History of the Gold Coast and Asante, based on traditions and historical facts ... from about 1500 to 1860

Front matter

HISTORY OF THE GOLD COAST AND ASANTE. BASED ON TRADITIONS AND HISTORICAL FACTS, COMPRISING A PERIOD OF MORE THAN" THREE CENTURIES FROM ABOUT 1500 TO 1860. BY REV. CARL CHRISTIAN REINDORI^ NATIVE PASTOR OF THE BASEL MISSION*. CHRISTIANSBORG, GOLD COAST, BASEL 1895. Printed for the Author, to be had of the Missionsbuchhandlung Basel, Switzerland, Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co. London, the Basel Mission Book Depot Christiansborg, G-. C, the Gold Coast District Book Depot, Cape Coast, W. Africa. Preface. To the Educated Community in the Gold Coast Colony. Dear Friends, — The sole object of this publication is, to call the attention of all you my friends and countrymen, to the study and collection of our history, and to create a basis for a future more complete history of the Gold Coast. A history is the methodical narration of events in the order in which they successively occurred, exhibiting the origin and progress, the causes and effects, and the auxiliaries and tendencies of that which has occurred in connection with a nation.

It is, as it were, the speculum and meas ure-tape of that nation, showing its true shape and stature. Hence a nation not possessing a history has no true representation of all the stages of its development, whether it is in a state of progress or in a state of retrogression. In the place of a written history, tradition, which from antiquity was a natural source of history, was kept and trans mitted regularly by our ancestors to their children in their days. It was not, of course, in uniform theory, but existed and exercised its in fluence in the physical and mental powers of our people. This important custom of a nation — which our forefathers felt obliged to pre serve and transmit from one generation to another, so as to enable us to compare our times with theirs — has, since the dawn of education, been gradually neglected and forgotten.

Since then it has been the good fortune of the Gold Coast to possess educated men of powerful mind, who I am sure were we'll qualified to collect the traditions of their forefathers as a basis for a future history of the Gold Coast. But unfortunately such collections have not been preserved by their suc cessors, but have been left to the memories of the uneducated community. Such a work as writing a history of the Gold Coast would not have been difficult for such of our brethren as the late lamented Rev. William Hansen, and Charles Bannerman, and some others in Fante; they possessed the mental powers which would have enabled them to do it successfully. Unfortunately, however, these lights on the Gold Coast were carried away by death in the prime of life. A history of the Gold Coast written by a foreigner would most prob ably not be correct in its statements, he not having the means ot Preface. acquiring the different traditions in the country and of comparing them with those which he may have gathered from a single individual.

Chapter I

A short description of the Gold Coast. — The kingdom of Guinea. — Expeditions sent by Pharaoh Necho and the Carthaginians. — F. Romer's reference to the kingdom of Benin. — Traditional accounts of emigration to this coast. — Different tribes, supposed to have been the aboriginal races on the coast, and their conquest. B.C. 600. 570. A.D. 1400-1700 Our continent obtained its name "Africa" from the ancients, a name derived, according to Bochart, from a Punic word, signifying "Ears of corn." It was represented by them as one of the three great continents of which they believed at that time the world to consist. "It is," to quote the late Rev. J. Zimmermann, "the cradle of the Hamitic portion of mankind, having Egypt with the adjacent coun tries and deserts as her head and prototype, as the flood-gate through which the Hamitic branch of the human family flowed into her southward as far as to the Niger Delta.

Western Africa must have been peopled by the rivulets overflowing from the main current and turning westward, pushing each other forward in the different directions to the barrier of the Atlantic. Africa, in the be ginning second only to Asia in the development of early civilization — the cradle of Israel, the people of God, and also the nursery and place of refuge of our Saviour in his, and of Christianity in her in fancy — must begin to open her eyes now after a deathlike sleep of more than a thousand years, and to call again for her place in the history of the world." Our object is the Gold Coast, situated on that western part of this great continent, which is called Guinea, divided into Upper and Lower Guinea. The Gold Coast (so called by Europeans from the immense quantity of gold obtained hence) is that portion of Upper Guinea, which is bounded on the east by the River Volta.

