Maame Harris Tani, sometimes known as "Grace" (c. 1870s/1880s – 1958) was a Ghanaian religious figure.

Born in the town of Krisan in the Western Region of what would become Ghana, Tani was a member of the Nzema people.[1] She gained a reputation as a healer and herbalist early in life. In 1914 she became the first person converted by William Wadé Harris, whose third wife she became. She developed a talent for spirit possession, and with Papa Kwesi John Nackabah became a leader in the Twelve Apostles Church of Ghana when Harris returned to Ivory Coast.[2] The church remains popular today; central to its existence is the healing ritual known as sunsum edwuma, or "spiritual work", performed with water in basins and developed by Maame Tani in the 1920s.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Akyeampong, Emmanuel K; Gates, Henry Louis, eds. (2012). "Tani, Maame Harris – Oxford Reference". doi:10.1093/acref/9780195382075.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5. Retrieved 3 October 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ Kathleen E. Sheldon (2005). Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5331-7.