The Quest For Spiritual Transformation
Introduction to Traditional Religion, Rituals and Practices
By Nana Akua Kyerewaa Opokuwaa
Contact: afsani@aol.com

In her latest book, The Quest For Spiritual Transformation, Akan Priest and Queenmother, Nana Akua Kyerewaa Opokuwaa delves into the practices and rituals of a religion that are centuries old.

Until now, little has been written about Akan relation and culture from the perspective of a Diasporan. Instead, practitioners and holders of the culture have relied on the oral tradition to learn and then practice Akan religion and rituals.

The Akan Akom Tradition is rooted in the culture and lives of Africans who live across a swath of West and Central Africa, including, Ghana, Mali, Togo, the Ivory Coast and the Congo.

Traditional Akan religion took hold in the United States in the mid-1960s when a continental African, the late Nana Akua Oparebea at the invitation of an African American, the late Nana Yao Opare Dinizulu I, established the first Akan spiritual house in Queens, New York. Subsequently, similar Akan religious orders were established in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Toronto, and on the West Coast.

Today, traditional Akan religion is a burgeoning spiritual force transforming people's lives and reconnecting the lost children of Africa - members of the Black Diaspora - with a rich, vibrant and spiritually grounded reality.

Nana Akosua Akyaa (aka Patricia A. Newton, M.D., and MPH, MA) had this to say about the book:

"This work is a much needed addition to information regarding African Traditional Religious Systems and it is long overdue. This work permits those seeking a greater knowledge of African Spirituality and Religion to acquire a glimpse as to what the process entails and how the philosophy is applied to everyday life. It is a guide for better understanding and linking the gaps in knowledge that exists within the framework of Western educational systems."

And, Dr. Na'im Akbar, Author, Lecturer and Consultant ( (aka Nana Owusu Nkwantabisa III) added:

"Africans in the Diaspora have been engaged in a 400 year journey seeking to find our way "back home." Only in recent years have we realized that the map that will take us back home to Africa is a spiritual map and requires navigation by the spiritual principles of our African reality. We appreciate the effort of guides such as Nana Opokuwaa who have immersed themselves in the culture, in the spiritual path and have devoted themselves to helping us find the way. The Quest for Spiritual Transformation written by Nana Kyerewaa Opokuwaa is another of her valuable contributions to the roadmap back home.

Nana Kyerewaa was inducted into the Akan priesthood in 1991. For the past 20 years, she has traveled regularly to Ghana and other parts of Africa to study African spirituality and culture. She is founder and Chief Priest of Asomdwee Fie, Shrine of the Abosom and Nsamanfo, Inc. (AFSANI), a non-profit religious and cultural organization which she founded in 1997.

In her book, Nana Kyerewaa focuses on Akan practices and rituals, explains the nuances and subtleties of adapting the continental religion to an African American setting and outlines its cosmology and theological framework.

For an electronic version of the press release, please email afsani@aol.com