Is the origin of the Ashanti golden stool a myth or a historical fact?

It was a Friday morning and all the courageous chiefs from the Ashanti territories had assembled at Dwabrem under the initiatives of the Okomfo Anokye. As the sounds from the drums and the castanets got louder, he became possessed, pointed his cudgel to the skies and a fearsome thunder struck. Winds and dark dust clouds threw the chiefs off their feet. Then came forth the never anticipated stool – The Golden Stool. For over four centuries now, the origin of the Ashanti Golden Stool remains uncertain due to misrepresentation of information about the stool by various writers. Tradition has it that the golden stool descended from heaven, whilst most writers claimed that Okomfo Anokye (the chief priest of Osei Tutu I), actually created the stool himself. But what does it mean to say that the stool came down from heaven or that it was created by Anokye? It is not surprising that the origin of the golden stool is still a mystery for some writers, because the stool is almost four hundred years old, and there were no written accounts at the time of its origination. This paper goes beyond all reasonable doubts to determine the true origin of the Ashanti Golden Stool.



There are no recognized dates for ordinary stools; however, the supernaturalism of the Golden Stool makes it possible to properly account for its age. The Stool descended on a Friday under the full glare of numerous Ashanti chiefs in Dwabrem, an eighteenth century village in the Ashanti Kingdom (now the present site of the Kumasi Post Office). Anokye, the chief priest, chanted for the Golden Stool to come from the skies (Ellison, 2005). The BBC Gold explains that The Golden Stool, the seat of the soul of the Ashanti tribe in Ghana, came down from the heavens in circa 1700 with the purpose of uniting the Ashanti nation (BBC Gold, 2004). Adjei also recounts that on that chosen day, all the chiefs and the villagers had gathered and Okomfo Anokye, with the help of his supernatural powers, chanted and conjured from the sky a stool partly covered with gold. It sat in a black cloud amidst thundering noise and lots of dust (Adjei 2001). On account of this, the Ashanti named the stool, “sika dwa Kofi”. Sika literally means money in the Akan dialect. Sika, in those days, meant something very precious and in this case, “gold”. Dwa is also an Akan word for stool, and Kofi a name for a male child born on a Friday, hence sika dwa Kofi – Friday Golden Stool.



What made this stool so different from all of the other stools were the ceremonial activities which marked its arrival. Okomfo Anokye collected all older stools belonging to the chiefs as well as all other tokens of political authority and buried them at the old Bantama creek in Kumasi (Odotei, 2006). That meant from that day onwards, the Ashanti would have one king superior to all of the chiefs in the entire kingdom. Anokye asserted that whoever the stool may be suspended directly over would become the first Ashanti king. Indeed the stool descended and hanged over Osei Tutu, and so he became the first king of the Ashanti kingdom. With the help of Anokye, Osei Tutu built a strong Ashanti kingdom and reinforced the unity of the Ashanti people. He had the people take an oath by asking all of the chiefs to drink “mmoto”, a portion of burnt hair and fingernails of all the chiefs mixed with palm wine (Adjei, 2006). At this time all of the chief swore allegiance to each other and to the stool. Today Ashantis continue to celebrate Odwira, a custom Anokye decreed to signify the importance of this stool (Ashanti Empire 2008).



Though stools in Ghanaian culture are made for kings to sit on, The Golden Stool is a representation of the ancestors. No king ever sits on it. A king is lowered three times upon it. The Stool is always laid on its side and on a blanket. Anokye explained that the Ashanti kingdom would continue to flourish as long as the stool continued to remain present in the kingdom. He further explained that the stool is the “sunsum” – the soul, of the Ashanti people, and that in it their power, honor, and welfare were bounded in it. If ever captured or destroyed the nation would perish (Edwin, 1927). Additionally, the Stool is a symbol of political, religious and cultural authority. Consequently, every Ashanti pays allegiance to it. It is cherished as the most sacred possession of the Ashanti people. The loss of their king would be a minute tragedy in comparison to the loss of the Golden Stool (Sarpong, 1997). The Stool sits on a special seat during occasions, as shown in the picture above. Stools in Ghanaian culture are believed to have links with ancestors. As a result, the occupant of the stool is referred to as “Nana” meaning an ancestor (Sarpong). The Ashantis, who were often in wars with the Denkyira throughout the 17th century, sought ancestral support for their nation under the leadership of Osei Tutu and the ingenuity of Anokye. In response, the ancestors saw the Golden stool as a representation of their existence in their kingdom.



