Following the 28 April 2022, enormously successful Kweigya Memorial Celebration, the predictable question becomes “What is the monuments’ meaning and mission?”
African art, throughout history, is renowned for capturing the attention and imagination of artists and providing the inspirational foundation for the creative expressions that contributed to their iconic status.
Art, as a medium of expression, can take many forms, highlighting varying themes and styles, depending upon the artist’s desired effect. For purposes of discussing the Kweigya statue’s meaning, we will briefly cover four critical elements: Spiritual, Mythological, Psychological and Educational.
Spiritual: According to Chief Fela Sowande ‘Spirituality is the conscious awareness of a factual and dynamic relationship between man, nature and the cosmos.’ All African Art firms are considered as an expression of that relationship. Accordingly, Kweigya stands as a testament to the following: a) Africans everywhere are members of a global African ‘community’ that must see themselves as such in order to become the master’s of their own future and destiny, b) Kweigya stands as a physical testament of the enormous strength and untapped potential lying dormant within African people waiting for the opportunity to come forth, and c) as Ghana’s Greatest Fisherman, he stands ashore, net in hand, observant and poised to capture the attention, talents and potential of Africa’s next generation who will be prepared to chart Africa’s course and navigate Africa’s future.
Mythological: All great people employ mythology to galvanise the human spirit around a set of ideas and ideals to strengthen the community’s vision, mission and sense of empowerment to achieve its stated goals. Kweigya is a local hero reputed to have migrated from ancient Kemet (together with Asebu Amenfi) to Moree. He came with his expertise, talents, skills and knowledge of the fishing sciences and firmly planted them in the hearts and minds of African people all along Africa’s West. His deeds were legendary and the fact that his fishing methods are still used provide tangible evidence of their undeniable, enduring value. As a ‘bigger than life’ Kemetic Hero, Kweigya will inspire children, youth and adults to dream and think big, master the ‘sciences’ of their chosen fields of endeavour, and, exhibit a strong sense of empowerment and expectation of success, as they move the with confidence that their families, elders, leaders and Ancestors will help them to reach their goals.
Psychological: One of our great Ancestral Scholar Warriors, Dr. John Henrick Clarke, often said that “…what a people do for themselves depends upon what they think about themselves.” Kweigya will serve as an iconic model of the strong, bold, self-determined African, who, when provided with the proper knowledge, skill, expertise and tools, success is inevitable. Kweigya’s height allows him to see into the future to a time where every child, youth, adult, parent, teacher, political and religious leader will see themselves as possessing unlimited potential to make ‘gigantic’ contributions to Africa’s future.
Educational: Human behaviors, unlike other mammals, are 99+% the result of learning—either incidentally or intentionally. Africans, the world over (at all educational levels), to further the cultural imperialist goal of enslavement and colonialism, have and continue to be force-fed westernized, ‘anti-african’ teaching-learning strategies, content, concepts, principles and false historical narratives.
After 4-centuries of mis-education, ‘westernized’ Africans experience cultural alienation, disdain for African tradition, ambivalent self-perceptions, consciousness confusion and the desire to distance themselves from their families. The collective impact of these educationally induced conflicts renders most ‘educated’ Africans’ incapable of thinking, planning and or serving in the best interest of African people.
Ofarnyi Kweigya’s monument sounds a clarion call to all African people—students, teachers, educational and other leaders, at all levels—to dedicate themselves to a journey back to Kweigya’s ancient Kemet home to retrieve the history, culture, knowledge and consciousness that their Kemetian Ancestors—like Ofarnyi Kweigya and Asebu Amenfi—developed and used to propel advancements to civilization for over 5000 years.
Once reintroduced to their ancient selves, African people will be empowered to move forward with a sense of purpose, capacity and direction to shape the new Africa for the future. The Moree Kemetic Rebirth Projects are fully committed to achieving these ends.