Kwasi Ankye

Copyright 2016 Kwasi Ankye

ISBN-978-1-329-78188-7

This Story
The Kmfo Ankye story came to print media through the mists of oral tradition. This narrative
shares, in one place, some of the varying overlapping and divergent accounts Ive
encountered. It unfolds against the grain of genre, format, coherence, obvious continuity and
closure.
I open by crediting the sources.
Sources
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Nelson (Nigeria) Ltd.

Nana Otamakuro Adubofour - Asante: The Making of a Nation

J. Agyemang-Duah - Asante Stool History
J.K. Anokye - Sensational Discovery - Nnuroso - The Unknown Shrine of Okomfo Anokye.
(Article in The Guardian March, 1962)
A.A. Anti - Akwamu, Denkyira, Akwapim in the Lives of Osei Tutu and Okomfo Ankye. Tema:
Ghana Publishing Corporation, 1971
A.A. Anti - Kumase in the Eighteenth & Nineteenth Century (1700-1900). Accra: Damage
Control Ltd., 1996
A.A. Anti - The Ancient Asante King. Accra: Volta Bridge Company, 1974
Kwame Arhin and Kwadwo Afari Gyan [Editors]; Rt. Rev. Sarpong, K. Owusu Akyaw, S. Nkansa
Buabeng, A.K. Opoku, J.R.A. Aryee, Atakora Gyima [Contributors]; G. Kodua, E.K. Twumasi
[Research] - The City of Kumasi. England: Cambridge Fax Books Ltd., 1992
E.V. Asihene - Guan, Anum-Boso - English Dictionary. Apra Services Ltd. (Printers)
Kumi Attobrah - The Kings of Akyem Abuakwa and the Ninety-Nine Wars Against Asante. Tema:
Ghana Publishing Corporation,1976
F.O. Ayim Okyeman: A Culture History
Sonia Bleeker - The Ashanti of Ghana. London: Dennis Dobson, 1971
K.O. Bonsu Kyeretwie - Ashanti Heroes. London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1964
T.E. Bowdich - An Essay on the Superstitions, Customs and Arts Common to the Ancient
Egyptians, Abyssinians and Ashantees, Paris: J. Smith, 1821
E.K. Braffi - The Esoteric Significance of the Asanti Nation, Kumasi: E.K. Braffi. Educ. Press
and Manufacturers Ltd., 1984
David Brokensha [Editor], P.K. Blay, Prof. K.B. Dickson, George Lawson & A.A. Enti, Leo Cole,
M.A. Kwamena Poh [Contributors] - Akwapim Handbook. Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation,
1972
F.K. Buah - A History of Ghana (Revised & updated). London & Oxford: Macmillan Educ. Ltd.,
1998
P. D. Buakyi - The Life Story of Okomfo Anokye of Awukugua [A published Narration].
K. Yeboa Daaku - Osei Tutu of Asante. London: Heineman, 1976
Basil Davidson (with F.K. Buah and the advice of J.F.A. Adjayi) - The Growth of African
Civilization - A History of West Africa Since 1000-1800. London: Longman Group Ltd., 1977
A. Crakye Denteh - Asantehene Ose Tutu. Accra: Asempa Publishers, 1985
Joseph Dupuis - Journal of a Residence in Ashantee. Colburn, 1824

Eric Edusei - 1000 Years of Ghanaian History [Feature article in Akwaaba - The Ghana
Airways In-Flight Magazine Issue 14].
A.B. Ellis - A History of the Gold Coast of West Africa. Chapman and Hall, 1893
I.S. Ephson - A Gallery of Gold Coast Celebrities. Vol. 1 1632-1953. Accra: Ilen Publications,
1969
I.S. Ephson - Ancient Forts of the Gold Coast. Accra: Ilen Publications, 1970
Encyclopaedia Britannica (Macropaedia) - History of West Africa
Encyclopaedia Britannica (Micropaedia) - Akwmu Encyclopaedia
Britannica (Micropaedia) - Denkyira
Basil Freestone - Osei Tutu. The Leopard Owns The Land. London: Dobson, 1968
Francis Fuller - A Vanished Dynasty: Ashanti. Murray, 1921
J.K. Fynn - Asante and its Neighbours c-1700-1807. London: Longman Group, 1971
J.K. Fynn - Okomfo Anokye. [Contribution in The Dictionary of African Biographies,
Encyclopaedia Africana Vol. 1] New York: Reference Publications, 1977
Osei Kwadwo - An Outline of Asante History. Wiamoase: O. Kwadwo Enterprise, 1994
A.A. Kyeremateng - Ghana National Cultural Centre, Kumasi. Kumasi: University Publications,
1970
A.A.Y. Kyeremateng - Regalia for an Ashanti Durbar. Kumasi: U.S.T., 1961
T.J. Lewin - Asante Before The British: The Prempean Years 1875-1900. Lawrence: The
Regents Press of Kansas, 1978
T.C. MacCaskie - Komfo Anokye of Asante Meaning, History and Philosophy in African
Society [Article in Journal of Africa History, Issue 27]
George Macdonald - The Gold Coast: Past and Present - A Short Description of the Country & Its
People. London: Longmans, 1898
Mnhyia Palace Museum: The Komfo Anokye Sword Site 22 Wonders of Okomfo Anokye in

Asante

M.D. McLeod - The Asante. London: British Museum Publications Ltd., 1984
J.H. Nketia - Compilation of Poems Recited by the Abrafo of Asantihene on State Occasions
J.H. Kwabena Nketia - Our Drums and Drummers. State Publishing Corporation, 1968
Nnummoe - Okomfo Anokye Sword [Article in West African Review. July 1951]
Ernest Obeng - Ancient Ashanti Chieftaincy. Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation, 1988
E. Osei-Adjei - S.S.S. Notes on A History of Ghana (Earliest Times to 1900). New Tafo, Akim:
E. Osei-Adjei, 1994
R.S. Rattray - Ashanti. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1923
R.S. Rattray - Ashanti Law and Constitution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1929
R.S. Rattray - Religion and Art in Ashanti. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1927
C.C. Reindorf - History of the Gold Coast and Asanti. Basel Mission Book Depot, 1951
Rev. Dr. Peter Sarpong - The Sacred Stools of the Akan. Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation,
1971
Robert Smith - Warfare and Diplomacy in Pre-Colonial West Africa. Methuen Publishers Ltd.,
1976
G.T. Stride and C. Ifeka - Peoples and Empires of West Africa (West Africa in History 10001800). Surrey: Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd. (Nigeria), 1986
J.W. Tufuo & C.E. Donkor - Ashantis of Ghana: People with a Soul. Accra: Anowuo
Educational Publications, 1969
Ivor Wilks - Forests of Gold: Essays on The Akan and Kingdom of Asante. Athens: Ohio Univ.
Press, 1993

Freda Wolfsen - Pageant of Ghana. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1958

W.E.F. Ward - The History of the Gold Coast. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1952
W.E.F. Ward - A Short History of Ghana. London: Allen and Unwin, 1958
www.Otumfuofund.org/enstoolment3.html - Pampaso Rites
Asare Konadu Yamoah - The People Today: The Kingdom of Ashanti
Other Sources & Support
Abena Ffnaf
Nana Akua Yeboah Asamoah
Dr. Kwasi Ofei-Agyemang
Nana Sika Achampong
Prof. Kwame Arhin
Mr. Kisseh Law Faculty. University of Ghana, Legon
Mr. Quaye Balme Library. University of Ghana, Legon
Mr. Lee Yao Hiamey Institute of African Studies Library, University of Ghana, Legon
Mr. Jerry Pengwane Institute of African Studies Library, University of Ghana, Legon
Mr. Lawrence Akosen George Padmore Research Library on African Affairs, Accra
Mr. Yaw Alabi (Custodian of Komfo Anokye's Legend) Komfo Anokye's Family
Residence, Awukugua
Mr. Appiah Awukugua
Sober Kumasi
Theophilus Kumasi
Moses Kumasi
Mr. Seth Ofori Agona-Asanti
Mr. Akwasi Sabiru Agona-Asanti
Kofi Agona-Asanti
Kwasi Agona-Asanti
Kwabena Agona-Asanti
Mr. Yaw Ben Agona-Asanti
Ankye Agona-Asanti
Mr. Kwame Poku Boabeduru Ahenfie, Komfo Anokyes Residence, Agona-Asanti
Obaa Panin Akua Buo Agona-Asanti
The Household of Obaa Panin Akua Buo Agona-Asanti
Opanin Yaw Amponsah Agona-Asanti
Opanin Kwame Gyasi Agona-Asanti
Mr. Acheampong Kumasi Traditional Council, Kumasi
Mr. Patrick Osei Mnhyia Palace Museum: Komfo Anokye Sword Site, Komfo Anokye Teaching
Hospital, Kumasi
Mr. Aning (The Curator) Mnhyia Palace Archives, Kumasi
Mr. Kwaku Ideas Bekoe Madina, Accra
Dan Madina, Accra
Mr. Ohene Afranie Dekyemso, Kumasi
Mr. Asiedu Balme Library, University of Ghana, Legon