The western border is traced from a point 20 miles to the eastward of the mouth of the River Asiui on a meridian of W. long. 3° 10' (G.) and farther inland 2°50', or in the Tanno valley, to a parallel of N. lat. 6°20'. From thence the line of demarcation between Asante and the Asante Gold Coast Protectorate bends east and south-east to the River Ofe near the town of Terebuom, follows that river down to its confluence with the Pra, and again ascends this river to the parallel of N. lat. 6° 30', from whence it [formerly] nearly followed that parallel to the River Volta.*) The boundary on the south is the sea with a shore line of about 250 miles. The Protectorate has an approximate area of 20,000 sqr. m., and a population of about one million. Several authors of former times have represented Guinea as a mighty kingdom, whose prince had subdued numerous countries and united the whole territory into one powerful kingdom, called Guinea.

This representation has, however, been refuted by several other authors, who may not have seen any vestige of that mighty kingdom. They are in so far right, as that mighty kingdom had been split into several independent states shortly before the Portuguese formed their settlements here. But we on our part, after several researches, incline to give credence to the accounts given by the first authors, which we do by the authority of the accounts and tra ditions to be mentioned hereafter. The Phœnicians are supposed to have been the first people who visited this coast; for "Pharaoh Necho, one of the kings of Egypt, after having taken Sidon and subdued Phœnicia and Palestine (he must therefore have possessed considerable maritime power, nor was he less powerful by laud, II Kings 23, 29), employed Phœnician mariners to circumnavigate Africa, an undertaking which they accomplished with success."

This was done about the year 600 before Christ. Thirty or forty years after this, the Carthaginians, who were rivals of the Egyptians in commerce, must undoubtedly have ex- *) Concerning the western border of the British Protectorate on the Gold Coast cf. Burton and Cameron, to the Gold Coast for Gold II. 78. At present (1894) the Protectorate includes also the Safwi country be yond the Tanno in the north-west. The northern frontier has been con siderably extended on the east of Asante, including now Asante-Akem, Agogo, Okwawu and Broh (Brono), in fact the whole corner between Asante proper and Nkoransa on the west and the River Volta on the north and east. — On the east the Protectorate comprises also some coun tries east of the lower Volta with the towns of Akwam, Anum, Peki, and Keta on the Slave Coast.

The number of inhabitants of the Colony and Protectorate, excluding Okwawu aud its above named neighbours, has officially, after a census taken in 1891, been computed at 973,822, that of Okwawu and British Krepe has been estimated at about 500,000. — Chr. plored a great part of the Western Coast of Africa, they may even have settled there. But according to the usual caution and mono polizing spirit of commercial states, it is probable that they con cealed their discoveries from other nations. Only one important document seems to have reached our times, which demonstrates the enterprising spirit of that people. It is an apparently abridged journal of a voyage to the Western Coast of Africa, undertaken by Hanno the Carthaginian. Hanno is said to have sailed according to the decree of his people with 60 ships of 50 oars each and a body of men and women to the number of 30,000, with stores and provisions.

Their plan was to colonize or establish permanent garrisons upon the Western Coast of Africa. Hanno seems to have reached the Gold Coast, as may be seen from his own account given of the places they visited. They talked of having caught two women covered with hair, whose skins they brought to Car thage. These must have been some species of monkeys which abound in Africa. At one place during the night, they saw a lofty fire, larger than the rest, which seemed to touch the stars; but at day-break they discovered this elevated fire to be a large hill, which they called "the Chariot of the Gods." These fires undoubt edly were the annual burnings of the dried grasses on the Coast during the Harmattan season. Of much later times there is an account of Mr. F. Romer, a Danish resident merchant of Christiansborg during the middle of the last century (1735 — 43), confirming the above statements about the kingdom of Guinea.

He says, that the Gold Coast was a part of the western division of the great empire of the Emperor of Benin, which extended from Benin up to the river Gambia, and that it was governed by kings appointed by the Emperor. The eastern division of his empire is said by Rbmer to have extended twice as far as that of the western. Such an extensive and large empire could not be established but by a powerful king like the Pharaohs. In those ancient times there must have been a way for trade between Egypt and this coast. The mosaic beads known as aggry beads (Bosman calls them — Conte de Terra), found chiefly on the Gold Coast and Slave Coast, must have been brought hither from Egypt. The in signia of the kings of Akra were as those in use in Benin, and most of their religious ceremonies, e.g. killing the sacrificial animals with sharp stones instead of knives, in order to avoid the animal being defiled, were also in use at Akra. 1* aud Asante. 4 We now come to the traditional accounts of the natives of the Gold Coast which seem to confirm and prove Romer's statement concern ing the empire of Benin.

