The Ashanti King

 Sunday, March 2          The Ashanti King

 Our  trip was timed to get us to Kumasi for the Festival of Akwasidae, held at the Royal Palace, at which the Ashanti chiefs gather to pay homage to the Asantehene, the Ashanti King.  The borders of Ghana and other West African countries were drawn by colonial powers with no regard to tribal boundaries or allegiances; the Ashanti live not only in Ghana but in Togo and Ivory Coast.  The tribal leaders and the Ashanti king now have no direct power, but the government and the military, of necessity, maintain good relations with the tribal chiefs and the king whose authority is still respected by many of the people.

We made a brief stop at the Manhyia Palace Museum, where we saw some quite beautiful Ashanti gold artifacts which have recently been returned (on loan, however) from two British museums: 


We then walked a considerable distance downhill to the Kumasi Sunday market, a huge sprawling place where you can buy almost anything.

Here’s the seller of bracelets and other jewelry:

On the way we passed many advertising signs, but this one stood out:

Note that “Excellent Results is Assured.”  Maybe English isn’t part of the curriculum.  It was furnace hot, incredibly humid, and rather than walk back uphill to our van, we took tuk-tuks.  Well worth the small expense.

The king was to arrive around 1:30 PM; we arrived around 11:30 to get good seats, but there were many who were there before us.  Seats were set up for the political and military VIPs:

Many of the chiefs who came in had attendants: 

 And there was some unusual headgear:

There was continuous music with many musical groups taking turns.  Here’s one: 

 Many of the chiefs had attendants who carried umbrellas to shade them: 


Some chiefs looked as if they had come from Arab regions:

This military man was greeted by a chief:

The place filled up slowly in the baking heat.  There were some unusual greetings which we never figured out:

Finally as the music got very loud and the crowd became very animated, it seemed like the king was coming.  It turned into a melee of people trying to get a good look at the king:



I went forward and became part of the crush, and after the king sat on his throne, did get a photo: 

 The king began a talk in Asante Twi (a dialect of Akan), which none of us but our guide, Noah, understands, and so after a while, we left, quite exhilarated and exhausted.  Tomorrow, back to the coast and to the town of Elmina.  More then.

Comments

  1. MarciaMarch 14, 2025 at 1:53 PM

    What a trip! Each day is more exotic than the one before.

    ReplyDelete
  2. xctravelerMarch 15, 2025 at 11:49 AM

    The umbrellas remind me of Timkat in Ethiopia with their colors. The greeting wrapping with the cloth is reminiscent of the use of the Tallit during the duchinin during the holidays when I wrap my family (when they were present). There is so much variation in worship and custom and yet so much that appears to be variation of similar behaviors.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ralph LockeMarch 18, 2025 at 4:56 AM

    I am struck again and again by the specificity of local customs. Was that man wrapping himself and two other men into a brief mini-committee of three, to discuss, or to affirm their friendship or family relationship? Oh, well--I wonder what those villagers would think if they could be dropped down into a typical "moment" in Europe or the US, such as the best man's toasting (and sometimes ridiculing) the bride and groom at a wedding.....

    ReplyDelete

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