| 释义 |
‖ obosom|əʊˈbəʊsəm|
9 b-. Pl. abosom.
[Ashanti.]
In the religious system of the Ashanti peoples of Ghana, a general name for any of the many gods inferior to the Supreme Being.
1853B. Cruickshank Eighteen Yrs. on Gold Coast II. vi. 129 From the Souman, or idol of individuals, we come to the Boossum of a family or town, which frequently has no material representation. This..does not so much represent the god of an individual as a family god, or, more universally still, the god of a people. 1887A. B. Ellis Tshi-Speaking Peoples of Gold Coast ii. 18 They [sc. the local deities] are very numerous... The general name for these deities is Bohsŭm. 1916R. S. Rattray Ashanti Proverbs i. 30 A sumaṅ would seem to derive its power from the abosom, just as the o̱bosom in turn gains its own from Onyankõpo̱ṅ. 1923― Ashanti ii. 54 The great obosom (god) of all Ashanti is the Tano River, from which are derived countless of ‘his children’ as lesser abosom... Tano is considered as the ‘son of the Supreme God’. 1960M. J. Field Search for Security i. ii. 47 The Supreme God (called Onyame in Ashanti) is aloof... The abosom are the active, approachable executives of the Supreme God. The abosom are popularly referred to as ‘the little gods’, but each one is treated, in daily practice, as though he were omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. 1970P. Oliver Savannah Syncopators 30 The occasions which I was privileged to attend, culminating in a cult or ‘fetish’ dance for a local obosom, or protective spirit, were simple and moving. |