The first instance is, that the kings of Lagos were formerly appointed from Benin. The second instance is the following tradition which is generally and universally believed among our people. The ancestors of the tribes of Akra, Late, Obutu and Mowure are said to have immigrated from the sea; they arrived on the coast one tribe after another. The Akra King Ayi Kushi (perhaps Ayi the Cushite?) and his son Ayite with their subjects, the tribe of'Tungmawe, now Abora, had in their company a prince with a few body-guards, who had the commission to rule over the Tshis in the interior. The two princes, i.e. the Akra and Akem sovereigns, proposed to send out one man each to spy out the land. They had to run a race, and he who first discovered land should claim preeminence for his sov ereign. The racers started, but the Akra, perceiving his antagonist outstripping him, pretended to have got a thorn run into his foot.

He thereupon asked the Tshi to spare him a knife to remove the thorn; but he replied, "Where came a thorn on this rock?" Upon stooping, however, to get him the knife, the other forthwith took hold of his shoulders and jumped over him with these words "It is I who first saw God!" And there and then both became the twin rocks known as Akwete and Akuete on the rock Tumo on the beach behind the Basel Mission Factory at Ussher Town, or Dutch Akra. The tribe of Gbese*) arrived first with two powerful priests, Aniugi and Anyai. These with their people took possession of the site now occupied by the Ussher and James Towns' people. After their ar rival King Ayi Kushi and his own tribe of Tungmawe with the Obutus and the Ningowas also came out. Wyete, the king of Obutu, arrived, although late, yet very grand, having plenty of gold orna ments on his person; hence it was proposed by the Akras, that he should be the king of all the immigrants.

Upon refusal to accept that offer, the Akras took hold of one of his arms, his people holding the other arm, which very unfortunately was plucked off; he *) Gbese is the name of a species of red ants which live on fruit trees and attack any one coining near. therefore retired into the sea. The numerous body known as the Asere tribe thereupon requested to have the ruling power; and that so offended the king (Ayi Kushi) that be also retired into the sea, after be had banded his sword to prince Ayite, who at his father's request marched with all the Akras, Obutus, and the Tshi prince, to Ayawaso, and there established his capital on the hill known as Okaikoi or Kplagon. The Aseres settled at Amonmole, the Obu tus on the west of that hill, and the Akem prince went to the in terior to assume government over the people there. — The ancestors of Mowure also are said to have come out of the sea very numer ously, so that a man seeing them and being astonished to behold such a host of people coming out of the sea, gave a cry, which deterred the rest still in the sea, and those became rocks.

In reference to the above, we give the following account from the "Western Echo". "The founder of Asabu, it is traditionally" reported, was Amanili, a giant, who with his sister, accompanied by Kwagya, another giant, are said to have come from the sea with a great number of follow ers. On their way from the sea, which took them five days, they were observed by a certain huntsman, who on seeing such a large body of men, is said to have clapped bis hands and exclaimed, "how numerous!" At this the line of people emerging from the sea was suddenly cut off, and became petrified and transformed into several shapes and postures, which till now may be seen in clear sea extending to some distance. These two giants with their retinue travelled on together till they arrived at the Iron Hill and descended to the road which leads to the base of a bill called Abere wanfo, the literal signification of which has reference to the diffi culty* of the ascent for old women.

Here they parted, and Aninmfi and his sister, taking the road that leads to Akotekua, made for the interior, finally making their abode in Asabu. Kwagya on the other hand took the road leading to the beach side, until he arrived at the brow of the promontory now known as Mowure, and finding the place to be well situated for fishing, he and his men halted. They immediately set to clearing the bush, which was completed on the sixth day after their arrival, probably on Monday." The above traditions appear to be mere folklore, yet there may be some truth in them. In the first instance, our people, being illiterate, could not keep the accounts of their emigration in writing. For what they say of coming from the sea could be easily explained by the common expression daily in use of coopers, carpenters, &c, employed to the Bights, "Ete hsou" = he is gone to the sea; "Edse nson" = he comes from the sea.