Same Elixir

The Golden Stool at Mnhyia. The Sword in Bantoma. The quest for the antidote to death.
Stories about Kmfo Ankyes life and work inspire us to adjust our perceptions of what is
possible.
We've heard of Kmfo Ankyes life and work in Asanti. Was he born among the Asanti people?
Was he from elsewhere? Several places have been called his hometown. Someone said
Ankye was from Nkonya. Nkonya means magic. Some say he was from Nokye. Some say
Benyin, Nzema. Some say Denkyira. We've also heard of Awukugua.
They say the Asanti nation wanted to take Kmfo Ankyes boabeduru ware game from
Awukugua. Boabeduru Ahenfie is also the name of his residence in Agona-Asante. boabeduru
was a huge piece of wa re g a m e c a r v e d o u t o f rock. Kmfo Ankye, with his
bare hands, had scooped out the fourteen shallow concave pits for the game in the rock.
If the Asanti people found a way to carry the heavy rock game away from Awukugua,
relations between the two nations would sour. The game was sometimes locked in a cage to
deter those who would seize it. But whenever the Awukugua people caged boabeduru,
people in the town would die in disturbing numbers. It seemed the rock game didn't like to be
caged. Yet when it was left uncaged, the Asanti efforts to seize it continued. Did this rock
ware and Kmfo Ankye belong to both the Asanti and Awukugua peoples? Did Kmfo grow
up in Awukugua and later travel to Asanti? Or was it the other way around?
Kmfo Ankye is well known for his role in helping to establish the Asanti kingdom. You may
have heard of the Kum seedlings he planted at what would later be called Kumwu and Kumasi.
The tree at Kumwu died while the one at Kumasi flourished. So Kumasi was chosen as the
capital. Some have read intrigue into the narrative. I h e a r d it was the one at Kumasi that
died. They say Ankye, desiring Kumasi as the capital, sneaked to Kumwu under the cover of
night with the dead plant and exchanged it with the live one there. People saw the withered
tree in the morning and said, Kum wu, Kum is dead. The one at Kumasi thrived. The new
capital would be built under its shade. It became known as Kumasi, meaning Under the Kum
tree. That's how they say Kumasi, the capital and Kummu got their names.
So the Asanti capital could have been Kumwu or Kumasi. But could Ankye have been from the
same people residing in Awukugua and Asanti? You will find the same Akan clans, the duona,
kuona, Bretuo, yoko, Asona, Asinie, Asakyiri and Agona in Asantiman and Awukugua. Ankye
is said to be of the Asinie. The Asinie of Awukugua regard themselves as his children. But it
is also said that Ankye neither married nor slept with a woman. How then could he have
offsprings? I heard they came to him through visitors: There are three flowing waters a
stream which the Awukugua people drink from, a river, and a lake. Kmfo sent people over to
the Asinie Lake one morning. He told them he was expecting some visitors at the lakeside. The
visitors a man and a woman, would be found sitting in a gold basin. He taught them a
particular gesture to greet the visitors with. Greet them this way and the couple will draw
closer to you. You will lead them here to me. As the story goes, the people went to the lake
and returned with the visitors. Ankye blessed the visitors in matrimony. The couple arrived
with their own food; they didn't e at what thei r h o s t s offered. The visitors gave birth to two
children, Asarebea and Mnubea, who settled in the big town, Akropn, near Awukugua.

Where did he grow up? Who were his parents? How and why was he named Ankye? You may
have heard somewhere that his mother was a great-granddaughter of the original Ancient
Asinie Ancestress, Amoa Gyata of Bonabom. They say her name was Maame Dwirawere Kwa.
Some say his father was Owura Kyei Bere. Others say Adu Pim of Adansi Abankse w a s
h i s f a t h e r. Y e t o thers mention Kyei Ptuo from Adansi. I was told Dwirawere Kwa was
from Awukugua. Some say her name was Kobe; or that she was the very vocal Mnubea, wife of
Papa An of Awukugua. Is An another way of saying Ano, the limit, the edge, the mouth, in
Akan and in Guan? Ankye certainly pushed the outer limits of possibility. Ano in Asanti also
means power. Another story tries to explain how he got his name, Ankye: He was born with
a nufa, a cut of chalk, in his clenched fist. He opened his tiny fist to show the nufa only
when he wanted to. And when he did, the women attending to him would call out to his
papa, An, kye! Thats An, see in Guan. They said it whenever something extra-ordinary
happened with him. That, they say, is how the name came about. I also heard Ankye was the
name of a shrine he frequented. As a child he would be dressed in that shrines cotton tunic
during festivals. Some say he was born on a Wednesday, that his name was Kwku. Some
people have referred to him as Kwame. Kwame Adjei Frmpn Manso Ankye.
Some also say Ankye wasnt born of humans. I was told t h a t t h e i n f a n t Kmfo Ankye
came out of the Akwapim hills one day and walked into Papa Anos household. Papa An
welcomed him and became his father. In Awukugua, people point to his early works there as
well as the house where he grew up. So what about these stories saying Ankye was from
Asanti? And if it matters to us, did it really matter much to him? The keeper of Ankye's estate
spoke about the seven areas in Awukugua. Papa Ans house borders two adjacent areas known
as Ankyes area. Its called Ankye Ayimpde. An area populated by Asinie households. He said,
When you visit Adukrom, ask for the Agyakde people. They too are known as the Asinie
children of Ankye. They might point you to the Asinie of Akropn. The Awukugua people aren't
very surprised to hear that Ankye lived among the Asinie people in Asanti.
A reddish, dark brown stone with tiny holes sits in front of Papa Ans residence. Whats the
story behind the stone? Ankye attracted a lot of opposition. Certain characters would show up
at his home ostensibly to witness Kmfo Ankyes feats. Their intention would be to test or
attempt to disrupt his work. Ankye fixed that stone right at the entrance to spiritually protect
the house. It filters out evil intentions of disrupters before they walk into the house. It guards
the house. You enter the house by walking in through the gateless entrance facing the
courtyard. First you take off your sandals, leave your footwear at the entrance and walk in
barefooted a customary sign of respect. Not even Kings and Queens are permitted to walk
into the house Ankye grew up in with their sandals on. The courtyard is framed by four
buildings joined at perpendicular angles, forming a square. I was told the building to your left
as you enter is where he was born. It makes you wonder whether he really suddenly appeared
from the hills. Directly facing the entrance, across the courtyard to the right side, is a doorless
room. A number of wooden stools stand on cured animal skins in the corner. Important
meetings of elders and mystics are held here. Tiny geometric patterns decorate the stools. They
look like the patterns on similar stools in Asanti. In an open space on the floor of the courtyard
a medicinal plant shoots towards the ceiling. Some pots used for mixing and cooking healing
herbs and other rituals lay on their sides nearby. What about the empty space in the
courtyard? They say Ankye instructed, and so it is, that no one places any item in that
empty space.

10

Not far from the house, boabeduru, the rock ware game, stands. It is made of two huge
stones, one stuck on top of the other. The one underneath is the original with its fourteen
holes and pebbles of gold. Sometimes when people come and express their doubt about the
story, someone rocks the stone and witnesses hear the pebbles moving inside. The rock stuck on
top has seven holes representing the seven Adadifo, Awukguas governing elders. One side of
the piece appeared flattened. People say it was flattened when Ankye pressed his chest against
it as he carried it to this spot to seal off the lower piece with gold pebbles from thieves. At the
bottom corner, intruders, having heard of those gold pebbles, have chiseled away at in futile
attempts to reach for the precious stones inside.
Awukugua sites have other sights to show. A short distance from boabeduru stands the tall,
upside-down palm tree Kmfo planted. It has grown branches up at the top where its roots
belong. And footprints, Ankyes footprints, are visible on its trunk. There's also the neverdrying lake Kmfo caused to flow from the ground. Not even the harshest harmattan dries it up.
They say solutions came to him in a trance even as a child. Ankye was with his parents at
the farm. It started to rain. The family took refuge in their farm shed to wait it out. But it
kept raining harder and the shed got colder and colder. They made a fire to keep warm, but the
water flooded the shed, putting out the fire. They had run out of options. Ankye stepped into
the rain towards the nearby bushes. Drawn to a particular plant for a solution, he went to it,
asked, and was given permission to pluck three leaves. He returned to the shed, handed a leaf
each to his parents and kept one for himself. He asked his parents to tuck the leaf in their
under-arms, shut their eyes and picture themselves at home. When they opened their eyes, they
were home.
Here was a child who could walk in the rain without getting wet. They say he pointed his
finger at a cruising hawk with a chicken clipped in its beak. The hawk fell from the skies with
its prey and the chicken walked free. We are told that a serpent stiffened lifeless when he
skipped over it. His performances led some to speculate about where he got his
powers. One story says late one night people in his household heard Ankyes voice outside.
He wanted to come back indoors. He was then still a baby a baby who regularly left home at
night to go eat. They say while still a toddler, he jumped and landed with the tip of his
toes on top of a flower. There's a story that says the baby Ankye could converse in words, and
that he could walk soon as he was born. Theyve said he was Obiri Adjei the legendary medicine
man reborn in new flesh. Theyve also said he was a reincarnated god.
Ankye the child already had the habit of leaving home for a day or two to listen to the Great
Silence in solitude. This time he had been away for three days and his parents was very
anxious. His father went out to search for him. His mother imagined that Ankye had been
hurt, killed by a wild animal or lost his way. Maybe he'd starved to death. How could the child
possibly survive in the forest that long without food and water? Three days without food would
kill him, she supposed. A hunter returning from the forest came to tell her he had met Ankye.
Before he could tell the whole story, Ankye's mother began to sob. When she was ready to
listen, the hunter reminded her that though Ankye may be only seven harmattans old, he was
a Bgyina child, One committed specially to bade Twediampn Nana Nyankopn, the
Almighty Creator. So Ankye wasnt necessarily subject to the elements. He told her that
Ankye looked well when he saw him. He said the boy spoke in great detail about some valued

11

customs of the ancestors and advised the hunter about to avoid falling ill. Ankyes mother
was not interested in what he was saying. She wanted her son back home again. She was
about to start wailing when they heard footsteps. They held their breaths. It was Ankyes
father returning from combing the forests in search of their son. He asked if Ankye was back
yet. His wife was getting ready to mourn. The the child, Ankye, entered the room. He was back
from listening to the Great Silence.
Various stories are told of his physical demise. Was there a plot to cancel out his mission? Was it
Sua Anim, Kmfos designated heir who instigated it? Someone mentioned a certain Duku Pim.
Someone said it was an asthma attack. Some say he was unable to recover from and episode of
epileptic fits, convulsions. Its also been said that the bone of a forbidden fish in his meal fatally
pierced his throat. There's also a story that he slept with a queenmother who was not his wife.
As he'd broken his taboo, he became vulnerable to death. Or was it the young woman who
wept upon entering his bedroom and finding him motionless when Kmfo had told people not
to mourn as he was on a mission to find the cure to death?
Absorbing and processing the kaleidoscope of contrasting narratives can be dizzying. We still
have some solid ground to work with when we consider what is known about historical events
and figures he is associated with. You cant discuss the work of Kmfo Ankye without talking
about Asantihene O t u m f o Nana se Tutu or the honorable Kontihene Amankwtia Pnin.
You cant proceed without discussing other nations Asanti had to interact with. We could start
with Denkyira.

