Asante people
Akanfoɔ | |
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Wassa, Sefwi ) |
The Asante, also known as Ashanti (
The Asante people developed the
Nomenclature
People | Asantefoɔ |
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Language | Asante Twi |
Country | Asanteman |
In the Asante dialect of Twi, Asantefo; singular masculine: Asantenibarima, singular feminine: Asantenibaa. The name Asante "warlike" is traditionally asserted by scholars to derive from the 1670s as the Asante went from being a tributary state to a centralized hierarchical kingdom.[4][6] Asantehene Osei Tutu I, military leader and head of the Asante Oyoko clan, founded the Asante Empire.[4][6] Osei Tutu I obtained the support of other clan chiefs and, using Kumase as the central base, subdued surrounding Akan states.[4][6] Osei Tutu challenged and eventually defeated Denkyira in 1701,[4][6] and this is the asserted modern origin of the name.[4]
Geography
The
The territory Asante people settled is home to a
Today Asante people number upwards of 10 million. Asante Twi, the majority language, is a member of the
Asantes reside in Asante and Brong Ahafo Regions in Ghana.[16] Kumase metropolis, the capital of Asante (Kingdom of Asante), has also been the historic capital of the Asante Kingdom.[16] The Ashanti Region currently has a population of 11 million (11,000,000).
Today, as in the past, the Ashanti Region continues to make significant contributions to Ghana's economy.[17] Asante is richly endowed with industrial minerals and agricultural implements, Asante is responsible for much of Ghana's domestic food production and for the foreign exchange Ghana earns from cocoa, agricultural implements, gold, bauxite, manganese, various other industrial minerals, and timber.[17] Kumase metropolis and Ashanti Region produces 96% of Ghana's exports.[8][9]
History
Asante Empire
In the 1670s the Ashanti went from being a tributary state to the centralized hierarchical Denkyira kingdom. Asantehene Osei Kofi Tutu I, military leader and head of the Oyoko clan, founded the Asante kingdom. Osei Tutu obtained the support of other clan chiefs and using Kumase as the central base, subdued surrounding states.[6] Osei Tutu challenged and eventually defeated Denkyira in 1701,[4][6] and presumptuously from this, the name Asante came to be.[4][6]
Realizing the weakness of a loose confederation of Akan states, Osei Tutu strengthened centralization of the surrounding Akan groups and expanded the powers judiciary system within the centralized government.[18] Thus, this loose confederation of small city-states grew into a kingdom or empire looking to expand its land.[18] Newly conquered areas had the option of joining the empire or becoming tributary states.[18] Opoku Ware I, Osei Tutu's successor, extended the borders.[19]
Sovereignty and independence
Because of the long history of mutual interaction between Asante and European powers, the Asante have the greatest amount of
The Ashanti Empire was one of the few African states that seriously resisted
Culture and traditions
Asante culture celebrates Adae, Adae Kese, Akwasidae, Awukudae and Asante Yam festival.[25] The Seperewa, a 10-14 stringed harp-lute, as well as the Fontomfrom drums are originally from the Bono Akan people. Kente cloth]]ing.[26]
Society and Customs
Asante are a
Though not considered as important as the mother, the male interaction continues in the place of birth after marriage.[27]
Historically, an Asante girl was betrothed with a golden ring called "petia" (I love you), if not in childhood, immediately after the puberty ceremony.[27] They did not regard marriage "awade" as an important ritual event, but as a state that follows soon and normally after the puberty ritual.[27] The puberty rite was and is important as it signifies passage from childhood to adulthood in that chastity is encouraged before marriage.[27] The Asante required that various goods be given by the boy's family to that of the girl, not as a 'bride price', but to signify an agreement between the two families.[27]
Asante Womanhood
In the Asante culture,
In the bragoro puberty rites, girls’ heads are shaved and dyed black.
For the Asante, every color and object has cultural significance meaning, which reflects the meaning of womanhood in Asante culture.
Ntoma/Cloth
The white color of the ntoma/cloth that the girls are dressed in signifies vitality, sanctity, victory, and purity.[29][32]
Gold Jewelry
The gold/yellow color of the jewelry that the girls are adorned with signifies royalty, continuous life, and wealth.[29][32] This is related to the matrilineal system of the Asante.[30] The matrilineal system of the Asante culturally gives women a sense of authority, continuity, and the right to become a breadwinner and make money.[30][33] This is displayed in the roles of adult women in society, obaapanin (female elder), and the ohemaa (queen) stool, which ranks higher than the male counterpart.[30][33]
Fish
In the bragoro rites, eating fish signifies the obtaining of wisdom and knowledge.[29] Wisdom and Knowledge are seen as a keen part of womanhood for Asantes.[30] In Asante royalty, the Asantehemaa (queen mother) is seen as the advisor of the Asantehene (king), full of wisdom and knowledge.[30] This thought is carried through Asante culture and society to characterize the everyday woman, and convey a key aspect of Asante womanhood–being an advisor.[30]
Law and legal system
In the cataloguing of Asante familial and legal systems in R.S. Rattray's Asante Law and Constitution Asante law specifies that sexual relations between a man and certain women are forbidden, even though not related by blood.[20] The punishment for offense is death, although it does not carry quite the same stigma to an Asante clan as incest.[20] Sexual relations between a man and any one of the following women is forbidden:[20]
- A half-sister by one father, but by a different clan mother;[20]
- A father's brother's daughter;[20]
- A woman of the same father;[20]
- A brother's wife;[20]
- A son's wife;[20]
- A wife's mother;[20]
- An uncle's wife;[20]
- A wife of any man of the same "company";[20]
- A wife of any man of the same guild or trade;[20]
- A wife of one's own slave;[20]
- A father's other wife from a different clan.[20]
Language
The Asante people speak Asante Twi, which is the official language of the Ashanti Region and the main language spoken in Asante and by the Asante people.[34][35][36][37] Asante language is spoken by over 9 million ethnic Asante people as a first or second language.[34][35] The Asante language is the official language utilized for literacy in Asante, at the primary and elementary educational stage (Primary 1–3) K–12 (education) level, and studied at university as a bachelor's degree or master's degree program in Asante.[34][35][36][37]
The Asante language and Asante Twi have some unique linguistic features like tone, vowel harmony and nasalization.[34][35][36][37]
Religion
The Asante follow
Asante people received the religion of Islamic North Africa within their talismanic tradition, making amulets with Quranic citations, name of the Arabic angels or Jinn. Amulets were also set in the corners of houses or soaked in water to produce liquids for drinking and for washing that were believed to have thaumaturgical properties.[39]
Asante diaspora
The Asante live in the Ashanti Region, specifically in the capital of
Notable People of Asante Origin
According to
Gallery
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Ashanti National Emblem of the Ashanti Region
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Fontomfrom (Ashanti talking drum and drums)
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Ashanti Blowing Horn
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Ashanti Stool Dwa
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Ashanticombat stick)
See also
References
- ^ University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. University of Michigan. Archived from the originalon 2016-05-15. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
- ^ "Asante » Asante Twi". ofm-tv.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-30. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
- ISBN 9780738723686.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "United Asante States Under Nana Osei Tutu I". asantekingdom.org. Archived from the original on 2015-08-11. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
- ^ a b c "History Of The Asante Confederay » Restoration Of The Asante". asantekingdom.org. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kevin Shillington, History of Africa, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996 (1989), p. 194.
