Ashanti: West African kingdom of Asante (now in Ghana)

Ghana: Home of the Ashanti Hebrew Israelites

Ashanti, or Asante, are a major ethnic group in Ghana. The Ashanti speak Twi, an Akan language similar to Fante. For the Ashanti (Asante) Confederacy see Asanteman. Prior to European colonization, the Ashanti people developed a large and influential empire in West Africa. The Ashanti later developed the powerful Ashanti Confederacy and became the dominant presence in the region.

 

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The Ashanti are one of Africa's matrilineal societies where line of descent is traced through the female. Historically, this mother progeny relationship determined land rights, inheritance of property, offices and titles.

The father role was to catalyze the conception and provides the nkra or the soul of the child, that is, the child received its life force, character, and personality traits from the father. Though not considered as important as the mother, the male interaction continues in the place of birth after marriage.

Typically, individual Ashanti did not own land, but rather occupied that which came down from a previous ancestor. Both men and women can possess property made or acquired by individual efforts. Heirlooms and carved stools -- all possessions of family and lineage property -- may be disposed of by individuals if they choose to do so.

Historically, an Ashanti girl was betrothed, if not in childhood, immediately after the puberty ceremony. They did not regard marriage as an important ritual event, but as a state that follows soon and normally after the puberty ritual. The Ashanti require a bride price - various goods given by the boy's family to that of the girl.A man marries a cross cousin -- his father's sister's daughter or his mother's brother's daughter. Parallel cousins are members of the same 'abusua (family) and hence prohibited as marriage partners. Sometimes nuptial arrangements were arranged before the birth of the couple. Parents allowed boys some initiative, but he must receive the consent of the households, the only formalities required.

Ashanti was one of the few African states able to offer serious resistance to European colonizers. Between 1823 and 1896, Britain fought four wars against the Ashanti kings (the Anglo-Ashanti Wars). In 1900, the British finally defeated the kingdom and incorporated it into the Gold Coast colony. While tribal and ethnic identity are important for Ashanti and other Ghanaians, they do not define a person nor carry as much weight as they did hundreds of years ago. Being an Ashanti now is mostly a point of reference and a linguistic tie more than a strongly cohesive tribe. In other words, typically Ashanti and Ghanaians in general do not place extreme emphasis on tribe and are more nationalistic.

In modern Ghana, there is no ethnic group or tribe which comprise a majority of the population. While the entire Akan population make a plurality 49% of the population, Ashanti, Fante and other Akans make up that percentage. However, it is estimated that Ashanti are 14% of Ghana's population, followed by Fante, the Ewe and Ga. This along with their history makes them very influential both politically and economically. The current president John Kufuor is an Ashanti and was elected in part with their support.

 

Hebrewisms of West Africa

It's a historical fact that the mass majority of captive slaves brought to the Americas, came from West Africa, although some were brought from East Africa, they were the minority.

In a very informative book entitled "HEBREWISM OF WEST AFRICA" By Joseph J Williams. He gives detailed description of the Hebrew customs in many of the west African tribes.

The name ASHANTI has Hebrew origins, the "TI" at the end means race of or people of, Ashan was the name of a city located in southern Israel Judah (Joshua 15:42 - 19:7 / 1st chronicles 4:32 - 6:59).

Among the ASHANTI tribe the priesthood is hereditary to a specific family such a family has little or no possessions, is exempt from all taxes, supplied with food and advises the king. Compare this with the Levities of ancient Israel and you will see that both are exactly the same.

The word Ashan in Hebrew means smoke city / burning city. ASHANTI means the people of Ashan or the people of the smoke city, This was the reference to the city of Ashan after the Romans destroyed it in 70 C.E.

Get a copy of Hebrewisms of West Africa

PAGE 22: In the first place, many Hebrewism were discovered in the ASHANTI tribal customs. Then, several ASHANTI words were found to have a striking resemblance to those of equivalent Hebrew meaning. finally the supreme being of the ASHANTI gave a strong indication of being the "Yahweh" (YHWH) of the "old testament".

PAGE 80: The supreme being of the ASHANTI is identical with ..., the Yahweh of the old testament: and further that their tribal worship is strangely parallel to that of the divided worship that existed in Jerusalem immediately prior to the Babylonian exile, as we will see later in more detail.

PAGE 82: The breastplate on the central figure, the Herald (Osene), who is called by Stanley the Town-Crier, is strikingly similar to the breast plate of the High Priest among the Ancient Hebrews, even to its division into twelve parts. The head dress of the Herald, too with its gold disc in front satisfies the description of the miznefet as given in the Jewish Encyclopedia. "A tiara, or perhaps a peculiarly wound turban, with a peak, the front of which bore a gold plate with inscription "Holy unto YHWH". However, the division of the breast plate into twelve parts is certainly distinctive. So also is the head dress with gold disc in front.

Black Judaism: Story of an American Movement

Black Judaism: Story of a an American Movement Throughout most black societies today, there are Jews who are not accepted by the worldwide community of Rabbinic Jews. They are known as Black Jews, and the movement they represent is known as Black Judaism.

Throughout most black societies today, there are Jews who are not accepted by the worldwide community of Rabbinic Jews. They are known as Black Jews, and the movement they represent is known as Black Judaism. Originating in the post-Civil War southern states, the early leaders of this movement were motivated by oppression and racism to migrate north. There they came into contact with Rabbinic Jews and the Judaism they represented, but Black Jews and Black Judaism were rejected.

Black Judaism continued to spread and reached the continent of Africa where it became an integral part of the Independent Black Church Movement and an active component of the various struggles for independence. It also spread to Latin America, especially the West Indies, and is known there in its most varied form as "Rastafarianism."

During the turbulent Civil Rights era, an uneasy alliance developed between some Black Jews and Rabbinic Jews, but rejection soon followed. Black Judaism has never had a large number of adherents, but its influence far exceeds its numbers, making it one of the most important social movements in African-American history.

Black Judaism: Story of a an American Movement

 

'The History of Ashanti Kings and the Whole Country Itself' and Other Writings, by Otumfuo, Nana Agyeman Prempeh I (Fontes Historiae Africanae, New Series: Sources of African History) [Paperback]

The History of Ashanti Kings and the Whole Country Itself is a key text for understanding the history of the great West African kingdom of Asante (now in Ghana). It is also an early--and perhaps the earliest--example of history writing in English by an African ruler and his amanuenses. It was begun in 1907 in the Seychelles on the instructions of the Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I, who had been in British captivity with his family since 1896, during which time he had acquired proficiency in English.

The chief source of information was his mother the Asantehemaa Yaa Kyaa, who possessed an encyclopaedic knowledge of the oral history of her own lineage, which was also the royal dynasty of Asante. The result is an indispensably detailed document that charts the history of the Asante monarchy from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Context is provided by the inclusion of other writings by or about Agyeman Prempeh, together with four introductory essays by the world's leading scholars of Asante history.

This fascinating volume evokes the rich historical experience of a renowned kingdom, and is of compelling interest to all concerned with the production of indigenous historical knowledge in Africa.

'The History of Ashanti Kings and the Whole Country Itself' and Other Writings, by Otumfuo, Nana Agyeman Prempeh I (Fontes Historiae Africanae (6))

 

The African American Experiences

The African American Experiences is a collection of Black Studies to understand the Past, Present and Future of the People called African American!

"Wealth is to have your own Land, Language and Culture! Where is the Land of the African American? What is the Language? And, Where is the Culture of the people?"

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