The Golden Stool: An African Icon

Strange as it might seem to those of us steeped in modern philosophies and the technology of the millennium; there remain in our world symbols of cultural belief that are fiercely and proudly regarded by the nations which revere them. Just as the Ark of the Covenant dominated Old Testament ritual, and just as the glorious Buddha figures of Asian tradition still reign in the Eastern world temples, so does a magnificent Golden Stool retain its age-old position of supremacy with the Asante tribe of Ghana. It is a perfect icon of what we call leadership art. To understand the Golden Stool, though, one must glance at the historical tale, which tells of its might and splendor.The Asante tribe is located in Ghana as shown in Figure 1. They are part of the Akan Confederacy, which is organized into territories based on their common language, religious beliefs, and shared history.[footnoteRef:1] Aside from cocoa, one of the Asantes most valuable resources is gold; this is what sets them apart from other African tribes.[footnoteRef:2] Gold to the Asante can be compared to the dollar system in America. Gold has been so valuable to them that people who have been caught counterfeiting gold have been sentenced to death.[footnoteRef:3] [1: Berry, Sara S. Chiefs Know Their Boundaries. Portsmouth, Hampshire UK; Oxford, London UK; Cape Town, South Africa: Cambridge University Press, 1998: 78] [2: Wilks, Ivor. Forests of Gold. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1993: 94] [3: Wilks: 129]

Gold is an important element in the Asante peoples life. They incorporate gold into their money system, symbols of status, and artworks. An example of this is shown in Figure 2 by all the vibrant colors used and the massive amounts of gold. Besides the value they place on gold, other lifestyle choices have been influenced by a trading network that stretches from the Sahara Desert to North Africa.[footnoteRef:4] [4: Wilks: 129]

The Asante tribe has been involved with Muslim traders and holy men, all of whom have shaped their own set of beliefs. Like many cultures, this societys exposure to unfamiliar lifestyles altered their own ways of living and believing. Thus, over time, they have incorporated Europeanmethods, forms, and styles into their own art.[footnoteRef:5] [5: Ibid]

Because the Asante are located near the Gold Coast, they have been exposed to many cultures, a fact which is richly reflected in their art. This cosmopolitan development is noticeably different than other African cultures and reflects their extensive exposure to Western art. A noticeably unique factor in the Asante art is that is has been used to help demonstrate the concept of leadership within their society. Leadership art can be comprised of both rich and subtle pieces, which actually work to help leaders teach and guide their people.[footnoteRef:6] [6: Visona, Monica Blackmun, Robin Poyner, and Herbert M. Cole. A History of Art in Africa. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001: 198]

The Golden Stool is the supreme piece of African leadership art and it is a lavish and beautiful symbol of the power and soul of the Asante nationTruly, it is the most famous stool in all of Africa, (Figure 3) and it dates back to the 1700s during Osei Tutus reign. Tutu was the first Asantehene,(king), of the Asante tribe.[footnoteRef:7] The story of the Golden Stool tells about the origin of this rich and colorful people. [7: Visona: 201]

In the seventeenth century, the Asante tribe was determined to gain independence from Denkyira, then another powerful Akan state. In order to do so, they set up a meeting of all the Asante clan chiefs. During the meeting, Okomfo Anokye, Osei Tutus priest, commanded a stool to come down from the sky and land in Osei Tutus lap. The priest declared the stool was a figure of the new Asante nation and called it the Golden Stool. Inspired by this seeming miraculous event, all of the chiefs came together and formed an alliance. They gave offerings and made an oath to the Golden Stool and to Osei Tutu as their Asantehene.[footnoteRef:8] Shortly after, the alliance went to war and defeated Denkyira. The Golden Stool, by the force of its powerful inspiration, assisted in the power shift of the Asante.[footnoteRef:9] [8: Akyeampong, Emmanuel, and Pashington Obeng. Spirituality, Gender, and Power in Asante History. Boston: African Studies Center, Boston University, 1995:13 ] [9: Wilks: 93]

Since the Golden Stool came from the sky, it is believed to have been sent from heaven[footnoteRef:10]. Its high status is similar to that of a god,and the fact that it has gold casing, which is the most precious metal to them, gives it even more significance. The stool consists of a curved seat measuring 46 cm high, a platform 61 cm wide and 30 cm deep.[footnoteRef:11] Surprisingly, the Golden Stool is actually considered higher than the Asantehene himself.[footnoteRef:12] When the Asantehene appears in public, the Golden Stool is presented. It has elaborate bells attached to it to announce its presence.[footnoteRef:13] As a form of the highest possible respect, it is essential that the Golden Stool never touch the ground. It is placed on a blanket that is set on a royal chair. The Golden Stool is honored by being elevated at all times.[footnoteRef:14] [10: Akeaympong: 25] [11: Silver, Harry R., Foreign Art and Asante Aesthetics. Africa Arts 16 (1983): 64] [12: Visona: 201] [13: Ibid ] [14: Ibid]

The Golden Stool is considered to be sacred and is believed to hold the Sunsum, which means the spirit and soul of the Asante. Like personally owned stools are believed to contain their owners soul, the Golden Stool contains the Asante nations soul.[footnoteRef:15] Like many historical symbols or idols, the stool itself has been given an entire godlike persona of its own. The Asantehene isnt even allowed to sit on it. Instead the Golden Stool is presented on the side of the Asantehene as shown in Figure 4. Because the Golden Stool is considered to be so holy, replicas are made to appear at chiefs funerals. There, they are blackened with animal blood to symbolize the chiefs power.[footnoteRef:16] [15: Visona: 201] [16: Silver: 65]

