Offerings and feeding the unseen
Libation to the ancestors
Pouring drink to the ancestors and gods, opening ceremonies from funerals to state occasions in Ghana.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
In Akan and other Ghanaian traditions a libation is a spoken prayer made while pouring a drink on the ground. It opens funerals, naming rites, weddings, installations of chiefs and many public events. An elder or a linguist, an appointed speaker, addresses the Supreme Being, the earth, and the ancestors in a set order, and the drink is the gift that carries the words.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Schnapps or palm wineOfferingPoured to the earth as the gift.
- Spoken prayerWordAddresses God, the earth and the ancestors in order.
- Calabash or glassToolHolds the drink.
- Ground or altarSpaceWhere the drink is poured.
- Gathering of eldersGestureStand and respond to the prayer.
- Offering
- Word
- Tool
- Space
- Gesture
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Gather Elders and guests assemble and the drink is brought. Step 2: Speak The speaker invites the Supreme Being, the earth and the ancestors to attend. Step 3: Offer A little drink is poured on the ground at each stage of the prayer. Step 4: Speak The speaker names the purpose of the gathering and asks for peace and guidance. Step 5: Close The assembly answers and the drink is shared among those present.
The words
Libation prayers name the guests, the purpose of the gathering and the family line, and ask for peace, health and protection. Wording is shaped by the occasion and the speaker, and may be in the local language or in English.
Who does it
Usually an elder, a chief, a priest or the spokesperson of the host family. Local rules decide who may speak and in what order, and visitors are expected to accept a gesture of welcome and stand respectfully.
Across the Atlantic
Pouring a drink for the dead is found in many African diaspora communities, in the Caribbean and in the United States, often joined with ritual meals.
What it is for
- Opening a ceremony
- Remembering the dead
- Asking for blessing
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: Akan people (The Akan setting in Ghana.), Ancestor veneration (The wider belief.).
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Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source