THE GOLDEN STOOL OF THE ASANTE PEOPLE

PHOTO CAPTION: The Golden stool being carried SOURCE: Manhyiapalace

The Golden Stool is a sacred symbol of unity of the Asante people of Ghana since the 17th century. Also known as Sika Dwa Kofi, it is believed to possess the sunsum (soul) of the Asante people.

PHOTO CAPTION: Komfo Anokye SOURCE: EA Library

According to legend, Okomfo Anokye, high priest and one of the two chief founders of the Asante Confederacy, caused the stool to descend from the sky and land on the lap of the first Asante king, Osei Tutu.

The Stool, made of gold, is a curved seat 46 cm high with a platform 61 cm wide and 30 cm deep. The Golden stool has several bells attached to it. One of these is made of alloy of brass and copper known as the “donkese”, the great bell, is regarded as having been attached to the stool when it came from the sky. It is said to contain a charm such that, when it is rung, people gather together.

The Golden Stool itself is still kept in a sacred place, but is represented in the stool house by the “donkese” which receives sacrifices intended for the stool. It is said that, whatever the stool was taken to the battlefield, the “donkese” was strapped to it. The bells made in the form of statuettes of defeated Warriors or kings were not functionally used as bells. They served to commemorate the humiliation of the enemies of Asante and hence were nkoa or servants of the Golden Stool.

Komfo Anokye decreed that it should never be allowed to rest upon the bare ground, but must either on a coarse blanket of camel hair, nsaa, or on skin taken from the back of an elephant which when killed had fallen face downwards (banwoma).

PHOTO CAPTION: Osei Tutu I         SOURCE: EA Library

Later when Asantehene Osei Tutu I made himself the Hwedom chair, he made similar for the Golden stool, the Hwedom-tea which had a higher seat so that the stool could be seen when brought out at public assemblies. Thus, the resting place of the Golden stool became the Hwedom-tea, which itself stands upon nsaa blanket or banwoma hide.

Each new Asante king is lowered and raised over the Golden Stool without touching it. No one could be considered a legitimate ruler without the Golden Stool, which usually occupied its own throne next to the Asantehene. The Asantes regarded the Golden Stool as their most prized possession. Before going to war, their war chiefs consulted it. As time progressed and the Asante achieved more victories over their rivals, transforming their kingdom into an empire, the Golden Stool became even more revered.

By the 19th century, the Asantes began a series of clashes with the British Empire, which had established effective control over the coastal region of what is now Ghana. They fought three Anglo-Asante Wars between 1824 and 1874, with the British and their African allies gaining more control over Asante Territory. During the fourth Anglo-Asante War, the British, along with their Indian and African allies, defeated Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh, eventually capturing him and sending him into exile in the Seychelles Islands.

In 1900, Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson, Governor of Gold Coast marched into Kumase and demanded that the Golden Stool be brought forth so that he could “sit on it” as the representative of the Queen of England. Earlier in 1896, the Asantes had allowed the British to seize their king for exile in the Seychelles as the only way of protecting the sacred stool. The Queen Mother and Gate Keeper of the Golden Stool was prompted by the demand from Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson, the British Governor of the Gold Coast, to sit on the Golden Stool.

PHOTO CAPTION: Yaa Asantewaa SOURCE: EA Library

Following his remark, Yaa Asantewaa led a rebellion known as the War of the Golden Stool, which began on March 28, 1900. The intense fighting resulted in the deaths of over 2,000 Asantes and 1,000 British and Allied troops, both totals surpassing all previous Anglo-Ashanti wars combined. The war, however, ended after six months. Yaa Asantewaa was captured by the British in 1901 and quickly exiled to the Seychelles, where she died in 1921. Nevertheless, the British never captured the Golden Stool.

Hidden by the Asante, it was discovered by a group of African railroad builders in 1920, who stripped it of its gold ornaments. They were tried by the Asantes and sentenced to death, but British colonial authorities intervened, leading to their exile from the Gold Coast Colony. Realizing the significance of the Golden Stool to the Asante, the British assured that they would never again interfere with it. Restored to its ceremonial place, the Golden Stool continues to be used in rituals crowning the Asantehene, though he is now considered a traditional ruler without political power or influence. Nonetheless, the Golden Stool remains a cherished symbol of the former Asante Empire.
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