12

Sunglow

Kmfo was in a trance. He saw a vibrant nation about to become Asanti. Once knotted together,
in unity, it would never be subdued. His vision of Asanti contradicted the immediate reality of a
fragmented people stressing what divided them. The undue emphases on differences had even
made them war against each other. Deep down, the people, a people with a legendary sense of
pride, desired unity.
A t t h a t p o i n t , Asanti w a s tormented by the whims of an arrogant neighbor King, Nana
Ntim Gyakari, the ruler of Denkyira. This King, oblivious to the fact that Asanti people were his
peoples kindred living in another side of the land, subjected the Asanti people to undue
humiliations, especially when it came to demanding tributes. But as the saying goes, humiliation
never befits an Akan, or any other people. Receiving tributes from conquered lands was common
practice. But this was expected to be tempered with a show of genuine respect for the
defeated. That particular Denkyirahene, during Akwsidae, would ask Asanti to send over
enough red clay to re-plaster the walls of Denkyira homes. Some say he ordered the Asanti
people to provide adequate supplies of plantain fibers to be used for Denkyira womens
menses. The young men and women who took the fiber and clay were forced to clear the
weeds growing around Denkyira homes and sweep the floor of Denkyira compounds. The
women were raped in the belief that they would bear better children by virtue of the rapists
blood. This was an attempt to ensure that future Asanti rulers would remain loyal to Denkyira,
the Mighty Slayer of Elephants.
By Kmfo Ankye's time, Denkyira had expanded into a vast, extremely wealthy empire. The
only nations the Denkyira did not target were the prodigious Akyim and the Akwmu. The
Denkyira government had monopoly over the gold in m u c h o f the territories of their
conquered neighbors. For rum, guns and ammunition and other European wares the
Denkyirahene handed over captured Africans to European slave dealers. His government made
a fortune particularly as middleman in the always lucrative gun and gunpowder trade initiated by
the Europeans. Needless to say, Denkyira had the best-equipped asafo, army, in the land.
Ankye and the Asanti leaders decided to rise out of Denkyira shadows and form a new united
nation.
According to one story, the Denkyira were originally of Agona kinship. Like all the peoples i n
the west of Africa, w e a r e t o l d they c a m e from a land to the east. Before heading
farther south to their present home, they settled first in the Bono area between the valleys of
the da and ffin Rivers. As one of the five of the Pioneer Akan states alongside Adansi,
Assin, Akyim and Asanti, they were first ruled by the Adansi the first of the five to establish a
formidable nation. According to legend, Nana Twum and Nana Antwi founded Adansi. Then
came Kwabena Amnfi who took up the building of Asantimanso. Amnfi rulers spoke to the
people through linguists. Tables turned when war was provoked between Adansi and Denkyira.
It was during the reign of the second Adansihene, Nana Awurade Basa, who, some say, became
the first Great King of this ancient Akan nation.
Reigning from the capital, Adansimanso, Awurade Basa made his nation very powerful. But he
misread the situation and sent an undisciplined son of his, Appia Brnya, to collect tribute from
the Denkyira. While there, the young man started a love affair with a Denkyira woman. He
was apprehended and brought before Nana boakuropa, the then Denkyira King. For his

punishment, they cut off his beard and handed it to him as the levy for his father. Shorn beard
in hand, he returned to Adansimanso and told his side of the story. The wise men of the Adansi
Council of Elders were already aware of his philandering. They concluded that losing his beard in
such a shameful manner would help him curb his carnal passions. To them, there was no reason
to pursue the matter any further. But his father, thinking might is right, chose to teach the
Denkyira a lesson. Awurade Basa opted for a fight. And it was quite a battle down the
confluence of the da and ffin Rivers. The elders say the Adansi lost; that the Denkyira won
because they had a just cause. Besides moral strength, they were better prepared. After
crushing their opponents on the battlefield, the Denkyira took the fight into Adansi itself.
Adansimanso was destroyed. After the war, the Adansi capital had to be moved to Dompoase,
about three miles from the hills. That was how Adansi came under Denkyira rule.
With its capital at Abankseso in the da Valley, Denkyira set out to conquer its neighbors and
expand in all directions as its wealth and power increased. King after Denkyira king built a
stronger kingdom. When it came to the era of Denkyirahene Nana Owusu Bre, events took a
drastic turn. He complained that the Shwihene, Nana Oburum Ankoma the First had failed to
support him against the Akwmu. Well come back to the Akwmu story. Owusu Bre invaded
gold rich Shwi, returning to Denkyira with booty of massive loads of gold in barrels. With such
access to gold, Owusu Bre introduced the solid gold shields and gold hilt swords as part of
the palace regalia. After the Twifohene, Nana Atoam bempn Akrofi, passed away Nana Owusu
Bre demanded the estate of Nana Akrofis twin brothers and their three hundred personnel.
War broke out with Denkyira when one of the twins, Nana Asiedu Apnten, refused to comply.
The Denkyira set out to fight them by crossing the River Pra. The Twifo removed the invader's
floats on the waters, leading to the defeat of the Denkyira in that encounter. Nana Asiedu
Apnten was one of the casualties in that war. Nana Ofosuhene Apnten succeeded him.
Denkyirahene Nana Owusu Bre was upset because his original ivory stool got drowned in the
war process. He kept up the pressure on the Twifo. So Nana Ofosuhene Apnten retreated from
Twifo Atoam to Aowin. The larger Twifo nation moved around for some time and finally settled
in Akyim Kotoku. Nana Owusu Bre declared war against Nana Ansa the King of Twifo and
asked the Shwi king, Nana Ankam the First, for support. Nana Ankam was not interested.
Owusu Bre went ahead and won against the Twifo. N a n a Ansa had to flee to
Asamankse. Next, the Denkyirahene turned on Nana bimoro the Paramahene and temporarily
subjugated him. Nana Owusu Bre, the mighty warrior, conquered the Wassa. It didnt take
too long for Denkyira to cover a large territory from Tano, to Bia to Anum, and all the way
south to the coast. The Denkyira Empire included what would become Asanti territory as well.
In time, Komfo Ankye, Nana Osei Tutu and the kings of Asanti would be tasked with creating,
unifying and liberating the new Asanti nation.
It was during the reign of Denkyirahene Akafo Ebiaka that Nana Ebiaka instituted a band of
specially trained, virgin vocalists whose artistic focus was to sing of the achievements of the
Ancients. The king who occupied the stool after him increased the number of fan and fly-whisk
bearers in the royal court. He was notorious for his ostentation and frivolity. He set up a harem
and placed eunuchs and watchmen about the women. Nana Amoako Atta the First was
enstooled after him. He created the twelve pure-gold canes for the linguists and added two gold
stools to the regalia he inherited. The reign of Nana Asare, better known as Boampnsm,
followed. lmina, the site of major trade with the seafarers came under Denkyira control. The
Europeans paid the Denkyirahene land rent for the lmina castle. They regarded the
Denkyirahene as a valuable business partner. Nana Boampnsm reigned for a long time
bringing on greater prosperity to his nation. It was during his reign that a percussive, calabash
14

instrument covered with stretched animal skin which sounded pnsm, pnsm, pnsm
when it was beaten and shaken, was introduced. This, it is said, is how his name
Boampnsm came about. His successor, Nana Ntim Gyakari, earned the reputation as a
humiliator of conquered nations. This is the regime the Asanti of Nana se Tutu and Kmfo
Ankye's time had to confront. Around that time, an Adansi chief who rebelled against the
Denkyira and fled, first to Akwmu, and then later on to Akyim, founded the Kokobinte
paramount stool of Akyim Abuakwa in Kyebi.
It's been said that while Ankye was among the Awukugua people, they too were a nation
dominated by a vicious overlord neighbor. Kmfo caused a palm tree to grow from the ground
by pouring the dregs of palm-wine on a particular spot in Awukugua. The tree grew, bore fruit
and was yearly harvested, and shared among the Adadifo. During festivities when revelers ran
out of drink, they would send to Ankye for more palm-wine. Kmfo would then climb the palm
tree, bend a branch, which would serve as a pipe, and the intoxicating drink would come flowing
downwards into the pots arranged beneath the tree. Even if some people were only interested
in satisfying their tongues and senses, refusing to give them the palm-wine would mean letting
down a whole town. And in principle, the Adadifo had to be obeyed. It was needed for
divination in a time of crisis. Men from the conquering town would climb up p a l m
t r e e s and cut mature palm fruits off the trees and order Awukugua men to catch the falling,
heavy thorny fruits with their bare hands. The reluctant catchers hands would bleed from
wounds from the hard prickles of the huge and heavy palm fruits. There was also the story of
the pregnant Awukugua woman who was shot in broad daylight at the marketplace by one of
their tormentors. An explosion between Awukugua and the overlords was bound to erupt.
With Ankye on their side, the Awukugua people were confident they would defeat the
oppressor. He was the one who had walked across a suspended silk string wearing his
nkronnua, wooden sandals. The one locked away in a room, yet was able to walk out of the
building without opening the door. They say he dashed a hens raw egg against a hard rock and
the shell wouldnt crack. Weve already heard about how he pointed his forefinger at the flying
hawk with the chicken in its beak and both birds came falling to the ground. He was known to
make bowls of f o o d appear from nowhere.
The Adadifo sent for Kmfo Ankye. Kmfo arrived before the seated seven Adadifo. He
exchanged greetings with them and listened. The elders wanted to know if the time was right to
direct the Asafo, the warriors, to pick up arms against the overlords. They wanted to know
how Awukugua was faring in the Creators eyes. At a sacred rocky location at Ayte,
t h e seven ornamented pots had been properly arranged before he got there. Water would
gush from the rock into the sacred pots if the Most High was pleased with Awukugua. Ankye
prayed: After a long wait, an imperceptible trickle became a consistent drip. It became a
mellow flow. Then suddenly, a violent gush of water, spouting in a downward curve into the
well-placed ceremonial clay pots amidst clapping and cheers. I t w a s t i m e t o c l e a n s e
a n d f r e e t h e l a n d . These were the waters they washed the Awukugua ceremonial palm
nuts with.

