Local traditions and culture in Ashanti Region

The other rings were explained to us as follows:

The mud fish will float in the soup, always on the surface – this is a sign of the superiority of the Ashanti.

The ring shaped like a cross shows several reptiles with one stomach – meaning that all should pull in the same direction for best results.

The king wears many kilos of gold, and he explained the meaning of much of his jewellery to us. Sometime the king will need assistance in raising his arms when in full regalia.

The spiky ring which is shaped like a star, signifies that is you kill a thousand troops, a further thousand will come for you.

The kente cloth the king is wearing was handed down to him from his uncle and is 50 years old. The patterns vary from cloth to cloth and have many symbolic meanings. The Ashanti area is famous throughout west Africa for the kente cloth.

The two swords act as a symbolic protector for the king, and are used in the swearing-in ceremony of the king. When the swords are shown in a cross, it signifies that you should not approach the king. Traditionally the swords were carried by messengers to convey communication to others from the king.

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The king has many responsibilities towards his subjects: his responsibility is to provide better education, environment, employment and water facilities for the region.

From a judicial point of view, the king’s own Court is used for sorting minor village disputes, whereas the more major issues as well as any unsettled clashes, would go on to the Supreme Court.

There are several Ashanti kings, with one main ‘head’ king overseeing them all. In order to qualify to become a king, there are certain prerequisites that need to be met: No previous prison sentence, no visible scars and no adultery! Meeting these criteria you then need to be accepted by the people before being carried through the town in a palanquin.

The Ashanti kings enjoy a matrilineal succession system, which means that lineage is strictly through the mother’s heritage – for instance, the current king’s sister’s son may very well become the next heir to the throne. Despite traditionally being permitted to take up to four wives, King Nana Okyere-Antwi I only has one wife, and five sons. None of them will become heirs to the throne. He has ruled for 22 years.

The staff, or walking stick, shows a lion at the top. The Ashanti believe that is was a lion who guided to this place initially, and therefore it is now considered a ‘relative’.

The black in the king’s head dress represents the forest, whist the gold stands for just that – the wealth of the gold in the Ashanti Kingdom.