ASHANTI
* History
of the Ashanti People * Culture
of the Ashanti People *
The "Abusua"
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* Treasures and Homes
* Status of Ashanti Women
* Images of Ashanti Culture
*
* Golden Stool *
Asante (Ashanti) History Much of the modern nation of Ghana
was dominated from the late 17th through the late 19th century by a state
known as Asante. Asante was the largest and most powerful of a series of
states formed in the forest region of southern Ghana by people known as the
Akan. Among the factors leading the Akan to form states, perhaps the most
important was that they were rich in gold. |
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In the 15th and 16th centuries, gold-seeking traders came
to Akan country not only from the great Songhay empire (in the modern
Republic of Mali) and the Hausa cities of northern Nigeria, but also from
Europe. After the Portuguese built the first European fort in tropical
Africa at El Mina in 1482, the stretch of the Atlantic coast now in Ghana
became known in Europe as the Gold Coast. Akan entrepreneurs used gold to
purchase slaves from both African and European traders. Indeed, while
Europeans would eventually ship at least twelve million slaves to the
Americas (the estimates vary between 20 - 40 million people who were sent to
the Americas as slaves from West Africa by European slave traders), they
initially became involved in slave trading by selling African slaves to
African purchasers. The Portuguese supplied perhaps 12,000 slaves to Akan
country between 1500 and 1535, and continued selling slaves from Sao Tome
and Nigeria to the Gold Coast throughout the 16th century. Before Benin
imposed a ban on slave exports, a Portuguese slave trader reported that at
Benin they purchased, "a great number of slaves who were bartered very
profitably at El Mina. The labour of these slaves enabled the Akan to expand
gold production by developing deep-level mining in addition to panning
alluvial soils. Even more importantly, slave labor enabled the Akan to
undertake the immensely laborious task of clearing the dense forests of
southern Ghana for farming. The most prominent historian of Asante, Ivor
Wilks, suggests that while some farming on a very limited scale had probably
been practiced in the Ghanaian forests for millennia, only when the Akan
began importing slaves in the 15th and 16th centuries were they able to
shift from an economy which relied primarily on hunting and gathering to one
which became primarily agricultural. As this transition to agriculture took
place, Akan communities not only planted more of their traditional crops -
plantains, yams, and rice - but also adopted a wide variety of new crops
from the Americas, including maize (corn) and cassava, which were brought to
Africa by Europeans.
Farming led to rapid increase of population in the forest
region. As the population grew, small groups migrated across the Ghanaian
forest, searching for good farm land. Often these groups were led, believes
Wilks, by entrepreneurs who used slave labor to do the initial work of
clearing forest. Later, these entrepreneurs would invite free settlers to
join them, and in this way new communities were created throughout the
forest. These developments set the stage for state-building in the 17th and
18th centuries. Politically ambitious groups sought not only to establish
control over gold production and trading, but also to impose their authority
on the new farming communities in the forest. Consequently, formerly
independent villages combined together in growing states. Whereas in the
late 1500s Akan country contained at least 38 small states, by the mid-1600s
it had only a handful, and by 1700 only one state Asante reigned
supreme. The events which led to the foundation of Asante began with the
rise of Denkyira, a state which waged wars to gain control of the Akan gold
trade between 1650 and 1670. These wars led many refugees to flee into
uninhabited forest regions. Among the refugees were the clan of Oyoko, who
settled at Kumasi, the town which would later become famous as the Asante
capital. Initially the small town of Kumasi had no choice but to become a
vassal of powerful Denkyira, a situation which required not only that it pay
tribute, but also that it send a hostage to live in the court of the
Denkyira ruler as his servant. The chief of Kumasi chose a nephew, Osei
Tutu, to become this hostage. According to Akan traditions, after becoming a
distinguished general in the Denkyira army, Osei Tutu rebelled against the
Denkyira king by refusing to hand over gold booty which he had captured in
war. Then Osei Tutu fled home to Kumasi. His action must have marked him as
a man of exceptional courage and leadership, for when the Kumasi chief died,
probably in the early 1680s, the people of Kumasi selected Nana Osei Tutu as
his successor. Osei Tutu soon expanded his authority, initially by placing
the communities within a radius of about fifty miles of Kumasi under his
control, and eventually by challenging Denkyira itself. In wars from 1699 to
1701, he defeated the Denkyira king and forced numerous Denkyira sub-chiefs
to transfer their allegiance to Kumasi. In the remaining years before his
death in 1717, Osei Tutu consolidated the power of his state. Osei Tutu was
succeeded by Opoku Ware, who increased Asante¹s gold trade, tried to reduce
dependence on European imports by establishing local distilling and weaving
industries, and greatly increased the size of Asante. At his death in 1750,
his realm stretched from the immediate hinterland of the Gold Coast to the
savannahs of present-day northern Ghana. By this time it controlled an area
of about 100,000 square miles and a population about 100,000 sq. miles and a
population of two to three million.
