| Examining the political struggles between the two principal nationalist movements, the Convention Peoples' Party (CPP) and the National Liberation Movement (NLM), this dissertation focuses on the role of Africa's Indigenous Religion in Ghana's politics just before independence in 1957. While the CPP believed independence meant driving away the colonists and replacing them with indigenous people who subscribed to the principles of colonialism, the NLM on the contrary, renounced the colonists and their intrusion into the nations of the country. The CPP favored keeping and preserving the artificial state the colonists created, and promoted a unitary polity. Conversely, the NLM, using Asante sacred stool, Sika 'Dwa Kofi, [the Golden Stool], in its endeavors, demanded federation to reverse the colonial order, and afford the existing nations the opportunity to use their previous experiences to strengthen their heritage.;In the Asante world, sacred stools symbolize the confluence of religion, politics, economy and social organization. Sika 'Dwa in Asante represents the divine, and the National Liberation Movement used it as a tool of mobilization, pillar of faith and the beacon of hope in the struggle for independence. Focusing on the political nature of Sika 'Dwa provides a clearer understanding and a deeper appreciation of the religious impact of the sacred stool in the NLM. Further, it broadens the oft-held contrasting view that attempts to separate politics from religion, and insists they interpenetrate. Transcending Asante's past under colonial rule, this study moves into the postcolonial era to assess the devastation colonialism wrecked on the Asante nation and its people for remedy.;The dissertation affirms that sacred symbols, which endured the onslaught of colonialism and neocolonialism, secularization and modernization, are still efficacious to provide meaning for people who believe in them. Sika 'Dwa, at Odwira ceremonies, reconnects Asante people with their past, reanimates the bonds of solidarity among them, and confirms their nation. Through rituals associated with it, the Sacred Stool also recreates, revives, harmonizes and heals the anomie that afflicts Asante. Sika 'Dwa offers a unique opportunity to Asante people to rebuild their nation and lives from the hope and meaning it provides. |
