|
Tribe Snapshots Asante |
| Location: |
Southern Ghana |
| Population: |
1.5 million |
| Language: |
Asante (Akan cluster of Twi) |
| Neighboring
Peoples: |
Baule, Fanti, Ewe, Dagomba |
| Types
of Art: |
Aside from the stools which have been mentioned
above, the Asante are best known for their other
royal arts, which include staff and umbrella finials,
lost wax cast gold jewelry, and brass gold weights.
Kente cloth is a high-prestige textile that was
originally woven from imported silk and now is
woven of rayon and other synthetics. Kente cloth
has been worn in Ghana by rulers and since independence
by commoners as well, and it has also become an
important African-American cultural symbol. The
deceased are honored by fired-clay memorial heads. |
| History: |
The rise of the early Akan centralized states
can be traced to the 13th century and may be related
to the opening of trade routes established to
move gold throughout the region. It was not until
the end of the 17th century, however, that the
grand Asante Kingdom emerged in the central forest
region of Ghana, when several small states united
under the Chief of Kumasi in a move to achieve
political freedom from the Denkyira. It is said
that the Golden Stool of the Asante descended
from heaven to rest on the knees of Osei Tutu,
the first Ashantehene, who was guided by his adviser
the priest Okomfe Anokye. The Golden Stool became
the focal point of the creation of the Akan confederacy,
of which the most important people were the Asante.
The Asante dominated Ghana for the next 200 years
and are still a dominant political force today.
See also the essay on African
States by Professor James Giblin. |
| Economy: |
The early Asante economy depended on the trade
of gold and enslaved peoples to Mande and Hausa
traders, as well as to Europeans along the coast.
In return for acting as the middlemen in the slave
trade, the Asante received firearms, which were
used to increase their already dominant power,
and various luxury goods that were incorporated
into Asante symbols of status and political office.
The forest surrounding the Asante served as an
important source of kola nuts, which were sought
after for gifts and used as a mild stimulant among
the Muslim peoples to the north. |
| Political
Systems: |
The Asante developed a highly centralized, semimilitary
government with a paramount chief known as the
Asantahene. The Asantahene, who inherited his
position along matrilineal lines, had numerous
chiefs below him throughout the kingdom who acted
on his behalf. He also had many counselors with
whom he conferred before making decisions. The
Asantahene still plays an important role in Ghana
today, symbolically linking the past with current
Ghanaian politics.
See also the essay on African
States by Professor James Giblin. |
| Religion: |
The spiritual center of the Asante alliance
is the mystical Golden Stool. It is believed to
have descended out of the skies in the late 17th
century as a result of the prayers of Okomfo Anokye,
chief priest of the King of Asante, Nana Osei
Tutu. The stool was presented to the people after
the defeat of the Denkyira, and Anokye declared
that it contained the spirit of the whole of the
Asante nation and that all of the strength of
the nation depended on the safety of the stool.
Essentially, the stool embodies the political
unity of the Akan states and the power of the
chiefs of Asante. Another essential part of Asante
religion is the honoring of departed kings who
are represented by stools which have been blackened
during a sacrificial ceremony. Although the golden
stool is clearly a more visible representation
of the spiritual link to the King, it is the blackened
stool that truly honors the strength and continuity
of the throne. |
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