As Asante(Ashanti) grew, it developed an administrative
structure modeled on that of its predecessor Denkyira. Historians sometimes
speak about Asante's "metropolitan" and "provincial" spheres. "Metropolitan"
Asante consisted primarily of the towns in a fifty-mile radius around Kumasi.
The rulers of these towns, many of whom shared membership in the Oyoko clan,
participated in the enthronement of Asante kings, served on the king's
advisory council, and retained considerable autonomy. By contrast, outlying
Akan regions were more clearly subordinate and were forced to pay tribute to
the Asante rulers. The most distant districts of the state which were
populated by non-Akan people annually sent thousands of slaves to Kumasi." "Opoku
Ware and his successors tried to centralize power in the hands of the king,
or Asantehene. They placed all trade under state agencies controlled by the
Asantehene, and created a complex bureaucracy to govern and collect taxes.
They curbed the power of the military by creating a palace guard whose
commanders were chosen by the Asantehene(Ashanti King) himself. Asante
achieved a high degree of administrative efficiency (its well-maintained
roads, for example, were famous) and the ability to implement sophisticated
fiscal policies. Nevertheless, the Asantehene(Ashanti King) and his state
always had many opponents. Opoku Ware himself barely survived a revolt by
military leaders in 1748, while towns around Kumasi resisted interference by
the Asantehene bureaucracy. Much of the opposition to the king came from a
class of wealthy traders. The nineteenth century brought new adversaries:
British traders and colonial officials who wished to end Asante control of
coastal towns and trade routes. Between 1801 and 1824, Asantehene Osei Bonsu
resisted the spread of British influence, and led the defense of Kumasi when
the British attacked in 1824. Although Asante had exported slaves to the
Americas throughout its history, when Europe gradually ended its slave trade
in the 19th century Asante was able to compensate for the decline in slave
exports by increasing sales of kola nuts to savannah regions to the north.
Like virtually all African societies, however, Asante was unable to prevent
European colonization. Its independence ended in 1874, when a British force,
retaliating for an Asante attack on El Mina two years earlier, sacked Kumasi
and confiscated much of its wealth, including its artistic treasures. Kumasi
was captured by the British Army in 1873 (as a result of which much of the
magnificent Asante gold regalia can be seen in London in the British
Museum). After a final uprising in 1901, led by the Queen Mother of Ejisu
(Nana Yaa Asantewaa) Nana Yaa
Asantewaa Asante came into British Protection and finally became a
region of the Gold Coast colony.
Asantehene = Means "The King of Ashant"i
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Culled from AGC
Village life
In Ashanti, as in much of Ghana, the village is a social
as well as an economic heart of society. Everyone is expected to participate
in the major ceremonies. The most popular ceremonies are funeral
celebrations which typically last several days. The extended family - no
matter where they live - will travel home to attend a funeral. The entire
village/town and the inhabitants of its environs will also come to pay their
last respects. Thus, the funeral expenses can be a huge burden on the
family. Having gathered family and friends from far and wide, many often
take the opportunity to conduct business or land transactions at funerals. |
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In each village there are people of particular
importance. The Chief together with the Elders maintains traditional customs
and ceremonies and deals with disputes. The traditional priest and the
herbalist provide a medical service which can be partly paid for in local
produce (a hen, eggs etc.) as opposed to Western medicine which requires
cash payment, and usually a considerable journey to the nearest hospital.
