The Manhyia Palace (Akan: Oman hyia, English: Gathering of the people) is the seat of the Asantehene, as well as his official residence. It is located in Tafo, 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. [1]
The palace was built in 1925 by the British after they had demolished the Aban Palace built by Ashanti Empire. [2] The British were said to have been impressed by the size of the original palace and the scope of its contents, which included "rows of books in many languages", [3] but during the War of the Golden Stool, the British demolished the royal palace with explosives. [4] The palace consequently erected is 1 km (0.62 mi) from the Centre for National Culture, Kumasi.
Upon the return from exile of the Asantehene Nana Prempeh I from the Seychelles Islands, the building was offered to him for use as his residence. This was because prior to the Asantehene's exile, his old palace had been burnt down in the Yaa Asentewa War. The war was fought between the British and the Asantes because of the refusal of the Asantehene to offer the Golden stool to the then governor of the Gold Coast. Prempeh I only accepted the offer after he had paid for the cost of the building in full. Two kings lived in the palace, namely Otumfuo Prempeh I and Otumfuo Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh II, KBE, the 13th and 14th kings of the Asante nation.
The old palace was converted into a museum in 1995 after the new palace was built. Opoku Ware II was the first king to live in the new palace, which he occupied until his death in 1999. [5]
The palace was converted into a museum and officially opened on 12 August 1995 by the then king Opoku Ware II. Several artifacts are displayed in the museum. They include furniture used by the kings, the bronze head of Osei Agyeman Prempeh II, and a sketch map of the Asanteman. [6] There is also the Asanteman's first television at the museum, as well as life-sized wax effigies of some of the kings and queens of Asanteman. [2] [5]
The architecture of the palace is akin to Asante's architecture of the early 1900s. The palace is a two-story building with both floors having open verandas, giving a view of the palace's environs. In 1995, an outbuilding was added to the original palace to serve as a gift shop. The palace has a large courtyard and it showcases statues of past kings and queens of the Asante Kingdom. [5]
The Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Jubilee Hall is a multi-purpose convention centre situated in the Manhyia Palace, named after the current Asantehene, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II. Commissioned on 15 April 2024, Its purpose would be to held meetings, get-togethers, cultural performances, and other traditional functions. [7] [8]
The facility has an blend of traditional Asante styles with modern architecture. It is equipped with an outdoor space, an entrance lobby, a commercial kitchen, a conference room, a wine bar, and a main hall which spans 1,200 m2 (13,000 sq ft). [8]
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.
Kumasi is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the commercial, industrial, and cultural capital of the historical Ashanti Empire. Kumasi is approximately 500 kilometres (300 mi) north of the Equator and 200 kilometres (100 mi) north of the Gulf of Guinea. Kumasi is alternatively known as "The Garden City" because of its many species of flowers and plants in the past. It is also called Oseikrom, after Osei Kofi Tutu I who was a king in the Ashanti empire.
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.
Opoku Ware I was the 2nd Asantehene of Oyoko heritage, who ruled the Ashanti Empire. Between 1718 and 1722, Opoku Ware became Asantehene during a period of civil disorder after the death of the 1st Asanthene. From 1720 to 1721, Opoku established his power.
The Golden Stool is the royal and divine throne of kings of the Asante people and the ultimate symbol of power in Asante. 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. Such seats were traditionally symbolic of a chieftain's leadership, but the Golden Stool is believed to house the spirit of the Asante nation—living, dead and yet to be born.
Prempeh College is a public secondary boarding school for boys located in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti Region, Ghana. The school was founded in 1949 by the Asanteman traditional authority, the British Colonial Government, the Methodist Church Ghana and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. The school is named after the King of Ashanti (Asantehene), Sir Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II, who donated the land on which the school was built, and was modeled on Eton College in England.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Juaben is a small town in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal District, a district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
Prempeh II, was the 14th Asantehene, or king of the Ashanti, reigning from 22 June 1931 to 27 May 1970.
An Akrafena is an Ashanti sword, originally meant for warfare but also forming part of Ashanti 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.
The Manhyia Palace Museum is a historical museum located in Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana and situated within the Manhyia Palace. First established in 1925 as a private residence for Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I, the Museum currently provides fair insight into the culture of Ashantiland and Ghana's cultural legacy from before its colonization by Great Britain. It primarily serves "to commemorate own kings, queens and leaders and to communicate the riches of their history and culture to future generations". and generally features video presentations and key historical items pertaining to Ashantiland and Ghana's ancestry. It was rehabilitated in 1995 at about 12,000 cedis and subsequently reopened to the public on August 12 of that year by Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, the 15th King as part of his Silver Jubilee celebration.
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 Konadu Yiadom III is the 14th Asantehemaa of the Asante people.
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.
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.
Media related to Manhyia Palace at Wikimedia Commons6°42′13″N1°36′57″W / 6.70361°N 1.61583°W
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