Ntim Gyakari (about 1670 to November 1701) was Denkyerahene (ruler of Denkyera) from about 1692 to 1701. Having provoked a war with the Asante states, he was defeated and killed at the battle of Feyiase, which marked the decline of Denkyera and the rise of Asante.
His mother was Akobena Bensua, a niece of Boa Ampensem, king of Denkyera. It is said that his father was Osei Tutu, the future Asantehene. At that time the group of states that were later to form the nucleus of the Asante kingdom were under the rule of Boa Amponsem of Denkyera.
The story is told that, as custom demanded, Osei Tutu, a prince from Kwaman in what was later to become Asante, was sent to Denkyera, ostensibly to learn court etiquette, but in reality as an insurance for the good behaviour of Obiri Yeboah, king of Kwaman (ruled from about 1660-1697), and his allies.
While at the Denkyera court, Osei Tutu had an affair with Akobena Bensua. Fearing for his life, he fled eastwards to Akwamu, the state which was the traditional enemy of Denkyera, where he came under the direct protection of Ansa Sasraku I, (ruled 16?-1689), the Akwamuhene (ruler of Akwamu).
According to some versions of Denkyera tradition, Ntim Gyakari was chosen to succeed Boa Amponsem against the wishes of the Denkyera national god. Nevertheless, since he was the rightful heir, Ntim Gyakari was placed on the Bankam (Beaded) stool of the Denkyera people in about 1692.
At the time that he came to the stool, Denkyera was the most powerful state in the hinterland of the western Gold Coast. It had conquered and incorporated within its territory the older states of Aowin, Wassa, Twifo, Adanse, Assin, and the pre-Asante states to the north, such as Bekwai, Kokofu, Kaase, Amako, Kwaman, Dwaben, and Nsuta. In this way Denkyera controlled the gold and kola resources of the Pra and Offin river basins, and also raided the peoples further north for slaves.
William Bosman, the Dutch trader who was on the Gold Coast from 1689-1702, noticed that Denkyera, on account of its great wealth, was contemptuous of all neighbouring peoples, whom it regarded as slaves. The harsh treatment which the kings of Denkyera meted out to their subject peoples was not calculated to make them beloved. When Ntim Gyakari acceded the stool, there were rumours on the coast that many of the subject peoples were awaiting an opportunity to throw off Denkyera overlordship.
The opportune moment came when Osei Tutu, with the help of the priest Okomfo Anokye, organized the Asante kingdom to the northeast of Denkyera. The Denkyera, of course, could not countenance the creation of such a powerful state in the vicinity, especially when it had been formed out of subject states. Moreover, it constituted a strategic and economic threat to Denkyera.
In order to find a pretext to destroy Asante, therefore, Ntim Gyakari sent a number of empty pans to the chiefs of the new state, asking them to return them filled with gold dust. In addition, he asked the Asante chiefs to send him their most beloved wives to become his wives. The chiefs refused these preposterous demands, whereupon Ntim Gyakari declared war.
Between 1698 and 1701, the Denkyera and the Asante fought a number of bloody battles. Initially, the Asante and their allies had the worst of the fight, being defeated by the Denkyera, who extended their campaign into Asante territory. Nevertheless, in November 1701, the Asante totally defeated the Denkyera at the battle of Feyiase, a few miles southeast of Kumase.
Ntim Gyakari, who was clearly contemptuous of Asante fighting capabilities, was caught playing a game of Oware (a game of skill, played with pebbles, or seeds, on a hollowed-out board) with some of his wives. He was beheaded by a Dwaben man, and the gold bangles and other Denkyera treasures found in his possession passed into the hands of the Asante.
The battle of Feyiase is one of the decisive battles in the Gold Coast history. It marked the rapid decline of Denkyera, and the equally rapid rise of Asante as the most powerful state of the Gold Coast. Ntim Gyakari himself is remembered in Denkyera traditional history as “the noble Sire who destroyed his kingdom at Fyeiase.”
J. K. FYNN
