Yaa Asantewaa I (born 17 October 1840 – 17 October 1921) was the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...

Ejisu Ejisu is a city in Greater Kumasi located along the Kumasi-Accra highway about 20 km from Kumasi. It is the capital of Ejisu Municipal Assembly, a municipality of the Ashanti Region, Ghana The Ashanti Region is located in southern part ...

in the

Ashanti Empire 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 Iv ...

now part of modern-day

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 Tog ...

– appointed by her brother Nana Akwasi Afrane Opese, the Edwesuhene, or ruler, of Edwesu. In 1900 she led the Ashanti war 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 ...

, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa War of Independence, against the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

Biography

Yaa Asantewaa was born in 1840 in

Besease Besease is a town in the Central Region of Ghana. The town is known for the Besease Secondary Commercial School. The school is a second cycle institution. References Populated places in the Central Region (Ghana) {{CentralRegionGH- ...

, the daughter of Kwaku Ampoma and Ata Po. Her brother, Afrane Panin, became the chief of Edweso, a nearby community. After a childhood without incident, she cultivated crops on the land around

Boankra Boankra is a town in south-central Ghana. Transport It is served by a station on the eastern network of Ghana Railways. The proposed Boankra Inland Port is to be situated at this site linking the ports of Tema and Takoradi to the inner pa ...

. She entered a

polygamous marriage Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any ...

with a man from

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...

, with whom she had a daughter. She died in exile in the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

in 1921. She was a successful farmer and mother. She was an intellectual, a politician, human rights activist, Queen and a war leader. Yaa Asantewaa became famous for commanding the Ashanti Kings in the War of the Golden Stool, against

British colonial The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

rule to defend and protect the sovereign independence of the Golden Stool.

Prelude to rebellion

During her brother's reign, Yaa Asantewaa saw the Ashanti Confederacy go through a series of events that threatened its future, including civil war from 1883 to 1888. When her brother died in 1894, Yaa Asantewaa used her right as Queen Mother to nominate her own grandson as Ejisuhene. When the British exiled him to the

in 1896, along with the King of Asante

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 ...

and other members of the Asante government, Yaa Asantewaa became regent of the Ejisu–Juaben district. After the exile of PrempehI, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

governor-general of the Gold Coast, Frederick Hodgson, demanded the

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 Anoky ...

, the symbol of the Asante nation. This request led to a secret meeting of the remaining members of the Asante government at Kumasi, to discuss how to secure the return of their king. There was a disagreement among those present on how to go about this. Yaa Asantewaa, who was present at this meeting, stood and addressed the members of the council with these words: To dramatize her determination to go to war she seized a gun and fired a shot in front of the men. Yaa Asantewaa was chosen by a number of regional Asante kings to be the war-leader of the Asante fighting force. This is the first and only example for a woman to be given that role in Asante history. The Ashanti-British

– also known as the "Yaa Asantewaa War" – was led by Queen Mother Nana Yaa Asantewaa with an army of 5,000.

The rebellion and its aftermath

Beginning in March 1900, the rebellion laid siege to the fort at Kumasi where the

had sought refuge. The fort still stands today as the Kumasi Fort and Military Museum. After several months, the Gold Coast governor eventually sent a force of 1,400 to quell the rebellion. During the fighting, Queen Yaa Asantewaa and fifteen of her closest advisers were captured, and they, too, were sent into exile to the Seychelles. The rebellion represented the final war in the Anglo-Asante series of wars that lasted throughout the 19thcentury. On 1 January 1902 the British finally annexed the territory that the Asante Empire had been controlling for almost a century, and the Asante was transformed a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its in ...

of the British crown. Nana Yaa Asantewaa died in exile in the Seychelles on 17 October 1921. Three years after her death, on 17 December 1924, King PrempehI and the other remaining members of the exiled Asante court were allowed to return to Asante. King PrempehI made sure that the remains of Nana Asantewaa and the other exiled Asantes were returned for a proper royal burial. Queen Asantewaa's dream for an Asante independent from colonial rule was realized on 6 March 1957, when the Asante protectorate gained independence as part of

. Ghana was the first African nation in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...

to achieve this feat.

Social roles of Asante women

Nana Yaa Asantewaa understood the ramifications of

rule. She is seen by Ghanaians today as a queen mother who exercised her political and social clout to help defend her kingdom. The role she played in influencing the Ashanti men to battle the British appears to be a function of her

matriarchal Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general En ...

status. Nana Yaa Asantewaa's call upon the women of the Asante Empire is based on the political obligations of Akan women and their respective roles in legislative and judicial processes. The hierarchy of male stools among the Akan people was complemented by female counterparts. Within the village, elders who were heads of the matrilineages (''mpanyimfo''), constituted the village council known as the ''ôdekuro''. The women, known as the ''mpanyinfo'', and referred to as ''aberewa'' or ''ôbaa panyin'', were responsible for looking after women's affairs. For every ''ôdekuro'', an ''ôbaa panyin'' acted as the responsible party for the affairs of the women of the village and served as a member of the village council. The head of a division, the ''ôhene'', and the head of the autonomous political community, the ''Amanhene'', had their female counterparts known as the ''ôhemaa'': a female ruler who sat on their councils. The ''ôhemaa'' and ''ôhene'' were all of the same ''mogya'', blood or localized matrilineage. The occupant of the female stool in Kumasi state, the ''Asantehemaa'', the united Asante, since her male counterpart was ex-officio of the Asanthene, was a member of the Kôtôkô Council, the Executive Committee or Cabinet of the Asanteman ''Nhyiamu'', General Assembly of Asante rulers. Female stool occupants participated not only in the judicial and legislative processes, but also in the making and unmaking of war, and the distribution of land.