Hence the immigrants may have come by big canoes or ships to this coast. The tradition of immigration from the sea is also among the Tshis: the Adanses and the Tafos in Akem; and the Asantes say to this very day, that there are certain people among them whose ancestors came from the sea. The third instance to prove the statements of Mr. Romer is that of a prince for Akem coming from the sea in company with the Akras. That throws a great light on Romer's account of kings ap pointed by the emperor of Benin to rule his subjects on this part of his empire. The last instance is the peculiar dress worn by the chief priest of Akra. A close inspection of the priest, in his officiating garb leads to the conviction that his worship must be of foreign origin. As there is no African nation or fribe ever known to have so ad vanced in their religious views as the Akras, one is inclined to suppose that the Jewish system of worship in the Old Testament style has been either introduced by or imitated from the people who came out first to this coast.

If that be not the case, it may be found probable that those peculiarities are to be derived from the Portuguese Catholics, who established several churches on the Coast, and whose religion, after their expulsion, may have been mixed up with fetishism. As to the question whether the Carthaginians [or other people that came from the eastern coast of Africa round the Cape] settled on the Gobi Coast, and what became of them, it may be observed that the descendants of the colonists, being left here for nearly 2000 years before the Euro peans came, and having no communication with the parent state for such a length of time, must certainly have lost their nationality, knowledge, civilization, and even their language, and have been assimilated, in every respect, to the aborigines. Having traced this so far, we come to another tradition, which says that the Akras and the Adangmes emigrated together from Tetetutu, or, as some say, from Same, in the east, between two large rivers.

After crossing the Volta, they dispersed over the country ; the Krobos stayed on the Krobo mountain, the Shais on theirs, and so forth; but the Akras reached the Coast and formed their settlements. The Akras and Ningowas were marching in a body; during one night the former hastily started and left their dough behind them, hence their surname "Mashi"= those that have left their dough. The Ningowas, being left behind, were called by the former "Wo" i.e. sleepers. The aboriginal race all along the sea-coast and inland, at some points 15, 20, 30 aud 40 miles northward, were nearly all of the Guan, Kyerepong, Le and Ahanta tribes, speaking different dialects of the Ahanta, Obutu, Kyerepong, Late (Le) and Kpeshi languages. — They seem to have extended from Asini down to Tema; thence to the Volta were the districts of the Les, speaking Adangme, the mother dialect of Ga.

In the interior were the Tshi or Fante tribes, who, as we suppose, when the Moslem invasion of Western Europe was stemmed, and the Christians reasserted their superiority in Spain, were driven by the Moors from central Africa into the low lying countries between the Kong (Kpong) mountains and the river Pra. Hence the tradition of the Fantes about their emigration to the coast, that they separated from the other emigrants and were called Ofatewfo i.e. the portion that has separated from the main body. We stfppose this to be more the real meaning than "Efan tewfo" pickers of "efah" i.e. vegetable or pot-herb. The emigrants from the interior, after crossing the river Pra, travelled along it to the coast, and either subduing the aborigines or driving them along the coast, they settled in the country between Sima (Chama) and Dwomma (Gammah, Mumfort) along the sea-coast as well as in the interior.

The Dankeras and Tshuforos crossed the Pra, leaving the Ahanta and Guaii aborigines on the south from Sima (Chama) to Asini, and on the east from Dwomma (Dshuehma, Mumford, Mont fort) to Langma or the Cook's loaf.*) *) The only way, we suppose, of finding out the different tribes which compose the whole Gold Coast population, is by knowing those people who perform the following different customs for their marriageable girls In the whole, there are three principal tribes, viz : the Guah-Broh tribe, the Ga-Adangme tribe and the Fante-Twi tribe. The Customs hitherto known to us are : 1. Tuh-yo = camwood-girl, indicates the pure Ga tribe. 2. Ama-yo = pitch-girl, the mixed Le-Ga tribe (the aborigines). 3. Asim-yo = elephant's tail wearing girl, the mixed Guah-Ga tribe (Kpesi and Obutu). 4. Otufo-yo — priestly hat and loin-cloth wearing girl, the Adangme tribe. 5.

