SANKOFA
That bird is wise.
Look.
Its’ beak back turned picks for the present what is best from ancient eyes
Then steps forward, on ahead
To meet the future undeterred
Sankofa is an Akan term that literally means, “to go back and get it.”
One of the Adinkra symbols for Sankofa (seen on the left) depicts a mythical bird flying forward with its head turned backward. The egg in its mouth represents the “gems” or knowledge of the past upon which wisdom is based; it also signifies the generation to come that would benefit from that wisdom.
This symbol often is associated with the proverb, “It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.”
The Akan believe that the past illuminates the present and that the search for knowledge is a life-long process.
