Golden Stool

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The Golden Stool on its throne, the hwedom dwa (1935) Golden stool 31 January 1935.jpg
The Golden Stool on its throne, the hwedom dwa (1935)
Flag of the Asante people depicting the Golden Stool in the middle. Flag of Ashanti.svg
Flag of the Asante people depicting the Golden Stool in the middle.

The Golden Stool (Ashanti-Twi : Sika dwa ; full title, Sika Dwa Kofi "the Golden Stool born on a Friday") is the royal and divine throne of kings of the Asante people and the ultimate symbol of power in Asante. [1] According to legend, Okomfo Anokye, High Priest and one of the two chief founders of the Asante Confederacy, caused the stool to descend from the sky and land on the lap of the first Asante king, Osei Tutu. [2] Such seats were traditionally symbolic of a chieftain's leadership, but the Golden Stool is believed to house the spirit [3] of the Asante nation—living, dead and yet to be born.

Contents

Symbology and ritual

Each stool is understood to be the seat of the owner's soul and when not in use it is placed against a wall so that other souls passing by may relax on it. The Golden Stool is the royal throne and must never touch the ground; instead it is placed on a blanket. [4] During inauguration, a new king is raised and lowered over the stool without touching it. [5] The Golden Stool is carried to the king on a pillow, [6] as only the Asantehene himself is allowed to handle it. During solemn occasions, the Golden Stool is placed on the king's left on a throne of its own, the hwedom dwa (Asante, throne facing the crowd). [7]

Historical conflict

Many wars [8] have broken out over the ownership of the royal throne. [9] In 1896, Asantehene Prempeh I was deported rather than risk losing both the war and the throne. In 1900, Sir Frederick Hodgson, the Governor of the Gold Coast, demanded [5] to be allowed to sit on the Golden Stool, and ordered that a search for it be conducted. This provoked an armed rebellion known as the War of the Golden Stool, which resulted in the annexation of Ashanti to the British Empire, but preserved the sanctity of the Golden Stool. In 1921, African road workers discovered the stool and stripped some of the gold ornaments. [10] They were taken into protective custody by the British, before being tried according to local custom and sentenced to death. [10] The British intervened and the group was instead banished. [10] An assurance of non-interference with the stool was then given by the British and it was brought out of hiding. [10]

In 1935 the stool was used in the ceremony to crown Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II. [11]

Appearance and craftsmanship

An Akan stool believed to be for a Queen mother, 1940-1965, in the collection of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Queen Mothers stool.jpg
An Akan stool believed to be for a Queen mother, 1940–1965, in the collection of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis

The Golden Stool is a curved seat 46 cm high with a platform 61 cm wide and 30 cm deep. [12] Its entire surface is inlaid with gold, and hung with bells to warn the king of impending danger. [13] [ self-published source? ] It has not been seen by many and only the king, queen, and trusted advisers know the hiding place. Replicas have been produced for the chiefs and at their funerals are ceremonially blackened with animal blood, a symbol of their power for generations. [14] [ self-published source? ] The stool is one of the main focal points of the Asante today because it still shows succession and power. [9]

While the Golden Stool is made of pure gold, stools are often made from wood. Each stool is made from a single block of the wood of Alstonia boonei (a tall forest tree with numinous associations) and carved with a crescent-shaped seat, flat base and complex support structure. The many designs and symbolic meanings mean that every stool is unique; each has a different meaning for the person whose soul it seats. [15] Some designs contain animal shapes or images that recall the person who used it. The general shape of Asante stools has been copied by other cultures and sold worldwide. [16] [ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

Yaa Asantewaa I was the Queen Mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire, now part of modern-day Ghana. She was appointed by her brother Nana Akwasi Afrane Okese, the Edwesuhene, or ruler, of Edwesu. In 1900, she led the Ashanti war also known as the War of the Golden Stool, or the Yaa Asantewaa War of Independence, against the British Empire.

Osei Kofi Tutu I was one of the founders of the Ashanti Empire, assisted by Okomfo Anokye, his chief priest and a distant relative from the town of Awukugua–Akuapem. The Asante comes from the Akan ethnic group of West Africa. Osei Tutu I led an alliance of Asante states against the regional hegemony, the Denkyira, completely defeating them. He ruled the Kwaman State between c.1680/c.1695 and 1701 and he ruled the Ashanti Empire from late 1701 to around 1717.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II</span> Ghanaian monarch of Asante

Osei Tutu II is the 16th Asantehene, enstooled on 26 April 1999. By name, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is in direct succession to the 17th-century founder of the Ashanti Empire, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I. He is also the Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. A Freemason, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has served as the Grand Patron of the Grand Lodge of Ghana, the Sword Bearer of the United Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Patron of the Grand Lodge of Liberia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asante Empire</span> Former Akan empire centred on present-day Ghana

The Asante Empire, also known as the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted from 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana and also parts of Ivory Coast and Togo. Due to the empire's military prowess, wealth, architecture, sophisticated hierarchy and culture, the Asante Empire has been extensively studied and has more historic records written by European, primarily British, authors than any other indigenous culture of sub-Saharan Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prempeh I</span> Asantehene of Asanteman

