THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS OF KING AYI KUSHI: A TIMELESS COVENANT FOR HOPE, HARMONY AND RIGHT LIVING
At the dawn of our nation, on Kushibiete – Legon Hill, the Hill of Knowledge our first supreme King, the great King Ayi Kushi, gathered the elders of the Ga-Dangme family. He did not give them weapons. He did not give them gold. He gave them a Covenant to live by. Seven simple laws that would make a scattered people into Ayawaso – the Great Kingdom that no enemy could defeat.
That covenant is still speaking to us today. In this hour when we need hope, when we need harmony, when we need the courage to live right, we must return to Kushibiete.
These are not old words. They are timeless wisdom for our coexistence:
1. LOVE AND CHERISH THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF YOUR FATHERS.
A tree without roots cannot stand. A people who despise the ways of their fathers will have no ways to leave their children.
To live right today is to remember: we are Ga-Dangme. We are hospitable. We are brave. We are clean. We are truthful. We do not sell our birthright for a bowl of porridge. Our custom teaches us to settle disputes with dialogue under the tree, not with insults on the airwaves. If we cherish that, we will never be lost.
2. OBEY THE WILL OF THE DEITY (ATAA NAANO NYONGMO) AT ALL TIMES.
Before any law of man, there is the law of the Creator. Ataa Naano Nyongmo sees in the dark.
When we obey the Deity, we will not turn the sacred abodes of our gods into dumping grounds. Korle will not be filth. Sakumo will not be forgotten. Our lagoons, our groves, our sacred deities are not decorations – they are the covenant between heaven and Ga land. Clean your gods, and your community will be clean. Respect the Deity, and you will have the courage to do what is right even when it is not popular.
3. SHOW EXTRAORDINARY SELF-SACRIFICE FOR THE PRESERVATION AND GOOD OF THE GROUP.
This is the heart of Ga-Dangme. This is why we say We Are One.
The Elephant in our emblem is Strength – it is the group. The Antelope standing on it is Wisdom – it is the individual who sees far because the group carries him. Neither can survive alone.
Self-sacrifice means: my stool is not more important than Ga State. My personal gain is not more important than our common lands at Dobro, Papase, Nsumia, Larteiman, Chinto, Kofi Quansah, Ashante Aku, Akpadebu. For too long we have asked “what is in it for me?” The Commandment asks us to ask “what is in it for us?” That is how peace is born.
4. SHOW LIFE-LONG SACRIFICE AND DUTY TOWARD YOUR CHILDREN.
What will our children inherit? Insults on social media, or high-rise apartments that beautify our communities? Choked gutters, or restored lagoons? Unemployment and anger, or factories in our villages that give hope to the young Ga-Dangme child?
Two wrongs never make a right. But one right action toward our children can correct a hundred wrongs of the past. To live right is to live for the child you may never meet – the child who will call you ancestor.
5. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.
Do not steal your brother’s land. Do not steal your brother’s good name. Do not steal the future of your people by selling the land that was entrusted to you.
The lands of Ayawaso were not bought – they were fought for and preserved with blood. To sell them secretly, to encroach upon them greedily, is to steal from Ataa Naano Nyongmo Himself. The courageous Ga-Dangme does not steal – he protects.
6. THOU SHALT NOT LIE.
A lie is a slippery oil. It is why we became “Wogolo Tufui ni awole kpaa ni efule” – the slippery egg that cannot keep its place.
When we lie to each other, the egg slips. When we bear false witness against our own brothers, the unity of the five fingers breaks. Truth is not always sweet, but it is the only foundation that never cracks. If we want harmonious coexistence, let us speak truth – even when our voice shakes.
7. BE UTTERLY TRUTHFUL AND PURE IN ALL ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES.
This is the final law that holds all the other six together. Purity of heart. Purity of hands. Purity of tongue. Purity of building.
A pure Ga-Dangme does not litter his lagoon and then pray for rain. A pure Ga-Dangme does not preach peace in public and sponsor confusion in private. A pure Ga-Dangme builds beautifully, speaks beautifully, and lives beautifully.
This purity gives us the ultimate courage – the courage to live right in a world that rewards wrong.
Our ancestors were not perfect, but they gave us a perfect compass.
The world is not a continuing city. Thrones rise and fall. But a people who return to their covenant will never fall.
Let us return to Kushibiete today. Let us take the Seven Commandments from the wall and put them into our hearts. Let us teach them in our schools on Ga land. Let us whisper them at our Kpodziemo. Let us practice them in our palaces.
From slippery egg to steady nation – this is possible. Not by might. Not by noise. But by having the courage to live right.
Nii Lartei Nokoyedzen II
Nokoyedzen-Larteiman Manste