Neologizing Akan Indigenous Ecological Proverbs and Wise-Sayings for Earth-Keeping Among Akan Christians of Ghana

Authors

  • Emmanuel Twumasi-Ankrah Christian Service University & Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
  • Emmanuel Kojo Ennin Antwi Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0542-6492
  • Frimpong Wiafe Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Keywords:

Akan, earth-keeping, Akan Christians, proverbs wise-sayings

Abstract

All over the world, environmental noxiousness has caused the emission of greenhouse gasses, climate change and diseases that threaten human and non-human survival. Ghana has had her fair share in this global onslaught. Although there have been several political interventions, the recent global environmental performance rankings according to the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2022, grades Ghana at 170th out of the 180 nations assessed and 45th out of the 46 nations in the sub-Saharan Africa, scoring only 27.7. That of 2024 appreciated slightly, where Ghana was ranked 145th on the global stage, scoring 36.9 and 29th in sub-Saharan Africa. This pathetic development, formed the basis of this study; which advocates for the need to turn to Indigenous Ecological Knowledge systems (IEKs) for a response. This paper made use of qualitative method. It used interviews as the primary data collection instrument. The secondary data was collected from Akan proverbs derived from oral and written literature. The study affirms that in the past, some Akan axioms were used to prompt the natives about the essence of protecting and conserving nature. This article has neologized eleven new proverbs and wise-sayings that are ecologically ennobled and could be viable to be harnessed for earth-keeping among the Akan of Ghana.

Author Biographies

Emmanuel Twumasi-Ankrah, Christian Service University & Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Dr. Emmanuel Twumasi-Ankrah, is Senior lecturer in Biblical Studies in the Faculty of Humanities, Department of Theology at the Christian Service University in Ghana. He is a part-time lecturer at the Department of Religion and Human Development in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies (Biblical Studies) from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi–Ghana. His research area is in the Biblical Studies, Old Testament and African Life and Thought and Biblical Hebrew interpretations in African context, Mother-tongue Biblical Hermeneutics and Bible and Ecology. He majors in Old Testament exegesis, Old Testament Ethics and Old Testament Theology in African Context and Bible Translation Studies. He is a member of the international Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and Institute of Biblical Scholarship in Africa (IBSA).

Emmanuel Kojo Ennin Antwi, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Emmanuel Kojo Ennin Antwi is an Associate Professor in Biblical Studies and Old Testament and African Life and Thought in the Department of Religion and Human Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. His area of specialization is Biblical Studies, with emphasis on Biblical Hermeneutics, Bible and Society, Bible and African Life and Thought. He is a Contributor to the Arbeiten zu Text und Sprache im Alten Testament Series (vol. 95). He is a member of the Ghana Association of Biblical Exegetes (GABES) and the international Society of Biblical Literature (SBL).

Frimpong Wiafe , Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Dr. Frimpong Wiafe is a Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies, Old Testament and Biblical Hebrew in the Department of Religion and Human Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. His research area is in Biblical Hebrew interpretation in African Context.

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Published

12/31/2025

How to Cite

Twumasi-Ankrah, E., Antwi, E. K. E. ., & Wiafe , F. . (2025). Neologizing Akan Indigenous Ecological Proverbs and Wise-Sayings for Earth-Keeping Among Akan Christians of Ghana. Ghana Journal of Linguistics, 14(2). Retrieved from https://laghana.org/gjl/index.php/gjl/article/view/826

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2025): Ghana Journal of Linguistics 14.2 (2025)

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Articles

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Copyright (c) 2025 Emmanuel Twumasi-Ankrah, Emmanuel Kojo Ennin Antwi, Frimpong Wiafe

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