Tano (mythology)
Tano, also known as Taa Koraa, is the god of war and strife in Ashanti mythology of Ghana as well as the Agni mythology of the Ivory Coast.[1] He represents the Tano River, which is located in Ghana.[2] He is regarded as the highest atano god in Akan mythology
Names
Tano is also known as Ta Koraa in the Techiman-Bono area, and also Obomuhene, ‘king within the rock’ as Tano was also identified with the rock promontory from which the river Tano springs. The name Ta Koraa most likely means the 'immense father' as Kora means “the immense” and Ta may be derived from a word meaning “father”, showing how he is the father of many abosom and is one of the strongest deities in Ashanti mythology. Another name Tano has is Tano Kwasi, meaning that his day is a Sunday. He can also be called Asuhyia Tano meaning the blessed waters of Tano, a reference to Tano being a river deity, or Nana Ko nim, meaning 'The one who wins wars'.
Attributes
Tano is represented by the Tano River and the rock promontory in his nature form. Tano probably has the appearance for a big and strong warrior armed with Ashanti weapons such as an Akrafena, a Spear, a Bow, a gun known as “Kodiawuo”[3] and other such Ashanti weapons. His day is Sunday, as said by one of his names
Character
Tano is amongst the most powerful deities in the Akan Pantheon of Gods, second to that of Nyame and Rivalling that of Bobowissi. For this reason, Tano is the patron God of the Ashanti and the Northern Akan tribes. Unlike other deities of war, like Ares, he is in rivalry with Death (Owuo). Tano is a War deity more like Mars or Athena, as he uses military tactics to defeat his enemies, evident in the Ashanti military ideology of adaptation. His most famous tactic is the ‘Captured on purpose’ tactic, in which he would transform himself into a little boy during wars, allow himself to be taken to the enemy kingdom, then spread pestilence among them, leaving them vulnerable to his own armies. He is also a heroic deity, who knows no fear. This is evident in the Asante belief that bravery in battle is honorable. Despite his reputation being the god of war, he has appeared to be merciful as it is said that if a witch and you confess and vow to change, he will forgive them. He will try and find a peaceful solution to war, due to him valuing life (whish is the whole reason why he despises Owuo, who is literal death), but will quickly use force against those who don't heed his calls for peace
Representation
Tano is considered as a river god, owing to his representation as Tano River.[2] He is also known as a nature god as well as a war god, with the latter role taken up in times of conflicts.[1] As with several of his siblings, Tano is known as the father of the Ashanti divinities, called abosom.[4][5] The Atano (Water- Gods) are said to 'descend' from the river Tano. He was possibly once a thunder god as well, although Bobowissi may have taken that spot.[6] He may've been a thunder god until his confrontation with Owuo in which, due to his struggle with Owuo who is a powerful Asante deity, be became the Asante god of war.
Family
According to Ashanti mythology, Tano is the second son of Nyame, the supreme creator god, and Asase Ya, the earth goddess.[7] It is said that Tano has several siblings: his older twin brother, Bia (who represents Bia River and is the Asante god of the wilderness (This is due to Tano cheating him out of his inheritance). In some stories Tano is the firstborn twin, and Bia is the younger brother. He also has 3 younger brothers Bosomtwe (who represents Lake Bosumtwi), Anansi and Apo.[1][5] Tano is known for not getting along with his brothers Bia and Bosomtwe. He is said to be married to the goddess Afua Kranka and has 4 sons. Two of their four ‘sons’ were oman abosom, Gods of the Techiman-Bono state.
