Ancestral Sacrifice - Kaakyire Akosomo Nyantakyi

Year of Publication: 2002

Genre: Fiction

Just a quick note here – This book is a set book for students of literature at senior High School in Ghana. I picked this up solely because I have seen so many students reading it and as I asked one student near my neighborhood about the book; she tells me it’s an interesting book. So I knew that I had to read it because of the student’s recommendation.

Bob Little is a young boy born into the Christian family. He is brought up the Christian way and under his parent’s kind care and protection. The way Bob Little is brought up often makes him behave in a naïve way. For instance, he tends to shy away from the company of the opposite sex which I would relate to his upbringing.

The Littles Christian family is just one side of the story. The other part has to do with Naana, the young girl and her traditional family. The traditional setting of the village of Asaana provides room for traditional elements to prevail in that the village boasts of chieftaincy system and then cultural practices like making sacrifices to their gods. The act of the sacrifice often involves the act of slaughtering animals and using the blood from the animals for other rituals.

It so happened that Naana (the young girl from the traditional family) visits Bob Little and then go and witness an ancestral sacrifice being performed at the shrine. Being a whole new experience for Bob Little, he could not stand the sight of the sacrifice and so is shown the exit door. Once out of the ancestral grounds, Bob Little makes his way home. Unfortunately, he loses the way to his house and so ends up in the forest.

Now, the forest Bob finds himself is considered sacred and so Bob’s Christian family must make a sacrifice to the god’s before a select group of people would go and look for Bob in the forest. But would Bob’s family make this sacrifice considering their Christian beliefs? What happens to Bob Little in the sacred forest? Would Bob be found? Would Bob be able to make his way back home?

This novel raises some salient points about beliefs and religion. It is one book that highlights the clash of religion where each kind of religion believes in their way of practices and way of life. But should the kinds of religion we have bridge the relationship that exists between humanity? The book is a very short one yet well-written. It is abundant with typical twi proverbs that is regarded as wise sayings in our cultural settings. The author’s choice of words is very simple.

I recommend this book to all and sundry.

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