15

16

Alone & Never Lonely

Kmfo Ankye headed out to Apdwa, another town where he he is said to have left his footprint
in a rock. An epidemic had hit the town and their king had sent for him to come heal the sick.
Ankye often traveled similar paths to Apirde and Adukrom and occasionally to Nyadaw the
capital of Akwmu to heal and counsel. He knew sooner than later, he was going to permanently
leave Awukugua for another setting where his ideas would be better received. First, these ideas
had to crystallize. He needed time to prepare. After a few days on the road, he arrived at his
destination. He stopped at the banks of the choked-with-debris main stream at the outskirts of
the town. Women and children fetched water into drinking pots of all sizes and walked away
balancing them expertly on their heads.
He was well received at the Apdwa Kings ahenfie, palace. Some say the King offered him a
woman for his pleasure and for marriage. Kmfo didn't seem interested. A banquet w a s
h o s t e d i n h i s h o n o r . But he wouldn't eat or drink of the delicacies. Ankye sat
quietly at the table thinking of the work to be done. Morning came. He strolled to the riverside.
Women were washing clothes on the rocks lining the mouth of the gently flowing stream. The
waters coursed towards mid-town where people fetched it as drinking water. Some emptied
body waste into the waters. He told a group of people that it was the pollution of the water that
was causing the sickness. They didnt like him saying that. To them he was a meddling heartless
stranger adding insult to injury. They grabbed him and brought him to the palace.
At the palace, the King listened to the charge against Ankye, confirmed Kmfos identity and
asked his accusers to leave. But he and his elders were also not happy w i t h Ankyes
posture. The King did not hesitate to let his guest know that he was personally offended b y
the fact that Kmfo didnt accept the woman he gave him the night before. He thought Kmfo
did not have their best interests at heart. Why would he not taste of the banquets delights.
How can you be sure of a guest who refuses to wine and dine? How can you trust one who
turns down your gifts? But Kmfo was there on a mission. He suggested that his host ask
the people to stop contaminating the waters. He described methods for purifying it, but the
Apdwahene did not invite Ankye for all that. He had already had enough of Ankyes
idiosyncrasies. The King and elders would have felt better if he had blamed it on an enemy
town or evil people. They held a brief meeting and quickly decided on what to do. The King
o r d e r e d Kmfo out of town. Ankye was used to rejection. It only strengthened his resolve.
He headed back to Awukugua, but not before he cursed that town.
Back in Awukugua, the seven Adadifo continued to consult with Ankye. But there too,
p e o p l e d i d n ' t l i k e the sort of changes Kmfo w o u l d suggest. Ankye may have been
attempting to discourage the wanton chopping down of trees when he banned whole bundles of
firewood tied with jute or grass ropes being brought to town from the farm. Of course heating
water for a warm bath at that cold elevation up the hills could not be entirely done away with.
He permitted only a few lose pieces at a time brought and many did not quite like that. And
he would not budge. He also discouraged livestock rearing. Predictably, this affront on ingrained
habits resulted in widespread murmuring. He had to consider what people's attachment to the
familiar. So he started by tabooing the breeding of goats. This didnt reduce the grumbling. Most
people did not stop visiting him for healing and counseling, but t h e y generally kept their

distance from him when they could. This came as no surprise to Kmfo, disheartening
though it could felt. He had lived close to them in flesh and loved the people deeply.
As the bad feelings mounted around him, he yearned to work from a place where he would find
influential partners eager for a change, a people more receptive to his ideas. He wouldnt move
to the coast where a new set of values imposed by the Europeans directly buffeted the people,
violently changing the cultural landscape. The far-sighted there spent their time strategizing and
fighting the seafarers on a daily basis. They could not focus on nation-building. Nor was Ankye
about to settle in any of the neighboring nations where he was already familiar. He sensed the
possibility of new desires taking shape a little farther north. Specifically, Asanti.
What brought Ankye to Asanti? Heres one story: There was only one person responsible for
serving Ankyes meals boiled eggs and mashed, cooked yam mixed with palm oil. She was his
grandmother. It was her duty to bring the food to the end of the town just before each sunset.
One day, she forgot to do so. They say an angry Ankye grabbed and killed her for keeping him
hungry and waiting. He was arrested and imprisoned. se Tutu, who was then a prince aspiring
to the Kwaman Aban Dwa, was on friendly terms with the Awukugua Adadifo. He had come to
visit. He was taken around places of interest which included w h e r e K mfo w a s b e i n g
h e l d . When Ankye, who had not met him before, saw him, he told the prince: You will be
the next Kumasihene and become King of the whole of Asanti. se Tutu wondered how
Ankye knew he was vying for the stool. Sensing the potential benefits of Ankyes
companionship, he asked that Kmfo be released into his custody. The Adadifo agreed and that
was how, according to that story, he left Awukugua for Asanti.
Have you heard this other one? Ankye and his mother left Awukugua because most of the
people there were fed up with his presence. Obi Kmfo brought his mother with him. First,
they lived in Akwmu. Then they left for Denkyira. Kings of his day courted him. With him on
their side, they were sure to hit fresh heights of glory. Now Ankyes mother had an odd
coloring on her hands. Denkyira was going through some difficulties. Their priests blamed it on
her and executed her. Ankye was devastated. He looked forward to the day he could inflict
similar pain on the Denkyira rulers. se Tutu lived in the Denkyira ahenfie with the same
ambition having observed the ill-treatment of non-Denkyira people. The pair left for Kumasi
together with vendetta on their minds.
Here's another story: War broke out between Akwapim and Asanti. After major Asanti gains,
the Akwapim side unfurled the flag of truce. The Asanti captain refused to recognize it. He
wanted a total thrashing of the foe. Kmfo Ankye who was then in Akwapim had to step in.
People say he turned an Akwapim warrior into a young woman selling tiger-nuts in a pan
balancing on her head. He sent her into the enemys camp. The captain w a s unaware that
she was on a mission. He led her into his tent and went to sleep with her. His desires did
not end there. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He g a v e her free access
to everything in the camp, including battle plans. She carefully studied their strategies and
quickly returned to the Akwapim camp with the relevant information. Ankye changed her
back into a man and formulated a counter-plan against the opponents'. The Akwapim army
won the war that followed. But they lived to fight another day. Does that convince us that he
was from Akwapim? No, s a y some who insist that h e only went to Akwapim to sharpen
his healer and magician skills. The Awukugua people are reputed masters of the science of
healing and magic. The prize was Ankye himself when war broke out between the two armies
again. After trying hard and failing to capture him, the Asanti side planned on an all-out
18

onslaught. Battle casualties were high. It was a Monday. That's why the Monday of the
Awukugua Odwira is observed as the day they lost Ankye to the Asanti. On that day, they do
not eat any food. Someone said Ankye implored Awukugua not to let him go when he noticed
their waning ardor. But they felt overwhelmed and handed him over when the Asanti fighters
with their fiercely enchanting war drum sounds descended upon them. According to the story,
Ankye was not pleased. Deeming it betrayal, he damned the town.
Damned in what sense? Ankye sometimes damned people who rejected his ideas or didn't take
him seriously. This tendency probably drew little attention when he immersed himself in Asanti
political life. His curses hold until the accursed leave behind the mindset that led to the
infringement. He predicted that the women of a certain town would find it difficult
understanding fidelity. Ankye said, and it still holds that, until mentalities change, marriages
between couples from certain clans would be unstable. He is said to have put up a sign in
Awukugua saying the town wouldnt do very well until a given time. They wouldnt be able to
repay the loans they took, and their women would be unduly domineering. His point was
Awukugua would neither rise nor fall. To illustrate, he fixed a bofunna peg to two knives in the
ground under a tree. Above the peg and the knives, in midair, he suspended a gong-gong with
nothing holding the musical instrument to the tree. The drum defied gravity for centuries,
neither rising nor falling.
Theres another story, this time, linked to the upside-down palm tree in Awukugua: Ankye
uprooted a palm tree he had earlier planted to symbolize Awukugua's prosperity. He then dug a
hole and planted the tree upside-down. This meant the town would be turned upside-down.
Thats the tree he climbed with his thick heeled, wooden sandals. The footprints are still visible
on that palm tree's trunk. Its roots are up at the apex; the branches are in the ground. He
considered the blameless and tempered his curse with a positive. At the river bank, he used
his heel to dig grips in the slippery rocks to ensure the safety people who walked on it. He
sculpted, out of rock, the form of a pair of breasts. Any young women who doubted their fertility
because they had small or no breasts could visit that site. There a custodian-healer would
perform rituals. Not long after that, she would grow breasts and, in due time, bear children.
I heard K mfo settled briefly in Lat. There, h e healed and counseled. The townsfolk were
drawn to his teachings. People brought him gifts as a token of their thankfulness. Farmers
brought fruits; hunters brought their kill. Some of the hunters told stories of how a crab who
came out to receive their gifts at Ankyes door. This crab would crawl back sideways indoors
with the meat in its claws. Some local he al e r-p rie sts w e r e u n h a p p y a b o u t
t h i s . The upset priests wanted him out of the town. They hatched a scheme to put an end
to the show of gratitude. They managed to convince the well-meaning hunters that Ankye was
evil, deserving no honor. From then, some hunters refused to be friendly with Ankye. In
response, he warned, Go along with those priests ideas and you will lose your way. Youll
disappear, or be killed by huge, wild cats when you go hunting in the forests. His words
came true. In a short space of time, many hunters were mauled by leopards. Others simply
disappeared. This w a s disturbing. The authorities moved to resolve the matter. In a meeting,
the priests persuaded them that Kmfos presence was the problem. The people of Awukugua
are themselves complaining about this meddler? They agreed to kick him out. Ankye replied
with a curse tempered with a positive: In war, you will deliver devastating blows to your
opponents, damaging their legs. But you will lose every single battle.

