Asante Information |
| 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. |