Funtunfunefu Denkyemfunefu depicts two crocodiles sharing a single stomach — they fight over food that nourishes them both equally, from the same source. The symbol originates in Akan political philosophy as a warning against internal conflict within a community that shares a common fate.
The Akan teaching is that unity and shared purpose are not ideals — they are survival. When members of a community compete over resources they share equally, everyone suffers. Funtunfunefu teaches that diversity of thought, background, and experience is strength, as long as the shared purpose remains intact.
This symbol carries enormous resonance today — in politics, in organisations, in families. To wear it is to stand for a more sophisticated understanding of unity: not uniformity, but common cause held by different people who choose to recognise what they share rather than what divides them.