19

Kmfo must have been viciously vindictive, some would say. Others may disagree reminding us
that he balanced out curses with degrees of blessings. Besides, he is remembered in Agona, not
for curses, but for his kindness and tender care. What made some uncomfortable was, Kmfo
always questioned and attempted to influence situations against what he considered wrongheaded entrenched values. Kmfo went beyond healing the unwell. He taught people to
prevent disease. He broke hexes and gave free advice to anyone regardless of social status
even when no one had asked his opinion. No doubt, Anokye annoyed many, especially those
whose sense of self was built around those practices he questioned. He had gotten himself on
the wrong side of many. In such an atmosphere, he left for Akwmu where his services were
needed in the Kings court.
They say Kmfo met se Tutu in Akwmu. Maybe youve a l s o heard that both Nana se
Tutu and Kmfo Ankye had Asanti mothers and Adansi fathers. They say Owusu Pnin of
Akrokyere was se Tutus father. I also heard that Ankye, while in his twenties or thirties, was
serving as Priest of the Otutu shrine at Berkuso inside Akwmu territory. Wasnt the Otutu
shrine at Awukugua instead? Ive also been told that it was in Asanti. Speaking of shrines, Nana
Obiri Yboa the then Kwaman king needed an heir to his throne. He looked up to his niece to
bear a man-child. But from all indications, she was infertile. Obiri Yboa lived in Kokofu, the
seat of government. According to the story, he heard about Kmfo Ankye and sent the
woman to him for treatment. She returned and bore a son. He was named se Tutu after the
Otutu shrine. se, name of the Boso-muro ntorn spirit male-child.
Now back to Ankye in Akwmu. I was told Ankye was still in Akwmu when se Tutu, now
an adult, came there. Royals of conquered nations were sent to serve in the overlords courts.
Brima se Tutu had been living and studying in the Denkyirahenes court. It was an
opportunity for the prince to come to terms with the relative sophistication of the Denkyira
government. Nana Obiri Yboa willingly let the youthful se Tutu go. He knew his nephew
could be harmed in a power struggle if he, the king, suddenly passed on. But se Tutu's stay
came to an abrupt end when he made a Denkyira princess pregnant. She advised him to flee.
Was that when se Tutu surfaced in Akwmu? First, he returned to Asanti. But Obiri Yboa
knew the Denkyiras would come after his nephew. He asked the prince to leave for the
Akwmuhene Ansa Sasrkus court. Nana Sasrku was a loyal friend. He liked Brima se Tutu.
But se Tutu wasn't in Akwmu just to seek refuge. Nana Obiri Yboa was still alive. Yet
factions in Kwaman were already sparking up a power struggle. se Tutu, the heir apparent,
who had spotted Kmfo Ankyes genius, needed his help to outdo the competition. When he
arrived, Kmfo was in detention for challenging the Akwmu authorities. The Asanti prince
pleaded for Ankye to be released into his custody. Some wondered why se Tutu wanted this
unorthodox Kmfo in his company. He may be unorthodox, se Tutu explained. But please, I
need him with me on my journey. His hosts yielded.
There's yet a different story: After Brima se Tutu escaped from Denkyira, he went directly to
Akwmu. There he met Ankye. He received word that Nana Obiri Yboa was preparing to go to
war with the Dmaa. Dmaa was a major thorn in the side of Kwaman. se Tutu wanted to go
and join his uncle in battle. He asked and got Kmfos advice: Your battles to come are many,
Brima se. And this isnt one of them. se stayed. They say a delegation led by Antoahene
Sarkode Dat Bmmfo and the Akyeamehene arrived with a message for se Tutu: The
Dmaa people have moved from Suntrso to Abesim under pressure from Nana Obiri Yboa and
the Kwaman army. But the war is lost, and Kwamanhene Obiri Yboa rests with the
ancestors. They invited se Tutu, to come along and continue his uncles work. First, he
20

needed to possess the vacant government seat, the Aban Dwa stool. He already had the
Kwaman people's support. Ankye gave se the go-ahead; Ansa Sasrku gave his blessings.
Overtaken by his affection for se Tutu, he ordered three hundred of his Anum warriors to
escort the Asanti prince to Kwaman and remain loyal to him. He gave them seventy-seven guns
for the mission. Anum had fallen to the Akwmu and the Akwmuhene kept the very best of
these fighters in the Akwmu asafo. The Anum warriors were perhaps the most formidable
warriors in Akwmu territory. Not long after they eft, Ankye requested, was granted audience
with the King and said: Nana. The very best of your best fighters are gone. Your supremacys
forever gone with se Tutu to Kwaman. He will become the most powerful king in the land.
They say Ansa Sasrku regretted his decision. Someone had to be the target of his venom. It
had to be Kmfo. Ankye was arrested.
Theres a related story about Ankye being imprisoned in Akwmu. Some say after his friend
se Tutu had left for Asanti, Kmfo Ankye was detained because he accidentally shot an
Akwmu prince. When the new Kwaman King returned to thank the Akwmuhene, h e found
his future partner a prisoner. He asked and Ankye was freed. Ive also heard that after Brima
se Tutu left, Ankye was part of the contingent of well-wishers from Akwmu who followed up
to Kwaman. An elder also told me Kmfo went along in the company of se Tutu and the Anum
warriors. He said the prince came down with small-pox on the journey, and the priest cured him.
There is yet another version that Kmfo, in his own time, left Awukugua, traveled to Apdwa
and to Akwsiho Kwhu and then to Asanti. Someone else told me that when Ankye was a
child, he left the comfort of his home and embarked on a quest for knowledge in all corners
of the open country. During these travels, said the elder, Obi Kmfo met se Tutu, for the
first time, around Akokfe near the royal capital Kokofu.
Someone else said for chastising Nana Ansa Sasrku, they bound Ankye and drowned him in a
deep river. Days later they heard that he was still alive and working in Awukugua. They thought
it wasn't true. But eye-witnesses kept confirming that Ankye was indeed back in Awukugua.
Nana Sasrku sent soldiers to rearrest him. They returned with Kmfo Ankye to Akwmu.
Ankye was a prisoner to be executed. If you want him back alive, his captors declared,
present us with seven able-bodied men. They kept him locked in a hollowed-out log awaiting
execution or ransom. It was then that the new Kwamanhene se Tutu intervened on his behalf
and left with Kmfo.
There is still this other story I heard in Awukugua: se Tutu, who knew about Ankye, had
come there asking the Adadifo to allow Ankye to accompany him back to Kwaman to help him
in his bid for the stool. Ankye was not contacted for his opinion. The Adadifo were in a bit of a
hurry to see Kmfo leave. They sent for him and simply ordered him to leave with se Tutu. He
felt betrayed. Ankye walked out on them. He went to boabeduru, the ware game he created
by sculpting holes with his hand in the huge block of stone. A game to be played with gold
pebbles he conjured from thin air. On Fridays people took a day off from farming to give the soil
of the land some rest. The elders of the town would sit around boabeduru and play ware.
Now he was on his way out into exile. Ankye lifted another rock of about the same size, placed
it on top of the rock ware game, and he sealed it. No one could play ware there any longer.
He said, Ill leave a sign here that says once upon a time, these seven Adadifo plotted
against me. Again, with his hand, he scooped seven holes in the top rock. Each hole
represented one of his betrayers.

21

You may have heard that the Aburi king who came to plead with the Akwmuhene for Ankyes
release because the Awukugua people could not find the surety of seven men. You may have
also heard that se Tutu, who knew Kmfo, had already recommended him to the Kwaman
Council of Elders, who subsequently sent him a royal invitation while he was in Akwapim.
Another variation says he had left Awukugua years before, and for some reason was in
detention in Krachi when Kwaman heir apparent se Tutu came to town. According to that
one, Ankye had p r e v i o u s l y met se Tutu in Denkyira. Kmfo worked his magic and
escaped with se Tutu to Asanti where the latter would be enstooled. Kwaman was then being
governed by Denkyira. Kmfo didn't want to live under Denkyira rule. So he would come to
Kwaman and leave after short durations. He went up farther north for a while and returned to
Asanti after conceiving of a plan to remove the Denkyira yoke.
What about the struggle for the Kwaman stool? I was told that se Tutu was away living in
Nyadaw in Akwmu territory. There were two factions yearning to have their choice inherit
N a n a Obiri Yboas stool. The yoko house of Adoma Akosua had their preferred future King;
the Agona house, led by Adu Gymfi, wanted t h e a b s e n t se Tutu to rule. I thought
se Tutu was an yoko man. Initially, Ankye offered to help Adu Gymfi but was ignored.
Adoma Akosua took Ankye in. W h e n h e l a t e r heard of the abilities of Ankye, Adu
Gymfi, through persistence, dissuaded Adoma Akosua from joining with the kmfo. She
dissociated herself from Ankye. Adu Gymfis men came to force Kmfo out of Kwaman. That
was when Dwabn's King Akrasi offered Ankye a place of residence in Dwabn. They became
close friends. After a while, Ankye moved to Obi. Word in Asanti was that he lived in Obi before
he finally came to settle among them. People called him Obi Kmfo. The stool dispute remained
unresolved. Adu Gymfi regretted having chased away Ankye. He being a skillful negotiator,
found a way to settle the stool dispute diplomatically. Adu Gymfi sent to Nyadaw for se Tutu.
When se Tutu arrived, Ankye re-appeared and went to see Nana Akrasi. Nana Akrasi. I
have something important to tell you about the future of Asantiman. Speak, my good
friend. domankoma has detailed a special mission for Asanti. The people will unite and
become an invincible nation. Your brother, Brima se Tutu, will be the rallying force. Kindly
bring me to him. I have much to tell him. Nana Akrasi knew Ankye was a serious man with
great ideas. He also felt the need for changes in Asantis politics. So he set up a meeting
between Kmfo Ankye and Brima se Tutu. Thats how, according to that story, the two got
together.
I heard Ankye had to prove himself when he first came to Asanti. They say se Tutu asked
him to cure his relative, Akosua Bensua, of barrenness. Kmfo did, and she bore a child to the
surprise of the doubters. As a reward, says that story, Ankye was given a thousand men to go
with him and establish Agona-Asanti. Agona already existed before that time, didnt it? Theres
y e t this other story: How he got to Agona was through another test given by the people
themselves. When he arrived in Asanti, he was taken to a dark room and interrogated. Two cows
were locked in two separate enclosed sheds. Kmfo was brought to where the structures stood.
Theres a black cow in one of these huts, and a white one in the other he was told. Tell us
which of the huts has which cow if you are really who they say you are. Ankye calmly
replied, What youre calling a white cow is actually a brown one. Its in this one here, and the
black cow is in the other shed over there. His testers laughed at him, sure of themselves
that they had chosen a black and a white cow. To their surprise, their white cow was
a c t u a l l y sporting a brown hide when they opened the door. Questions flowed: Who is
this? Whats your name again? Where did you say you're from? Agona? They led him to the
then Agonahene who took him in as a citizen.
22

