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Ashanti, or Asante, are a major ethnic group in Ghana. The Ashanti speak Twi, an Akan language similar to Fante. For the Ashanti (Asante) Confederacy see Asanteman.

Ashanti
Total population
Upwards of 5 million
Regions with significant populations
central Ghana
Language(s)
Twi
Religion(s)
Christianity, Traditional
Related ethnic groups
Akan, Fante

Prior to European colonization, the Ashanti people developed a large and influential empire in West Africa. The Ashanti later developed the powerful Ashanti Confederacy and became the dominant presence in the region.

Contents 1 Origins 2 Geography 3 Daily Life 4 Society 4.1 Conception 5 Marriage 6 Religion 6.1 Mythology 7 History 7.1 Ashanti Kingdom 7.2 The Golden Stool 8 European colonization 8.1 Independence 9 Modern Ashantis 10 See also 11 Literature 12 References 13 External links

The Ashanti, Adansi, Akyem, Assin, and Denkyira peoples of Ghana, like the Baule of Ivory Coast, are subgroups of the West African Akan nation said to have migrated from the vicinity of the north-western Niger River after the fall of the Ghana Empire in the 1200s.^[1] Evidence of this is seen in royal courts of the Akon Kings reflected by that of the Ashanti kings whose processions and ceremonies show remnants of ancient Ghana ceremonies. Ethnolinguists have substantiated the migration by tracing word usage and speech patterns along West Africa.^[2] Thus, although the Ghana Empire was geographically different from present-day Ghana, some of its people, specifically the Akan, moved to what is today Ghana, hence the namesake. In fact the North African Almoravid dynasty gold coin was renowned throughout the medieval world as being the purest gold, since West African gold was 92% pure at the time it was mined, higher than old Egyptian gold ore, which started at 85%, and later refined to 95% gold. Evidence of Ashanti connection to the Islamic world is the Ashanti word for money - "sikka" - the same as the Arabic word for minting money.^[3]

Akan political organization centred on various clans, each headed by a paramount chief or Amanhene.^[4] One of these clans, the Oyoko, settled Ghana’s sub-tropical forest region, establishing a centre at Kumasi.^[5] During the mid-1600s, under Chief Oti Akenten, the Oyoko started consolidating other Ashanti clans into a loose confederation that occurred without destroying the authority of each paramount chief over his clan.^[6] This was done in part by military assault, but largely by uniting them against the Denkyira, who had previously dominated the region.

Ghana has a variable terrain, coasts and mountains, forests and grasslands, lush agricultural areas and near deserts. The Ashanti settled in the central part of present-day Ghana, about three hundred kilometres from the coast. The territory is densely forested, mostly fertile and to some extent mountainous. There are two seasons -- the rainy season (April to November) and the dry season (December to March). The land has several streams; the dry season, however is extremely desiccated. It is hot year round.

Ashanti territory is generally healthier than the coast. Nevertheless, typical to West Africa, malaria remains a bane and there are numerous fevers -- backwater, yellow fever, relapsing, typhoid, typhus, cholera, and others. Leprosy, elephantiasis, and sleeping sickness are the more incredible diseases; intestinal and skin parasites however are recurrent.

Today Ashanti number close to 7 million people (about 30% of the Ghanaian population, speaking Asante, also referred to as Twi, a member of the Niger-Congo language group.) Their political power has waned since Ghana become the first modern democratic independent sub-Saharan nation, but they remain largely influential. The current president of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor is Ashanti. The Ashanti Region is today an administrative state within Ghana and is where a majority of Ashanti reside. Kumasi, the capital of the current Ashanti region, was also the historic capital of the Ashanti Kingdom. Currently, the Ashanti region of Ghana has a population of 3,612,950, making it Ghana's most populous region.^[7]

The Ashantis' are mainly an agricultural people, and farmed the land so extensively that hunting rarely played a principal role in their society. They obtained fish typically through trade from coastal groups specialized as anglers. Dogs, goats, and fowl are frequently found, especially chicken, for the Ashanti used them in sacrifices and religious ceremonies as well as food. In some quarters, sheep, pigs, and cattle are kept.

The Ashanti were and continue to be expert artisans. Ironworking by bellows and charcoal fire was a specialized craft. Their blacksmiths made work tools such as axes, hoe blades, knives, daggers, projectiles, nails, hammers; and in addition, many ornaments such as bells, chains, just to name a few. Handmade pottery was also a focused craft, as well as woodcarving, which rivals figurines and stools collected in both Europe and The Americas.

The household, the basis of economic and social life, was often polygynous. The Ashanti female line (matrilineal) was of enormous importance. This relationship of mother to son, or mother to daughter determined land rights, inheritance of property, offices and titles. One may also derive from this matrilineal line social and political status, and the focus of ancestor cult, upon which ritual activity was based. The blood produces emotional ties, for it is the mother's blood that creates the child's body.