Aside from the initial power shift the Golden Stool assisted in helping the Asante gain their independence, it has caused other power commotions. The Golden Stool represents the Asante nation and all of its history. The stool has caused war among the Asante. For example, the British governor Arnold Hodgson knew well the revered status of the Golden Stool. When he demanded to sit on the stool because hed come all the way to Ghana and had overthrown the Asantehene, he was denied. This resulted in the war of 1900.[footnoteRef:17] Several others have tried to take the Golden Stool because of its importance. [17: Akyeampong: 22]

In 1920, a couple of African road workers found the Golden Stool by accident. This is significant because only a few people know of the Golden Stools hidden location, once they found the Golden Stool, they removed its gold ornaments. Of course the hapless vandals were apprehended. When they had their trial in the Asante court they were found guilty, and given the death penalty for their heinous crime.[footnoteRef:18] Another incident, expressing the Golden Stools importance, was the way the Asante handled the King of Gyaaman, Adinkra, after he created a Golden Stool for himself. The Asante take great pride in the rareness of their Golden Stool, so when Adinkra made one of his own, the Asantehene demanded Adinkra be decapitated. Then he ordered the fake Golden Stool to be melted down and made into two masks.[footnoteRef:19] The masks now hang on each side of the Asantes Golden Stool to represent the ugly face of Adinkra.[footnoteRef:20] The Golden Stool resembles political powers.[footnoteRef:21] It is no wonder so many people want to keep this special stool for themselves. [18: Silver: 67] [19: Silver: 68] [20: Ibid] [21: Wilks: 127]

As mentioned before, the Golden Stool itself symbolizes the richest part of Asante history. It is helpful to recognize that the individual use of a stool itself in Asante society is extremely significant. One of the only reasons historians can track the Asantes history is because they used stools to keep records. Stools help show the origins of political office, as well as family statuses.[footnoteRef:22] Most stools have a saddle-shaped seat that is supported by four legs. It rests on a rectangular base to help support it. The entire stool is carved out of a single piece of wood.[footnoteRef:23] Every stool is believed to be the seat of the owners soul. People of the Asante, such as the head of the family, own a personal stool.[footnoteRef:24] When the owner of a stool dies, it is believed that their soul is spiritually transferred into their stool. The stool is initially painted white, but after the owners death, it is painted black as shown in Figures 5 and 6. By blackening, the stool symbolizes the possessor as an important ancestor. The stools of royalty are usually kept in a shrine to represent the tribes soul and history.[footnoteRef:25] [22: Wilks: 94] [23: Visona: 201] [24: Berry: 83] [25: Ibid]

As meaningful as they are however, none of these glorious cultural pieces of history and art can hold a candle to the deity, which the Asante tribe attributes to their precious Golden Stool. To them, and to those of us who study and come to appreciate this Asante phenomenon, it is leadership art in its highest possible form. Truly the Golden Stool embodies the absolute soul of its proud nation.

Bibliography:Akyeampong, Emmanuel, and Pashington Obeng. Spirituality, Gender, and Power in Asante History. Boston: African Studies Center, Boston University, 1995.

Berry, Sara S. Chiefs Know Their Boundaries. Portsmouth, Hampshire UK; Oxford, London UK; Cape Town, South Africa: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Silver, Harry R., Foreign Art and Asante Aesthetics. Africa Arts 16 (1983): 64-80

Visona, Monica Blackmun, Robin Poyner, and Herbert M. Cole. A History of Art in Africa. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001.

Wilks, Ivor. Forests of Gold. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1993.

Images:

Figure 1: Map of Asante in Ghanahttp://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pinetreeweb.com/ghana-map-pol1996.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pinetreeweb.com/bp-prempeh-large-map.htm&h=1244&w=996&sz=365&tbnid=rbquarlIVVDuyM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dashanti%2Bmap&hl=en&usg=__gT4ds36TT_uf2sx2MPORLkL4iy0=&ei=l_TpS9LDBsHflgfLwoXfCg&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=7&ct=image&ved=0CDIQ9QEwBg

Figure 2: Asantehene making his way through a crowd. http://www.parallelozero.com/visual_rep.php?cod=49

Figure 3: The Golden Stool which sits on its side and never touches the ground. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.runofplay.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/golden-stool.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.runofplay.com/2008/03/21/qpr-throw-down-with-the-king-of-ghana/&usg=__TJtYAPimGygCaZnuzzHGmKVjNrE=&h=277&w=382&sz=98&hl=en&start=3&itbs=1&tbnid=So3QA8fR8fatqM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dasantehene%2Bwith%2Bgolden%2Bstool%26hl%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1

Figure 4: The Asantehene with the Golden Stool next to him. http://www.parallelozero.com/visual_rep.php?cod=49

Figure 5: Personally owned stools that are painted white. http://www.mandingimportsofafrica.com/store/product.php?printable=Y&productid=16859&cat=269&page=1&js=n

Figure 6: Blackened stool after its owners death. http://www.mandingimportsofafrica.com/store/product.php?printable=Y&productid=16859&cat=269&page=1&js=n