'The History of Ashanti Kings and the Whole Country Itself' and Other Writings, by Otumfuo, Nana Agyeman Prempeh I

by Akyeampong, E; Prempeh, Agyeman; Adu Boahen, A; Lawler, N; McCaskie, T C; Wilks, I; Akyeampong, E.; Adu Boahen, A.; Lawler, N.; McCaskie, T. C.; Wilks, I.

• ISBN13: 9780197264157
• ISBN10: 0197264158
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-07-27
• Publisher: British Academy

Summary

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. Itwas 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 fromthe 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.

Author Biography

Author: Otumfuo, Nana Agyeman Prempeh I (1872-1931)
Editors:
Dr E.Akyeampong (Professor, History Department, Harvard University),
Dr A. Adu Boahen (Professor Emeritus, History Department, University of Ghana),
Dr N. Lawler (formerly Professor, Oakton Community College, Chicago),
Dr T.C.McCaskie (Reader in Asante History, University of Birmingham),
Dr I. Wilks (Professor Emeritus, African Studies, Northwestern University)

Table of Contents

List of Plates and Figures	p. viii
Preface	p. ix
Essays
Agyeman Prempeh before the Exile
Introduction	p. 3
Kinship, Royalty and the Birth of Agyeman Prempeh	p. 3
Agyeman Prempeh's Childhood	p. 6
Agyeman Prempeh, Yaa Kyaa, and Civil War	p. 9
Agyeman Prempeh, Asante, and the British	p. 15
Agyeman Prempeh in the Seychelles, 1900-1924
Introduction	p. 21
Daily Life at Le Rocher: Asante in Microcosm	p. 23
Education, Christianity, and Modernity	p. 26
Agyeman Prempeh, Asante, and Repatriation	p. 29
Homecoming	p. 40
Agyeman Prempeh's Return from Exile, 1924-1931
Introduction	p. 43
Our King is Back! But What Kind of King?	p. 44
British Colonial Rule in Asante	p. 47
Renegotiating 'Kingship' in Colonial Asante: Agyeman Prempeh, 1924-31	p. 49
Conclusion	p. 55
Agyeman Prempeh as Author: Textual History
Literacy in Asante before the Exile	p. 57
Literacy and the Exiles	p. 59
History of the Text of HAK	p. 62
Genesis of the New Edition	p. 66
Establishing a Text of HAK	p. 68
HAK, A Related Text, and Other Pieces	p. 69
The Seychelles Writings	p. 83
Historical Pieces
The Arrival of Ankyewa Nyame at Asantemanso	p. 85
Ankyewa Nyame and the Gathering of the Clans (Mmusua)	p. 86
The Reigns of Akyampon Tenten, Twum, Antwi, and Kwabia Anwanfi	p. 89
The Reign of Oti Akenten	p. 91
Osei Tutu at Denkyira	p. 93
The First Domaa War	p. 96
The Reign of Obiri Yeboa	p. 97
Osei Tutu Succeeds Obiri Yeboa	p. 100
Osei Tutu Defeats the Domaa	p. 101
Reorganisation of the Kumase Army	p. 102
The Defeat of Asiedu Papaa Kesee	p. 103
The Dispute with Denkyira	p. 104
Okomfo Anokye and the Preparations for the Denkyira War	p. 105
The Denkyira War	p. 107
The Elmina Tribute	p. 109
The War with Adanse	p. 110
The Denkyira Rebellion	p. 110
The Attack on Kaase	p. 111
The Attack on Tafo	p. 111
The Attack on Amakom	p. 112
Osei Tutu and the Succession	p. 113
Ethnographic Pieces
Introduction	p. 115
The Akan "Cities"	p. 115
The Nt<$$$> and Soul-Washing	p. 116
The Calendar	p. 117
The Origins of Apafram	p. 118
The Origins of At<$$$>perϵ and the Adanse-Denkyira Conflict	p. 119
The "Reserve" Asantehenes	p. 122
The Funeral of an Asantehenes	p. 123
The Division of Revenues	p. 125
The Akwamu Factor in the Rise of Asante	p. 125
Office Lists and Genealogies
Office Lists: Introduction	p. 127
The Genealogies	p. 129
The Pre-Asante Rulers	p. 129
The Descendants of Manu	p. 131
The Census of "Royals"	p. 138
Memoirs
Introduction	p. 147
The Petition of 1913	p. 147
The Memoir of 1922-23	p. 150
History and Apologia	p. 159
Reporting to the Living, Accounting for the Dead
Agyeman Prempeh's Report of 1925	p. 175
The Disposition of the Dead	p. 182
The Matter of the "Brass Pan"	p. 185
Works Cited	p. 193
Concordance	p. 197
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