The father catalyzes the conception and provides the nkra soul of the child, that is, the child receives its life force from the father. Its character and personality traits reflect that of the father. Though not considered as important as the mother, the male interaction continues in the place of birth after marriage, that is, the wife leaves her family home. The male line in effect creates a patrilineal village. In a sense, every person has two lines; one provides the blood, land, and inheritance (Mother), and the other, the soul (Father).

The female line also establishes the family, abusua, all who descend from a common female ancestor. The nkra and abusua lines are totemic (associated with plant or animal that worked with or helped the ancestors) and practice foods taboos and prohibit marriages with fellow members. Incest was strictly forbidden in the kingdom.

The abusua ancestors owned the land and were buried in it. Typically, not many individual Ashanti owned land, but rather occupied that which came down from a previous ancestor. The occupier cannot be removed from the land, nor can the land be sold, nor can the occupier even determine which of his descendants gets a major share. Because the land is matrilineal, a man's goods are always passed down to his brother, if he dies young, or passed to his sister's sons. Only products produced from the land can be owned independently. Certain goods, if agreed by the abusua, can be passed from father to son, or in some cases, father to daughter.

Both men and women can possess property made or acquired by individual efforts. Heirlooms and carved stools -- all possessions of family and lineage property -- may be disposed of by individuals if they choose to do so.

Trade occurred at both the state and local levels. The state ran the import-export business and other local trade typically took place in local market towns, where handicrafts and food products are exchanged. This minor trade tends to be conducted by women, normally in the interest of the household. Traditionally, local trade involves much haggling whether exchanges occur through direct barter or cowry shells as money. State representatives regulated these local markets and exacted taxes.

In addition, by tradition, Ashanti bought and sold slaves. Normally slaves were not Ashanti themselves, but rather members of other groups whom some Ashanti considered inferior.Those enslaved included prisoners of war and criminals, but also those place in servitude as pawns for debt. Pawn work was interest on a loan. When possible the debtors redeemed these pawns, the pawns retained their abusua affiliations, and their offspring suffered no stigma. This trade in slaves tended to occur not in the market but through personal transactions.

The mingling during intercourse of the male spirit (krah) with the female blood causes conception. In the eighth month, the mother goes to her mother's house. This period of childbirth normally excluded males. The mother was assisted by four midwives gave birth in a sitting position. The child receives its name at birth, given the particular day of its birth. The midwives cut the umbilical cord against a piece of wood and the infant is then bathed. Unlike other cultures, the afterbirth is discarded without ritual burial.

During the first eight days, the Ashanti consider the baby a ghost child, uncertain whether the "child will live or die. It is believed, that a ghost mother in the spirit world lost this child and will attempt to get it back. If the child lives, the family holds a ceremony to affirm that the child is a true human baby and the child receives a patronym of a paternal grandfather or grandmother and thus binds it to its father’s line, the ntoro. The Ashanti typically named their children by the day they were born. For example, for the child born on Saturday, the name would be Kwame. This method of naming was not mandatory, but rather tradition.

The Ashanti betroth a girl, if not in childhood, immediately after the puberty ceremony. They did not regard marriage as an important ritual event, but as a state that follows soon and normally after the puberty ritual. A man marries a cross cousin -- his father's sister's daughter or his mother's brother's daughter. Parallel cousins are members of the same abusua (family) and hence prohibited as marriage partners. Sometimes nuptial arrangements are arranged before the birth of the couple. Parents allow boys some initiative, but he must receive the consent of the households, the only formalities required. The Ashanti require a bride price - various goods given by the boy's family to that of the girl.

The Ashanti require girls to be virgins at marriage and punish adultery relatively severely. If a wife is caught or confesses to adultery, her parents must pay the husband a compensatory payment and the male seducer pays an amount commensurate with his social status. Adultery with any of the King's wives result in torture of the seducer and death for the guilty. The Ashanti allowed a man divorce for a wife's adultery, as well as barrenness, drunkenness, quarrelsomeness, witchcraft, and mother-in-law trouble.

The Ashanti also allowed a woman a divorce for impotence, adultery, laziness, stupidity, witchcraft, desertion, or for taking a wife without her permission, if she is the senior wife. Among the Ashanti, polygyny was common and legal. However, the senior wife must be consulted and had consented. Seemingly, in this agricultural society, jealousy is seldom, for the woman likes to have a co-wife to lighten the work. Additional wives also add to the husband's standing and social status.

