{{Short description|Throne of Asante kings}} thumb|The Golden Stool on its throne, the ''hwedom dwa'' (1935) [[File:Flag of Ashanti.svg|thumb|Flag of the Asante people depicting the Golden Stool in the middle.]] The '''Golden Stool''' (Ashanti-{{langx|tw|Sika dwa}}; full title, '''Sika Dwa Kofi''' "the Golden Stool born on a Friday") is the royal and divine throne of kings of the Asante people and the ultimate symbol of power in Asante.<ref name="britm">{{cite web |title=African Gold-weights in the British Museum |url=http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/online_research_catalogues/agw/african_gold-weights/glossary.aspx}}</ref> According to legend, Okomfo Anokye, High Priest and one of the two chief founders of the Asante Confederacy, caused the stool to descend from the sky and land on the lap of the first Asante king, Osei Tutu.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-how-the-asantehene-climaxed-the-20th-anniversary-on-the-golden-stool.html|location=Accra, Ghana|newspaper=Daily Graphic|access-date=2019-05-18|title=How the Asantehene climaxed the 20th anniversary on the Golden Stool [PHOTOS]|date=2019-04-22}}</ref> Such seats were traditionally symbolic of a chieftain's leadership, but the Golden Stool is believed to house the spirit<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kyerematen|first=A.|date=1969|title=The Royal Stools of Ashanti|journal=Africa: Journal of the International African Institute|volume=39|issue=1|pages=1–10|doi=10.2307/1157946|jstor=1157946|s2cid=144362829 |issn=0001-9720}}</ref> of the Asante nation—living, dead and yet to be born.
==Symbology and ritual== Each stool is understood to be the seat of the owner's soul and when not in use it is placed against a wall so that other souls passing by may relax on it. The Golden Stool is the royal throne and must never touch the ground; instead it is placed on a blanket.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://globalquiz.org/en/question/what-is-the-royal-artifact-of-the-ashanti-people/|title=What is the royal and sacred object of the Ashanti people?|website=GlobalQuiz|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-22}}</ref> During inauguration, a new king is raised and lowered over the stool without touching it.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/golden_stool.php|title=History of Golden Stool|website=www.ghanaweb.com|access-date=2020-02-22}}</ref> The Golden Stool is carried to the king on a pillow,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hadithi.africa/2019/02/12/queen-mother-yaa-asantewaa-and-the-golden-stool/|title=Queen-Mother Yaa Asantewaa and the Golden Stool. {{!}} Hadithi Africa|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-22|archive-date=2020-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222131542/https://hadithi.africa/2019/02/12/queen-mother-yaa-asantewaa-and-the-golden-stool/|url-status=dead}}</ref> as only the Asantehene himself is allowed to handle it. During solemn occasions, the Golden Stool is placed on the king's left on a throne of its own, the ''hwedom dwa'' (Asante, ''throne facing the crowd'').<ref>{{cite web |title=Akan Leadership Arts |url=https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/topic-essays/show/8?start=7 |access-date=2018-05-26 |archive-date=2020-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102210459/https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/topic-essays/show/8?start=7 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Historical conflict== Many wars<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ringmar.net/irhistorynew/index.php/2018/10/14/golden-stool-of-the-asante/|title=Golden Stool of the Asante|date=2018-10-14|website=History of International Relations|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-22|archive-date=2019-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028235645/http://ringmar.net/irhistorynew/index.php/2018/10/14/golden-stool-of-the-asante/|url-status=dead}}</ref> have broken out over the ownership of the royal throne.<ref name=":1" /> In 1896, Asantehene Prempeh I was deported rather than risk losing both the war and the throne. In 1900, Sir Frederick Hodgson, the Governor of the Gold Coast, demanded<ref name=":0" /> to be allowed to sit on the Golden Stool, and ordered that a search for it be conducted. This provoked an armed rebellion known as the War of the Golden Stool, which resulted in the annexation of Ashanti to the British Empire, but preserved the sanctity of the Golden Stool. In 1921, African road workers discovered the stool and stripped some of the gold ornaments.<ref name=Carmichael176 /> They were taken into protective custody by the British, before being tried according to local custom and sentenced to death.<ref name=Carmichael176 /> The British intervened and the group was instead banished.<ref name=Carmichael176 /> An assurance of non-interference with the stool was then given by the British and it was brought out of hiding.<ref name=Carmichael176>{{cite book |title=African Eldorado - Gold Coast to Ghana |last=Carmichael |first=John |year=1993 |publisher=Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd |isbn=0-7156-2387-7 |pages=176–77}}</ref>