The priest, when possessed by the gods, is particularly powerful at dealing
with spiritual problems. The herbalist relies on local medicines to effect a
cure. Many of these cures are now being investigated by research institutes
both in Ghana and elsewhere as alternative remedies for many ailments,
including Malaria. The linguist has no corresponding role in western
society. A man wishing to consult the fetish priest or the Chief addresses
his remarks to the Linguist, who then passes them on and returns the reply
(even though all three people are present together). The linguist is an
intermediary, acting as a buffer to reduce the severity of utterances and so
save delicate situations. If the Chief should make a harsh pronouncement, it
is the duty of the linguist to paraphrase and clothe the statement in
proverbs.
The Ashanti Family unit
As in most developing countries, there is a strong
extended family system. Poorer members may seek financial assistance from
their better off relatives for school fees, medical expenses etc. But
visitors are always welcomed, even if their arrival may be a cause of
financial concern. In Asante, the family line is matralineal - in that it
passes through the mother to her children. A man is strongly related to his
mother's brother but only weakly related to his father's brother. This must
be viewed in the context of a polygamous society in which the mother/child
bond is likely to be much stronger than the father/child bond. As a result,
in inheritance, a man's nephew (sister's son) will have priority over his
own son. Uncle-nephew relationships therefore assume a dominant position.
(Legislation was introduced in 1984 to change this traditional pattern of
inheritance.)
Proverbs
The official language is English but this is not spoken
by many villagers. The Asante are part of the Akan tribes who speak various
dialects of Twi. The language is very rich in proverbs, the use of which is
taken to be a sign of wisdom. Euphemisms are very common, especially about
events connected with death. Rather than say "the King has died", one would
say "a mighty tree has fallen". Proverbs are often used to express ideas
indirectly as can be seen from the following: "Obi mfa ne nsa benkum nkyere
n'agya amanfo" - this is literally "Do not point to the ruins of your
father's house with your left hand" - which is equivalent to "Do not scorn
culture inherited from your forefathers".
Religion
There is a universal God (Onyame) but this does not
exclude gods associated with a particular region or spirits (obosum) by whom
a priest may be possessed. (This lack of exclusiveness makes it possible,
say, for a traditional priest to be a Roman Catholic). But there is no doubt
of the existence of the Kingdom of the Dead(Samanade) so custom requires
that great attention is paid to the proper conduct of burials and funeral
celebrations. Death is the one great certainty. Traditional religion does
not require regular attendance at particular buildings. Religion is not
something that is remembered for one hour a week. The Gods and the spirits
of the ancestors are always present.
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The constitution of Asante (Ashanti) is based on the Abusua (Family system).
There are seven established Abusua or Family Groups in Asante
Namely: Oyoko and Dako
Bretuo and Agona
Asona
Asenie
Aduana (Atwea, Abrade) Ekuona and Asokore
Asakyire |
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Every member of the Ashanti tribe is a member of one of the above Abusua or
family groups and can trace their descent only through the Female Line to
the same female ancestress who would invariably be the Founder of the
Abusua.(Family).
The first effect of this relationship is clearly that members of one Abusua
are considered to have the same blood, and marriage between them is
therefore forbidden.
Abusua is not the same as clan. Whereas Abusua means (or is) a group or
groups of people descended from one great-grand-mother on the maternal side,
Clan is a federation of four or five different groups of Abusua or Families
with one recognised head. So those members of the same clan cannot, like
members of an Abusua, trace their ancestry (or Descent) through the same
common ancestress. Marriage between members of a clan is, therefore,
permissible, Where members of a clan do not intermarry, the group would be
more of a family than a clan. A child born of any marriage in Ashanti is a
member of the same Abusua or Family as its mother, and naturally comes under
the chief whom its mother serves.
Inheritance and Succession
The principles governing inheritance stress sex generation and age – that is
to say, men come before women and seniors before juniors. Even though the
general terminilogy is one of nephew-inheritance (matrilineal) the nephew is
sometimes not an automatic successor to his uncle. Very often, the property
or stool in question has to move, step by step, to the last male inheritor
(brother) before passing on to a male son of a female member of the mother’s
family.
It is when all possible make heirs have been exhausted that the females are
sought after. Among the females the order is:
1 sister
2 eldest sister’s daughter
3 sister’s daughter’s daughter
This is the line of inheritance of an individual person’s property or a
chief’s stool. What needs to be mentioned here is that the character of the
person to inherit is also an essential determining factor. This is because
no family (Abusua) will allow a drunkard or a thief or a spendthrift, for
instance, to succeed to property or a stool of a deceased rich man or
eminent chief for fear that he might dissipate the wealth or bring the stool
into disrepute or even discrete it.
