The Facet of Black Culture: Volume 1

© Copyright 2013 Elias Yussif.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

isbn: 978-1-4669-8847-7 (sc)

isbn: 978-1-4669-8849-1 (hc)

isbn: 978-1-4669-8848-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013906340

Trafford rev. 08/13/2013

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Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

KWAME FRIMPONG (OKOMFO ANOKYE)

THE LINEAGE OF OKOMFO ANOKYE

THE GOLDEN STOOL OF THE ASANTES

THE UNMOVABLE SWORD OF OKOMFO ANOKYE

CHAPTER ONE:    A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ETHNIC GROUPS IN THIS BOOK

CHAPTER TWO:    NAMING CEREMONY AND OUTDOORING

CHAPTER THREE:    RELIGION OF BLACK WORLD

CHAPTER FOUR:    LEADERSHIP/CHIEFTAINCY

CHAPTER FIVE:    GENDER DIVISION

CHAPTER SIX:    FOOD—MEALS AND HOW TO PREPARE

CHAPTER SEVEN:    MARRIAGE CEREMONY IN THE BLACK WORLD

CHAPTER EIGHT:    ART AND CRAFT

CHAPTER NINE:    MUSIC AND DANCE

CHAPTER TEN:    FESTIVALS

CHAPTER ELEVEN:    DEATH AND FUNERAL RITES

CHAPTER TWELVE:    INHERITANCE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

F irst of all, I will like to thank the Almighty God for giving me the brains, ideas, and the strength to write this book. Another group of persons that I will thank are my parents, Samata Tia, and Afa Yussif Mohammed for giving birth to me and taking good care of me from childhood to this level. My next greeting goes to my brothers and sisters, especially Saeed Yussif for the brotherly love and care, not forgetting my lovely sister Ramatu Yussif. Another powerful greeting and thanks goes to my lovely wife, Mrs. Hamidatu Elias, for standing by me all these years. Other thanks goes to all my teachers from the basic school level to the university level. Last but not least, my thanks goes to Naaki Addo and the entire workforce of Jigama Enterprise for typing the manuscript.

I dedicate this book to my mother, Salmata Taih, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu Member of Parliament for Tamale South, LOVE BLAKE and all the entire workforce of TRAFFORD PUBLISHING for the good works I will have to mention here that without the assistance of Love Blake this book will not be published, May God Shower his blessing on you Amen.

INTRODUCTION

S hining and glittering all over the facet with greater significance. Providing good meals with supernatural nutrients that cannot be gotten from any part of the world , as it is unique in every ground in creation by the Almighty, hanging on top of the highest roof with no one to ask him why or how that creation, be it black or white. What kind of better food or nutritious food can’t be found here? Is it the vegetables, fruits, or the carbohydrates? What a creation with beautiful ladies and men with kindled ideas to blow up the world.

Stepping your feet to this facet will make you feel strong and part of the people; nowhere on earth can one get this kind of reception. People of this facet will receive you, prepare water for you to drink, give you a big cola nut to chew as a sign of love and care and unity for all, whether black or white. The people of this facet will go a long way to get you water to bathe in order to release down the fatigue from your trip and, later, prepare some savory fruits for you before any meal is served. Meals are served with palatable meat, either the bush meat or the common guinea fowl meat. Oh! How I love to always be around for these meals! In most cases, sweet palm wine is also served to wash down the meals taken earlier, and we take this palm wine outside the house, where we sit around in very congenial surroundings for better relaxation. What a culture of good reception.

The clothing worn by these beautiful women and handsome men shows some creativity of the people of this facet. Nowhere in this globe can one find the beautiful kente but this great facet. This material is made from cotton and other pure African threads. This is a precious material worn by our people to occasions of merrymaking—festivals and even funerals. The beads manufactured by these people are yet another wonderful creativity; these beads come in different colors and different shapes and sizes, and these are worn by both men and women in the facet.