Nsowumo-yo = sea-washing girl, the Fante tribe. 6. Bradsu-yo = menses-washing girl, the mixed Guah-Twi tribe. 7. Ako-yo = (red) parrot-feathers wearing girl, the Twi tribe. The following account proves it. Amamfi, Asabu, and Kwagya with their numerous retinue bad already settled in the country and had founded several towns, such as Asabu, the capital, Putubew, Amosima, Abora, Po-Ekrofo (Boropo-Ekrofo, which signifies sea people, that is, people emerged |from the sea), Akumamba, Mainsu, Berebu, Mowure, &c. "The Fantes, on arriving from Takiman, to settle among the for mer inhabitants of the land, encountered great opposition from Asabu. It is reported that the Asabus, previous to the settlement of that portion of Fante called Abora, lived where the latter now dwell. The Asabus looked upon them as intruders, and consequently did all they could to make their stay in the places they occupied as far from peaceful as possible.

To show how far the Asabus tyrannized over the Aboras, it may be remarked, that it was not an uncommon thing for their chief Amamfi, to try his bill hook on any one of them he came across after he had sharpened it. But the Aboras soon gave evident signs of their unwillingness to en dure such insults. A number of battles ensued, in which the Asa bus, though numerically inferior, were invariably the victors by reason of Amamfi's extraordinary strength. The Aboras having so often failed in their attempt to dispossess the Asabus, and the latter having continued to be more and more troublesome, the former combined to make one strenuous effort to put them down. They asked their highest fetish Nananom, what sacrifice they should offer to ensure success, and by his advice buried a certain creeping plant called by the Akras "akpatrokpo" in a pot near the enemy's town.

The consequence was, that all the warriors of Amamfi and Asabu, as well as their chiefs themselves, were soon laid down by an attack of guinea-worm, effected by the influence of that sacrifice. The Aboras then gave battle to the Asabus. Ofisadu, nephew of Asabu, and captain over the Asabus' forces, was ordered to fall in to meet the enemy. Amamfi and Asabu, as a matter of course, were un able to join their people. They very soon discovered the great probability of the Aboras winning the day ; finding themselves in great peril, they, with great effort, got up and approached the scene of action. On finding that the people were no longer able to make a stand and were actually retreating, it is said, they retired into the sea. Thus the Aboras got possession of the country." Such emigrations back into the sea should be understood as rather emi grating somewhere else.

As already remarked, when the whole Gold Coast was under the emperor of Benin and governed by kings appointed by him, there was peace throughout the whole extent of the country. But after the arrival of the Portuguese and the immigration of the Tshi tribes the unity was dissolved; hence we bear toward the end of the seventeenth century of eleven powerful states or kingdoms on the Coast, besides those in the interior. They are, according to Bosnian, Axim, Ante or Ahanta, Adorn, Gabi, Kommani, Afutu, Sabu (Asabu), Fante, Akron or Gomoa, Agona, and Akwamu. The kingdom of Akra had already been destroyed by the Akwamus, hence the eleven states mentioned; else they would be twelve. Those immigrants by their conquest introduced their language among the ab original race, hence we see that Tshi is spoken in all the kingdoms or states forming the Western Province of the colony, although several states retain their mother tongues besides.

We also enumerate those countries on the Coast as well as Inland according to the Rev. J. G. Christaller's dictionary of the Asante and Fante language (1881). The south-western group of states and districts of the Gold Coast are : Amanahia, from the lagoons and lower courses of the river Tanng to the mouth of the Ankobra river (which the Por tuguese called "Serpentine" on account of its intricate windings), Ahwd hwii (Awowi) north of Amanahia, Safwi, Ahanta, Wasa, Twiforo and Dankira. The Fante group, on the middle part of the Gold Coast, ex tending from 80 to 100 miles between the rivers Pra and Sakumo : Koinane (Cominenda) with Aguafo and Aberemu, Odena or Elmina, Afutu, Asabu, Abora, Fante proper (Ononiabo and Fante Asene, Korentsel, Anyah &c), Adwumako, Akumfi, Gomoa, Agona, Asikuma. The south eastern Akan group : Asen or Asenefufu, Akem Abuakwa, Akem Kotoku, Akem Dwaben, Akuapem, and Akwam with Kamana.*) Although we have stated above that the Guan and Ahanta tribes extended from Asini to Tema, vet according to the political division, *) As a north-western Akan Group he mentions inland countries which were then (1881) outside the British Protectorate; but Okwawu, Asante- Akem and Agogo have since been received into it, the tribes of Adanse, Nkwanta, Danyase and Kokofu have immigrated into the British Terri tory, Dadease is disinclined to serve Asante, and so this once powerful kingdom is reduced to Kumase, Bekwae in the S.W., Agona, Mampoh, Kumawu, Nsuta and Nkoransa in the N., and some minor dependencies.

