Theological Issues that Arise Out of Odwira Sacrifices

Theological Issues that Arise Out of Odwira Sacrifices

Ernestina Afriyie

Issue: Vol.1 No.5 September 2020 Article 3 pp. 139-151
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2020093 | Published online 17th September 2020.
© 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

Some Christians claim that after the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, the ultimate sacrifice; no other sacrifice is needed by the Christian. This paper examines some of the sacrifices made as part of the celebration of the Okuapehene Dwira(Odwira), a festival celebrated by the Akuapem of Ghana. It looks at how the sacrifices are made and their significance. It also examines theologically the sacrifice of Christ and what it has achieved for the believer. The paper is based on observations of the festival, interviews with traditional leaders as well as the ordinary people in Akropong. Responses given to a questionnaire on the festival by indigenes of Akuapem living in Akropong and around Sakumono and Lashibi in the Greater Accra Region are also used. In addition, commentaries, and writings on sacrifice by theologians are analysed and used. The study’s findings indicate that even though the sacrifices involved in the Odwira festival are not propitiatory sacrifices like that of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ has currently rendered all of them unnecessary. The paper contributes to scholarship by affirming what some theologians have already put forward, that the sacrifice of Jesus is the ultimate blood sacrifice after which no other sacrifice is needed. The paper falls under the disciplines of theology, religion, culture, and Gospel and Culture.

Keywords: sacrifice, mediators, Nananom Nsamanfo, abosom, Odwira.

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AUTHOR(S)

Ernestina Afriyie (PhD), is a Research Fellow, Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture, Akropong-Akuapem. She has research interests in World Christianity, with a focus on African Christianity, engaging traditional or indigenous cultures with the Gospel. Email: afriyieernestina@yahoo.co.uk

TO CITE ARTICLE

Afriyie, Ernestina, “Theological Issues that Arise Out of Odwira Sarifices.” E-Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 1, no.5 (2020): 139-151 https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2020093