The Extraordinary Events And Remarkable Personalities That Shaped History (Part 13) By Mike Ozekhome, SAN

HISTORY OF THE FANTE EMPIRE (continues)

INTRODUCTION

Two weeks ago, we commenced our discourse on the Fante Empire. The people of Fante were one of the Akan’s peoples believed to have migrated from Techiman (or Tekyiman) in the present day Northwestern Asante region in the 17^th century, before they became the Fante confederacy.  “Fante” as seen last two weeks means “The half that left”.  In Italian, “Fanti” means infantryman or foot soldier. Today we shall comprehensively x-ray the Empire, starting with the Origin.

ORIGIN

According to their oral traditions, the Fante arrived in their present habitat from the north by the 17th Century. They served as middlemen in the commerce between the interior and British and Dutch traders on the coast. In the early 18th century, the Fante formed a confederation, primarily as a means of protection against Ashanti incursions from the interior. Several Fante-Ashanti wars followed. The Fante were aided by the British, who, however, destroyed the strong Fante confederation established between 1868 and 1872, believing it a threat to their hegemony on the coast. In 1874, a joint Fante-British army defeated the Ashanti, and in the same year the Fante became part of the British Gold Coast colony.

The word `Asafo’ is derived from ‘sa’ (meaning war) and ‘fo’ (meaning people). Warrior groups are active throughout the Akan area, but it is the Fante tribe which inhabits the coastal region of Ghana, that has developed a sophisticated and expressive community with a social and political organization based on martial principles, and elaborate traditions of visual art.

It is certain that the local organization of warriors into units of fighting men was an established practice well before the arrival of Europeans. Nevertheless, the influence on, and the manipulation of these groups to suit the trading and colonial ambitions of the foreigners has created many of the qualities of the Fante Asafo that continue to this day.

THE POLITICAL ADMINISTRATION

The situation throughout the Fante region was always fraught with political complexities, for there were twenty-four traditional states along an eighty- mile stretch of the Atlantic coast, and each state was independently ruled by a paramount chief or ‘omanhen’, supported by elders and a hierarchy of divisional, town and village chiefs. In any one state there may be from two to fourteen Asafo companies, with as many as seven active companies in a single town. There is a lack of political unity within the Fante culture as a whole, so that inter-company rivalries – as well as disagreements between the states – are, not surprisingly, endemic. When the Fante were not fighting together against a common enemy, these antagonisms often extended to open conflict among themselves. Observers report that battles between Asafo companies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries left many dead and wounded.

By exploiting these divisions, the Europeans could `divide and rule’ and ensure that their control of the coast went unchallenged. At the same time, by organizing the Asafo warriors into efficient military units, they could bring together an army for a quick reaction to any threat from the interior. The enemy was, more often than not, the powerful Ashanti kingdom, a traditional opponent of the Fante, and a dangerous and unpredictable supplier of gold and slaves to the European traders on the coast. The primary function of the Asafo, as we have seen, was defence of the state, Nevertheless, the companies were key players in a balance-of- power struggle – typical of the many that exist in communities the world over – between the military and civilian groups within government. Although the Asafo were subordinate to their chiefs and paramount chief, they were intimately involved in the selection of the chief and were responsible for his crowning or ‘enstoolment’. As long as the chief had the support of the people – as represented by the Asafo – he had the authority accorded to him by tradition; the prerogative to appoint and remove Chiefs remained with the people. Asafo elders also served as advisers to the chief.

While Fante chieftaincy was aristocratic and matrilineal – the chief tracing his descent through females back to the founders of the community – the Asafo are patrilineal and democratic, every child, male or female, automatically entered his father’s company, and membership was open to all classes, from stool holders to fishermen.

The installation of a new Asafo captain was the principal motivation for the creation of a flag. It was the responsibility of the incumbent to commission and pay for the ensign, which then became the collective property of his company. The choice of design was his, albeit partly limited to mimicking the examples established by precedent to be the artistic property of the company. The personalizing of flags in memory of the commissioning officer is now a common occurrence.

The display of Asafo flags was associated with the social activities of the company and the town as a whole. For the town the major event of the year is the Akwambo (path-clearing) festival. This was a time of unity, of renewing allegiances and friendships and of the homecoming of family members especially for the celebrations. Paths were cleared to shrines of the gods, often by the river, and as this is a large-scale event, it was the time of the presentation of new Asafo leaders, such as supi or asafohen. Bearing their flags, the Asafo companies’ paraded through the streets, to the river, to the town shrines and past the houses of the chiefs to demonstrate their allegiances.

At these festivals the companies of a town proudly and aggressively defended the right to parade specific and exclusive colours, cloth patterns, emblems and motifs on their art forms. The violation by mimickry of a company’s artistic property established by precedent and since 1859 by local law, was seen as an act of open aggression. The flags were also shown at other Asafo events, including the funeral of a company member and the commissioning of a new or remodeled shrine, or on an important anniversary of its original construction. Town, regional and national events, such as the enstoolment of chiefs, the annual Yam Festival and state holidays, were all celebrated with a show of Asafo flags.

NOW THIS

At these social events the flags were displayed in a variety of ways. The flagpoles of the posubans, the shrines of each company, proudly carried the flags aloft and the houses of Asafo members adjacent to the shrine, as well as the shrine itself, were decked with strings of colourful colonial and Ghanaian ensigns, Flags were carried in processions and, most dynamically, there was a spectacular display of elaborate dancing with the flag by specially trained Asafo officers, the ‘frankakitsanyi’.”

In 1853, Cruickshank noted that each company had a distinctive flag; for a company member, ‘the honour of his flag is the first consideration’. He also commented that some flags were specifically designed as challenges or insults to rival companies.

AND THIS

These visual insults and provocations often resulted in fatal inter- company clashes. An image of one company catching their enemies in a dragnet brandished by one company at a festival in July, 1991, nearly caused a riot! Earlier incidents such as these led to the strict control of flag imagery. At Cape Coast, beginning in the 1860s, all companies were ordered to submit their flags to the Colonial Governor for his approval and to register the approved designs and colours with his secretary. The display of unregistered flags was punishable by law. Even today a new flag must be approved by the paramount chief, the general of the combined companies. The Asafo elders then paraded before all the other companies in the area to make sure that no one is offended.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“There are no extraordinary men… just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men are forced to deal with.” (William Halsey).

LAST LINE

I am grateful to my numerous readers, locally and globally, for always keeping a date with the Sunday Sermon on the Mount of the Nigerian Project, by humble me, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, OFR, FCIArb., Ph.D, LL.D. Pray, look forward to next week’s illuminating disquisition.