This facet is also blessed with ideas of good leadership, and one cannot talk about all things and leave out our leadership. Leadership, in this world of mine, is through kingship and chieftaincy, which is usually not matrilineal but, rather, patrilineal, and with the idea of royalty thus people from the lineage of the kingship or the chieftaincy, and this could be divided into so many different gates. In some cases, one can find four or more gates in a single community or a single kingdom; when this happens, then the selection of kingship is done gate by gate, thus a gate will be selected, and when the person (the king) dies, then the other gate or the next gate is considered in the selection of the next king. In cases where the gates are only two, then the first gate will be selected, and when the king dies, then the other gate is also considered in the selection of the next king. But where the gate of the kingship is based on one gate, then the kingship will be based on that gate alone. Selection of leaders is based on good records due to these leaders are trained from birth—whether men or women—as selection of leaders in this facet can also be women, or some communities are ruled by the feminine gender. So it is not surprising when a little or a young person is a ruler and he is able to rule as well as any other person, if not better. When a king dies, in my world, the funeral of the dead king is performed, and after the performance, then the interested persons will register their names and submit their names to the council of elders, who then start the scrutiny of the background of those interested persons.

KWAME FRIMPONG

(OKOMFO ANOKYE)

K wame Frimpong was born at Awukugua-Akwapim, the capital of Kyerepong state in the Eastern Region of present-day Ghana, West Africa, in the late 1600s. His father, Ano, and mother, Yaa Anubea, were both from Awukugua-Akuapim, part of the Ayade tribe. At the time of his birth, his two palms were firmly held together and could not be separated. Curious to know what he was holding in his hands, his parents tried to separate both palms, but to no avail.

A few months later, his father was able to open the palms and took what he was holding, and surprised at what the son was holding, he shouted Ano-Kye or Anosee, translated as Ano says. From that day onward, Anokye was added to his name—that is the reason why Kwame Frimpong became Anokye. What he was holding at birth has been subject to speculation. Legend has it that it was a talisman. According to another account, Kwame Frimpong Anokye, at birth, had grown a tooth and was able to speak right away. It is not normal for children at birth to have all those features; therefore, his parents decided to consult an oracle.

Upon consultation, his parents were told that Anokye was a powerful spirit that had returned to his people to complete an unfinished mission of the gods of the land.

Later in Kwame Frimpong Anokye’s life, he attained priesthood and was given the title Okomfo. His full name then became Okomfo Anokye. His ancestral home (the house he was born into) is opposite to the Awukugua chief palace. A shrine is also located there—the Awukugua shrine—and is a frequent site of the meeting for the Ohum festival. The shrine consists of a palm tree, which he climbed wearing his sandals, and a large rock from which he carved a game of oware; other shrines are located at Awukuqua-Akuapim. The Denkyeras later heard of his wonders and requested his aid. Through Anokye’s help, the Denkyeras successfully defeated the Asantes. Osei Tutu, the king of the Ashanti at that time, requested Anokye’s aid.

Anokye went to Osei Tutu’s aid in Kumasi, the capital of the Asantes Empire, with a group of his tribesmen and women. King Osei Tutu gave Anokye land to settle on after he helped them to defeat the Denkyera. This land was named Nzema. When Osei Tutu succeeded in about 1690 to the leadership of the small group of Akan forest states around the city of Kumasi, which were already grouped in a loose military alliance, Anokye was his adviser and chief priest. Osei Tutu and Anokye, who must be considered together, carried out the expansionist policy of their predecessors, defeating two powerful enemies, the Akan Doma to the northwest and the Denkyera Empire to the south.

