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The Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers and Singers | The African Diaspora Children's Museum Kimati Dinizulu and his Kotoko Society | Events, Classes and Workshops | The Dinizulu Cultural Archives The African Family Lecture Series | Ghana 2002 | Products |
Nana Yao Opare Dinizulu Twi is one of the languages of the Akan people of West Africa. If you do not have the Twi font installed on your computer some of the characters will not appear correctly. If you would like to have a copy of the Twi font, please visit our products page. Since his earliest youth, Nana Yao Opare Dinizulu’s vision and goal was to reestablish and reaffirm our rich African heritage, in order to enhance the condition of our people—to redeem and uplift. When Mr. Amarteifio, introduced my father, Nana Yao Opare Dinizulu, to Nana }k]mfohemaa Akua Oparebea, I was a very small child. This meeting was, without question, a key event in the fulfillment of my father’s destiny. Although he had been worshiping the Gods of Africa since the l940’s, his alliance with Nana Oparebea opened a bright and new chapter in our history. He was now able to reach back and embrace the past and incorporate it with present and future. While there were others engaged in the important work of building on the cultural remnants that survived the era of slavery, Nana Dinizulu reconnected us with the source. Working with Nana Oparebea, he was able to obtain the implements and medicines needed to establish an authentic Akan religious tradition in America. In l965, Nana Oparebea provided him with the first Akan shrines. This led to the founding of the Bosum Dzemawodzi in l967. When, in l971, Nana Dinizulu brought Nana Oparebea to the United State, there was a great flowering of traditional culture. Many people were initiated into the priesthood, while others became }brafo and }kyeme. The institution of chieftaincy was strengthened and further developed, when Nana Oparebea returned to the United States accompanied by her husband, Nana Yaw Boateng, Dadiesoabahene of Kumasi. For more than twenty-five years, Nana Dinizulu and Nana Oparebea worked, in tandem, to benefit people throughout the world, by introducing to them the indigenous Akan culture of the African people. These two selfless visionaries supplied us with all the tools we need to enable us to achieve our fullest potential. It is the responsibility of each of us who love Africa and her people to continue the work of these two giants and maintain the bridges they built. We must embellish on the legacy they left us and forever hold high the names of Nana }k]mfohemaa Akua Oparebea and Nana Yao Opare Dinizulu, and make their vision our own.
Nana Yao Kimati Opare Dinizulu Please click the above image of the late Nana Yao Opare Dinizulu for a larger view. For more detailed information about the late Nana Yao Opare Dinizulu please contact The Dinizulu Center of African Culture & Research
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