In 1935 the stool was used in the ceremony to crown Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II.<ref name=nyt99>{{cite news |title=Opoku Ware II, King of Asante, Is Dead at 89 |author= Michael T. Kaufman |newspaper=New York Times |date= March 4, 1999 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html }}</ref>
==Appearance and craftsmanship== {{Unreferenced section|date=June 2017}}
[[File:The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Queen Mothers stool.jpg|thumb|right|An Akan stool believed to be for a Queen mother, 1940–1965, in the collection of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis]]
The Golden Stool is a curved seat 46 cm high with a platform 61 cm wide and 30 cm deep.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://face2faceafrica.com/article/how-a-mysterious-golden-stool-is-keeping-the-great-ashanti-kingdom-united|title=How a mysterious Golden Stool is keeping the great Ashanti kingdom united|date=2018-09-20|website=Face2Face Africa|language=en|access-date=2020-02-22}}</ref> Its entire surface is inlaid with gold, and hung with bells to warn the king of impending danger.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Yussif|first=Elias|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUqUAAAAQBAJ&q=Its+entire+surface+is+inlaid+with+gold,+and+hung+with+bells+to+warn+the+king+of+impending+danger.&pg=PR19|title=The Facet of Black Culture|date=2013-07-24|publisher=Trafford Publishing|isbn=978-1-4669-8848-4|language=en}}</ref>{{sps|date=February 2020}} It has not been seen by many and only the king, queen, and trusted advisers know the hiding place. Replicas have been produced for the chiefs and at their funerals are ceremonially blackened with animal blood, a symbol of their power for generations.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hadzija|first=Boka|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qHc_AwAAQBAJ&q=Replicas+have+been+produced+for+the+chiefs+and+at+their+funerals+are+ceremonially+blackened+with+animal+blood,+a+symbol+of+their+power+for+generations&pg=PA75|title=My Door is Always Open: A Memoir|date=November 2013|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn=978-1-4836-2925-4|language=en}}</ref>{{sps|date=February 2020}} The stool is one of the main focal points of the Asante today because it still shows succession and power.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://asante.neocities.org/stools.html|title=Asante Art - Artefacts - Stools|website=asante.neocities.org|access-date=2020-02-22}}</ref>
While the Golden Stool is made of pure gold, stools are often made from wood. Each stool is made from a single block of the wood of ''Alstonia boonei'' (a tall forest tree with numinous associations) and carved with a crescent-shaped seat, flat base and complex support structure. The many designs and symbolic meanings mean that every stool is unique; each has a different meaning for the person whose soul it seats.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hamillgallery.com/ASANTE/AsanteStools/AbstractStools2/AsanteAbstractStools2.html|title=Asante (Ashanti) Abstract Stools 2|website=www.hamillgallery.com|access-date=2020-02-22}}</ref> Some designs contain animal shapes or images that recall the person who used it. The general shape of Asante stools has been copied by other cultures and sold worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://exquisiteafricanart.com/project/asante-kotoro-dwa-stool/|title=Asante Kotoro Dwa Stool|website=Exquisite African Art|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-02-22}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.hamillgallery.com/EXHIBITIONS/AfricanStools.html African Stools. Hamill Gallery of Tribal Art, catalogue of exhibition, March 1-May 26, 2001.] * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/4chapter6.shtml West African Kingdom: Asante. BBC World Service.]
{{Ashanti topics|expanded}} {{Akan topics}}
Category:Ashanti monarchy Category:Thrones Category:National symbols of Ghana