The structure of the Stool is a prototype in traditional Ashanti arts because it is believed to have been made by the gods of the heavens. The Stool measures 18 inches high by 24 inches long by 12 inches wide (“Dynamics of the stool” 2008). It actually consists of wood plaited with gold. Shaped like the rear of the elephant, the stool has various regalia. In Ashanti, the regalia are preserved in remembrance of their ancestors, and also as a symbol of unity (Wilks, 1975). The Stool had two brass bells when it descended from heaven, but Anokye later instructed Osei Tutu to make two gold bells and two extra brass bells to hang on the sides of the stool (Adjei, 2001). The Golden Stool is not the only such thing that evolved mysteriously; there are also stories of treasures being handed to people by their ancestors. Examples include the Golden Crown, the Golden Hoe, and the Golden Ladder in the Akyem kingdom in the Eastern part of Ghana.

Who is this Anokye? Could he really chant for a Golden Stool to come from the Heavens? Anokye was born to a farmer named Mr. Annor in the Akuapim- Akwamu Kingdom located in the southeast of Ashanti which is in the Eastern Region of Ghana. (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2006). He was named Kwame Frimpong. As a young boy, Frimpong was very amiable and played all day long with his friends. Unaware of his gifted powers, he always finds himself surrounded by the entire community only to be rescued from the astounded crowd by his father. Legend has it that the numerous wonders he performed outside of his home compelled observers to fetch Frimpong’s father from the farm so that he could witness his son’s acts. Soon this became a routine. Strangers who did not understand the meaning of “Annor kye” meaning Annor come and have a look, mistook it for Anokye, and as Frimpong’s name. Hence, Frimpong became known as Anokye throughout Kumasi and all of Ghana, alike. His spiritual abilities made almost every chief seek out his assistance in times of calamities. Osei Tutu was one of these such chiefs.



Anokye grew up to become a fetish priest, a statesman, and a lawgiver (Encyclopedia of World Biography 2006). Ellison recounted that Anokye gave set of codes which was known as the Okomfo Anokye Seventy-Seven Laws which covered everything from birth and child rearing to death and burial rites (2005). Most of the wonders Anokye performed that are still in existence includes: the Oware – a traditional game, that he carved from a huge slab of stone with his bare finger in Awukugua, the buried sword at the present Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, his footprints in the bowel of a coconut tree, and the Golden Stool. He also fetched water in a basket, and yet the water did not spill. He had a roofless house, yet was sheltered from rainfall and he dissected an insect to expose its intestine (Ellison 2005). Anokye was a genius and under his counseling most tribes and kingdoms flourished until this day. Anokye did not die --he only disappeared. “To this day, nobody can tell where Okomfo Anokye Frimpong Kotobre was buried” (Page 4).



I believed at this point that Anokye, given his super natural powers, chanted for the Golden Stool to come from the heavens. Ellison recounts that his great grandfather, Oberempong Nana Firam Gyereba, chief of Asuonwun, witnesseds the incident at Dwabrem in the 1700s. The connection between stools and ancestors, and ancestors and the gods of the land in the Ghanaian culture, make it possible for a great priest such as Anokye to give ancestral leadership to the Ashanti kingdom. The ancestors could not mingle with humans. Because of this, they sent a signifier, the Golden Stool, which signified their presence among the kingdom. Man-made stools do not eat, but the Golden Stool does eat. Anokye advised that if the stool was not fed and someone did not perform and the proper traditional rites, it may die of hunger. This would have the entire Ashanti kingdom to perish.

Indeed, some aspects of the Stool remain a mystery, but the origin seems to be clear. It was delivered by the gods with the goal of uniting the Ashanti people. Anokye did not create the Golden stool he only instructed some Ashanti goldsmiths to add two regalia to it. The origin of the stool is so important to Ashantis in that it enables them to appreciate their culture and tradition. As told by Ellison, “colonialization has made Africans undermine their culture”. We should not forget that Moses received the Ten Commandments from Heaven and it resulted in Judaism; a virgin’s birth of Jesus resulted in Christianity; and Mohammed’s vision led to Islam. Okomfo Anokye, as a result of his achievements, should also be recognized as a traditional leader of the Ashantis.

Author: Samuel Kwadwo Obeng.
November 26, 2009.

Bibliography

Adjei, Abyna-Ansaa. King of Gold. Accra: A-Cubed books ltd, 2001.
"Ashanti Empire." 2008. info-ghana. 11 December 2008 .
BBC Gold. 10 December 2004. 1 December 2008 .
Dynamics of the Stool. 2008. 12 December 2008 .
Ellison, Kofi. Ghana Home Page. 31 October 2005. 10 December 2008 .
Gale, Thomas. "Encyclopedia of World History." 2006. Book Rags. 10 December 2008 .
Irene K. Odotei, and Albert K. Awedoba. Chieftaincy in Ghana: culture, governance and development. Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishesrs, 2006.
Sarpong, Peter. The Sacred Stools of the Akan. Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation, 1971.
Smith, Edwin W. THE GOLDEN STOOL. LONDON: The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1927.
Wilks, Ivor. Asante in the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 197