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The taking of responsibility is every Ashanti man's lot
and he believes that it begins in the ownership of a home where he will be
responsible for a group of the clean. Wherever he may be, in whatever
circumstance he may be placed, he tries to make his home. He builds a house
to accommodate himself and all those under his care. He say: Wo se akyi nnye
de a eho ara na wo tafro. This is very near the saying "there is no place
like home." For this reason the Ashanti's highest ambition and all his
aspiration is directed to building a house and making a home. Pubic opinion
is so very bitter against celibacy that the Ashanti's next pressing concern
is to get married and have children. |
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Sterility is considered a most deplorable misfortune. Its
unfortunate victims have to endure contempt and derision. Many build their
houses and leave the father 's or maternal uncle's house soon after getting
married. As he is of age, he should begin to be self-contained,
self-sustained and independent. Wo aso aware a, to wo prete. "if you have
reached the state of getting married, you must be able to provide yourself
with dishes," is the saying that independence should be followed by
responsibility which one must shoulder squarely. And yet he never stands
alone in making his mind on these essential projects in life. He usually
builds his house on a plot his father assigned to him. It is by the site of
or behind the father's.
Marriage by Consent
The Ashanti man takes a lot of things into consideration before
getting married. Union by marriage is too important to trivial treatment.
The parents of a daughter must hand over the human life in their care to a
really responsible custodian. No daughter will accept an offer of marriage
from any an without the consent of her parents. "If my parents agree to your
proposal, I shall have no objection," she will say. In practice parents
choose wives and husbands for their sons and daughters. It is their
responsibility to be able to solve the initial problems (with all their
implications) in a lasting tie like marriage. Resulting from war efforts,
the woman is the custodian of the children of the marriage and they are, in
essence, hers. they claim clanship through their mother and to a larger
extent, inheritance, especially since the land, the Ashanti's precious
property, is known to belong to the woman and not the man But then comes the
adage that if a woman weaves a shield, she stores it in a man's room. in
other words what every woman acquires must belong to a man.. Marriage
therefore plays an important part in the communal life of the Ashanti Nation
(Asanteman), Many Ashanti wives have become known to their husbands for the
first time in their first meeting as man and wife. And yet divorce is almost
unknown in a true Ashanti community. Parents on both side have a duty to
keep the marriage going or else break the marriage with the resultant break
or a life-long tie not only between the couple but the two families. All
marital leakage likely to flood and demolish the structure of a community
are quickly blocked. " aware annya akyigyin a, egu." Meaning - It is the
marriage that has no backing that breaks. All marriages, once contracted,
should be self supporting.
Communal Life
The average Ashanti is polygamous. Many men strive to marry more
than one woman to show their readiness to support a large family and their
generosity. Ashanti communities are basically communal and the wealth of one
should benefit all. And many men think the best way perhaps, of sharing
wealth is taking two or more wives.
Despite difficulties brought about by the custom of inheritance by people
other than one's own children, the average Ashanti feels a clear duty
towards his wives and children. It is the father's responsibility to train
his children to be truly men of valour and honesty.
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Ye ko bisa aberewa "We are going to consult the old woman", places the woman
as the final arbiter in all decisions in the Ashanti community. When a
tribunal sits to settle a case, its members finally retire to take a
decision and this final act culminating in giving justice is referred to as
"consulting the old woman." The woman is the custodian of all knowledge and
treasures of the community.
In Ashanti men rarely defy the women in this respect. Women are known as
reputed connoisseurs and must not be challenged in their specialty. It is
only among themselves that criticisms may be whispered and even insinuations
made. However inferior an Ashanti woman may appear to an outside observer
she is the final decisive factor in all the activities of the en and the
arbiter of what is good or bad for the whole community.
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Wars have been started because a Queen Mother said the war should be fought
although the men and the chief would have been satisfied with a lesser
punishment for the offending state. Nana Yaa Asantewaa
A whole village has been sold into slavery because the wife of a chief had
led him to enter into an unholy alliance with her people. Tyrants whom the
people could not remove have fallen easy prey to the wiles of a woman and
then the whole effort of warring section spared. From time immemorial the
Ashantis have recognised the powers of a wise woman and have made use of
them. The woman as a Queen Mother was invaluable.
