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EveryParampara

Sankofa

An Akan idea and symbol: it is not wrong to go back for what you forgot.

A pattern drawn for this page, not a picture of Sankofa.

Also: go back and get it

Sankofa is a word of the Akan language of Ghana, meaning go back and get it. It is shown as a bird with its head turned backward, holding an egg in its beak, and expresses the idea that one should learn from the past in order to move forward. The proverb says it is not taboo to return and fetch what you have forgotten. Sankofa appears in Ghanaian art and architecture and was adopted by African American communities as a symbol of heritage and memory, in museums, schools and films. It sums up the work of tradition itself: carrying wisdom into the present.

Region: Sub-Saharan Africa

See also

AdinkraKenteGriot

Find traditions that mention Sankofa

The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.