Asafo Pax Britannica

asafo company:
urban clan & cult -

pax britannica - indirect rule
theory and organization
Union Jack CEOs

Clan, Cult and Culture
misChief & Modernity
on modernity & pax britannica,
on corruption & bankruptcy of
clan rites and customs - the chief as agent
of foreign interest - the erstwhile clan elder
and the clan dispersed.
chief (n.)
c. 1300, "head, leader, captain; the principal or most

important part of anything;" from Old French chief
"leader, ruler, head" of something, "capital city" (10c.,
Modern French chef), from Vulgar Latin *capum, from
Latin caput "head," also "leader, chief person; summit;
capital city" (see capitulum). Meaning "head of a clan" is
from 1570s; later extended to American Indian tribes.
Commander-in-chief attested from 1660s.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=chief
1
As a stool occupant, a chief is the earthly representative of
the clan's ancestral spirits, and as such functions as a religious
as well as a political leader.
African Political Systems - 1950-51
James B. Christensen
African Political Systems: Indirect Rule and
Democratic Processes - 1950-51
The southern part of the Gold Coast is comprised of approximately
one hundred native states, varying in population from two thousand to
over two hundred thousand. The basic unit in Akan social and political structure
is the matrilineal clan or abusua. These clans, which vary in size from thirty
to several hundred adults, theoretically or actually trace their ancestry back to
a common ancestress. The abusua observes collective responsibility,
owns land in common, and participates as a group in religious ritual.
in the majority of villages, the person who has power today is the asafuakye,
not the odikro (chief). In some villages, the odikro is not informed what his youngmen
have done or intend to do. This metamorphosis has taken place in the last year or so.
Anshan Li
The Ashanti is constantly preoccupied with the thought that the ancestors are watching him;
that when he joins them one day, they will demand an account of his life from him. This preoccupation
serves to regulate his daily life and behaviour, while the thought is a very potent
sanction to morality.
Gareth Austin, 'No elders were present':
Commoners and private ownership in Asante, 1807-96
how close the Ashantis conceive the bond to be that

exists between the living and their dead kinsmen".
The positions of stool occupant (ohene: chief) and abusua panyin

are not always separate and once a chief is enstooled, the post of abusua panyin
sometimes goes to him, but the stool occupant supersedes everyone else.
The Christian Executioner: Christianity and Chieftaincy as Rivals
Michelle Gilbert
No one really knew what had existed in the past. Nor did aspirants
for office have to face well-established rulers, who could have challenged
their novel interpretations of how traditional institutions were
supposed to function and who were their
proper representatives.
2
Indirect Rule in the Gold Coast:
Competition for Office and the Invention of Tradition
Roger S. Gocking
The Christian Executioner:

Christianity and Chieftaincy as Rivals
The positions of stool occupant (ohene: chief) and abusua panyin
are not always separate and once a chief is enstooled, the post of abusua panyin
sometimes goes to him, but the stool occupant supersedes everyone else.
When a chief is installed ('enstooled'), he is made one with his ancestors, given a new name, and a sheep is
slaughtered over his feet. This blood, a symbol of rebirth, cleanses the person (de adwira no), symbolically separates
him (de atew ne ho) from his former secular person, and makes him sacred (woaye kronkron). This traditional act,
which symbolizes the transition of an ordinary person into a black stool occupant, is said by the Presbyterian Church
to be a 'fetish' rite which defines the incumbent chief as 'unfaithful to Christ'; it thus debars him from attending Holy
Communion.
The Christian Executioner: Christianity and Chieftaincy as Rivals
Michelle Gilbert
Following the Pax Britannica, and the implementation of indirect rule,

the chiefs were accorded more authority than they formerly had, and the role of the commoner
in government was largely overlooked. Many other changes occurred in the social
structure of the Akan from the adoption of Western religious and economic concepts.
Due to his closeness to the omanhene, a clan chief occasionally felt his interests
were more closely allied to the royal elite than to his clansmen and might advise a course
of action not favored by his followers. But the individual Akan was not easily disenfranchised,
and the social structure provided specific opportunities for him to voice dissent.
An inquiry into the origin and development of a Ghanaian institution