There is very little distinction of sex in the social grouping or
organisation in Ashanti. Boys and girls mingle quite freely. Boys or men
have a natural inclination to predominate, and are expected to, and they do
the lion's share of the services necessary for the proper upkeep of the
group. And yet there is no disregard of the status of women in the
organisations. In their dance bands there are Agrohene and Agrohemmaa, the "
KING" of the band and the "QUEEN". The King (Agrohene) is directly
responsible for the ales and the "QUEEN" (Agrohemmaa) for the females and
both are jointly responsible for the whole group. And no member repudiates
either's authority their assistants and other ranks are similarly regarded
and respected.
It is only in the fighting forces that women may not play a major part
although there are several instances when wars have been started by women.
In war time their duty is to care for the young and infirm at home and daily
they keep up the home-front with dirges, prayers and patriotism (Mobeme) for
the men at the front. No man of fighting age can stay at home or hide
anywhere to hear the face the challenge in these songs without taking arms
immediately. The insinuation can cause him to take his own life. He is
Kosannkobi, wokasa obaa ano a Kobiri nku wo. Deserter, may Kobiri (an
important goddess) kill you if you dare speak as a man to a woman. The man
who evades going to, or escapes from, the battle-field has no claim to
adultery fee if his wife commits adultery. He is not a man. He is but
another woman. This is the source of the supremacy of the Ashantis fighting
force. The challenge to play one's part as a man is irresistible. Added to
this is the unflinching loyalty to ancestral stools and to the Golden Stool
of mystery and legend.
Ashanti women are as brave and daring as the men. But for the impediment of
motherhood that keeps them at the home-front they might even have outshone
the men in triumphing in wars. For the situation changes when villages are
attacked. The women stir the men up with war cries and supply them with
stones and sticks
It is only in the fighting forces that women may not play a major part
although there are several instances when wars have been started by women.
In war time their duty is to care for the young and infirm at home and daily
they keep up the home-front with dirges, prayers and patriotism (Mobeme) for
the men at the front. No man of fighting age can stay at home or hide
anywhere to hear and face the challenge in these songs without taking arms
immediately. The insinuations can cause him to take his own life. He is
Kosannkobi, wokasa obaa ano a Kobiri nku wo. Deserter, may Kobiri (an
important goddess) kill you if you dare speak as a man to a woman. The man
who evades going to, or escapes from the battle-field has no claim to
adultery fee if his wife commits adultery. He is not a man. He is but
another woman. This is the source of the supremacy of the Ashanti fighting
force. The challenge to play one's part as a man is irresistible. Added to
this is the unflinching loyalty to ancestral stools and to the Golden Stool
of mystery and legend
Ashanti women are as brave and daring as the men. But for the impediment of
motherhood that keeps them at the home-front they might even have outshone
the men in triumphing in wars. For the situation change when villages are
attacked. The women stir the men up with war cries and supply them with
stones and sticks for offence or defence. If an attack was too sudden and
caught the men unprepared the women especially those nursing young babies,
filled in quite adequately by bringing out all accessible defensive weapons.
The last war in Ashanti history was fought under the leadership of a Queen
mother in 1900. Nana Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mottates in Ashanti to take up
arms against the British. She was immediately obeyed by all, whom she
inspired with her unquenchable sprit. It was a typical example of the
leadership which women could produce in extreme emergencies. Today there are
no wars and the Ashanti woman has shifted her energies to other things
particularly retail trade in which she holds, together with her other
colleagues elsewhere in the county, about 80 percent of the trade returns of
the country.
Girls are generally assistants in domestic duties and offer services which
in other countries would be done by maid-servants. They are discouraged from
spending time in games and sports as they boys do. Mothers are often blamed
if their daughters turn out to be uninterested in house-keeping. In the
main, sports are considered out of reach of girls. They too weak and prone
to accidents for that, Their strength and energy is to be preserved and
conserved for the strenuous life of motherhood that awaits them. A woman is
considered to born with too much responsibility to lend herself to sports.
