Britain finally designated the
Ashanti Kingdom as a protec-
torate. the Ashanti Kingdom
was restored to self-rule on
31 January 1935. Asante King
Prempeh II was restored in
1957, and the Ashanti King-
dom entered a state union
with Ghana on independence
from the United Kingdom.
Asantehene
A
t the top of Ashanti’s
power structure sat
the Asantehene, the
King of Ashanti. Each As-
antahene was enthroned on
the sacred Golden Stool, the
Sika ‘dwa, an object that came
to symbolise the very power
of the King. Osei Kwadwo
(1764–1777) began the meri-
tocratic system of appointing
central officials according to
their ability, rather than their
birth.As King, the Asante-
hene held immense power
in Ashanti, but did not enjoy
absolute royal rule. He was
obliged to share considerable
legislative and executive
powers with Asante’s so-
phisticated bureaucracy. But
the Asantehene was the only
person in Ashanti permitted
to invoke the death sentence
in cases of crime. During
wartime, the King acted as
Supreme Commander of the
army, although during the
19th century, the fighting was
increasingly handled by the
Ministry of War in Kumasi.
Each member of the confed-
65 | Colossium . December 2018
eracy was also obliged to send
annual tribute to Kumasi.
The Ashantihene (King of all
Ashanti) reigned over all and
was King of the division of Ku-
masi, the nation’s capital, and
the Ashanti Kingdom. He was
elected in the same manner as
all other chiefs. In this hierar-
chical structure, every chief or
King swore fealty to the one
above him—from village and
the Ashantihene received
significant deference ritually,
for the context was religious
in that he was a symbol of the
people in the flesh: the living,
dead or yet to be born. When
the king committed an act not
approved of by the counsel of
elders or the people, he could
possibly be impeached, and
demoted to a commoner. The
existence of aristocratic orga-
nizations and the council of
elders is evidence of an oli-
garchic tendency in Ashanti
political life. Though older
men tend to monopolize
political power, Ashanti
instituted an organization
of young men, the nmeran-
te, that tend to democratize
and liberalize the political
process. The council of el-
ders undertake actions only
after consulting a repre-
sentative of the nmerante.
Their views must be taken
seriously and added into
the conversation.
Obirempon
subdivision, to division, to the
chief of Kumasi, and finally
the Ashantihene swore fealty
to the State. The elders cir-
cumscribed the power of the
Ashantihene, and the chiefs of
other divisions considerably
checked the power of the King.
This in practical effect created
a system of checks and balanc-
es. As the symbol of the nation,
B
elow the Asanta-
hene, local power
was invested in the
obirempon of each locale. The
obirempon (literally “big man”)
was personally selected by the
Asantahene and was generally
of loyal, noble lineage, fre-
quently related to the Asanta-
hene. Obirempons had a fair
amount of legislative power in
their regions, more than the
local nobles of Dahomey