WHAT IS SANKOFA?
The concept of SANKOFA is derived from King Adinkera of the Akan
people of West Afrika. SANKOFA is expressed in the Akan language
as "se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenki." Literally translated
it means "it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot".
"Sankofa" teaches us that we must go back to our roots
in order to move forward. We should reach back and gather the best
of what our past has to teach us, so that we can achieve our full
potential as we move forward.
Whatever we have lost, forgotten, forgone or been stripped of,
can be reclaimed, revived, preserved and perpetuated. Visually and
symbolically "Sankofa" is expressed as a mythic bird that
flies forward while looking backward with an egg (symbolizing the
future) in its mouth.
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