Laziness is generally detested in an Ashanti community but it is especially
despised in a woman. A woman of whom the term 'Lazy' or 'idle' can be used
id utterly discredited in Ashanti. Obaa huhuni, a vagrant hoodlum of a
woman, dapaafoo, the idler and kwadwofo, the lazy one, are names no woman
wants to be called. She is perfectly aware of the adverse effects they could
have on her and may prevent her from enjoying a successful marriage, that is
if these words had not already debarred her from the romantic approach of
men. Marriage with such a woman is said to be the proverbial 'nine days
wonder' and the victims have usually been strangers. This is one reason why
Ashanti parents rarely allow their children to marry strangers. They think
that such marriages are hazardous and only indulged in by the unguided
ignorant, who generally turns out to be a stranger. And, unless he has very
sound reasons, no Ashanti man may in vexation or anger call his wife such
names.
No Ashanti community exists without a social group or some sort and from
girlhood to womanhood the daughter must seen t play an active part in the
social life of the community. Withdrawal from the social life of one's age
group is especially frowned on and is thought to be a serious blemish of
character. One who cannot mix in a group is considered unfit for either
human or animal society - Ommpe nnipa, onnse nipa nnse aboa. The strength of
the belief in the importance of social communion can be seen where reference
is made to the other world in these terms- Asamanfo po pe dodo na etese
teasefo (Even the dead pray for increase in their number in Hades how much
more the living).
The Ashanti spends time and much energy to fit his off-spring into society.
Lessons on greetings and repries start very early in life. Youth are taught
to comport themselves at gatherings. Parents are blamed for the impoliteness
and uncouth bearing to their children. Bad breeding produces bad citizens
and parents are blamed for bad citizens in Ashanti.
Except in the matter of passing death sentences and enforcing them nothing
in the organisation of social life is peculiar to Ashanti. It is Akan . All
Akans of Fanti, Assin, Denkyira, Buem, Akwamu, Akwapim, Akim, Kwahu, Ashanti
and Brong are the same in their organised social communities. Apart from
slight variations in customs they are one and can be welded into an
inseparable unit in this if not in all other aspects of life. The word "AKAN"
is said to drive from Kann (patently clean and free from adulteration, or
light and free from darkness). And so the people in Ghana known as Akans
feel that their social heritage is distinctive.
They think:
A CHARGE TO KEEP WHAT THEY HAVE,
THE HUMAN RACE TO GLORIFY;
ALL OTHER NEIGHBOURS TO SAVE;
AND RAISING HUMAN ESTEEM HIGH.
The Ashanti thinks that by being born Ashanti (Asante) he has been ordained
by the deity to bring into world all that is best in the human race.
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(Click on thumbnails to view Larger Picture)
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Ghana was the first African country to gain independence
in 1957. Its constitution makes provision for traditional leaders like the
King of the ancient Ashanti tribe. Producer Jan Lampen and presenter Manu
Padaychee explored the myths and rituals of the Ashanti.
A drum-roll is the ancient call of the Ashanti Kingdom. The voice of a proud
nation. For centuries, the drums have called warriors to war. Echoing
through the forests of West Africa, they have announced the arrival of kings
and mourned the death of Queens. Today, the drums are still beating, but
some say they are now talking of changing times.
While the current King of the Ashanti, Otumfuo Opoku Ware the second, still
occupies the Royal Courts the elders are already casting their eyes on a
possible heir. And in the corridors of power candidates are preparing for
the battle of the stool. The Ashanti stool is a symbol of power and status.
Every Chief has one. But there is only one stool that is cast in solid gold.
This is the Golden Stool
This is a replica of the stool. Not many people have seen the original and
only the King and his most trusted advisers know where it is hidden. As
Ashanti legend has it, around 300 years ago one of their wisest and greatest
priests called together the Ashanti in a effort to unite the nation. He
commanded from the sky a symbol that would unite them. Amid thunder and
darkness there descended from the sky the golden stool which floated down
and landed on the lap of the priest. That stool represents to this day the
very essence of Ashanti unity.
In search of the Golden Stool, we find ourselves in Ghana. A 200km road
connects Accra with Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti nation.
The roads into the interior of the country are all that remain of the
fifteenth century colonial invasion. From Europe they came in shiploads
looking for gold. And in this Ashanti region they found it. In fact, so many
golden artefacts were exported that by the seventeenth century, the European
currency had become gold-based.
