Welcome to the Akan Calendar App

This app is one example of the digital tools I have developed through years of travel, research, and scholarship focused on African knowledge systems and cultural traditions.

The Akan calendar is a traditional timekeeping system of the Akan peoples of West Africa. It is organized into repeating 42-day cycles called adaduanan, which together form the Akan year (afe). Each cycle begins and ends with sacred Sundays and includes days that are considered ordinary (dahunu), auspicious (dapaa), or sacred and restrictive (dabɔne). Every day has its own meaning and place within the cycle.

How Can You Use It?

Enter a Gregorian calendar date to discover its Akan equivalent and learn about its significance. The app can help you:

• Identify your Akan birth day (kra da) and Akan name

• Explore traditional qualities, observances, greetings, and taboos associated with your birth day

• Learn about favorable days for travel, festivals, ancestral remembrance, and other activities

• Understand traditional practices related to community life and environmental stewardship

The app offers a practical introduction to Akan concepts of time, identity, purpose, and cultural tradition.