The Asante Peoples

When they arrived on the coast of Ghana in 1471, Portuguese sailors were astonished by the highly structured kingdoms they encountered. This initial contact, along with the area's reputation for being wealthy, encouraged Westerners to settle in the region and to trade bronze and European-manufactured objects for Ghanaian gold and slaves. These flrst Europeans only met a fraction of the Ghanaian population who occupy a large territory that can be separated into three distinct areas for the purpose of this chapter.

The first area, which lies along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, is a flat plain covered with shrubs occasionally interrupted by lagoons. it is divided into numerous kingdoms of which the most well known are the Fante and the Ewe. The second area includes the central part of the country. it is a forest area where the most renowned tribe is undoubtedly the Asante (also known as Ashanti). The Asante tribe, as well as other peoples living in central and south Ghana, speak the Twi language and collectively form the Akan people. The third area, in northern Ghana, is covered by savannah and is the habitat of Gur-speaking people whose traditions and religions are still poorly understood.

Akan artistic production focuses primarily on decorative art objects. These fall into several categories - statues, furniture and jewelry. Statues and stools were occasionally placed in royal and commoner shrines - a room where magical materials such as brass vessels and amulets were kept.

The artistic production of the entire Ghanaian tribal aesthetic traditions of the Asante tribe. In fact, it is almost impossible to attribute a specific type of sculpture to a specific tribe, given that Asante carvers and artisans travelled across Ghana and spread the Asante aesthetic tradition countrywide.

MASKS

Only one type of headdress has been found in Ghana. It comes from the north and is a vegetal cap surmounted by two horns.

STATUES

Asante carvers are famed for their female dolls, known as Akuaba, which measure between 20 and 40 cm in height and display a stylized elongated body and an enlarged circular head. These dolls, consecrated by priests, are thought to have the power to make barren women conceive and are carried around and treated like a real child by Asante women. After use, they are placed in a domestic shrine. Fante and Bono people, who live respectively to the south and the north of the Asante, also employ Akuaba dolls, but they are carved in a different style. The heads of Fante dolls are rectangular whereas Bono Akuaba have a triangular profile.

The Asante also carve maternity figures called Esi Mansa. They are kept in royal or commoner shrines where they emphasize the importance of the family and lineage.

From the 16th to the 18th centuries, southern Akan people incorporated terracotta heads - and more rarely, figures into the funeral ceremonies of their chiefs. They were paraded through the village and then either left on the grave or set on a shrine where libations were offered to them. Different styles of head can be distinguished. The first major style, related to the Fante and the FomenaAdanse people, shows a rounded head. A second important style, found among the Kwahu people, has a flattened face which suggests a connection with Akuaba dolls. Large elaborate drums were played during Fante festivities. The lead drum, sometimes called Queen Mother, is characterized by its legs and breasts and is covered by motifs recounting local proverbs.

EVERYDAY OBJECTS

The Asante are famous for their ceremonial stools carved with an arched seat set over a foot, referring to a proverb or a symbol of wisdom. They are usually made for a chief when he takes office and are adorned with beads or copper nails and sheets. In rare cases, when the chief is sufficiently important, the stool is placed in a special room following his death to commemorate his memory.

Asante chairs are based on 17th-century European models and, unlike stools, do not have any spiritual function. They are used as prestige objects by important chiefs during festivities or significant gatherings.

The extent of the gold trade among the Akan people encouraged the use of brass gold-weights which are cast using the 'lost-wax' process and have geometric or figurative shapes. Western scholars have identified two major periods of gold-weight production.

The first period dates from 1400 to 1720 and is thought to have been the result of influence of traders from the Mali empire. These weights are thick and usually geometrically shaped. Figurative weights are rare. They are large in size (7-10 cm) and usually lack detail.

Weights produced during the second period date from 1720 to 1930. They are either geometric or figurative and show a greater variety of shape and detail. For example, geometric designs, proverbs or, more simply, casts of live materials such as grain or other plant material.

The elaborate coiffures of Akan women led to the production of wooden combs which were often 2iven 10 as presents from fathers or husbands. They are frequently decorated with a scene depicting the occasion when the gift was presented.

Two major types of brass vessel are used by the Akan. Called Forowa and Kuduo, they were used respectively for storing vegetable fat, or precious possessions or as receptacles for religious ceremonies.

The Akan prize gold jewelry and have fashioned rings, necklaces and bracelets in geometric or animal shapes which are worn during festivities. Zoomorphic and cephalomorphic amulets were usually worn by chiefs at important meetings.

The Akan people are famous for their textiles, which are worn during important festivities. They are narrow strips of fabric, which have orange, red and blue threads sewn together. While the Asante chiefs wore textiles decorated with abstract patterns which were often made from silk, the Ewe people, their eastern neighbours, tended to weave figurative motifs and symbols into their fabric designs that were later sold at market.

Among the Fante people, warrior 'companies', known as Asafo, defended villages from invaders. Today, they have a more social and fraternal function and are headed by a chief known as Ontanhene, who initiates inter-company competitions. Each Asafo rallies around a shrine, called Posuban, and is associated with certain colours and a specific flag. These appliqu6 flags display scenes and symbols that relate to proverbs.

RELATED TRIBES

The Moba people reside in the north-east corner of Ghana and in Togo and are known primarily for their highly abstract sculptures called Tchitchiri. These represent ancestors or house spirits and are often covered with a thick encrusted patina..