Place in history and cultural legacy

Yaa Asantewaa remains a much-loved figure in Asante history and the history of Ghana as a whole for her role in confronting the

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their reli ...

of the British. She is immortalized in song as follows: To highlight the importance of encouraging more female leaders in Ghanaian society, the Yaa Asantewaa Girls' Secondary School was established at Kumasi in 1960 with funds from the Ghana Education Trust. In the year 2000, a week-long centenary celebration was held in Ghana to acknowledge Yaa Asantewaa's accomplishments. As part of these celebrations, a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

was dedicated to her at

Kwaso Kwaso is a village in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal District in the Ashanti region, Ghana. In Kwaso there is a museum dedicated to Yaa Asantewaa Yaa Asantewaa I (born 17 October 1840 – 17 October 1921) was the Queen Mother of Ejisu in the Ash ...

in the Ejisu–Juaben District on 3 August 2000. Unfortunately, a fire on 23 July 2004 destroyed several historical items, including her sandals and battle dress (''batakarikese'') seen in the photograph above. The current Queen-mother of Ejisu is Yaa AsantewaaII. A second Yaa Asantewaa festival was held 1–5 August 2006 in Ejisu. File:Yaa Asantewaa Museum (4).jpg, Yaa Asantewaa statue outside the fire-gutted museum File:Yaa Asantewaa Museum (6).jpg, The burnt facade of the Yaa Asantewaa Museum File:Yaa Asantewaa Museum (1).jpg, Recent calls to build a new Yaa Asantewaa Museum The Yaa Asantewaa Centre in

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale ...

, west

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, is an African–Caribbean arts and community centre. It took its name in 1986. A television documentary by

Ivor Agyeman-Duah Ivor Agyeman-Duah (born 1966) is a Ghanaian academic, economist, writer, editor and film director. He has worked in Ghana's diplomatic service and has served as an advisor on development policy. Biography Ivor Agyeman-Duah was born in Kumasi, Gha ...

, entitled ''Yaa AsantewaaThe Exile of King Prempeh and the Heroism of An African Queen'', premiered in Ghana in 2001. A stage show written by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Le ...

, ''Yaa Asantewaa: Warrior Queen'', directed by

Geraldine Connor Geraldine Connor, PhD, MMus, LRSM, DipEd (22 March 1952 – 21 October 2011), was a British ethnomusicologist, theatre director, composer and performer, who spent significant periods of her life in Trinidad and Tobago, from where her parents ...

and featuring master drummer

Kofi Ghanaba Guy Warren of Ghana, also known as Kofi Ghanaba (4 May 1923 – 22 December 2008), was a Ghanaian musician, best known as the inventor of Afro-jazz — "the reuniting of African-American jazz with its African roots" — and as a member of The T ...

, with a

pan-African Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...

cast, toured the UK and Ghana in 2001–02. A radio drama by the same author was also serialized in five episodes (13–17 October 2003) on

BBC Radio Four BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

's ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented ...

'', the cast including Glenna Forster-Jones and

Jack Klaff Jack Klaff is a South African-born actor, writer and academic. He has held professorships at Princeton University and Starlab. Amongst his early screen roles were in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) as Red Four and For Your Eyes Only ...

, directed by

Pam Fraser Solomon Pam Fraser Solomon FRSA is a British producer/director of Guyana, Guyanese heritage, whose work spans four decades in theatre, radio, film, television and education, winning prizes such as the Commission for Racial Equality "Race in the Media Award ...

, with music by Nana Tsiboe, Kofi-Adu, Jojo Yates, Asebre Quaye and

Atongo Zimba Atongo Zimba (born 1967) is a musician and griot from Ghana. His tours in Europe, South America and Africa include a benefit for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, at the Alliance Française in Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ...

."Briefing: Yaa Asantewaa"
''The Herald'', 13 October 2003. The album from British jazz troupe

Sons of Kemet Sons of Kemet are a British jazz group formed by Shabaka Hutchings, Oren Marshall, Seb Rochford, and Tom Skinner. Theon Cross replaced Marshall on tuba after the first album, and Eddie Hick replaced Rochford on drums after the third. Career ...

, ''

Your Queen Is a Reptile ''Your Queen Is a Reptile'' is the third album by British jazz group Sons of Kemet, released in March 2018 on Impulse! Records. Band leader Shabaka Hutchings wrote and plays saxophone on all tracks, Theon Cross plays tuba, and Seb Rochford and ...

'', names songs after both contemporary and historical influential black women. Asantewaa's name was used for the seventh track, "My Queen is Yaa Asantewaa".

Festival

For details see '' Yaa Asantewaa Festival''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asantewaa, Yaa 1840s births 1921 deaths African women in war Women rulers in Africa Ghanaian royalty African queen mothers Women in war 1900–1945 Ashanti independence activists 20th-century women rulers Deaths in Seychelles