Some of the stories locate his earlier years outside this frame. There are convincing stories
saying he was in fact from Benyin in Nzema land. A friend of mine a l s o said Ankye was
originally from Nokye. He says Kotowbr was a notorious thief who stole the Nokye peoples
golden stool in a time of war, and escaped with it to Asanti. According to him, Ankyes new
hosts initially called him Kurmfuo a ofi Nokye, the Thief from Nokye. Then my friend took it
further and complicated his narrative. He said the name was actually Kurmfuo na yakye no,
the Thief that has been caught. I insisted that Kmfo in Akan is a priestly title, but my friend
was adamant.
Back to something else I heard about Kmfos time in the Denkyira palace: se Tutu was, a t
t h a t t i m e , a hostage shield bearer in the King's co u r t w h e r e A s a n t i ro y a l s we re
ha rs hl y tre ated . I thought se Tutu was never a hostage himself. I thoug ht se Tutu
wa s the re to s t ud y the f in e- a rt an d s c ie nce o f g o v e rnm en t . No he was being held
there against his will. se Tutu and Ankye shared the same desire to be free from the
Denkyira dominion. Thats how they came to join forces for the mission.
Another story I heard in Asanti repeats that Ankye arrived in Asanti with se Tutu from
Akwmu. When strangers arrive in any nation, they first go among the people of their
respective clans. One story says Ankye was an Asinie man. He came to Agona where his
mothers distant relatives lived. He liked the place, so he remained there. Does this mean he
was born in Asanti, and not Awukugua? As an kmfo who traveled wide, he moved from town
to town studying, strengthening and healing people. He went to live in Awukugua. B u t he
wasnt from there. After some time he returned to Asanti. He was Chief Priest until after the
third Agona kings reign. Then Kmfo Ankye was enstooled as Agonahene.
So Kmfo was now in Asanti with Nana se Tutu. How did Asanti people perceive him? What
were his personal habits? They say he was a recluse with a long list of taboos. I heard he
was very secretive. They say nobody saw him eat. That he didn't like jokes and small-talk. Some
preferred Kmfo Tuda. Tuda was more accessible. He would casually mingle with the people
and sit for a little chat every now and then. But Ankye had an edge. He was an kmfo of
Twediampn Nana Nyankopn. Ankye was a public figure with a private disposition. His focus
was on his work.
Did he come first to Agona? No, he first lived in Kwaman. Kumasi-Kwaman, my friend
explained. There, he took 'power' and gave it to se Tu. They needed a capital for their
project. Ankye planted Kum-nini, python-killer tree seedlings at Kwaman and Kumwu. Where
the seedlings blossomed, that would become the nation's capital. The Kwaman seedling grew
into a mighty tree; the one at Kumwu withered away. The capital was established under the
kum-tree in that part of Kwaman we now call Kumasi. Later, he moved to Agona. There's a
story that says Anokye planted the kum-nini trees at Kumwu, Kwaman and Dwabn to
determine which of the three towns would become the capital. Kumasi was strategically
located in the fertile valley of Kwaman. pimso Nana se Tutu's ahenfie was named Mnhyia,
Where the nation meets. W h a t about Ankyes roofless house in Agona? Where he slept
wasnt exactly roofless. It was where he worked, the courtyard that had no roof. He could tell
the pouring rain not to come into that part of the building.
An elder said to me, When Kmfo Ankye arrived in Asanti he said he was going to help 'Se
Tu fight and win a liberation war against Denkyira. The elder said each year, Denkyirahene,
23

sent ambassadors and carriers with a large brass basin to Kwaman. The Asanti kings w e r e
e x p e c t e d t o fill the basin with gold nuggets for the Denkyira ruler and people. In addition,
Dwabn would supply firewood. Mampn gave mposae. Nsuta sent red clay. Bkwae provided
water. Kwaman offered wives to tend to Denkyira princes. This time when Nana Ntim Gyakari's
emissary Nana Amane Abbrs arrived, Ankye had already advised se Tutu and the kings
not to pay. And the leaders had agreed. Nana Abbrs was the Denkyira Afrasohene. He
thought the Asanti kings would fill the basin. Rather, the kings attacked Abbrs and slew
him. Thats why we stress the seriousness of a weighty matter with the proverb: Where were
you when we were beating up Abbrs? The Denkyira witnesses returned to tell their King of
the Asanti insurrection. Ntim Gyakari was furious. Am I a dead man? How could se Tutu, a
Kwaman king, and his people dare to touch my Afrasohene? He sent for his Chief Priest, Kmfo
Kyir. Kmfo Kyir consulted their oracle and predicted war between Denkyira and Asanti. Ntim
was confident that Denkyira would win. He trusted in his weapons and wealth. The
Denkyirahene ordered his soldiers to prepare for war. The Asanti kings turned to Ankye. Kmfo
said, Well destroy Denkyiras might. Let's use the coming three years to prepare.
Someone told me while preparing for the war, Kmfo traveled to Denkyira. There he
transformed himself into a young attractive woman selling pawpaw. Someone saw her and went
to tell Nana Ntim Gyakari. The King sent for her and took her to bed. Ankye collected his semen
in a carefully placed leather pouch. Kmfo then returned to Kwaman with the Kings fluids and
told se Tutu, Weve weakened him.
Another elder discussed the lead-up to the war by tracing se Tutu return to Asanti: se Tutu
was a young prince living in the Denkyira court of Nana Boampnsm. N a n a Boampnsm had
a niece. se Tutu was in love with her. She got pregnant by him though she had already
been betrothed since childhood to the Gyaasehene. So she told the Asanti prince, se Tu,
Your head could be in the brafus hand if you do not escape. Any royal who travels is given
an escort. So when t h e Kw a m a n p r i n c e asked the unsuspecting N a n a Boampnsm for
permission to travel, he asked a few retainers to accompany him. se Tutus attendant,
Ahenkwaa Gywu, was also asked to leave with him. se Tutu told Ahenkwaa why they were
leaving. They walked a great distance. The following morning they met some palm-fruit
harvesters at work. The Denkyira palm harvesting chief Nana Sasrku directed the crew. They
knew the Asanti prince. Brima Se Tu! Where are you off to? Sasrku asked. Im
running an errand for the King. se Tutu replied. Sasrku served him some palm wine. After
the drink, the prince whispered to Gywu: This man will go and tell. So they took Sasrkus
life. Then they lifted his body onto a heap of harvested palm-nuts and went on their way. Today,
the Executioner at the Asantihenes ahenfie recites:

se Tutu
He has dispatched Sasrku
And dumped his body
On a pile of palm nuts
They stopped at a village. That's where Nana Atinka lived. Atinka was Denkyiras Chief Hunter.
He too knew se Tutu. He asked, Nana. Where are you off to? se Tutu answered, The
King has sent me on a mission to Asanti. Can we find a place to rest for the night? Atinka
invited them into his home. He asked his wife Skyiwa to serve his guests a meal. After dining
together, the visitors rested for a while. se Tutus eyes fell on a gun leaning against the Chief
Hunters wall. He asked, Can I try my hands? Atinka was surprised: Ei, Nana. Have you ever
24

fired a musket? The prince said he had. Nana Atinka passed the weapon to him. se Tutu fired
a shot into his hosts chest. So you hear the brafo, the Executioner, say:

se Tutu
You have fired a shot at a gun,
And smashed that gun,
You have fired a shot at Atinka
Atinkas wife was resting after a long day. se Tutu called out, Skyiwa! Get up. Lets go! She
left with them. They got to the Adansi road. They met an old friend, Safi. se Tutu trusted him:
O Safi, we meet again! Safi asked where the prince was going. Im in trouble. I'm escaping.
Safi joined them. Together they journeyed to Akwmu. The Akwmuhene was happy to welcome
them. That was when Ankye met se Tutu. They lived in Akwmu till they heard Nana Obiri
Yboa Mnu had gone to war against Dmaa, and excuse me to say, had gotten stuck
somewhere. The elders sent to Akwmu for se Tutu. se Tutu said to Ankye, Kmfo, its
time to leave! Thats when they came to Asanti. He didnt know Ankye before they met in
Akwmu? Hed heard about Ankye but he hadnt met him personally. They came together to
Asanti. se Tutu was enstooled. They organized and triumphed against Dmaa. The
Denkyirahene sent for the tribute. They refused to pay. After striking at Abbrs, se Tutu,
Ankye and the kings knew it was time to defeat the Slayer of Elephants.

