| History: |
Among the Akan-speaking peoples of southern Ghana and adjacent Côte
d'Ivoire ritual pottery and figurative terracottas are used in connection
with funeral practices that date at least to the 1600s. Much of what we
know about ancient Akan customs comes to us in the form of oral histories
which have survived for several hundred years. Many of the objects that
have been recovered through archaeological methods are still produced in
modified form among Akan peoples today. The rise of the early Akan
centralized states can be traced to the 13th century, and is likely
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. (For descriptions of modern
related cultures, see the entries for Anyi, Aowin, Akuapem, Baule,
Asante.) |
