Sank)fa is an adrinka symbol, originating from the Ashantes in Ghana, West Africa. This symbol asks us "to go back and reclaim." It reminds us of the importance and significance of returning "home", and to honour our past culture, by bringing it's wisdom into our present day. When we revive our stories, we broaden the diversity of story-telling and our perception of the present because every story changes culture.

The significance of each story is set by the mediated gate keepers of our culture. Who determines the significance of the story, and the way it is remembered (reported) in our mediated world, decides when the event is over then sets up the way it is recounted in history.
Re-interpretations of the past have, at times, led to history wars where historians argue their perception based on evidence of the past, and from there cultural context and theory. Often the evidence is written by the past dominant culture, who had access to influence and write the media of its day, and to select what to keep and what to burn. The stories we hear today become the cannon of culture, and influence the generations of the future.

The internet is currently regarded as a democratizing technology because of the rise of citizen journalism, social networking, and diversity of contributions. Is this really true? Depends on who you read... what you can access, and where you read it, how it is edited and interpreted... in the future.

What of those untold stories waiting to be heard? How can they be shared? How can they grow and be nurtured? Who deems them to be significant? How shall they be told? Who shall tell them? By encouraging our emerging writers and story-tellers to share their stories, to journey with them "back home", we enrich the present with new ways of experiencing the past, and in doing so, navigate with new insight and sensibility into the future.

Notations: In spelling the word, Sank)a the symbol, ")" represents a reversed "c", which might not necessarily show up on your web page browser.

P.D. Casely-Hayford.© 2010

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