Note on controversy
Rattray wrote inside colonial administration. His archive is useful; his authority over Akan sacred life is not. Prefer community and Ghanaian scholarly framing whenever they differ.
Life
Robert Sutherland Rattray (1881–1938) served as a British colonial officer–anthropologist in the Gold Coast and published monographs on Asante (Ashanti) law, religion and art, including documentation of Adinkra symbols. His books are foundational and colonial. ORDL lists him as a literature entry for Akan religion—read against later Ghanaian scholarship. No rites are taught or sold here.
The system
- Colonial monograph tradition on Asante religion and art
- Adinkra as published visual lexicon
- ORDL boundary: critique the frame while using the archive
Key works
- Religion and Art in Ashanti
- Ashanti
- Related Gold Coast ethnological reports
Where to start
- Always pair with Ghanaian historians and art historians
- Treat “fetish” vocabulary as colonial, not analytic
Ask Orin
A question to start with. It opens in Orin ready to edit; nothing is sent until you press Send.
How do Adinkra symbols change meaning when moved from cloth and court to a colonial monograph plate?Ask Orin this question