Sankofa Series: The story of the death of three chiefs that birthed a little-known religion in Ghana

Everything about the little-known 'Kunde' religion started as a result of a quest by the people of Kpando, in the Volta Region, to get to the roots of how it was that three of their enstooled chiefs all died back-to-back.

It was a journey that took them to the northern parts of Ghana, from where, after a few persuasions, the god, called ‘Kunde,’ decided to follow them back to their current settlements.

The stories of this religion was told by Accra-based JoyNews in one of its Ghana Month Series episodes.

From the narration, it was discovered that one of the main distinguishing features of the religion is that, rather than being only Christians, only Muslims, or only of the Traditional religion, they would have a chip of each of these other major religions in the country instead.

According to history, the Kunde religion, also known as Gorovodu, is an anti-witchcraft movement that emerged during the colonial period.

How the Kunde god agreed to return with the Kpando people:

Explaining the history of the religion in the JoyNews report, the Chief of Kpando Tsakpe-Hlorma, Togbe Ablatenu IX, said that determined to find the reason behind the consecutive deaths of three enstooled chiefs in Kpando, and an epidemic, an entourage travelled from the area travelled north of the country.

There, they discovered and acquired the Kunde gods, but it was not without struggle.

“Mama Seidu gave the god to the man called Kodjo-Kumah Anibra, because the god rejected all the elders. The young man – the teenager who followed them: because he could speak Hausa and other northern languages, he went with them, and the god decided to come with him. So, it came under his care,” he explained.

Thankfully, with the coming of the 'Kunde' god, the pandemic ended and the people of Kpando were able to return to their normal lives, experiencing good fortunes as a result thereafter.

Since then, the Kpando people established the Lahare Kunde Mission in 1960.

A shrine was however set up by Kodjo-Kumah Anibra on his return, becoming a symbol for the people since then.

The report added that the 'Kunde' religion incorporates practices and ritual objects from Islam, Christianity, and local 'vodun' orders, with its believers guided by the Ten Commandments in the Bible.

While the religion thrived, it was equally bedevilled with oppression from “both Christians and traditionalists in the Kpando area, compelling the Founder, Kodjo Kumah, to send the gods down south, where the people bought into the worship of Kunde,” Kossi Kokokli Anibra, Spiritual Leader of the Lahare Kunde Religion, said.

The home of the religion continues to remain in Kpando.

This article was first published on Thursday, March 30, 2023, on GhanaWeb:

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