The pervasive concern over ancestors is the strongest motive of all ceremonies. Nevertheless, Ashanti religion and cosmology extend beyond the ancestors. The universe is peopled with many kinds of spirits, the greatest of which is the Onyame, (Supreme One), who heads a pantheon of gods and spirits, which were created by the Supreme One. These intermediaries act as patrons of villages, districts, and households. Others are gods of a place, geographic features, such as the gods of rivers. Many myths and stories describe how the Onyame (Supreme One) and the other gods acquired their characteristics. Some of these myths are widely known such as Kwaku Anansi or known in the west as Anansi The Spider.

Each god has a temporary residence on the earth. The shrine may be as simple as a stone or of a more elaborate design. Trained priests looked after these objects and shrines. Their knowledge consisted if how to call the god to come and speak, using the priest himself as a medium. There were minor spirits who abided in beads and other small objects that are carried by ordinary people as charms. The Ashanti believed all animals and plants have souls to which appeals could be made. Some spirits, of course, are hostile, and dangerous, from them evil acts such as black magic and sorcery could be learned. At any rate, all are related and descended from the Onyame (Supreme One).

Among the Ashanti peoples, Christianity and Islam modified some of these traditional beliefs and practices. Most modern day Ashanti are Protestant Christians. The ancestors, as well as matrilineal descent, bride price, and the concept of the descent of the spirit from the Onyame (Supreme One) through males, however, continue as an important ceremonial and ritual aspect of identity and group

The Ashanti people are known for their colorful folktales and mythology. The most important god in their pantheon is Onyame (also Nyankopon), the omniscient, omnipotent sky god. His wife is Asase Yaa, and they have two children, Bia and Tano. Asase Yaa is an earth goddess of fertility. The Ashanti believe lower gods, more akin to spirits, assist humans on earth. Onyame was traditionally supposed to be aloof and away from the Earth. As the Ashanti adopted Christianity, their word for God is Onyame.

Anansi the Spider is a folk hero who plays no role in Ashanti mythology. He is, however, prominent in Ashanti folktales where he is depicted as a trickster.

Main article: Empire of Ashanti

The Ashanti went from being a tributary state, to a confederation of states, and ultimately a centralized hierarchical kingdom. Beginning as a tributary state of Denkyira, the foremost Akan power during the 16th century, the Ashanti Kingdom or Asante grew out of a confederation of Akan-speaking states led by Osei Tutu, the first Asantehene. Osei Tutu, military leader and head of the Oyoko clan, founded the Ashanti kingdom in the 1670s. ^[8] He obtained the support of other clan chiefs and using Kumasi as the central base, subdued surrounding Akan states. He challenged and eventually defeated Denkyira in 1701.

Realizing the weakness of a loose confederation of Akan states, Osei Tutu strengthened centralization of the surrounding Akan groups and expanded the powers judiciary system within the centralized government. Thus, this loose confederation of small city-states grew into a kingdom or empire looking to expand its borders. Newly conquered areas had the option of joining the empire or becoming tributary states.^[9] Opoku Ware I, Osei Tutu's successor, extended the borders, embracing much of present day Ghana's territory. ^[10]

Essential to Ashanti nationhood is the legend of the 'Golden Stool' (sika 'dwa), the legend actually tells of the birth of the Ashanti kingdom itself. In the seventeenth century, in order for the Ashanti to win their independence from Denkyira, then another powerful Akan state, a meeting of all the clan heads of each of the Ashanti settlements was called. In this meeting, the Golden Stool was commanded down from the heavens by Okomfo Anokye, the Priest, or sage advisor, to the very first Asantehene (Ashanti king), Osei Tutu I. The Golden Stool floated down from the heavens straight into the lap of Osei Tutu I. Okomfo Anokye declared the stool to be the symbol of the new Ashanti union ('Asanteman'), and allegiance was sworn to the Golden Stool and to Osei Tutu as the Asantehene. The newly founded Ashanti union went to war with Denkyira and defeated it. ^[11]

The Golden Stool is sacred to the Ashanti, as it is believed that it contains the 'Sunsum' — spirit or soul of the Ashanti people. Just as man cannot live without a soul, so the Ashanti would cease to exist if the Golden Stool were to be taken from them. The Golden Stool is not just sacred; it is a symbol of nationhood, a symbol that binds or unifies all Ashanti.

The Golden Stool is a curved seat 46 cm high with a platform 61 cm wide and 30 cm deep. Its entire surface is inlaid with gold, and hung with bells to warn the king of impending danger. It has not been seen by many and only the king and trusted advisers know the hiding place. Replicas of the stool have been produced for the chiefs and at their funerals are ceremonially blackened with animal blood, a symbol of their power for generations.

