Amokye

Amokye is the name that the Akan people give to the guardian of the threshold of death. In fact, among the Asantes, it is believed that Amokye can be compassionate and kind or difficult and cruel. There is a story told of Kwasi Benefo in illustration of this point.

It is said that Kwasi Benefo journeyed to Asamando, the place the Asante refer to as the world of departed souls. Of course, this is a story that shows Amokye in her role as the guardian of the threshold of death because Kwasi is a hero of great compassion. Kwasi was a farmer and a cattle raiser. He had many cattle and farmed on good land, his fields bringing in rich harvests each year.

He did not have a wife, however, to give him children or to care for his house. He was saddened by this because he wanted to have a wife to mourn for him when the time came. So one day he went looking for a woman to marry and in a village he discovered a beautiful woman who pleased him a lot. They got married, and soon the woman took ill and died. Kwasi Benefo grieved greatly about this loss. He bought her an amoasie, a small piece of silk cotton cloth to cover her genitals, and beads to go around her waist. She was buried in the amoasie and beads. Yet Kwasi could not forget her, and he went around looking for her in his house, but obviously he did not find her. Soon he was so obsessed with looking for her that his mind was no longer with the real world; he was in the land of make-believe.

Finally, his family tried to intervene. His uncle and brothers spoke to him to bring him back to reality. They said to him, “Kwasi, put it from your mind. This is the way it is in the world. People live and they die. You must find yourself another wife.” Soon Kwasi seemed to gain comfort. He left his village and traveled to another village, where he found another young woman. He made arrangements for her to come home with him. She was content to live with him and he with her; she was a woman of good character and took charge of the household. She wanted to please Kwasi. He was happy and felt that life was worthwhile. Soon his wife was pregnant, and he was hopeful that she might give birth. She became ill after a while and grew very weak. Soon she [Page 41]was dead. This second wife was buried with the amoasie and beads as well. Nothing could console Kwasi Benefo.

The grieving Kwasi sat in his house for days and refused to come out. People said to him that others had died and that people die all the time. They told him that he had to get up and go about his work. His friends pleaded with him to come out and mingle with them. In time, the family of the dead woman heard about Kwasi's grief and believed that he was grieving much too long. They said, “Let us give him another wife.”

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