A. O. LAPUSHKINA Candidate, Institute of Africa, Russian Academy of Sciences Keywords: Ghana, awatime, syncretism, Christianity, rituals The Awatime (self-named: Kedone) are a small people (approximately 24,000 people) living in the Volta region of southeastern Ghana. Language: siya 1 (otherwise-sideme, siyase) groups of the KWA, a Niger-Congo language family. Avatime district (part of the Volta region) has 8 villages. Main occupations: agriculture, weaving, trade. Main traditional festival: Amu Rice Festival. The pedicure salon "Thank you, Jesus!", the mobile operator "Son of God", buses, walls of houses, shops, fences painted with quotations from the Bible-all this attracted our attention (mine and Maria, students of RSUH) not only in the capital of Ghana - Accra, but also in the regions of the South-west of Ghana.in the east of the country... Ghana's population is multi-religious. According to the 2010 census, Christians make up 71.2%, Muslims-17.6%, adherents of traditional beliefs-5.2%2. However, statistics do not reflect the intertwining of religious systems in the minds of local residents. Every Sunday, residents of Awatime put on their best outfits made of modern, but reproducing traditional, Ghanaian fabric and go to a Christian church. During the week, some groups of Avatime gather in each other's homes for a common prayer. It is not uncommon for people to leave work when someone is told that they need to fast on this day. Sometimes a priest leaves his post and becomes a servant of the cult of the deity Aya, the patron saint of the Avatime people, because he heard his voice and accepted the assignment, thus acquiring the status of the spiritual father of the entire people... Is it possible to speak of syncretism in this case?* The question arises in connection with the existence in the minds of people of a model of perception of the world, which implies a merger of traditional strata and a relatively recent layer of Christianity. WORKING ON EXPEDITIONS Our ... Read more