Wednesday, October 22, 2008

ASHANTI - THE KINGDOM OF GOLD



Once upon a time, Okomfo Anokye, chief priest of the Ashanti’s, planted two “Kum tress”. One tree lived. The town with the living tree became the capital of Ashanti. It was christened Kumasi (Kum-asi, under the Kum tree).
Today, Kumasi is Ghana’s second largest city and the administrative and commercial capital of the Ashanti region. Kumasi is undoubtedly one of the cities with the richest history in Africa. With its exciting and successful combination of the past and present, the traditional and the modern, Kumasi probably offers the most to see and think about for tourists in Ghana.

Now the home of some 1,000,000 residents, the city is the heart and soul of millions of Ashanti’s, the famous, enterprising, proud and flamboyant ethnic group whom for years in the 18th and 19th centuries fiercely resisted British colonial domination.

Kumasi is the seat of power of the Asantehene (king of the Golden Stool). The stool is said to be the repository of the spirit of the Ashanti nation. Indeed, the Golden Stool is deemed even more important than the Asantehene himself, as it is the source of the Kings power. It is rarely exhibited, for it is too sacred to yield to tourist banalities. Kumasi is known variously as Oseikrom (Osei’s town, after the founder, Osei Tutu), the Golden city, for its bottomless wealth in gold and Garden City for its greenery. Maybe one should add another: Akwaabakrom (welcome Ville) for the because of their deeply rooted extended family because of their deeply rooted extended firmly system, the Ashanti’s believe that even a stranger may be a long lost relative. An invitation home for a bowl of fufu and spicy vegetable or palm soup, laden with bush meat, therefore comes as easily as a smile.
Kumasi is the seat of power of the Asantehene (king of the Golden Stool). The stool is said to be the repository of the spirit of the Ashanti nation. Indeed, the Golden Stool is deemed even more important than the Asantehene himself, as it is the source of the Kings power. It is rarely exhibited, for it is too sacred to yield to tourist banalities. Kumasi is known variously as Oseikrom (Osei’s town, after the founder, Osei Tutu), the Golden city, for its bottomless wealth in gold and Garden City for its greenery. Maybe one should add another: Akwaabakrom (welcome Ville) for the because of their deeply rooted extended family because of their deeply rooted extended firmly system, the Ashanti’s believe that even a stranger may be a long lost relative. An invitation home for a bowl of fufu and spicy vegetable or palm soup, laden with bush meat, therefore comes as easily as a smile.

Despite the fact that Kumasi is steeped in history and tradition, there is hardly any physical structure that dates to the last century, most of the city was destroyed during their war with the British. However relics and sites of Ashanti history and places of general tourist interest abound throughout the city.

The cultural centre, located close to the hub of the city, is a must for every visitor because it is an accurate representation of the Ashanti nation yesterday and today. The centres offers a variety of exhibitions, including master craftsmen showing off their dexterity in weaving the now world famous and colourful kente. Others carve, sew or design motifs rich in symbolism for the Adinkra cloth.

The Prempeh II Jubilee Museum offers some of the most priceless Ashanti historical objects, also located at the centre. These include a replica of the Golden Stool. The Ashanti’s tricked the British into taking it away thinking it to be the original sacred one. How furious the treasure hunting colonialists must have been to find their stool did not have a sprinkling of real gold.

There is also a treasure bag given to the chief of Agona-Ashanti by Okomfo Anokye before the chief priest set off on a journey from which he never returned. He handed it to the courtiers and commanded that it should never be opened. The bag is still bound by its original knot and no one knows what it contains.

The museum exhibits King Osei Tutu’s sandals embroiled in pure gold; his spitting trough, kitchen utensils dating back to 1696, and the ivory stool on which he rested his feet in the bathroom, as the King’s feet must never touch the ground.

The centre also features a model Ashanti village called Anokyekrom (Anokye’s village), complete with a cocoa farm, a fetish shrine with its priest, at traditional bar, which serves fresh froth-filled palm wine, and a library. Saturdays are the liveliest at the Centre when Anokyekrom puts up a variety entertainment package ranging from story telling to traditional music and dance.