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26

Pure Sure

If unity looked impossible, Kmfo Ankye welcomed the opportunity to create it. Working with
Asanti King, se Tutu would be priceless. The people needed a symbol of unity. They had to
institute the understanding that they were one. Kmfo decided to travel around the Asanti
towns. He would study the peoples feelings and prepare them for their new nation.
Most Asanti people had not yet seen him. Ankye mingled without drawing much attention to
himself. Th e p e o p l e g e n e r a l l y desired unity. B u t each wondered if their
neighbors r e a l l y wanted it too. The obsession with micro-sovereignty had created mistrust.
Kmfo was well-received in certain places. Sometimes people were indifferent. In some places,
he was treated badly. He blessed or cursed accordingly.
They say the Asndua people didn't take Kmfo very seriously. Ankye said they would rarely
build new houses. Ntonsu is said to have suffered from his curse because they publicly
humiliated him for soiling a beam at a public place of convenience. The people of this town
will quarrel each time they decide to build more public places of convenience. The Ntonsu
people regretted this and performed purificatory rites. When the Apaa people of Aboasu
rejected him, he told them they would lack the drive for excellence. He said traders of Fumesua
would not be very successful because the townsfolk rejected his ideas. Praase at Atebubu was
where he boiled a stone. He told them the territory wouldn't expand though the people would
live long. On his way from Kintampo, he stopped at Kwaber Sodru and asked for a drink of
water. They turned him down. He wove a rope around the town saying: This town will not
expand beyond w h e r e this rope lies. I h e a r d t h e Kwaber Bomfa people also denied
him drinking water. They t o o g o t d a m n e d .
Here's a story about the tour's friendlier side: At Asanti Effiduase, he met Abrante Baabu, a
weaver with a pleasant demeanor. Abrante Baabu was very, very advanced in age. And he was
overly fastidious. He was busy at work when Ankye came. Baabu made time for Kmfo.
He liked the Asanti unity-message. He took his guest home and refreshed him with a
d r i n k o f water and food. Ankye b l e s s e d Baabu with a happy and fruitful life. You can
only die three days after the cloth you are done weaving is done. Kmfo said of the fabric in
the loom. Baabu, with his zest for life and keen eye for detail, became ever more meticulous
from that day on. Fo r ye a r s , he would come to the loom, pass the shuttle through the silks
fo r a few strokes, step away and return another day. This went on years. Abrante Baabu lived
to see many more decades.
After the tour, Kmfo Ankye and Nana se Tutu noted that though the general desire for
greater unity was strong, peoples feelings for their home state was stronger than what they had
for an unseen new united nation. The Dmaa, Amakom and Tafo seemed especially content
with the status quo. Uniting the nation through war wasn't a desirable option. It could cause
more unnecessary fighting. The people needed convincing. A unity code by which they'd rally
around the same roots was crucial. If it is about origins, it all started with the first yoko
Ancestress, Nana Ankyewaa Nyame. She first settled in Asantimanso when she descended to
Earth by a gold chain from the Sky. Asantimanso was then located at the northern-most edge of
the Amansie and Adansi districts. It stretched up to the western edge of Lake Bosomtwe. And
out of Santemanso came the yoko, Bretuo, Aduana, Asona and Asinie clans. Obaahemaa

Asiama Nyankopn Guahyia who descended b y a s il ve r chain from Sky at Ahensan is the
Bretuo Mother Ancestress. Still on the genesis: Amoa Gyata Berewa Mmosu is the first Mother of
the Asinie. She stepped into this world from a rock at Bonabom in Adansi. You may have heard
that Kmfo Ankyes mother, Dwirawere Kwa of Asinie, was the daughter of Adutwumwaa and
Twumsi Ampnsm. Adutwumwaas mother was Dufie Gyampntimaa whose mother was Amoa
Gyata. Their descendants established Amansie and Adansi.
Amansie means building the nation. It was located around Lake Bosomtwe in the deep cup of
the Kwisa hills between the Upper da and Anum Rivers in Asanti heartland. A few permanent
streams flow into Lake Bosomtwe. None leaves it. Stony torrent beds hug the lakeside. They
say the Adansi yoko settled there. The people of Asantimanso had their home in the Amansie
area between Bkwae and Asumgya. Three towns Kyikyiwer, Bkwae and Dompoase were
the first base of Asanti government. I also heard Asumegya oral traditions say, when the
Aduana and the yoko of Asantimanso appeared on the scene, they already had an Asantihene.
Adansi translates as building houses. Adansis were the first to build mud-brick houses. The
Adansi and Amansie people formed the Asantiman Nnum, the Five States of Asanti Kokofu,
Dwabn, Bkwae, Mampn and Nsuta who once lived farther south in the forest belt's southern
region close to the Denkyira. I heard the Denkyira and Akyim trace their lineage to Adansi
ancestors. The Adansi-Amansie modeled their town on Akan towns' seventy-seven streets
prototype. The peoples of the Adansi state, founded by Oppn Anim and Amansie are basically
of one family, speaking the same sub-dialects and sharing the same customs.
The Adansi-Amansie people moved northwards. The Dmaa, Amakom, Atwima, Kwabere and
Tafo had already settled nearby. It didnt take very much convincing to have them welcome
their new neighbors. The new arrivals cleared the forests some more and set up new towns.
They farmed. They built. The towns of Amakom, Dmaa, Kwaman, Kenyaase, Asokre, dwiso,
Dwabn, Mampn, Nsuta, ffin, Tafo, Agona, Kontenase, Brokrom, Kokofu and Bkwae
developed into new states. The rulers of Denkyira, Akyim and Akwmu, the emerging military
states, wouldnt attack each other. But they were subjugating smaller nations.
Asanti Ancestresses are either from Adansi or Amansie. Amansie, situated around Lake
Bosomtwe between the Anum River and Upper da River, was settled by the Adansi yoko clan
who founded Santemanso the first home of Asanti in Amansie. The towns of the Adansi district
are Ahwiren, Amogya, Dnyaase, Adankrnya, Pompn, Adnso, Adumai, Adwampn, Amoafo,
Dwabnman and Asumgya-Asantemanso. As said earlier, the seat of the Asantimanso
government was in the Bkwae, Dompoase and Kyikyiwer area. Nana Twum and Nana Antwi
were the co-founders of Asantimanso and and co-leaders of the yoko clan.
Berempmaa Piesie, the first-born of brempn, the Great One, who was a daughter of
Ankyewaa Nyame of Asantemanso gave birth to eight daughters and three sons. Kyeremaa was
one of her daughters. Berempomaa Piesie urged her children to spread out and settle where
they could. Kyeremaa grew up and had two sons Kwabena Amnfi and Oti Akntn. This was
during the reign of Awurade Basa the first King of Adansi. Nana Awurade Basa succeeded Nana
Twum and Nana Antwi. The first wave of Gyaaman settlers had started moving westwards out of
the land. Nana Adu Bini, then King of Dmaa, left their homeland and migrated westward with
his people. In Awurade Basas time, the Adansi nation prospered remarkably. But the Asanti
peoples were not prepared for a major war. The Denkyira attacked and overpowered them.
Adansihene Nana Kwabena Amnfi, who reigned after Awurade Basa, inherited a stool under

28

Denkyira rule. His stool was at Asumgya-Santemanso near Lake Bosomtwe. Nana Amnfi
moved to Kokofu, which had remarkably fertile farmland and more uninhabited land. He and his
people were well received by Owura Koko, owner of the farmland. They settled down and
increased in number. But the space they occupied wasnt large enough. Nana Amnfi decided to
move again and find a more suitable place. Nana Kwabena Amnfi joined the ancestors before
they could properly settle elsewhere. His younger brother Oti Akntn was enstooled in his
place. The lyricist says in honor of Oti Akntn:

In the Beginning
Nana Nyame created the Earth and the Drummer
And the Drummer
Was Discovered by Oti Akntn
The Queenmother was determined to remain in Kokofu though she received information that
there was fertile land a little farther northward at Kwaman. Nana Oti Akntn preferred to move
to the new location. She gave him her blessings. Akntn set out with his people towards
Kwaman. They reached Kwadane and wanted to settle there. The king there was against
the idea. They defeated the Kwadane asafo and took Daredoso. They stationed some warriors to
hold that territory while they continued to Kwaman. Abokrompi of Asaaman reportedly
discovered Lake Bosomtwe around that time. The Asnsu, Kontenase, and Asaaman fished the
waters. They also settled their war captives there. King Ampao of Akyim soon laid claim to the
lake. He ordered the settlers to leave. They say he captured and executed Abokrompi and his
wife. The Asaaman, Asnsu and Ahwiren joined forces and took the Akyim on in battle. They
found out that the Akyims were not easy opponents. I heard they consulted with Kmfo
Ankye. Wait a second. Wasn't that way before se Tutu's time? The answer I got was Ankye
worked there around that time. He asked each of the leaders to dress a son in nkwaro, a woven
fabric. Arm them with short pistols and set them on the path of the advancing Akyim warriors.
They'll defend themselves till they are slain. The encounter, they say, took place on the side of
a mountain near Anamrku, close to a huge odum tree. It lasted for three days. Nana Ampao
was slain. So was his Gyaasehene, Nana Ntorikoko. The dispute was over. The lake was divided
among the Asaaman, Asansu and Ahwiren kings.
Nana Oti Akntn led his people onward to Kwaman. The neighboring kings were uneasy about
the new arrivals presence. The Amansie people wanted to move to Daredoso. The neighboring
rulers asked the Amansie to first seek permission f r o m Nana Kwku Dompo of Tafo. Oti
Akntns journey to Kwaman continued. The people of Amnfi, the nations home, joined him.
They met the Dmaa who were not very welcoming. Led by Koli Batafo, they battled against
Oti Akntn. That was the First Dmaa War. The Dmaa asafo was overpowered and driven
southwards to Ohwim. Some Dmaa people migrated to find another place to settle. The Dmaa
people who stayed were generally more accepting of the Adansi-Amnfi arrival at Kwaman.
Nana Kusi of Dmaa, Nana Kwku Dompo of Tafo, Nana Akosa of Amakom and Nana Akora of
Kaase shared the surrounding territory. T h e y met with N a n a Oti Akntn and showed him
their boundaries. Adwoa Nkwawiri owned the land of Kwaman. They say she sold the Kwaman
land to him for sixty-seven and a half ounces of gold. Others say the custodians name was
Aberewa Ybetua - that she sold it to Nana Akntn.
Abankseso, the Denkyira capital in the da Valley, was only about fifty-miles away from
Bkwae. This was unsettling to the new Kwaman people and their immediate neighbors living

