The following words come from the Surinamese official language, 'Sranang Tongo'. This glossary finds application in the story 'The Ashanti Tales'. This mostly concerns spiritual concepts.
aboma boa
abongra sesame seed used in rites
abrawatra overseas
adawra instrument
adja term for the Kromanti gods
adjersi tori example, told on the last night of the watch
adjida sacred drum
adjida-winti another name for the Aisa
adjosi hello or goodbye
adonsawa menstruation
adumankama lower forest god
adupi Bakru, consort of Akantamasi
abbreviation idolatry
aisa the goddess of the earth
aite-de the eighth day, the last day of the watch
akantamasi lower forest god who lives in a termite nest
akolo another name for the lower forest god Amasi
aksi sopi gin, gift to the parents of a girl who is proposed to
amafu an obia consisting of herbs/akantamasi
amasi-godo termite nest, where the god Amasi dwells
ananka Jaw other name for the god Opete
anansi-tori stories told on the last night of the vigil
anjisa headscarf
apinti treble drum
apuku minor forest god and servant of Aisa
apuku wiwiri herbs used in injuring the Apuku
aradi Kromanti god of the sky
asi horse, being ridden by a deity
asramani Kromanti god of the realm of the dead and one of the gods of the sky
atando a sky god
ati heart
avodu snakes in which Aisa and Loko manifest themselves
avrekete the female leba
awese Kromanti one of the gods of the sky
baka Busi Mama an Aisa who lives in the forest
baka-kasaba cassava flour flat cakes
bakru lower god
bakuku ancestral spirits
basi priest, boss
basi-winti the most powerful obia of an obiaman
basja a slave who worked as an overseer for his slave master
bas-moni bonoman's fee
basu brilliant
batai assistant to a cleric
bedji location where one directs one's prayers to the ancestral spirits and the gods
bere belly or large family
bere bonu ritual in which one of the family members is possessed by a supernatural being. The goal is
to cure diseases in the whole family
bere-pre dance ritual for an extended and flourishing family
bere-winti family gods
bifo-obia an initiation ritual that one underwent before being shipped to Suriname as a slave
bigi-futu elephantiasis
block malt flour cake, snack on the last day of the watch
bodjaw herbal baths
buoy arm ring with magic power
bon-kindi aerial roots of a tree (including the Waringin tree)
bonu-man priest
bosu the man of the Aisa of the water
brafu soup
broko-dee dance ritual for the gods and the spirits that lasts until the dawn
bumba forest god
bun-see the good side of a supernatural being
busi Apuku forest god
busi-Indji Indian gods who reside in the forest
busi-Mama forest monster
busi-winti gods who dwell in the forest
busidji a forest god
busuntji Kromanti water gods
daggu dog, bitch
dabra-Awese name of an Aisa
daguwe a goddess of the earth/a serpent
dede-kondre the afterlife
dede-oso vigil, place where a dead person is laid out
didibri particularly evil supernatural beings/demons
dji, tji, yi supernatural being
djodjo the guardian spirits of someone or their supernatural parents
djodjo-paiman food for the djodjo after the purification ritual of the kra (soul) or jewelry for the djodjo
djumbi wandering spirit or spirit of a deceased who does not yet realize that he is dead
dofo-kampu priestly hut
dribi-watra purification bath
duman priest
ede-man village chief
fedi death
fesi-man the one who collected the money when buying a plantation
firi-winti calling up a profen or winti to inquire which family member has been possessed by the Aisa
fyofyo conflict of the spirits and the gods with the progeny/the progenitor is dissatisfied with his progeny
fyofyo-watra purification bath to break the fyofyo
futu-boi servant
gebri Kromanti war god
gisri Kromanti sky god (Sofia-Bada)
gron Indji Indian gods who live underground
gron-Winti Aisa or the gods of the earth pantheon
hebi-watra purification bath
indji-poku music for indian gods
indji-winti Indian gods
jampanesi krosi Javanese clothes, clothes in the colors of the papa-winti
jeje soul
jorka a spirit that continues to assume its earthly form and haunts
jorka-beri a funeral procession of ghosts that already accompanies the ghost of a person who will die in the short term to the graveyard
jorka-fyo fyo the progenitor or mother is confused with his offspring
jorka-pree dance ritual for the jorkas
jorka-tafra meal for the jorkas
kabra ancestral spirit that heads the bere (family)
kabra-tafra meal prepared for the ancestral spirits
kaklakka cockroach
kankansumani almighty
kartiki Bakru statuette made of an empty corn cob or wood, symbolizing the lower god Bakru
kaser sowtu unrefined salt used to ward off the “evil eye”
kaser watra purification bath
kaseri purify; keep pure; whitening with pemba
kasripo syrup similar to soy sauce cooked from the juice of bitter manioc
katibo slavery
kawina cylindrical drum
kiri-daguwe the phenomenon that supernatural powers are inherited by the progeny of the one who killed the
koko head (spiritual understanding)
kondre-bonu-man the healer who is at the service of the whole village
kondre-njanjan meal for the village gods
kondre-pori a religious crisis in the village
kondre-pré dance ritual for the village gods
confo collective term
krasi itching
Krastientje female person subject to a high degree of promiscuity
law insane
luku look
mbaya title for an older gentleman
motyo whore
nownow now
obia magical remedy composed of herbs
obiaman healer who, in collaboration with the wintry spirits, assembles a magical remedy (obia)
owrukuku owl
patu pot/pot
pemba doti white clay
prati separation ritual
sneki snake
tongo language
umapikin princess little girl
wasi ritual ablution
wiri herbs
wisi-man priest who masters the incantations
yere listen
zaka zaka low to the ground
sources: Wortubuku fu Sranang Tongo, SIL International / Winti, an Afro-American religion in Suriname by Dr. C. Wooding.