THE LINEAGE OF OKOMFO ANOKYE

K wame Frimpong Anokye’s lineage is something that has been highly contested by both Akuapims and Asantes. The Asante account has it that Okomfo Anokye was born to an Asante mother and an Adansi father. This makes him an Asante right away; they go further to state or claim that Okomfo Anokye and Nana Osei Tutu were directly related by a maternal uncle. The Akuapims, on the other hand, have it that the fact that he was born in Awukugua in Akuapim makes him an Akuapim. With these stories, one may ask the following questions either in mind or to the general public: How did the Asante parents of Kwame Frimpong Anokye make it to Akuapim during those years? How come his shrine is at Awukugua and not at Asante’s town? One may also ask, If Anokye was born at Akuapim, then how did he and Nana Osei Tutu meet? Historical accounts have it that Okomfo Anokye and Nana Osei Tutu met at Akwamufie when the latter, who was to succeed his uncle as chief of the Oyoko Clan, was sent to understudy the chief of Akwamufie. Another account has it that the two probably had met at Berekuso, which is also in Akuapim, at a very powerful shrine. However, this account should not be surprising at all since during those days, the only religion of the people was the traditional African religion, and all wars were mostly won depending on whose side the gods were on or supported.

Guidance, protection, and directions were also sought from the gods during those days, and these two could have met on any of these times or occasions. Okomfo Anokye did so much for the Asante kingdom. Notable among them include helping the Asante army to defeat the Denkyeras, who were a powerful army around the fourteenth and the seventeenth centuries. The Golden Stool, Sika Dua Kofi, which, to date, is a symbol of unity among the Asantes, also comes to mind. Please find below some of the things that Okomfo Anokye did for the Asantes and, generally, the whole nation.

THE GOLDEN STOOL OF

THE ASANTES

T he Golden Stool is a curved seat forty-six centimeters high with a platform sixty-one centimeters wide and thirty centimeters deep. Its entire surface is inlaid with gold and hung with bells to warn the king of impending danger. It is not easily seen by many, and only the king, queen, and a true prince and trusted advisers know the hiding place. Replicas of the Golden Stool have been produced for the subchiefs of the kingdom, and at their funerals or ceremonies, these stools are blackened with animals’ blood, which shows a symbol of their power for generations. The Golden Stool is one of the main focal points of the Asantes today because it still shows succession and power. It is believed that the history of the Asante kingdom is incomplete without the history of the mystical Golden Stool. The Golden Stool is situated in the palace of the Asante king, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in the Ashanti Region of present-day Ghana. A new king is usually lowered and raised over the Golden Stool without touching the stool; it is also believed that no one could be a legitimate ruler without the stool. This powerful and mystical Golden Stool (Sika Dua Kofi) was conjured from the skies by Okomfo Anokye on a Friday evening unto the laps of the then king of the Asante, Nana Osei Tutu I. Please find below the pictures of the Golden Stool and some other pictures and statues of Okomfo Anokye commanding the stool from the skies.

In fact, this Golden Stool of the Asantes contains the soul of the Asante nation, and because of this, Asantes have always defended the Golden Stool any time the stool was at risk. As a result of this, the Asantes had to wage war against the British representatives when their leader, Sir Frederick Hodgson, demanded to sit on the Golden Stool.

Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson was a British governor and British representative in Ghana who went to Kumasi in the year 1900. Immediately, when he arrived, he was given a chair to sit on as the Blackman traditions demand. After sitting, he then said, Where is the Golden Stool? I am the representative of the paramount power. Why have you relegated me to this ordinary chair? Why did you not take the opportunity of coming to Kumasi to bring the Golden Stool for me to sit upon? However, you may be quite sure that though the government has not received the Golden Stool at his hands, it will rule over you with the same impartiality and fairness as if you had produced it. Not understanding the significance of the stool, Sir Frederick Hodgson clearly had no inkling of the storm his words would produce; the suggestion that he, a foreigner, should sit on the Golden Stool, the very embodiment of the Asante state and very symbol of the Asante people—living, dead, and yet to be born—was far too disrespectful for the Asante crowd.

At the time Sir Frederick Hodgson made these comments, the Asante king at that time, King Prempeh I, was on exile in Seychelles, and because of this, warriors and other leaders all kept quiet though these words were very irritating. Then the Queen Mother of Ejisu at that time, Yaa Asantewaa, got angry and got up and said, "Now I have seen that some of you fear to go forward to fight for our king. If it were in the brave days, the days of Osei Tutu, Okomfo Anokye, and Opoku Ware, chiefs would not sit down to see their king taken away without firing a shot. No white man could have dared to speak to a chief of the