This is the palace of the Ashanti King Otumfuo. From here he rules over a
third of Ghana’s population of 17 million people. Somewhere in the maze of
passages in the palace rests the soul of Ashanti nationhood - the golden
stool. Because of his ailing health, the King could not grant us an
interview. But his son, the Prince Nana Akyempe-hene agreed to lift the veil
on Ashanti culture. If only ever so slightly...
PRINCE AKYEMPE-HENE: EVERYTHING THAT IS REASURED IS HIDDEN IN A SECRET
PLACE... WE'VE PROTECTED THE STOOL BY PUTTING IT IN A VERY SECURE PLACE
WHICH PERHAPS IS ONLY KNOWN TO THE KING AND A FEW ATTENDANTS. IT IS RARELY
SEEN. BEING OF GOLD, IT IS APPEALING TO EVERYONE AND WHO KNOWS, IF IT IS
BROUGHT OUT EVERY DAY A CRIMINAL MAY ONE DAY POUNCE ON IT AND TAKE IT AWAY.
Carried on the shoulders of a royal bearer, the golden stool has never
touched the ground. It is considered so sacred that no-one has ever sat on
it. On rare festive occasions, it is placed on an elephant skin next to the
King. On more than one occasion, the Golden Stool has been the cause of
full-scale war. The 1873 Ashanti-British war was particularly brutal. It is
believed that Ashanti warriors decapitated their enemies and made effigies
of their heads which now adorn the stool. It is no wonder then, that the
British demanded to be given this seat of power when they finally crushed
the Ashanti Army at the turn of the century.
Alongside the traditional chiefs, Great Britain continued to rule the Gold
Coast Colony until 1957 when Ghana gained its independence. Despite the fact
that the British never got their hands on the golden stool, they did have a
major impact on the Ashanti culture.
Prince Akyempe-hene for instance, completed his law degree in London and
subsequently helped the central government of Ghana to implement a
Western-style democracy. Whether it works for Ghana is an open debate. But
for now, the Prince has swapped his lawyer's robe for traditional Kente
cloth and he has returned to claim his chieftancy and his stool.
The role of traditional leaders is entrenched in Ghana's Constitution. In
return, the Prince and all the paramount chiefs have had to cede political
power to the central government. Some would argue that this trade-off
undermines the Ashanti's traditional value systems. Prince Akyempe-hene does
believe that the increased interaction between traditional Ashanti culture
and the west has lead to a dilution of tradition, but culture is a dynamic
thing he says and he feels confident that they are doing their best to
preserve the core of Ashanti culture.
According to the Prince, Ashanti culture is rooted in a system of extended
families. In fact, most of the cases brought to his council involve family
matters. With a linguist sitting on his right, he listens to both sides of
an argument and then tries to mediate a compromise. If there is a case of
serious wrongdoing, punishment or a fine can be meted out. The most serious
cases are referred to the King.
Nana Akyempe-hene will never be King because the golden stool is passed down
matri-lineally. Several nephews on his mother’s side of the family are
currently jostling for the position. In the meantime, the King is hardly
seen in his traditional council and has cut down on public duties. The
Prince now finds himself with a double work-load. He never expected to come
back to his traditional roots, but once his father asked him to come back,
he really had no choice. Prince Akyempe-hene has completed the circle. As a
young boy in the King's courtroom, he learned the Ashanti ways. But it was
the British that moulded his character and introduced him to European
culture. In a strange twist of fate, his story is the mirror image of
another tale.
Thirty-six years ago a young school teacher named Alan Cole left England and
came to Ghana. He is still here. Today he is known as Nana Osei Bediako
Firaw and is the only white chief of the Ashanti nation. It is a position
that does not sit too well with his family back in the U.K.
ALAN: THEY THINK I’M SORT OF LOOSE UP HERE, BUT I’M ENJOYING MYSELF... I
HAVEN’T DIED YET. I’VE PUT ON CONSIDERABLE WIEIGHT IF ANYTHING, SO I DON’T
THINK THEY NEED TO WORRY.
For almost thirty years Alan taught geography, mathematics and English. His
contribution to the people of Kumawu was finally rewarded when they
presented him with a stool - making him a full Ashanti Chief. Married to a
local Ashanti woman and with two children, Alan has more than assimilated
the Ashanti culture. He is a complete convert. Without an Ashanti family
tree of his own, Nana Alan did not have his own traditional stool to claim.
