![Flag of Ashanti](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Flag_of_Ashanti.svg)
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
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 ...
and the ultimate symbol of power in
Asante.
According to legend,
Okomfo Anokye
Okomfo Anokye (c.1655-c.1717?/c.1719) was the first priest ( Okomfo) of the Ashanti Empire. Anokye is known for his participation in the expansion of the empire. He was also the codifier of the constitution and laws of the Ashanti Empire.
Biogra ...
, High Priest and one of the two chief founders of the
Asante Confederacy
The Asante Empire ( Asante Twi: ), today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted between 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana as well as parts of ...
, caused the stool to descend from the sky and land on the lap of the first Asante king,
Osei Tutu
Osei Kofi Tutu I ( – ) was one of the founders of the Ashanti Empire, assisted by Okomfo Anokye. The Asante are an Akan ethnic group of West Africa. Osei Tutu led an alliance of Asante states against the regional hegemon, the Denkyira, comple ...
. 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
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
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
A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monar ...
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 carried to the king on a pillow, as only the
Asantehene
The is the title for the monarch of the historical Ashanti Empire as well as the ceremonial ruler of the Ashanti people today. The Ashanti royal house traces its line to the Oyoko (an ''Abusua'', or "clan") Abohyen Dynasty of Nana Twum and t ...
himself is allowed to handle it. During solemn occasions, the Golden Stool is placed on the king's left on a throne of its own, the ''hwedom dwa'' (
Ashanti, ''throne facing the crowd'').
Historical conflict
Many wars have broken out over the ownership of the royal throne.
In 1896, Asantehene
Prempeh I
Prempeh I (Otumfuo Nana Prempeh I; 18 December 1870 – 12 May 1931) was the thirteenth king ruler of the Ashanti Empire and the Oyoko Abohyen Dynasty. King Prempeh I ruled from March 26, 1888 until his death in 1931, and fought an Ashanti war ag ...
was deported rather than risk losing both the war and the throne. In 1900, Sir
Frederick Hodgson, the Governor of the
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
, demanded
to be allowed to sit on the Golden Stool, and ordered that a search for it be conducted. This provoked an armed rebellion known as the
War of the Golden Stool
The War of the Golden Stool, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa War, the Third Ashanti Expedition, the Ashanti Uprising, or variations thereof, was a campaign in 1900 during the series of conflicts between the United Kingdom and the Ashanti Empire ...
, which resulted in the annexation of Ashanti to the British Empire, but preserved the sanctity of the Golden Stool. In 1921, African road workers discovered the stool and stripped some of the gold ornaments.
They were taken into protective custody by the British, before being tried according to local custom and sentenced to death.
The British intervened and the group was instead banished.
An assurance of non-interference with the stool was then given by the British and it was brought out of hiding.
In 1935 the stool was used in the ceremony to crown
Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II
Prempeh II (Otumfuo Nana Sir Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II, KBE, – 27 May 1970), was the 14th Asantehene, or king of the Ashanti (Ruler of the Asante), reigning from 22 June 1931 to 27 May 1970.
Biography
Asantehene Prempeh II of the Asha ...
.
Appearance and craftsmanship
![The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Queen Mothers stool](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/The_Childrens_Museum_of_Indianapolis_-_Queen_Mothers_stool.jpg)
The Golden Stool is a curved seat 46 cm high with a platform 61 cm wide and 30 cm deep. Its entire surface is inlaid with gold, and hung with bells to warn the king of impending danger. It has not been seen by many and only the king, queen, and trusted advisers know the hiding place. Replicas have been produced for the chiefs and at their funerals are ceremonially blackened with animal blood, a symbol of their power for generations. The stool is one of the main focal points of the Asante today because it still shows succession and power.
Each stool is made from a single block of the wood of ''
Alstonia boonei
''Alstonia boonei'' is a very large, deciduous, tropical-forest tree belonging to the family Apocynaceae. It is native to tropical West Africa, with a range extending into Ethiopia and Tanzania. Its common name in the English timber trade is chee ...
'' (a tall forest tree with
numinous
Numinous () is a term derived from the Latin ''numen'', meaning "arousing spiritual or religious emotion; mysterious or awe-inspiring."Collins English Dictionary -7th ed. - 2005 The term was given its present sense by the German theologian and ph ...
associations) and carved with a crescent-shaped seat, flat base and complex support structure. The many designs and symbolic meanings mean that every stool is unique; each has a different meaning for the person whose soul it seats. Some designs contain animal shapes or images that recall the person who used it. The general shape of Asante stools has been copied by other cultures and sold worldwide.
References
External links
Picture of Golden Stool*
ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/4chapter6.shtml West African Kingdom: Asante. BBC World Service.
{{Akan topics
Ashanti monarchy
Thrones
National symbols of Ghana