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Dwa (stool)
A dwa or asesedwa or sometimes gwa is a stool of the Ashantis of Ghana. Uses Often made of wood, the dwa is more or less decorated according to the status of its possessor, it has great institutional and symbolic importance among the Akan. These stools are rectangular in shape and have five supporting pillars (''annan''). The royal seat or ahennwa is considered the "soul of the nation", once enthroned the king (''ahene'') becomes as sacred as the seat. The mmarima dwa are the stools of the men, while the mmaa dwa are for women. The adammadwa (literally "two pennies stool") are for poor people.Anthropos, Volume 62, 1903, p.27 Gallery File:Asante 'mmarima dwa' stool (Ghana), World Museum Liverpool.JPG File:Ghana, asante, sgabello, 1950 ca.jpg File:Tabouret ashanti cuivre bis.jpg, Small ashanti stool, copper on wooden frame File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Zetel van een hoofd met ceremoniele en rituele betekenis TMnr 2526-1.jpg File:Golden stool 31 January 1935.jpg, The Golden stool ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashantis
The Asante, also known as Ashanti () are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asante people as a first or second language. The wealthy, gold-rich Asante people developed the large and influential Ashanti Empire, along the Lake Volta and Gulf of Guinea. The empire was founded in 1670, and the capital Kumase was founded in 1680 by Asantehene (emperor) Osei Kofi Tutu I on the advice of Okomfo Anokye, his premier. Sited at the crossroads of the Trans-Saharan trade, the Kumase megacity's strategic location contributed significantly to its growing wealth. Over the duration of the Kumase metropolis' existence, a number of peculiar factors have combined to transform the Kumase metropolis into a financial centre and political capital. The main causal factors included the unquestioning loyalty to the Asante rulers and the Ku ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east.Jackson, John G. (2001) ''Introduction to African Civilizations'', Citadel Press, p. 201, . Ghana covers an area of , spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With nearly 31 million inhabitants (according to 2021 census), Ghana is the List of African countries by population, second-most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria. The capital and List of cities in Ghana, largest city is Accra; other major cities are Kumasi, Tamale, Ghana, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi. The first permanent state in present-day Ghana was the Bono state of the 11th century. Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over the centuries, of which the most powerful were the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akan People
The Akan () people live primarily in present-day Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa. The Akan language (also known as ''Twi/Fante'') are a group of dialects within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano subfamily of the Niger–Congo family.Languages of the Akan area: papers in Western Kwa linguistics and on the linguistic geography of the area of ancient. Isaac K. Chinebuah, H. Max J. Trutenau, Linguistic Circle of Accra, Basler Afrika Bibliographien, 1976, pp. 168. Subgroups of the Akan people include: the Agona, Akuapem, Akwamu, Akyem, Ashanti, Bono, Fante, Kwahu, Wassa, and Ahanta. The Akan subgroups all have cultural attributes in common; most notably the tracing of matrilineal descent, inheritance of property, and succession to high political office. Oral tradition and Ethnogenesis Akan people are believed to have migrated to their current location from the Sahara desert and Sahel regions of Africa into the forest region around the 11th century. Many Akans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Stool
The Golden Stool ( Ashanti- tw, Sika dwa; full title, Sika Dwa Kofi "the Golden Stool born on a Friday") is the royal and divine throne of kings of the Ashanti people and the ultimate symbol of power in Asante. 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. Such seats were traditionally symbolic of a chieftain's leadership, but the Golden Stool is believed to house the spirit of the Asante nation—living, dead and yet to be born. Symbology and ritual Each stool is understood to be the seat of the owner's soul and when not in use it is placed against a wall so that other souls passing by may relax on it. The Golden Stool is the royal throne and must never touch the ground; instead it is placed on a blanket. During inauguration, a new king is raised and lowered over the stool without touching it. The Golden Stool is carr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Art
African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas, such as: African American, Caribbean or art in South American societies inspired by African traditions. Despite this diversity, there are unifying artistic themes present when considering the totality of the visual culture from the continent of Africa. Pottery, metalwork, sculpture, architecture, textile art and fibre art are important visual art forms across Africa and may be included in the study of African art. The term "African art" does not usually include the art of the North African areas along the Mediterranean coast, as such areas had long been part of different traditions. For more than a millennium, the art of such areas had formed part of Berber or Islamic art, although with many particular local characteristics. The Art of E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chairs
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in various colors and fabrics. Chairs vary in design. An armchair has armrests fixed to the seat; a recliner is upholstered and features a mechanism that lowers the chair's back and raises into place a footrest; a rocking chair has legs fixed to two long curved slats; and a wheelchair has wheels fixed to an axis under the seat. Etymology ''Chair'' comes from the early 13th-century English word ''chaere'', from Old French ''chaiere'' ("chair, seat, throne"), from Latin ''cathedra'' ("seat"). History The chair has been used since antiquity, although for many centuries it was a symbolic article of state and dignity rather than an article for ordinary use. "The chair" is still used as the emblem of authority in the House of Commons in the Unite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
