asase yaa

Asase Yaa is the female spirit of the earth and the goddess of agriculture and fertility to the Indigenous Akan and Ashanti people of West Africa. Her name combines the words for Earth (asase) and Thursday (yaa) the day the earth was believed to be created, and hence the day that the earth must remain undisturbed and allowed to rest. There are no burials on Thursdays. Asase Yaa is venerated in tilled soil and plowed fields. Working a field is a sacred act. Prior to any excavation or agitation of the earth, a libation must be poured to seek permission to perform the work.

The Ashanti people of Ghana represent a matrilineal society. Asantehemaa is the title given to Queen Mothers, women elders who offer their counsel and wisdom to the community’s leaders. The concepts of stewardship and motherhood extend to attitudes and values toward the land. At death, Asase Yaa reclaims her children and, in asking her to accept the return of her people, a libation is offered. Similarly, at birth, when a child is placed on a mat on the ground as part of a naming ceremony called an “outdooring,” offerings of gratitude along with prayers for protection from the ancestral guardians are made to Asase Yaa.

Asase Yaa is also associated with truth and virtue. Her people are custodians of the land; land is not a commodity to be bought or sold, and people have a responsibility to keep the earth clean.