The Ashanti have always defended their Golden Stool when it was at risk. In 1896, the Ashanti allowed their King, Prempeh I, to be exiled rather than risk losing a war and the Golden Stool in the process. The Governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Frederick Hodgson, demanded to sit on the stool in 1900. The Ashanti remained silent and when the assembly ended, they went home and prepared for war. Although they lost on the battle field, they claimed victory because they fought only to preserve the sanctity of the Golden Stool, and they had. Then in 1920, a group of African road builders accidentally found the Golden Stool and stripped it of its gold ornaments. They were tried by an Ashanti court, found guilty, and the death penalty was imposed. But the British intervened and the sentence was commuted to perpetual banishment.

The Ashanti have always been proud of the uniqueness of their Golden Stool, and it was a symbol of not only their independence, but a common bond between their people. When the King of Gyaman, Adinkra, made a Golden Stool for himself, the Asantehene was so annoyed that he led a massive army against him. Adinkra was completely destroyed near Bontuku, and he was decapitated. The Asantehene then proceeded to order the melt down of Adinkra's golden stool, and for it to be made into two masks, to represent his "ugly" face. These masks remain hanging on each side of the Ashanti Golden Stool to this day.

The Ashanti strongly resisted attempts by Europeans, mainly the British, to subjugate them. The Ashanti aligned themselves with the Dutch to limit British influence in the region. But Britain still annexed neighbouring areas, including the Fante.

Ashanti was one of the few African states able to offer serious resistance to European colonizers. Between 1823 and 1896, Britain fought four wars against the Ashanti kings (the Anglo-Ashanti Wars). In 1900, the British finally defeated the kingdom and incorporated it into the Gold Coast colony.

Relations improved, however, and in 1926 the Asantehene was given ceremonial control over Kumasi. In 1935 the full role of leader of the Ashanti people was restored.

In modern Ghana, there is no ethnic group or tribe which comprise a majority of the population. While the entire Akan population make a plurality 49% of the population, Ashanti, Fante and other Akans make up that percentage. However, it is estimated that Ashanti are 14% of Ghana's population, followed by the Ewe, Fante, and Ga. This along with their history makes them very influential both poltically and economically. The current president John Kufuor is an Ashanti and was elected in part with their support.

Ashanti are largely Protestant Christian; the major denominations represented are Methodist and Anglican, although Pentacostal is growing in popularity.

While tribal and ethnic identity are important for Ashanti and other Ghanaians, they do not define a person nor carry as much weight as they did hundreds of years ago. Being an Ashanti now is mostly a point of reference and a linguistic tie more than a strongly cohesive tribe. In other words, typically Ashanti and Ghanaians in general do not place extreme emphasis on tribe and are more nationalistic.

• History of Ghana
• Asanteman
• Fante Confederacy
• Rulers of the Akan state of Asante
• War of the Golden Stool

• Robert B. Edgerton, 1995, The Fall of the Asante Empire. The Hundred-Year War for Africa's Gold Coast. New York, ISBN 0-02-908926-3
• N. Kyeremateng, K. Nkansa, 1996, The Akans of Ghana: their history & culture, Accra, Sebewie Publishers
• Alan Lloyd, 1964, The Drums of Kumasi, Panther, London
• Ernest E. Obeng, 1986, Ancient Ashanti Chieftaincy, Ghana Publishing Corporation, ISBN 9964-1-0329-8
• A. Quarcoo, The Language of Adinkra Symbols
• Kevin Shillington, 1995 (1989), History of Africa, St. Martin's Press, New York
• D. Warren, The Akan of Ghana

1. ^ http://acona-usacanada.org/asantehistory1.html
2. ^ http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/
3. ^ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Ashanti.html
4. ^ http://www.ashanti.com.au/pb/wp_5e360041.html
5. ^ http://www.ashanti.com.au/pb/wp_8078438f.html
6. ^ http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-5197.html
7. ^ <http://www.ashanti.com.au/pb/wp_8078438f.html?0.7460217669704267>
8. ^ Kevin Shillington, History of Africa, St.Martin's, New York, 1996 (1989), p. 194
9. ^ Giblert, Erik Africa in World History: From Prehistory to the Present 2004
10. ^ Shillington, loc. cit.
11. ^ Alan Lloyd, The Drums of Kumasi, Panther, London, 1964, pp. 21-24

http://www.archimedes.free-online.co.uk/ghana.htm

• Ashanti People and History Profiles history and other aspects of the Ashanti.
• Ashanti Page at the Ethnographic Atlas, maintained at Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing, University of Kent, Canterbury
• Ashanti Kingdom at the Wonders of the African World, at PBS
• Ashanti Culture contains a selected list of Internet sources on the topic, especially sites that serve as comprehensive lists or gateways
• Africa Guide contains information about the culture of the Ashanti

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