Before the invention of the modern camera, Akans and other African people documented family portraits of the deceased through sculpture.
For generations, this practice served as a culturally significant commemoration of African ancestors until colonialism disrupted the art form and Ancestor Veneration was misrepresented and demonized in most parts of Africa. Ghanaian artist and educator Kwame Akoto-Bamfo has succeeded in sparking renewed interest in traditional African funerary art and practices through his art and educational campaigns.
The artist’s work first came to public attention in 2015 through a series of online campaigns and finally as a large-scale installation in Cape Coast when his “Insisu” was first exhibited to the public during Ghana’s 60th Independence celebration.
In 2019, the Nkyinkyim Museum was started by the artist as an initiative of his non-profit organization known as Ancestor Project. The museum, located 180 km outside of Accra at Nuhalenya-Ada, has become a space for people of African descent to engage in restorative healing processes through art and education.
The museum’s annual Ancestor Veneration ceremony has succeeded in closing the circle of rites around African traditional Funerary arts.
Its Sacred Area now features 11,111 unique heads along with small huts arranged in a circle for the protection of the ancestors. Visitors to the Sacred Area are encouraged to adhere to traditional practices including removing shoes and knocking before entering, pouring libations, and keeping the artworks free from selfies and photography that undermine or commercialize sacred funerary art practices.
“I am Akan so my Insisu began with Akan traditional rites, but currently our ceremonies have opened up to other African ethnic groups including the Ga-Dangme, Yoruba, Ewe, and African Americans in the diaspora,” said Akoto-Bamfo during a personal interview following the third annual Ancestor Veneration.
He continued, “I am very grateful to the Adibea of Ada, all the Ga-Dangme royals, Ewe royals, Yoruba royals and the African diaspora for supporting the rebirth of our sacred funerary art and rites.”
Akan Nsisu funerary art and practices have direct parallels with Ife and Benin bronze heads dating to the 13th century. “The funerary portraits at Nkyinkyim are rendered in various tribal styles as well as very hyper-realistic styles,” the artist said of his hyperrealistic funerary portraits. “A lot of people think the hyper-realistic portraits are not African, but they are very mistaken. Have you seen the Ife and Benin heads?”
The various rituals performed around the portrait heads complete the rites that make the portrait heads sacred. The Ancestor Veneration Ceremony organized by Nkyikyim Museum and supported by Adibea Royals and various African Royals ensures that the spirit of the ancestors through the portraits that represent them are fed and commemorated.
The impact of Akoto-Bamfo’s diasporic vision for reclamation and healing are far-reaching. “My son’s ashes are buried here, I won’t miss this ceremony for the world,” said Judith Carroll, an African American woman who attended the 2024 Ancestor Veneration ceremony in October.
Kwame Akoto-Bamfo is a graduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Hello Kwame, l hope you are well. The fellowship should be cited as a fellow of the Yale Directors Forum at the Institute of Heritage Studies, Yale University. He believes that art and culture can be used to heal the African continent and its people from the Legacies of African enslavement and colonialism.
“We have been able to over the years un-demonise African drums, African music and even African hair” our traditional systems and especially healing art still carry a lot of that negative stigma. My team and I and a whole lot of supporters in the African diaspora are willing to shed light on our traditional systems. “
ART, GRIOTS and Language preserve oral traditions at Nkyinkyim Museum.
In a revolutionary move, Nkyinkyim Museum uses griots instead of tour guides to evoke oral tradition and lead visitors through places of interest across the 18-acre grounds, using sculptures to augment Africa’s oral traditions. The museum’s Founder and Creative Director, Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, is an artist and educator, a graduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Fellow of Yale directors Forum at the Institute of Heritage Studies, Yale University.
Nkyinkyim Museum has various internal training programmes that equip griots in training with oral history and culture. The griots interact seamlessly with outdoor sculptures created by the artist and his specially trained team.
The artist who created and curated the museum’s revolutionary system describes his vision”While we have a plethora of African writing systems to credit. My team and I are bent on using sculptures to augment our oral traditions”
The Nkyinkyim Museum griots are required to have a background in art and history before joining the griot training programme. Griots train for a minimum of 3 years before being considered masters. The griots train under linguists, musicians, chiefs and elders from various traditional palaces.
Language is the foundation for oral traditions and we are currently working with various partners to translate various Ghanaian and African literature into Ghanaian languages.
Nkyinkyim Museum is already known for reviving endangered and almost extinct African funerary art forms and practices. The addition of language protection has gained the support of the Adibea Royal Family and… who shared their enthusiasm during the museum’s annual Ancestor Veneration Ceremony.
Adibea Quote
Intro lawyer ngo And insert a quote from speech.
Quote make connections and Credit Obadele Kambon also known as Nana Perbi Date the first and (he’s a professor of linguistics at the University of Ghana)
Restorative Practices: The healing art of Kwame Akoto-Bamfo
In 2019 the government of Ghana announced “The Year of Return “ initiative and followed up with “Beyond the Return” initiatives.
The initiative opened the doors of Ghana to the rest of the African diaspora to trace Their roots back to the continent.
● Delicate balance of racial and cultural tensions.
● Return of artwork to the continent
● Undemonising African traditional systems and religions.
● Activism In the world; costarica , Blank Slate and EJI and Keith Lamar.
