God Spare Life

Adinkra Symbols - Onyankopon Adom Nti Biribiara Beye Yie

Guest Post - Tom Collins

When Claudia first told us she wanted to make Nyame Biribi Wo Soro part of the cover design for her book and what that symbol meant to her, I confess I had never heard of Adinkra symbols. I hate not knowing stuff, especially if it's important to my work, so I starting researching.

I discovered a number of sources online, including the official website of the Republic of Ghana. That website has been completely redesigned and the pages on Adinkra removed, but here's a link to the previous version (some of the images are missing) at the Internet Archive. The most comprehensive online resource I found was at Jean McDonald's Well-Tempered Web Design site.

Claudia, the better scholar, cites to The Adinkra Dictionary, A Visual Primer on the Language of Adinkra, by W. Bruce Willis. She offers this brief introduction that helps explain why we elected to use them throughout God Spare Life:

"Adinkra symbols are designs that originated in West Africa, in a region that is now known as the Republic of Ghana. They have been used for centuries as a form of language to relay messages. Adinkra symbols are parables that represent spiritual concepts and also honor human characteristics. Originally printed on cloths to be worn during funerals, Adinkra markings can now be found widely in fabrics and wood carvings of West Africa."

Onyankopon Adom Nti Biribiara Beye Yie is found literally throughout the book: It was chosen to appear in the page header on the left side pages, accompanying the book title, God Spare Life.

Why this one? In her Prologue, Claudia begins by describing herself as "a woman of science" and ends by reminding us, "There have been several miracles in my life that cannot be explained by science."

Next time, God spare life, the symbol that might be my personal favorite in the book, Akokonan.

My Sister Said ...

Here's what happened when I learned I had kidney cancer:

As Catherine said on the video, it's so important for everyone to learn all they can about becoming an organ donor. Some great online resources include the National Foundation for Transplants and the National Kidney Foundation (which has posted a review of my book by heart transplant recipient Jim Gleason).

Adinkra Symbols - Nyame Biribi Wo Soro

Guest Post - by Tom Collins

I've had the wonderful opportunity to work with Claudia Thomas on the layout her book and on implementing her desire to enhance the telling of her story using the Adinkra symbols that have become so meaningful to her. A sampling of the symbols chosen for the book appear down the left side of her blog. Claudia has asked me to write a series of posts about the symbols and how they've been used to characterize each chapter in her story.

Claudia saw Adinkra symbols carved in doors at the Union Temple Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and as she explains,

"the Nyame Biribi Wo Soro symbol, resembled an anatomic drawing of two kidneys. This symbol signifies 'God is in the heavens,' symbolizing hope and inspiration. Nyame Biribi Wo Soro has been chosen to appear on the cover of God Spare Life, not only for its meaning but also because of the importance to the author of kidney transplantation."

The version of the symbol above accompanies the Prologue and Chapters 17 and 19, where her loving and courageous sister Catherine endured the multiple attempts required to give Claudia a live-saving kidney.

Here's the more artistic version, created by designer Karin Choi for the cover of God Spare Life.

And I'm sure you'll understand how Nyame Biribi Wo Soro took on such deep significance for Claudia and why she wanted it on the cover (overlapping the picture of Catherine and Claudia):

Next time, God spare life, we'll take a look at another Adinkra symbol, Onyankopon Adom Nti Biribiara Beye Yie, and start exploring the origins and significance of Adinkra symbols.