie, Rabiatu Ismaila, Sulayman Kwakwasie, Charity Bondzi, Kingsley Okwesi Hamida Coffei

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