African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

African Americans 341
Archival Sources
Northwestern University Library: Melville J.Herskovits Papers Schomburg Center for
Research in Black Culture Archives, New York Public Library (NY): Melville
J.Herskovits Papers (SCHP).
ROBERT BARON
See also Bascom, William R.; Diaspora; West African Folklore: Overview
HISTORY AND CULTURAL IDENTITY:
THE ASHANTI
The Ashanti are one of approximately six major ethnic groups constituting the Akan of
Ghana. Other Akan-speaking people are the Fanti, Akwapim, Kwahu, Akim, Bono, and
Agona.
Ashanti, formerly composed of eleven chiefdoms, was unified over three hundred
years ago, and became the most powerful among the Akan states. It reached its peak of
prominence in the seventeenth century during the reign of King Osei Tutu, who died at
the beginning of the eighteenth century. An Ashanti confederacy that was established in
1701 was dissolved by the British in 1900. The British finally colonized the Ashanti in
1901 after several unsuccessful attempts.
The Ashanti region, dubbed the cradle of Ghana’s cultural heritage, is the most
populous of all the ten administrative regions of Ghana. Kumasi, its administrative
capital, is also the seat of Asantehene, the king of the Ashanti. As of 2003, the king of
Ashanti is Otumfuor Osei Tutu II, who ascended to the Golden Stool in 1999, after his
predecessor Otumfuor Opoku Ware II. The official residence of the king is the Manhyia
Palace. Kumasi also houses the Ghana National Cultural Center, where all the cultural
artifacts of the surrounding villages are assembled. Obuasi, 36 miles southwest of
Kumasi is one of the richest gold mines in the world. Bonwire, northwest of Kumasi, is
the home of kente, the gorgeous and intricately woven cloth, a sample of which decorates
the foyer of the United Nations headquarters in New York. Ntonso, 11 miles north of
Kumasi, is the home of the Adinkra cloth, a special tie-and-dyed fabric used for funerals.
Approximately nine miles north of Kumasi is Ahwia, where the world-famous fertility
doll called Akuaba and other woodcarvings are made.
The Ashanti kingdom is composed of a number of different chieftaincies (oman). Each
aman is governed by a chief, omanhene, and a queen mother, ohemmaa, who is generally
the chief’s biological sister or mother. She is expected to advise the chief, and reprimand
him in ways his councelors cannot. When a chief’s stool is vacant, the queen mother
proposes his successor, advising on the successor’s eligibility from the viewpoint of
kinship and character. The queen mother is consulted on matrimonial affairs within the