The political and administrative role of the asafo is seen in the composition of the state councils of maritime towns,
for it includes the heads of various companies (supifo) as well as the supreme head of all companies (tufohen); and,
in places like Cape Coast and Elmina, certain companies are associated with setting in motion the process of electing
and installing a new paramount chief. We have not mentioned the military role of the asafo in our summary of its
contemporary activities because, today, a traditional state (3man) no longer has the power to wage war, either
offensive or defensive, having lost it with the advent of the Pax Britannica, and, therefore, asafo companies can have
no opportunity of participating in a fight involving the whole 3man. In the past, however, fighting on behalf of the
community was the most important function of the asafo. A semblance of the military role of the asafo can still be
seen in an individual unit's occasional involvement in inter-company fights and disputes. The fights now occur only
seldom and are of a comparatively minor nature, but they used to be one of the most characteristic features of the
system.
3
An inquiry into the origin and development of a Ghanaian institution
Ansu K. Datta R. Porter
Asafo and Destoolment

in Colonial Southern Ghana, 1900-1953
Anshan Li
to compare its main functions before and after the establishment of colonial rule. The asafo among the Akan
used to be a military force. In the precolonial period, wars between states were frequent. To obtain greater
mobilization and to provide for an effective supervision in wartime, all the male members in the state, town, or
village were organized into fighting groups.

Moreover, the African soon came to realize that the district commissioner, though theoretically an "advisor," was the
actual ruler. While the primary concern here is with the impact of a foreign political ideology, important agents of
change have been the religious and economic concepts of the white man. they are of paramount interest in
considering the present status of the clans and chief in the social structure.

J. M. Sarbah and Casely Hayford described the military spirit of the asafo and its operation during early times. The
asafo either fought against other states or were responsible for the peace of their own state. The commander of asafo
companies had to be brave and able to provide some ammunition. Though the Pax Britannica rendered the military
function redundant, the military origin of the asafo was always stressed. During annual festivals, the asafo
performed before the chief in order to show their strength and loyalty. The asafo played an important role in the
rituals associated with installation or deposition of a chief. They were also involved in other religious activities. The
asafo was important on account of its religious power to affect people's status in the next world by honoring them at
the funeral. Being responsible for fetching the dead body and carrying it to the town, the asafo also performed at the
funeral, drinking and dancing, accompanied by asafo songs.
The asafo also filled a wide range of social functions ranging from cooperative groups providing labor for public
works, to local units called upon in cases of emergency, which formed part of their routine duties.
the asafo their role in the traditional political structure. Having a recognized and effective way to express their
opinion, asafo members had a say not only in the election of the chief, but also in all matters affecting the state.
Without their approval, a candidate could not be elected as chief. The asafo leader was officially recognized as
representative of the commoners; elders would consider any representations he had made to them.
Anshan Li
Without their approval, a candidate could not be elected as chief.

The asafo leader was officially recognized as representative of the commoners;
elders would consider any representations he had made to them.
Anshan Li
4
Due to his closeness to the omanhene, a clan chief occasionally felt his interests were more closely allied to the royal
elite than to his clansmen and might advise a course of action not favored by his followers. But the individual Akan
was not easily disenfranchised, and the social structure provided specific opportunities for him to voice dissent.
Among the coastal Akan, when the commoners believed their chiefs were not affording them adequate
representation, they could make their wishes known through the officers of the military companies, patrilineal
groupings from which the chiefs were excluded.
Ashanti, it was through the elected leader of the "young men," or mmerante, that the commoners could speak if they
were not in agreement with the omanhene and his advisors. As long as a chief acted in accordance with customary
law with respect to his personal conduct and the duties of his office, he enjoyed the support of the state. However, if
he deviated sufficiently to dissatisfy the people, he ran the risk of "destoolment," or removal from office, with the
alternative choice of abdication. In such a society the support of the people was essential, for without their
cooperation, both religious and financial, the chief could not fulfill his obligations to the stool and the ancestors.
Also, the people need not accept as a chief a man they do not favor. Thus with the power to choose or remove a
chief in the hands of the people, a wise leader did not go counter to their wishes if he wanted to retain his position.

Nevertheless, a pronounced change occurred in the position of the chief. Formerly, the income of a chief was
obtained from stool land worked by slaves, from people who traded for him, from the gifts of subjects, court fines,
market tax, and special assessments. With British control, the chiefs became salaried. All court fines and taxes went
into the treasury for the use of the state. Slavery, declared illegal, reduced the number of people who worked for the
stool. In some aspects the authority of the paramount chiefs was increased, but often they lost prestige and the
respect of their people. This was due in large part to the fact that decisions were made by the chiefs in consultation
with the British, and the latter supported the chiefs in carrying them out. Thus, instead of the people having a voice
in their own government as formerly, they would be told by their chiefs what had been decided for them. While this
considerably increased the influence of the chief in some spheres, it resulted in the loss of popular support for many
of them.