Prempeh I was the thirteenth king ruler of the Ashanti Empire and the Oyoko Abohyen Dynasty. King Prempeh I ruled from March 26, 1888 until his death in 1931, and fought an Ashanti war against Britain in 1895-6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opoku Ware II</span> Asantehene of Asanteman

Otumfuo Opoku Ware II was the 15th Asantehene. He succeeded his uncle Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II on 27 July 1970. He ruled for 29 years until his death in February 1999. He was succeeded by Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asante people</span> Nation and ethnic group in Ghana

The Asante, also known as Ashanti in English, are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asante people as their native language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhyia Palace</span> Palace in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana

The Manhyia Palace is the seat of the Asantehene, as well as his official residence. It is located in Menshyia, Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The first palace is now a museum. Otumfuor Opoku Ware II built the new palace, which is close to the old one and is where the current Asantehene, Otumfuor Osei Tutu II, resides.

Juaben is a small town in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal District, a district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II</span> Asantehene

Prempeh II, was the 14th Asantehene, or king of the Ashanti, reigning from 22 June 1931 to 27 May 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akrafena</span> Akan swords originating from Ghana

An Akrafena is an Akan sword, originally meant for warfare but also forming part of Akan heraldry. The foremost example of an akrafena is the Mponponsuo, which belonged to Opoku Ware II. It has survived to the present day because it is still occasionally used in ceremonies, such as the Akwasidae Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashanti flag</span>

The Ashanti flag is the flag of the Ashanti people. It depicts the Golden Stool, the throne of the Asantehene.

Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II was the Queen mother (Ohemaa) of the Ashanti Kingdom and mother of the current Asantehene, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, who is the youngest son of her five children. She was the 13th Queen mother of the Ashanti Kingdom.

Osei Bonsu was a Ghanaian sculptor and practitioner of Ashanti carving.

Nana Obiri Yeboa was the Kumasehene during his era and the occupant of the Aban Dwa Stool. He reigned from 1660 to 1680. He was succeeded by Nana Osei Tutu as the chief of Kwaman state which was later known as Kumasi state. He was the uncle of Osei Tutu. Nana Obiri Yeboa's uncle was Nana Oti Akenten.

The political organization of the historical Asante Empire was characterized by stools which denoted "offices" that were associated with a particular authority. The Golden Stool was the most powerful of all, because it was the office of the King of the Asante Empire. Scholars such as Jan Vansina have described the governance of the Asante Empire as a federation where state affairs were regulated by a council of elders headed by the king, who was simply primus inter pares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konadu Yaadom</span> Asantehemaa (queen-mother) of Asante

Konadu Yaadom, also Kwadu Yaadom was the fourth Asantehemaa of the Ashanti Empire, whose multiple marriages and spiritual influence meant that she became an important and powerful ruler in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oheneba</span>

Oheneba is a regal rank given to both female or male child of a king or chief. It is the equivalent of prince or princess.

The Asantehemaa is the queen mother according to West African custom, who rules the Asante people alongside the Asantehene. African queen mothers generally play an important role in local government; they exercise both political and social power. Their power and influence have declined considerably since pre-colonial times, but still persist in the 21st century.

References

  1. ↑ "African Gold-weights in the British Museum".
  2. ↑ "How the Asantehene climaxed the 20th anniversary on the Golden Stool [PHOTOS]". www.graphic.com.gh. 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  3. ↑ Kyerematen, A. (1969). "The Royal Stools of Ashanti". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 39 (1): 1–10. doi:10.2307/1157946. ISSN   0001-9720. JSTOR   1157946. S2CID   144362829.
  4. ↑ "What is the royal and sacred object of the Ashanti people?". GlobalQuiz. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  5. 1 2 "History of Golden Stool". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  6. ↑ "Queen-Mother Yaa Asantewaa and the Golden Stool. | Hadithi Africa". Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  7. ↑ "Akan Leadership Arts".
  8. ↑ "Golden Stool of the Asante". History of International Relations. 2018-10-14. Archived from the original on 2019-10-28. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  9. 1 2 "Asante Art - Artefacts - Stools". asante.neocities.org. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Carmichael, John (1993). African Eldorado - Gold Coast to Ghana. Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd. pp. 176–77. ISBN   0-7156-2387-7.
  11. ↑ Michael T. Kaufman (March 4, 1999). "Opoku Ware II, King of Asante, Is Dead at 89". New York Times.
  12. ↑ "How a mysterious Golden Stool is keeping the great Ashanti kingdom united". Face2Face Africa. 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  13. ↑ Yussif, Elias (2013-07-24). The Facet of Black Culture. Trafford Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4669-8848-4.
  14. ↑ Hadzija, Boka (November 2013). My Door is Always Open: A Memoir. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN   978-1-4836-2925-4.
  15. ↑ "Asante (Ashanti) Abstract Stools 2". www.hamillgallery.com. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  16. ↑ "Asante Kotoro Dwa Stool". Exquisite African Art. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
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