Nana Akua Attakora
Is a senior priestess following the Akan tradition of Ghana here in the United States. She carries the titles "Nana", which is a term of respect accorded to elders and priests, and "Okomfo", which means priest or priestess. She was born Gail Lynn Sawyer, 1953, in New York.
Spiritual Training
She started her training as an Akan priestess in 1973, under Nana Yao Opare Dinizulu. She graduated in 1976 as an Akan priestess, psychic, traditional healer, and minister, of the Akonnedi Shrine of Kubease-Larteh, Ghana. She is a priestess of the deity, Asuo Gyebi, who is a healer and protector.
Honors and Titles
Nana Attakora also carries the title of Second Okyeame, which means that she is a spokesperson of the Nana Akonnedi Shrine of Larteh, Ghana. As Okyeame, she is also interpreter for the deities, and liaison between the Akan priesthood in Ghana, and Americans following the Akan tradition in the United States.
Nana Attakora is the first Okomfokese to the Stool and Skin of Fihankra, which means that she is the religious and spiritual counsel to the Fihankrahene, the chief of the Fihankra traditional District of the Akwamu Traditional Area, which has been given over to diasporan Africans who repatriate to Ghana.
Affiliation
She founded in 1990, and heads, the Akan Spiritual United Order (ASUO), which is a non-profit spiritual/religious, cultural and educational society that is dedicated to the spiritual upliftment and the cultural, educational and economic development of the African family. She is also the Chair of the Traditional Healers Association of Ghana.
Spirituality Classes
Nana Attakora has organized and conducted a series of Spirituality Classes in Washington, DC, Baltimore, Brooklyn, NY, and Philadelphia. These classes aim at introducing seekers to the rich wisdom systems of traditional Africa. Healers involved with her in this work include not only Akan-trained priests/priestesses, but also healers trained within the Yoruba and other systems.
Healing Work
Nana Attakora has trained numerous priests and priestesses in the Akan tradition, and is a mature, seasoned, and experienced practitioner of the traditional African healing arts. She is psychic and clairaudient. For one-on-one healing work, her competencies include, among others:
