The Gye Nyame is not a symbol you might immediately associate with Christianity. In fact, most people outside of West Africa have never heard of it. But Christianity, over time, has adopted numerous pagan symbols into its repertoire, and this is one of them. As African Christianity, according to the Washington Post, has grown by leaps and bounds in Ghana and its neighbors, they have turned to their symbol-rich cultures for expressions of the Christian faith.
West African religions traditionally believed in a supreme god. In the Twi language of Ghana, he was called Nyame. The Akan people that speak Twi use a symbol drawn from among many (called Adinkra) to express Nyame's supremacy, which is called the Gye Nyame. The symbol depicts a person inside of a hand. Gye Nyame literally means "except for Nyame” in Twi. Traditionally, this meant that nothing should be feared except for Nyame, who is omnipotent and protects his faithful with his hand.
With the growth of Christianity, Nyame has come to simply mean "God" in Twi, and the Gye Nyame, as a result, has become a symbol of the Christian God. In a deeply religious country such as Ghana, the symbol can be seen everywhere, from clothing to organizational seals. It serves as a reminder to people to remember that one can handle anything life throws at them, as long as they remember that God is above all and protects them like a father.
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