In the N.E. the Broh tribes placed themselves under British protection, and Nkoransa is likely to follow. The south eastern corner of the Gold Coast contains the Akra or Ga and Adangme country, see the beginning of Chapter the Le tribes, among whom were Kyerepongs, Kpeshis and Adang mes, extended from Mount Langma to the Volta. The Akras seem to have driven some of those tribes to the Akuapem mountains and beyond the river Volta. What the Lates say of having had 30 towns, and the Kyerepongs, also 50 towns, may be true of that time. Thus we see that the tribes of Late, Anum, Nkonya, and even the Bowure people in Krepe, emigrated from this coast to the other side of the Volta.*) The Bowures are reported to have emigrated from Mowure in Fante. There are, however, some remnants of the aboriginal race of the Les, Kpeshis and Obutus mixed up with the Akras.— To prove that the Kpeshis may have occupied the land from Tema to the Volta, we give the following reasons.

All the lagoons from Laloi near Kpoii (Poni) on the east to the river Sakumo and the lagoon Sakumo in Apa (Apam) on the west were owned by the Kpeshis and Obutus or Afutu-Berekus; the first lagoon they named Sakumo nukpa (the elder) and the river they called Sakumo fio (the younger). The lagoons which the natives worship as their fetishes have all their religious songs in the Obutu or Kpeshi dialect. This shows that the Obutus and Kpeshis were the first settlers on this tract of land. There is, however, a tradition which says, that the lagoon Sakumo nukpa (Tema Sakumo) was the property of the Ningowas, who in their wars with the Labades pawned it to Adshete Asliabara, king of Tema. The Ningowas are said to have shared the tract of land between the river Sakumo and Laloi with the Akras; the boundary was the lagoon Kolete at Christiansborg.

This shows that they may have shared the land between themselves after the conquest of the Kpeshis, knowing, according to tradition, that these two tribes, Akra and Ningowa, emigrated together to this coast. The other settlers were the Les, as we find mentioned the family of Lakote Aduawushi = Kote of Le, who is known to have been on the coast with his people before the Akras removed thither. The brother of Lakote with the name Leteboi was acknowledged by the Dutch Government, by an instrument drawn, which was afterwards carved on the silver-banded cane of the priest of Nai, as the king of Akra in 1734. Likewise we see that one Tete Kpeshi was the *) Very likely these tribes were driven over the Volta by the Ak wamus, when that tribe subjugated the Kyerepongs on the Akua pem-hills. p gj chief of James Town, whose brother Kpakpo Anege*) was acknow ledged by an other instrument drawn by one Mr. J. Hosey Besoutb, agent of the Royal African Company of England, as the chief and successor of Tete Kpeshi on the 16th January 1737; and was paid a stipend of ft 4 per month.

The coast and the inland of the Eastern Province, i.e. from Mount Cook's Loaf (Langma) to the Volta, have been the seats of power ful kingdoms and states, as there have been such in the Western Province. They were the kingdoms of Akra, Obutu, Le or Ningo or Adangme, whose king had the title Ladingcour or Lanimo (see Bosman page 327), of Shuoyi near Sasabi, and several other states.

Chapter II

Definition of Ga ; its boundary ; the first powerful kingdom formed by the Akras on the Coast. — The first three kings. Akwamu, the first Tshi refugee, and the formation of his state and power. — The Portuguese and other Europeans forming settlements on the Gold Coast for the purpose of slave-trade. — The expedition to Aharamata by King Mankpong Okai. — The tyrannical reigns of Queen Dode Akabi and her son Okai Koi, whose reigns caused the destruction of the kingdom of Akra by the Akwamus 1500—1660. "Ga" is the name particularly applied to the people and country bounded on the east by the lagoon Tshemu near Tema, west by the river Sakumo fio, south by the sea, and north by the Akuapem mountains. It is, however, generally applied to the people and land from the Cook's Loaf or Langma to the Volta.