Travel to Ghana: ASHANTI
HISTORY
The Ashanti people are part of the Akan.
Actually we don't know where the Akan are from.
They think that they left the Ghana Empire after the defeat against the Moravites in 1076. The Akan refused the Islam and they run away to the South.
They settled in the coast and in the forest of this region.
The forest is very rich in gold and many other products. The Akan of the forest became very powerful. They were trading with the people of the North and with the European merchants located in the South.
In the late XVIIth century the Akan of the forest organized a nation around the king of Kumasi . It was a birth of the Ashanti nation.
They became one nation to fight the populations located between themselves and the coast. And so to reach directly the European merchants.
The legend says that a golden stool felt from the sky on the knees of the Kumasi king, Osei tutu. It was considered as a sign that Osei Tutu and his family had been chosen by God to lead the Ashanti nation. Osei Tutu has been the first king. After him 11 kings led the Ashantis until Prempeth 1, defeated by the British in 1896.
The Ashantis are matrilineal. When the king dies, his senior sister chooses the successor among her sons.
Now there's still a king in Kumasi and in all the towns of the Ashanti region.
The king of Kumasi is still important for the population. He keeps the traditional costumes and he represents the traditional chiefs in front of the political power.
ASHANTI FUNERALS
On Saturday afternoon we attend the Ashanti funerals. It's one of the most important rites in the traditional Ashanti religion.
The Ashanti believe that the soul of the deceased, called Okra, survives after the death. He becomes an ancestor providing that his family celebrates a big funeral.
The traditional days for the funerals are Monday and Wednesday. But the colonization changed the costumes. Now the day of the funerals is Saturday because the major part of the population doesn't work on that day.
The funerals are celebrated after the burial, may-be after some years. The organization of the funeral is expensive. The family need to collect money to do a big ceremony.
Every body come to the funeral wearing a black dress. The relatives of the deceased wear some thing red. Thus the view is very spectacular. On entering the funeral ground one sees the family of the deceased on the first role of the congregation. When the people arrive, they greet every body, specially the persons sit on the first line. After that they sit down, they drink, they talk with the other persons. Some body dance their very particular dances.
The most important moment is called « adosoa ». The daughter in law gives some good offerings to the widower (or to the widow). If the family is rich, the offerings are very rich: gold, money, alcohol, cloths. By that the daughter in law shows her gratitude for the family where she found her husband. Around 6 o'clock the funeral ends.
About our participation, we have to observe the traditions. When we arrive, I ask the permission to attend the celebration. If it's O.K., we stand in line, the men before the women. We shake hands to every one sitting on the first line. After that we receive a seat, we sit down and we drink. Finally we can start taking photos. We can move and enjoy.
The Ashanti month lasts 42 days (6 weeks). The first day is a festival day, called « Akwasidae ». The king and his court make special celebrations.
The first one takes place in the stools room. They poor libation in honor of the ancestors, especially of the previous kings. Just a few number can go inside the stools room, because every attempt to the stools is an attempt to the Ashanti kingdom.
The second celebration is a festival around the king in the court of the palace. People play, sing and dance. They praise the king and they encourage him to be strong and bold.