Public Lecture: Akonedi, An African Deity and Her Shrines in Larteh: A Field Report, Speaker: Dr. Benedikt Pontzen

Abstract

This presentation is a field report on my ongoing research about the deity Akonedi and her shrines in the Akuapem town Larteh. Doing ethnographic fieldwork at her shrines, I trace the multiple ways in which Akonedi is present in people’s lives in Ghana. Based on my findings, I tell a history of thisdeity. I describe the present dynamics and workings of her shrines, locating Akonedi in Larteh’s ritual calendar and the transnational network of her shrines. I reflect on the main tasks and themes for furtherresearch on this deity.

Benedikt Pontzen is an anthropologist and writer. He holds a PhD in Anthropology from Freie Universität Berlin. In his research, he focuses on lived Islam, so-called ‘African Traditional Religions’, religious diversity, and religious encounters in West Africa. He is conversant in Asante Twi and has been carrying out ethnographic and historiographic research in Ghana’s Asante region since the early 2000s.