An outstanding feature of Akan social structure is the authority and prestige accorded to age. Their proverb, "One
does not pluck the feathers from a fowl before showing it to an elder," meaning that individuals or groups should
never reach a decision or take action without consulting their elders, may be classified as a governing principle of
Akan culture. Wisdom is believed to be a concomitant of age, and young people taking active part in politics against
the advice of their elders has been one of the radical deviations from tradition.
Following the Pax Britannica, the British governed the Gold Coast by "indirect rule." This system, developed in
northern Nigeria by Lord Lugard, utilized the existing political system of the African, and customary law was
allowed to prevail as long as it was not repugnant to British concepts of morality and justice.
5
Elaborate entertainment of chiefs on occasion was part of the government's policy, a practice that did not escape the
people. This led to the accusation that the chiefs were the "tools of the European," and were accepting bribes to carry
out the wishes of the white man. Even when bribery was not suspected or charged, many of the people felt that since
the chiefs were dependent on the British for recognition of their position, they were too willing to acquiesce in the
demands of the European.
A colonial official pointed out in 1887: The Colonial Government

while destroying the power of the chiefs has left the company organization intact;
and the captains of the companies now arrogate to themselves an independence
and freedom from restraint which formed no part of the original scheme.
Anshan Li
The same belief inspired the demonstration after Welman's enquiry effectively
rejected the asafo's claim to a constitutional role within Accra. Furious at British intervention
in what they regarded as an asafo affair, they asked the Colonial Office how "strangers" could understand
customary procedure better than they, particularly as the Ga had no "rules and regulations" governing destoolment.
The Accra government, they charged, in language bound to alarm Whitehall, was destroying "native institutions."
The Accra Crowd, the Asafo, and the Opposition
to the Municipal Corporations Ordinance, 1924 - 25
Dominic Fortescu
I use the term commoners to designate persons not holding a formalized

political office as chief, lineage elder, and/or member of a traditional council.
The Asafo of Kwahu, Ghana:
A mass movement for local reform under colonial rule
Jarle Simensen
Youth Participation
in Local and National Development in Ghana: 1620-2013
it is now firmly established that it was common practice as far back
as the 1620s to have youth associations usually called the asafo taking active part
in national development planning. Admittedly, there were more formal arrangements
for youth associations among the southern Akans and especially
among the Fantis of the coastal areas.
Ransford Edward Van Gyampo - Franklin Obeng-Odoom
In peace time the asafo functioned mainly as a collective for sports and entertainment,
and for the mobilization of young men for hunting and communal labor. Authority disseminated
6
from above; in 1927 the Omanhene Akuamoah Boaten compared the organization to the "feudal system in England
under the Normans." In accordance with the general Akan constitutional model, the Kwahu commoners were
supposed to play the role of sleeping partners in political affairs. Candidates to chiefly office were nominated
by the royal family, elected by the council of elders, and then presented to the people, whose consent
was required to make the election valid.
Jarle Simensen
I use the term commoners to designate persons not holding a formalized

political office as chief, lineage elder, and/or member of a traditional council.
In British administrative correspondence it appears as an equivalent to young men,
a direct translation of the Twi word mmerante. Commoners were, and are here,
often referred to collectively as asafo.
Jarle Simensen
Perempeh returned in 1924 as a private citizen and, in 1926, he became Kumasehene (a hitherto unknown title). He
was supported by the conservative Kumase officeholders, who sought their historic power, as well as the radicals
who sought a liberal regime through a breaking or elimination of the power of chiefs from a man now
civilized and Christianized.
Euro-African Commerce and Social Chaos:
Akan Societies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
Kwasi Konadu
As a well-organized group, the asafo had its own hierarchical

structures of organization with its own bylaws. Indeed, the asafo was a well-structured military organization
that had its own flag, song, drums, horns, caps, emblems and its own post, the rallying place of the company, where
all its paraphernalia were kept. This, without a doubt, was the asafo that existed
in pre-western educational era.
In the political philosophy of the colonizers, Rathbone concluded,
chiefly power was the best and, almost certainly, the only guarantee of what the British
deemed to be law and order. The idea behind all this incorporation was to also make sure that
native institutions and sensitivities were being respected and minimally interfered with.
The said move introduced a dual system of authority under one political system the authority
of the colonial government on the one hand, and the authority of the chief and his elders,
on the other. However, beneath this dual system of authority was an economic motif.
7
The Sacred Nature of the Akan Chief and its Implications
for Tradition, Modernity and Religious Human Rights in Ghana
Seth Tweneboah
Report on the Eastern Province for the year 1930

