Source: https://goo.gl/images/iyypsJ
Remember in Book one how the Kings, jakpa of Gonja and Osei tutu of Asante, thought out a way to make conquered peoples forget their past defeats. After annexing a state, these kings made laws forbidding, on pain of death, any reference to the former independence of the conquered people.
In this way all the peoples of the growing empire felt that they had always been one people. This was a safeguard against any rebellion by the conquered people to regain their lost independence.
Source : https://goo.gl/images/GFGxvJ
This policy, which was adopted by many other rulers, has obscured the true story of the origin of many African peoples. If we examine the language of the people, we will see that expressions such as 'come out from the ground' , ' from the sea ' and ' from the heaven ' have more than one meaning.
For example, in Akan, the word soro need not only mean heaven. In fact, it may and does often refer to the top or north. Therefore, when the people use soro to refer to their origin, we need not think of heaven.
What the ancient people probably meant, at first, was that their first home was in the north. Later, by saying that they had descended from heaven, the ancient people tried to impress upon their children their belief that they, like all other men, came from God above who created all men.
Very informative. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)