Worship and Shrines
Tano has shrines dedicated to him at Tanoboase (a village named after him), the Tano Rock shrine, at Saaman (The Tano Kwadwo shrine), in Tomade and the Tano Abenamu shrine, amongst other places in Ghana. The 'Beautiful Prayer' is dedicated to Tano. Many Traditional Ashanti War songs may be also dedicated to Tano, as he is the Akan God of War. Most, if not all, Ashanti priests and priestesses will state that the reason they first adopted their profession was because they discovered that they were subject to possession by some spirit influence. They might have been going about their ordinary tasks, but more often were attending some religious ceremony, when suddenly, and without previous warning, they heard ' the voice of Tano ' (or of some other god) and fell down in a fit or went into a trance. The Tano River is said to be a sacred river, and a woman going through puberty may not cross the River (or any sacred rivers) until she stays in a 'bush' village for six days. Other festivals which include the river Tano are the Odwjra ceremony and in funerals
Myths
Tano has a few myths involving and/or about him. Here are some of the most popular:
Tano's rivalry with death
Tano is associated with several origins of death myths. In one story, it was said that Tano got into a feud with the personification of Owuo, the Akan God of death over a competition to catch up with a hunter. Whoever got to him and was invited for supper first would claim humanity. Tano transformed into an antelope and let the hunter chase him before turning around and assuming his huge god form again. He tried to set off with the hunter, but Owuo stopped him. The contest details change according to the source, ranging from singing[1] to fighting.[7] However, the outcome is the same nonetheless—neither won.[1] They reached an agreement – whenever Tano had to visit the human realm or earth, Death will accompany him.[7] In another account, the agreement was different: Whosoever arrived first when a human was sick or wounded, will be able to claim their life. So, if Death came first, that person's life was forfeited, but if Tano showed up instead, they could continue with their life.[1] Regardless of the outcome, it was this struggle with death that Tano became the Asante god of war.
The division of lands
Nyame wanted to divide up the lands between his sons: Tano and Bia. It is well known that Nyame had always liked Bia best, and thus he planned to give the most fertile land, which is the land of present-day Ghana, to Bia. Tano will receive the less fertile land, which is the land of present-day Ivory Coast.[7] However, this did not come to pass. According to one source, the goat Akua Abirekyi, who is Nyame's servant, was entrusted to deliver these messages. However, the goat liked Tano better. So, the goat told Tano to pretend to be his brother which will lead Nyame to give the fertile land to him instead. Tano did so and succeeded.[1] In another source, mostly attributed to the Agni people, Bia was the one who cheated Tano instead (as they say Tano was Nyame's oldest and favourite son), then fled west due to Tano's strength and power.[7] Either way, Tano got the fertile lands of the Asantelands, modern day Ghana and bits of eastern Ivory Coast, and Bia was stuck with the barren lands of the central and western parts of Ivory Coast. This started a feud between Bia and Tano which extends even to their rivers. As another consequence, Bia was cast into the role of the Asante god of the wilderness
The moving of Rivers
In this story it is said that Bosomtwe disliked Tano so much, he moved his entire river just to get away from Tano.
The Hunter who fetched ones river into another's river
Due to Tano cheating Bia out of his inheritance, their rivers (Tano River and Bia River) became mortal enemies and still are to this day. It is said that if you try to fetch one river's water into another, you will die. As the story goes, an Ashanti hunter did this and for angering Tano and Bia, he was turned into a Palm Tree. It is said that his gun hangs from the branch of the Palm tree. He serves as warning to those foolish enough to fetch either Bia or Tano's river waters into the other's river
Asante Gyaman war (1818)
According to oral tradition, Asantehene Nana Osei Bonsu sought out the help of Tano to defeat the Gyaman King, Kwadwo Adinkra. Tano requested for a special gun to be crafted. It came to be known as “Kodiawuo” and he told Asantehene that the war with Kwadwo Adinkra would be fought for seven days and on the seventh day, he would see four stars representing Tano and his 3 sons and that on that day, they would go to Gyaman. Tano and his sons turned themselves into little boys by allowing the unsuspecting Palace guards to take them to the Palace of Kwadwo Adinkra. It’s believed that Tano and his sons killed all those in the Palace, with Tano shooting Kwadwo Adinkra using Kodiawuo and then Tano and his sons vanished. As a result of Tano's divine intervention, the Asante became victorious after the war.[3]
References
- Lynch, Patricia Ann; Roberts, Jeremy (2010). African Mythology, A to Z. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-3133-7.
- Sarpong, Peter Kwasi (1967). "The Sacred Stools of Ashanti". Anthropos. 62 (1/2): 1–60. ISSN 0257-9774. JSTOR 40456847.
- Asante, The Kingdom Of (2021-10-20). "Tano as God". BLOGPAY. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
- Asante, Molefi Kete; Mazama, Ama (2008-11-26). Encyclopedia of African Religion. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-5063-1786-1.
- "Nyame Sends a Python to Teach Humans to Mate". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
- "Tano Struggles with Death". Oxford Reference. doi:10.1093/oi/authority.20110803102044248. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
- "Tano Struggles with Death". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
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