One had to be made. Carved from solid wood, it is believed that whoever sits
on it, surrenders his soul to the stool.
A 100 years ago, the funeral of an Ashanti King was a traumatic experience.
He was buried with a live entourage. Fortunately, this custom as been
abandoned. But the ritual of blackening the stool, Alan tells us, still
takes place. An animal is slaughtered and blood mixed with dark fat is used
to blacken the stool of the deceased before it is placed in a secret stool
room where no-one is allowed except for the official stool guardian.
Alan Cole... or Nana Osei Bediako Firaw, as he now prefers to be called, has
only been back to the UK once, in 1967. He did not like what he saw. He does
not even have a British passport anymore and on his meagre Chief’s salary,
he does not foresee any extensive travelling. Ghana is not a bad place, he
says, and if he was given the same choice again, he would follow the way of
the stool.
Perhaps in every tale there is something lost and something gained. Prince
Akyempe-hene has lost his army of mighty Ashanti Warriors, but he gained a
far more powerful weapon. Peace.
WE ARE ASHANTIS WITHIN GHANA, THEREFORE OUR FUTURE OUR PROSPERITY IS LINKED
TO THAT OF ALL THE OTHER TRIBES IN GHANA. WE STAND FOR OUR TRADITIONAL
VALUES, VALUES OF FAIRNESS, RESPECT, HONESTY, INTEGRITY AND OF EACH BEING
OUR BROTHER’S KEEPER.
The Prince believes that western values have caused the break-up of Africa’s
extended family system. It is time to unearth the mythology and legends of
the past, he says. It is time for Africa to heal herself.
Sikadwa Kofi
As A symbol of nationhood, and because if contains the sumsum or Soul of
Ashanti (Asante), the Golden Stool is considered to be so sacred that no
person whatsoever is allowed to sit upon it. It is kept with the strictest
security and precaution; and is taken outside only on exceptionally grand
occasions. Never must it come in contact with the earth or the ground.
It is always lying on its own stool or on the skin of an animal such as the
leopard. Ashantis have on many occasion made great sacrifices to defend it
when its safety had been threatened. In 1896 they submitted to the
deportation of their King, Prempeh I, rather than resort to a war in which
they feared they might suffer defeat and risk the loss of the Golden stool.
They deemed the loss of their King a small thing compared with the loss of
their Golden Stool.
Two other incidents show how much importance the Ashantis attach to the
Golden Stool. In March 1900, the governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Frederick
Hodgson went to Kumasi to demand the surrender of the stool. "Where is the
Golden Stool", he asked "Why am I not siting on the Golden Stool at this
moment?.. Why did you not take the opportunity of my coming to Kumasi to
bring the Golden Stool, to give it to me to sit upon..?" This was a tactless
and terrible mistake arising out of complete ignorance of the symbolism of
the stool. the Golden Stool was not a kingly throne, but the resting-place
of the nation's soul. The speech was heard in silence. When the assembly
broke up, every man went home and prepared for war. Three days later, war
broke out between the Ashantis and the British in which the Ashantis were
finally subdued. the Ashantis, Ashanti and British War 1900 however, claimed
victory because they fought only to preserve the Golden Stool; and this they
achieved.
The second event took place twenty years afterwards. a group of African
road-builders accidentally came across the hiding place of the Golden Stool.
They robbed it of its gold ornaments. The whole of Ashanti was thrown into
alarm, and people put on their mourning cloths. the British officials,
realising the seriousness of the situation, took a very wise course of
action the culprits were arrested and the Kumasi Council of chiefs permitted
to try them according to traditional custom. The verdict was a foregone
conclusion. The Council considered the crime a serious one and therefore
imposed the death penalty. Bit the British later commuted the sentence to
perpetual banishment.
The Ashantis have always been proud of the uniqueness of the Golden Stool
when the king of Gyaman, called Adinkra, made a golden stool for himself,
the Asantehene was so annoyed that he led an army against Gyaman. Adinkra
was totally defeated near Bontuku, and his head cut off. The Asantehene then
ordered that Adinkra's golden stool should be melted down and cast into two
masks, to represent Adinkra's face. These masks were hung one on each side
of the Ashanti Golden Stool.
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