Getting up close and personal with the King

---

Soon after crossing the border from Togo into Ghana, we headed for Kumasi, Ghana’s second city and the ancestral home of the old Ashanti Kingdom.

By way of background, the Ashanti people were one of the most powerful nations in Africa until the end of the 19th century, when the British annexed Ashanti country, bringing it into their Gold Coast colony. Originally from the northern savannah regions, the Ashanti people migrated south, carving farms out of the wild rainforest. The region was rich in gold, and trade in this precious metal developed quickly, with small tribal states developing and vying for control of resources. In the late 17th century, the Ashanti ruler had brought these states together in a loose confederation and the Ashanti Kingdom was born. Their social organisation is still very much centred on the Asantehene figure, the king of all the Ashanti. The Ashanti are the lords of the gold, so they dress themselves with it during ceremonies. The Ashanti Kingdom was famed for its gold, royalty, ceremony, and the development of a bureaucratic judicial system.

We were fortunate enough to get our timing right to get access to two quite different Ashanti ceremonies. After a brief visit to the local Ashanti Cultural Centre, which gave us a detailed insight into the history of what was once one of the most powerful kingdoms in the region, along with a number of gold exhibits, we were then invited to attend a traditional Ashanti funeral. On arrival, we were all introduced in a line to the extended family, and initially I thought we should put on a sombre face and convey our condolences, but how wrong that was. We were met with bright smiles and even some high fives, and the party soon broke into music and dance. All the locals were dressed exclusively in red and black except for the key family members, and we estimated there were over 500 people in attendance, including a few of us visitors who were actually encouraged to take photos. I guess you would think of it more as a celebration of a life, and needless to say, we had no idea who the recently departed person was. All up, we were there for about an hour and it was a great introduction to the Ashanti people and culture. (Note that my new crappy camera had problems in providing contrast between dark faces and a shaded background - an obvious problem in West Africa!).

Our good fortunate with the timing of the Ashanti funeral was matched by our good timing of being in Kumasi for the Akwasidae Festival, which is celebrated by the Ashanti chiefs, as well as the Ashanti faithful, and occurs always on a Sunday, once every six weeks. On this very flamboyant day, the Asantehene (King of Ashanti) meets his subjects and subordinate chiefs in the courtyard of the Manhyia Palace, where they pay tribute to him. The Golden Stool (which symbolises the Ashanti throne) is displayed at the palace grounds in the presence of the king, and people visit in large numbers, singing and dancing. The king holds court on the occasion of the festival, and people have the liberty to shake hands with him. Prior to the ceremony, he also witnesses a colourful parade, from his palace grounds at Kumasi. Participants of the parade include drum beaters, folk dancers, horn-blowers and singers.

We were advised to arrive a couple of hours before the early afternoon ceremony in order to get favourable seating, and we were also requested to wear long sleeved shirts, slacks, and no hats as a sign of respect. That would have been fine had it not been a stinking hot day and obviously none of the other visitors got the message on the dress code as they all arrived comfortably in T-shirt, shorts and thongs! As it turned out, the advanced seating idea was a myth too as most of the visitors spent time wandering around taking photos and there was an ongoing case of musical seats. Unfortunately, my camera chose to play up at this particular time but fortunately a fellow German traveller, Ulla, was happy to share her pics with me, many of which are reproduced (with her permission!) below. While as an outsider, we had little idea of what was happening during the formal proceedings, the costumes and the overall atmosphere alone were worth the time spent there. At the end of the ceremony and after a far too distant walk back to our van, I was knackered and one of my fellow travellers was kind enough to preserve my discomfort for posterity, and yes officer, I did see the sign behind but couldn’t find anywhere else to crash!

Along with voodoo and fetish, slavery is a constant theme throughout this region of West Africa and I will address that in my next blog.

---

Comments

[DaveandIssy]

Ashanti
I think the movies have told me that the Ashanti were much feared. Happy funerals, slavery background, voodoo. Incredible.

[Nomad Old Farts]

Ashanti
I suspect these days they are getting old and mellow - a bit like the rest of us!

[D MJ Binkley]

Kings and ceremonies
You are experiencing a variety of things. What a marvelous trip. .... and eager to hear about voodoo.