- ^ a b "Issues Of Tropical Forest Transformation in Ashanti Region". ajol.info. African Journals OnLine.
- ^ a b c "Meet-the-Press: Ashanti Region". Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ a b "GHANGOLD Case". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Ashanti Region Executive Summary". Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ "Ashanti » Asante Twi". ofm-tv.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-30. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
- ^ "Kings Of Asante". asantekingdom.org. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ "The Asantehene » Personality Profile". Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ Kumasi (1 August 2015). "NPP Has Track Record… of protecting the public purse, says Nana Addo". The Chronicle. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ "1956: Gold Coast to get independence". BBC. 11 May 1956.
- ^ a b c "Seventy Five Years After The Restoration of Asanteman". asantekingdom.org. Archived from the original on 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
- ^ a b "The Historic And Present Importance Of Asante- Its Culture And Economy". asantekingdom.org. Archived from the original on 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
- ^ a b c Giblert, Erik Africa in World History: From Prehistory to the Present 2004
- ^ Shillington, loc. cit.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o David Luca (2005). "The Ashanti Legal System". daviddfriedman.com. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g The Newfoundlander. The Newfoundlander. 16 December 1873. p. 6500.
- ^ a b c "The Exile of Prempeh in the Seychelles". Kreol International Magazine. 2012. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ a b c "Asantehene visits Seychelles". Modern. 5 July 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ "Ashanti.com.au". Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ "The Adae Kese Festival". Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- Ynetnews. Ynet. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Peter Herndon. "Family Life Among the Ashanti". yale.edu. Yale University. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ JSTOR 23166558– via JSTOR.
- ^ ISBN 978-9964103651.
- ^ JSTOR 221171– via JSTOR.
- ISBN 9781920620240.
- ^ a b "African Kente cloth: patterns, colors, and sacred meaning". national clothing.org. May 8, 2018.
- ^ JSTOR 684049– via JSTOR.
- ^ University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. University of Michigan. Archived from the originalon 2016-05-15. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
- ^ a b c d "Ashanti » Ashanti Twi". ofm-tv.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-30. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
- ^ a b c "Ashanti (Twi) – Ashanti language". amesall.rutgers.edu.
- ^ ISBN 0-82048-369-9.
- ISBN 978-0-567-66329-0.
- PMC 1037050. (here cited p. 516)
- ^ "Search the Voyages Database". slavevoyages.org. Archived from the original on 2015-06-29.
- ^ The History of Jamaica. T. Lowndes, in Fleet-Street. 1774.
- PMID 22360861.
- ^ Comparative studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Vols 17-18, Duke University Press, 1997, p. 124.
- ^ "Tacky's Rebellion". jamaicans.com.
Literature
- Robert B. Edgerton, 1995, The Fall of the Asante Empire. The Hundred-Year War for Africa's Gold Coast. New York, ISBN 0-02-908926-3
- Ernest E. Obeng, 1986, Ancient Asante Chieftaincy, Ghana Publishing Corporation, ISBN 9964-1-0329-8
- Alan Lloyd, 1964, The Drums of Kumase, London: Panther
- Alfred Kofi Quarcoo, 1972, 1994, The Language of Adinkra Symbols Legon, Ghana: Sebewie Ventures (Publications), PO Box 222, Legon. ISBN 9988-7533-0-6
- Kevin Shillington, 1995 (1989), History of Africa, New York: St. Martin's Press,
- N. Kyeremateng, K. Nkansa, 1996, The Akans of Ghana: their history & culture, Accra: Sebewie Publishers
- Dennis M. Warren 1986, The Akan of Ghana: An Overview of the Ethnographic Literature, Accra: Pointer
External links
- Asante People hand History Profiles history and other aspects of the Asante.
- Asante Page at the Ethnographic Atlas, maintained at Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing, University of Kent, Canterbury
- Asante Kingdom at the Wonders of the African World, at PBS
- Asante Culture contains a selected list of Internet sources on the topic, especially sites that serve as comprehensive lists or gateways
- Africa Guide contains information about the culture of the Asante
- Historical Notes and Memorial Inscriptions from Ghana