29

under Denkyira domination. After founding Kwaman, Nana Oti Akntn laid a strong, political
foundation for future generation. Kwaman earned the respect of the nearby sister states. One
story says Denkyirahene Nana Boampnsm asked Nana Akntn to send over one of his family
members and some palm oil as tribute for settling in Kwaman. The Kwaman king complied.
Thats how, they say, se Tutu got to Denkyira. He went there accompanied by Amankwtia,
son of Maame Doku, stool carrier for se Tutus mother. Amankwtia was se Tutus stool
carrier. They left along with Tuffu his gun-bearer.
A conflict of interests sparked war between Kwaman and Dmaa. Nana Oti Akntn attempted
but could not completely defeat the Dmaa before he passed on. Nana Obiri Yboa Mnu
succeeded him and continued building the nation. He also had to finish the war with Dmaa.
Obiri Yboa was the one who arranged to have the Amansie kings settle in Kwaman after
diplomatically negotiating the terms with Nana Dmpo of Tafo. Kwaman was near Dnkymanso,
near Amakom. During Oti Akntns reign, Bfo Nyame, his Chief Hunter, came across a
kum-nini tree with a cozy shade and a massive buttress. It became a central spot under whose
shade people came to catch some cool breeze. According to that story, Nana Obiri Yboa
founded Kumasi under the kum tree and named it the capital of Kwaman.
Soon afterwards, the yoko leaders of kona Kagya Pnin of Mampnten, Kwaw Pnin of
Faobawase, Dua Bode of Kenyaase, Nyama of Suman and Antwi of Sawua arrived and set
up their towns around the area now called Kumasi. Next, the Adansi chiefs moved into that
same area. Living so tightly knit together they were a formidable frontier. The Pnyinasehene,
Nana Adakwa Yiadm also moved in and settled near Boama Kokoboate. There, he founded
Dwabn. The next wave of settlers formed the Nsuta, Mampn and Kumwu states. Bkwae for
one didnt need to move from their original home on the ffin River to stay close to her kindred.
It seemed Asantimanso had been deserted. Their neighbors debated consolidating their
respective sovereignties or joining the new nation. The Aduana of Kaase would not readily
submit to yoko leadership. Neither would the Asinie of Amakom. The Dmaa complained of
Kwaman encroachments due to the massive influx of people.
Nana Obiri Yboa was elected War Leader of the new Kwaman nation. He placed his warriors on
alert and looked forward to asserting his authority. He had already sent his regent se Tutu to
Nana Boampnsm's palace. N a n a Yboa entertained fond dreams of the prince's return
to take over from him. Obiri Yboa contemplated methods of uniting the people. He had a
dream one night, which he narrated to his Chief Priest Kmfo Yamoa: There was this broom.
First, it appeared as a broomstick. A hand reached out and picked it between its fingers and
broke it to pieces. It looked easy. Then I saw a broom made of a whole bunch of broomsticks.
This time, two strong hands held it at both ends and tried to break it but failed. Chief Priest
Yamoa responded, The point is Unity. Nothing can split us once we are locked together in
unity. The interpretation resonated with the Kwamanhene. The Dmaa wanted another war, the
Second Dmaa War. They wanted to settle the score. I was told Denkyira gave their support to
Dmaa. Nana Obiri Yboa rallied his standing army in preparation. While they trained, he
introduced a new battalion, the Soduru, the Medicine Carrier, under the command of Awer
the Palace Servant. They say Obiri Yboa sent for heir apparent se Tutu who was then living
in the Akwmu palace. Kmfo Ankyes take on it was, Kwaman would put up a good fight but
would not win this one. Ankye cautioned Tutu against going on the battlefield. He would only
be there to witness and share in the defeat. se Tutu didnt go. True to Ankyes prediction,
another message from Kwaman arrived: The war had been lost. Nana Dwamena Akntn of

30

ffinso, Kmfo Yamoa and Nana Obiri Yboa Mnu had all been slain. It seemed whoever
took the crown was unlikely to prevail against the stronger nations. Kenyaasehene Nana Frdua
Agyeman, like the other eligibles, had turned down the offer to be crowned king. se Tutu, the
preferred heir chosen by Nana Obiri Yboa, therefore did not face a lot of opposition. Brima
se Tutu returned to ascend and defend the Kwaman Stool, the Kwaman Aban Dwa.
One story says Nana se Tutu, wearing his unusual crown made of elephant skin, headed for
Kwaman in the company of Kmfo Ankye, Anum Asamoa, the three hundred Anum warriors
from Akwmu. They arrived at a beautiful cascading, seemingly impassable waterfall. se Tutu
asked Kmfo to lead them across. Kmfo could not find a safe route. Anum Asamoa had
followed a wild hog to the shallow waters where the animal safely navigated across. It was
Asamoa who led his associates to the other side, following the route of the pig. On arrival in
Kwaman, the new king, se Tutu, gave the Anum warriors the parcel of land now called
Adum to settle, under the leadership of Anum Asamoa the first Adumhene. Nntibanso at
Adum was acquired for Kmfo as a work base and place of residence. There was physical
closeness and cultural unity among the future united Asanti states, yet it seemed no one wanted
to be directed by any king but their own. When it was first proposed, Dwabn, Nsuta and
Bkwae accepted the unity concept. The union was made up of the yoko people in Mampn;
ffinso and dwiso, who are Bretuo and Asona; Amakom, whose people were Asinie. Ankye
kept trying until he convinced the resourceful Mampnhene bring the rest of Mampn into the
new Kwaman Union.

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32

Walls of Melody

Kmfo Ankye and Nana se Tutu knew it would take time and the help of the Almighty
Creator to fulfill their mission. Ankye often retreated into solitude where he could concentrate
on the Great Silence for inspiration and energy to accomplish this extra-ordinary task.
Meanwhile, he continued healing the unwell. I heard this story: Ankye needed a constant
flow of water for his work. He had boiled water in a pot for curing patients. Kmfo poured the
water in the pot onto the coals of fire and prayed to Nana Nyankopn to let a river flow right
there to serve the people. Out of the ground welled a pool of water. It flowed westwards as
its volume increased. It became a full flowing stream and Kmfo named it Bosom Kwabena.
Denkyirahene Nana Bo-Asanti, Subjugator of Asanti, Boampnsm, who used only the better
part of freshly mined gold, heard about Nana se Tutus enstoolment. Though he still
wanted to integrate Asanti into Denkyira, he sent a delegation that included his most
esteemed wives to congratulate him. The entourage arrived with the Amoakwa and
Ntakrawobn horn blowers of Denkyira. They came with their musical instruments to
perform. se Tutu gave them a fitting reception. They were impressed. In fact, the
hornsmen in particular decided not to return to Denkyira. In line with protocol, Nana se
Tutu also sent an entourage, which included some of his wives, to Denkyira. Boampnsm
was enthralled by the charm of one of the Asanti women and slept with her before she
returned to Kwaman. se Tutu already had a gripe with the Denkyirahene. This further
fanned the flames of fury. It made him firmer than ever in his resolve to shatter the glory of
the Denkyira Empire. Nana Boampnsm knew he had gravely offended se Tutu. He offered
hundred marks in gold as compensation, but Nana se preferred to strike at the Denkyira
kingdoms existence.
The Europeans on the coast also heard about the new Kwaman king. They also heard of his
wonder-working confidant. They sent diplomats to greet the king. Kwamanhene se Tutu, a
thoroughbred diplomat himself, knew very well that the Europeans were not about friendship.
They were about material things, and not much else. They returned to their fort on the shore
speaking glowingly of Nana se Tutu.
Kmfo Ankye consulted with se Tutu and invited the Asantiman-Nnum kings for the formal
formation of the nucleus of the new Kwaman nation. Kmfo said, Its a new time. Burn to
ashes and put away the stools you had before the Second Dmaa War. We are about to get
Dmaahene Nana Sikafo Kusi to unite with Kwaman. Things that remind us of the previous
Dmaa War will have to be erased. The stools were destroyed. New ones were created. War
was declared, not only to resolve, on Kwamans terms, the border dispute and to add Dmaa
to the union, but also to wipe the sting of the memory of defeat from the previous
encounter. An archetypal leader in this state of war had to be appointed to inspire courage.
They elected the stalwart Amankwtia Pnin, named him as Head Warrior king, and enstooled
him as Kontihene and Bantomahene.
One account sheds some light on how Nana Amankwtia Pnin became Kontihene: The
Kwaman kings were in a meeting at Amoako to decide on a strategy for the next Dmaa

33

War. One of the kings asked Kmfo Ankye if victory was assured. The kings wanted to
see a physical sign. Ankye turned to Amankwtia Pnin, a fearless and principled man
whom he admired and respected. Amankwtia had been loyal to se Tutu ever since he was
appointed stool carrier for the then prince. Nana Amankwtia Pnin. You will go to a s p o t
i n Diakmfiase. You'll find a leopard there. Capture it and lead it here to us by its paw, said
Ankye. Amankwtia Pnin did not hesitate. He left immediately for Diakmfiase. Some of the
kings were uneasy about it. They waited anxiously for Amankwtias return. To their relief,
Amankwtia safely returned with the leopard exactly as Ankye had detailed. It was brought
to Kwamanhene se Tutu. Nana se Tutu beheaded it as a sacrificial offering. The leopards
spotted skin was sewn into a hat for Amankwtia. The skull was buried in at Toper Mnu
Nkwanta. Amankwtia Pnin was elevated to the rank of Kontihene. He would serve as the
Commander of the asafo.

34