Did You Know That

That anytime an Asantehene passes away it is the Mamponghene who acts as Asantehene and he is then referred to as the Awisiahene? The title Awisiahene came about when during an Asante and Akyem Kotoku War the Asantehene, Nana Osei Tutu I , who was the Army General died, it was Mamponghene Nana Akuamoa Panin who took over the command of the Army and at the same time took over the responsibility as the father of the Asantes whose founder and father had died. Hence the word Awisiahene which means King of the Orphans.

The origin and meaning of Kotoko? The Asante soldiers used an art of lying down on the ground to fight their enemies. This made it very tough for their enemies to get them on target. This gave Asantes the name Koto-ko meaning bend low and fight.

The circumsta Ankobea division, comprising of soldiers who always stayed at home at war times to guard the Kings treasury and take care of Kumase for that matter. The word Ankobea means doesnt go anywhere, wonko bea!

That the creation and subsequent consecration of the golden stool took place at a place called Pimpimso at a spot within the premises of the present Uadarra Army Barracks at Bantama? And it was also on that day that the name Bantama came to be? It happened that Akwasi Baa, son of Nana Adu Gyamfi of Wonoo, who belonged to the Twafoo group of the area was weeding the path that led to Pimpimso and in the process lost his cloth in a stream. After searching for it for a while he could not trace it and so people started calling Pimpimso and the surrounding area Baa-Ntoma and this later became Bantama.

That the chie did that because he was protecting the Golden Stool which belonged to his family.

That it is only the Omanhene of Edweso who does not make an appointment with Asantehene through a linguist but rather through the Nsumakwaahene? It is part of the privileges Nana Diko Pim l was made to enjoy after his sacrifice during the Denkyira War.

That it was Nana Opoku Ware l who created the Ananta Stool as his personal battalion under his command to protect the Asantehenes against possible coup by the commander of the main Asante Army? Please note that the commander of the main army were Mamponhene/Bantamahene. Ananta was the name of a sophisticated weapon used by the soldiers of that battalion.

That when the Denkyiras were ruling over Kumase and its allies the King of Denkyira Nana Boa Amponsem requested a royal of Kumase to come and serve at his court, it was Nana Osei Tutu, then a young man, who was sent? According to oral tradition, Nana Osei Tutu impregnated Ako Abenaa Bansua, the sister of Nana Boa Amponsem. According to some historians, Ako Abenaa Bansuas son from Nana Osei Tutu was Ntim Gyakari who later became the king of Denkyira.

That when Nana Osei Tutu was returning from Akwamu to become the king of Kumase, Akwamuhene Nana Ansah Sasraku gave him 300 men of Akwamu to guard him and accompany him to Kumase. These men were all given to Asafohene and they became citizens of Asafo and subsequently the Asafohenes title became Akwamuhene?

That it was Dwabenhene Nana Akwasi Boateng and Kontanasehene Nana Antwi Panin who fought to recapture the Golden Stool when it was captured for the first time by the enemies at the battle of Akatamanso? In their effort to recapture the Golden Stool, Nana Antwi Panin, the Kontanasehene, received thirty nine bullet wounds but he survived the ordeal and so that earned him and his subsequent successors the title Ogyeaboo, one who receives bullets.

That during the reign of Asantehene Nana Osei Kwame Asibe Bonsu (1800-1824) the Asante Kingdom covered an area bigger than the present day Ghana?

That Asante was not created as a matter of tribe but rather as a matter of necessity, to form a formidable force to fight Denkyira, hence Osa-nti meaning because of War. The original word was Osa-Nti-fo.

That Asantes bestowed one of the highest accolades on two tribes who in their various ways had assisted them during different wars? That is the reason why apart from Asante Kotoko, there is Anwaa Kotoko for the Dagombas and Nzema Kotoko for the people of Nzema. Since then there is a cordial relationship between the Asantes and those two tribes.

That city of t he would not kill the culprit and so the Asantehene Nana Osei Yaw Akoto handed Asumin over to him but Nana Kwasi Boateng did not keep his promise and killed Asumin. The Asantehene was furious and so he subsequently waged war at Dwaben. Dwaben lost the war and so the entire population left and bought a piece of land from Okyehene Ofori Panin in the Akyem area and named it Koo Fori Dua or New Dwaben.

That the town of Nsuta was founded by the hunter Akwante Bofuo who originated from Aduman? He found a piece of land which belonged to Asonaba Bampa Adu of Beposo and negotiated on behalf of his master Tabri Heman for purchase. The land was between two rivers that looked like twins hence Nsuo Ntaa and that came to be Nsuta.

That the chief of Akyem Asiakwa is the ancestral brother of Asantehene? This explains why one Nana Tanno who was the Asiakwahene and Nifahene of Akyem Abuakwa refused to mount any force against an Asante force that was on verge of attacking the Okyehene, Nana Atta Wusu Yiakosa.

That the real name of Anokye Komfoo was Kwame Agyei Frimpong?

How the lake Bosomtwe came by the name? A hunter called Bompe of Asaman shot an antelope which did not die but vanished into the small lake. The hunter thought the lake was a god and the antelope belongs to it, hence Obosom no Twe this later became Bosomtwe. The lake is own by Kokofu-Asamanhene.

That before Nana Obiri Yeboa became the Kumasehene he was a worthy trader living at Damanten in Akyem Kotoku? He even got married to the sister of the Damantehene Nana Nkatia Brempong,called Nana Nyarko. Nana Nkatia Brempong joined Nana Obiri Yeboah and wife to live in Kumase and he helped his brother-in-Law to rule Kumase.

That during the era of Nana Osei Tutu l, a parade ground to train Asante soldiers was built at the present Practice Schools site, near Wesley College, in Kumasi?

That before Nana Obiri Yeboa became the Kumasehene he was a worthy trader living at Damanten in Akyem Kotoku? He even got married to the sister of the Damantehene Nana Nkatia Brempong,called Nana Nyarko. Nana Nkatia Brempong joined Nana Obiri Yeboah and wife to live in Kumase and he helped his brother-in-Law to rule Kumase.

That during the era of Nana Osei Tutu l, a parade ground to train Asante soldiers was built at the present Practice Schools site, near Wesley College, in Kumasi?

That Nana Yaa Asantewaa died at 3.30 pm on October 17, 1921 as a result of a chronic toothache?

Ossei-Akoto (SIL)