Komfo Anokye Sword

When I was in Ghana, my brother Padmore showed us the Komfo Anokye Sword in Kumasi:

Komfo Anokye's Sword
Photo taken by Erik B. Anderson
Kumasi, Ghana, 1995

Read more about it from Ghana Expeditions.

Komfo Anokye Sword
Just behind the Okomfo Anokye Hospital, one will find the Okomfo Anokye Sword. It is named after a famous traditional priest who, in the 17th century, was said to have conjured the ""Golden Stool"" from the sky. Legend states that as high priest of the Akan kingdoms, he drove his sword into the ground with such force that it has remained there ever since, marking the site of the new imperial city, Kumasi, which unified the Akan kingdoms. The site is revered by all as a sacred shrine.

The unmovable Sword of the Komfo Anokye remains in the grounds of the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, where he pushed it. It is believed the Komfo pronounced that no one would be able to remove the sword, and so it has remained in spite of many attempts.

In October 2008, I sent a photo of the B. Bruce Anderson Memorial Flag to Governor Corzine. On the back of it, I wrote something like this:

October 2008

Dear Governor Corzine:

As long as the B. Bruce Anderson Memorial Flag remains in the Ground, our nation will remain strong!

Sincerely,

Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1892

The B. Bruce Anderson Memorial Flag - Established 2006

Erik Visited Kwame Nkrumah's Tomb

Accra, Ghana, July 1995 - I went to Ghana with a group of college students and professors from West Chester and Temple Universities. The first place we went to was the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum and Memorial Park.

It is designed to look like a tree stump to signify "The Big Tree Has Fallen." Big Tree is an affectionate term that Ghanaians use to call their leader.

Kwame Nkrumah was the first president of The Republic of Ghana, which is the first African country to obtain independence from one of it's European colonists in 1957. He wrote a lot of books about the struggle for independence. He used many of Mahatma Gandhi's techniques. Mostly forgotten in many parts of the West now, he was almost as influential as Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1950's and 1960's. It was a great honor to visit his mausoleum on the first day of our trip.

I would like to thank Dr. Nelson Keith of West Chester University, who was our Big Tree. I also want to thank my Nye Bro, Dr. Padmore E. Agbemebiese, the Chief of the Abor Village in the Volta Region of Ghana, for taking us there.

That whole trip was profoundly influential on me in my formative years. I promise to post more blogs about the Slave Castles, Mensah Village and other events in Kumasi, Accra, the Volta Region and elsewhere around Ghana.

Warm Regards,

Erik B. Anderson
The King of Funny Faces
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782

Erik Met Kofi Awoonor - Poet, UN Ambassador

Formerly known as George Awoonor-Williams, Prof. Kofi Awoonor is one of the most celebrated Ghanaian and African writers. A poet, novelist and critic, Awoonor was born in 1935 and educated at the University of Ghana, the University of London, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he bagged a Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature.

Former Chair of the Department of Comparative Literature at SUNY Stony Brook, and Head, Department of English and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Cape Coast, South Africa, he has served as Ghana’s ambassador to Brazil and Cuba and Ghana's representative at the United Nations. He was awarded the National Book Council Award for poetry in 1979.

MORE: Wikipedia

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Eastern Sociological Society - Philadelphia, PA - April 1st, 1995

I presented a paper to the Eastern Sociological Society in 1995.


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Click on image for easier reading.


I showed how the music of John Zorn can be used as a lens to understand different postmodern theories, including Baudrillard's Game Theory, Jameson's Theory of the Pastiche and Gergen's Saturated Society theory, multi-media theories, and other things I can't quite remember right now.

I was 19 years old. It was fun, but I couldn't really appreciate it. I was filled with self-loathing, as usual. I thought I was a failure, for some reason. I'm not sure why. I got a lot of praise. I wish my father had been more enthusiastic, though. His criticism stung as we were walking away from the hotel. His criticism always stung.

I will try to write more comprehensively about it later. Stay tuned for updates.

Warm Regards,

Erik B. Anderson
The King of Funny Faces
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782