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    Nansing, A River Inside a Cave ..  . .
The remote and tiny village of Aboam, residence of the powerful tutelary deity, Nansing
Aboam has no ancestral stools, so has
no chief.
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Elder pouring palm wine libation to the god Nansing at the mouth of the cave .  .
.. .. The word kom in Akan means possession or trance. An כkomfo is a person who is a recognised priest or priestess of a tutelary deity who will possess that person as a medium through which the god will talk to humans. The possession usually begins by fainting, then shaking as if in an epileptic fit. Neither "possession" nor "trance" are very good words in English to explain the process. The word kom is a verb meaning both to possess and to be possessed. ..  . .
Nana Adwoa, Priestess of Nansing, in Aboam ..  . .
Adwoa, not possessed, poses, dressed in two of the costumes of her God's five personalities  .
Linguist of Nansing A Tutelary Deity may have several personalities.
Nansing has five identifiable personalities. When the oldest of them
possesses the medium (priestess) she will wear the grass skirt with the
cowry shells on her belt, and will not speak Twi, but will speak Guan.
Adwoa cannot speak Guan in daily life.
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While the god is a river inside a cave, it has a shrine in a room in a compound in Aboam. Most doors in Akan compounds have a curtain which provides privacy and shade during the day when the door is left open. In the case of a room dedicated to a god, the curtain is usually white. Outside this room is a staff or alter on which certain parts of sacrificed animals, some fruit, eggs and other gifts are put for the god. Above the door is partially enscripted warning that no one who is in her menses can enter the room.
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One of the few compounds that has two sticks, one for God, one for the Deity.  .
The priestess acts as a counsellor for people in her area, like a parish pastor Fertility
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Abena, Apprentice to Adwoa The old women recommended that Abena be sent to Adwoa for her apprenticeship. After sacrificing a sheep for the god of the old כkomfo, and a sheep for Nansing, Abena was established in Adwoa's compound and entourage for three years of apprenticeship. During that time she would learn from Adwoa, act as a servant and acolyte for Adwoa, avoid sex, and follow the food taboos and other restrictions of both Nansing (who was hosting her) and the god that was trying to possess her. ..
In a small town near Aboam, the Chief
is hosting an afahy (festival) for the gods. He is wearing white
in honour of the festival. Sitting in front of him are two established
priestesses of local gods. The one with white around her eyes is the senior
]komfo
in the chief's area. Behind the pole on the right is Adwoa's linguist.
In front of him is another established ]komfo,
and in front of her (next to my telephoto case with the Chicita banana
sticker) is Abena, the apprentice of Adwoa. Abena does not go into
a complete trance, but is in a semi state of possession for most of the
festival.
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Chief Priestess Possessed  .
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Here are some of the many acolytes and servants of Nansing. They are playing the god's drums. The man second from left is the same elder you saw at the cave above; he is playing a dawuru. In Akan music the drums recite poetry and do not keep the beat or rhythm. The dawuru (like a cowbell in sound) keeps the rhythm. The man on the left is the linguist of the god. .. The god has full knowledge of Adwoa and her memories during a trance. Adwoa has no knowledge or memory of what the god did or said during the trance. The linguist must tell Adwoa, after the trance is over, what the god had done and said. .. In trances in her compound, in the god's room, Adwoa might not change into a costume as she would at an adae. If a supplicant comes to her to ask for help, the god may agree to help, and will also give instructions for Adwoa to go to the forest and collect certain herbs to make medicine for the visitor. The linguist must tell her all that when the god leaves her body. .. .. Visiting the University ..  .. .
Later at the University A few days later I took Adwoa to where I was teaching at Cape Coast University. She wrapped her mpesempese hair inside a cloth, and it was not recognisable. We had tea on the university campus with some expatriate colleagues. I show these to demonstrate the contrast with her possessed at an adae. No one would guess, looking at her taking tea with her son, that she was an ]komfo of one of the most powerful abosom in the rain forest of Southern Ghana. ..  ..  .. .. .
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