God Spare Life

Adinkra Symbols - Akokonan

Guest Post - Tom Collins

As I mentioned in the last Adinkra post, Akokonan is one of my favorites among the symbols chosen for God Spare Life. My reason is not so much about its appearance or literal translation, but what it symbolizes: the parental love, nurturing, and protection that is so central to Claudia's life.

Akokonan was chosen to characterize the four chapters entitled "Daisy's Watch" that are written from the perspective of Claudia's mother, Daisy Mae Thomas.

Some insight into why can be found in the "Foreword" by Milfred C. Fierce, Ph.D., who's known Claudia and her family since her undergraduate days at Vassar. Dr. Fierce describes Daisy as protecting Claudia "with defiance, tenacity, and prayerful vigil" and finds a core theme of the book to be "a mother's love, faith, trust, and resolve."

(The Foreword and the first Daisy's Watch chapter can be read in the free sample pages from God Spare Life.)

And in the books's Dedications, Claudia herself described Daisy as "a woman who embodies the love, nurturing and sacrifice that is motherhood."

These descriptions from those who knew her well should help you understand why Akokonan was chosen for the "Daisy's Watch" chapters. But a bit more about why it bacame one of my personal favorites can be gleaned from this expanded explanation of the symbol at Jean MacDonald's site:

"The full name of this symbol translates to 'The hen treads on her chicks, but she does not kill them.' This represents the ideal nature of parents, being both protective and corrective. An exhortation to nurture children, but a warning not to pamper them."

Those who've read the book will appreciate how this applies so perfectly to both Daisy and to Claudia's father, Charles, as well.

Next time, God Spare Life, we'll take a look at Nea Onnim No Sua A, Ohu.

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.

Where'd the God Spare Life title come from?

That's the question I get asked most often about my book. Chances are that many will wonder about the way the phrase is used in the name of this blog, too.

So I thought I'd start with the answer I gave recently on the African American Legends television show, hosted by Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr., on CUNY-TV 75 in New York City:

(This short excerpt is from the show that aired on 10/15/07 and 10/20/07;
you can view the entire interview at the CUNY-TV75 website.)

What an honor to be featured on a show with a name like African American Legends! And to be included among the long list of guests on the show going back to 1994 — in addition to Dr. Brown himself. His impressive academic accomplishments and decades of contributions to African American history trace back to his days Squadron Commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Earlier this year, he was among the group awarded a special Congressional Gold Medal to be displayed at the Smithsonian (he is shown here accepting his replica):

(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

Back to the title, my hope for this blog is that it will help me to "continue sharing my story, God spare life." After viewing the video, does that make more sense now?