- Asafos (who are known as the "young men" of Kwahu) have formed themselves
into an organised body and have members in nearly every town in this district. Its policy
seems to be a consistent opposition to established authority. The "opposition to established
authority" was characterized by an increasing number of destoolments. The asafo risings
in 1915-1918 in Akyem Abuakwa shared the same feature.
Anshan Li
In some cases, as among the gerontocratic Ga people of the

southeastern part of the colony, the position of chieftainship was virtually
created by the government. Traditionally, the affairs of the Ga had been
under the control of a council of elders, but the British elevated
a priest to the position of paramount chief.
We are the people:

Ghanaian chiefs and the politics of contestation.
Natural Rulers and the National Psyche
Beyond the colonial inheritance and the provisions of the current
constitution, the question has been frequently asked: How come that
in a secular and centralized state such as Ghana, chiefs continue to refer
to their kingdoms, their lands and their subjects without any
reaction from government? The answer to this question lies
in the national psyche.
The landlessness of the state makes it vulnerable to the dictates of chiefs.

Government often pleads with chiefs to release lands for development. Although
this is often done, the feeling that the state must depend on chiefs for land for
development projects gives the latter some leverage.
Asafo and Christianity: Conflicts and Prospects

The first persons who were taught akomfodze i.e. things pertaining to akom by mbowatsia or nkaatsia (dwarfs) was
an obombofo (hunter) and his son.
Aggrey writes: The dwarfs, through the intercession of various deities, were able to empower the priests/priestesses
to victory in many ways. In times of need as well as during war the people would consult the priests/priestesses.
Therefore in times of distress everybody made it an imperative to partake in this religious practice through which
consolation from the Creator could be derived.
8
It is evident that religion became a focal point of unity especially in times of war when the stability and life of the
community were threatened. It was through this united action to avert conflicts and to secure the prosperity of the
community that consolidated the people into a united force of asafo with religion or akomfodze as their backbone.
An exhibition of the religious origins of asafo is also seen in the indispensable role that religion plays in their
organization and activities. Every asafo has a priest/ priestess (komfo) whose duty is to propitiate the gods of the
company and provide protective medicine (edur) for the men.
Brigid M. Sackey

The ahenpa asafo of Abakrampa has its own bosom (deity) which is the asafo okyen (drum) itself called Ekyen
Kweku, with its own komfo. However, since there has not been any successor to the late komfo, the oman komfo
performs for the asafo. Again, the intertwined relationship between the asafo and the oman becomes evident. There
is also the belief that other asafo insignia such as stool and abaa (whip) are themselves abosom and thus can get
people possessed and make them their akomfo. The okomfo always moves with the asekanmba wing of the asafo
who lead and pave the way for the company in all endeavors.
Brigid M. Sackey

Anshan Li
The asafo company therefore took on
the responsibility of guarding their interests and became
the main instrument for mass political action
in the southern Ghana.
Danquah analyzed the function as well as the legitimacy of destoolment: This, as a formidable weapon in the hands
of the people when properly manipulated, is a certain and sure safeguard of the democratic element in Akan State
Constitution in that the knowledge of the existence of the right and of the people's readiness to exercise it on any
necessary occasion acts as a check on the ruling princes reminding them perpetually that first and last the supreme
interest or political ideal before them is the good and welfare of the governed and of the State as a whole. Once
incorporated into the framework of colonial government, the chiefs status underwent several changes. Now loyalty
to and cooperation with the government became the essential requirement for newly elected chiefs.
Regarding a destoolment that occurred at Bekwai, the commissioner in charge of the investigation reported: In the
case of Bekwai, for instance, the "youngmen," that is to say the lower classes, those who were not Elders,
complained that they were not consulted in the choice of the Headchief, that they did not respect him in Bekwai
itself, or when he visited the villages, and to a man they refused to serve him. The Elders remarked that "One cannot
be a chief without subjects. If we support the Headchief we shall be alone. The whole of the youngmen refuse to
serve the Headchief and we support them.
9
Anshan Li
The basic unit in Akan social and political structure is

the matrilineal clan or abusua. These clans, which vary in size from thirty
The Asafohen held consultation with the Supi and gave out orders
to the rank and file. The lesser officers included the kyerema (drummer),
frankaakitanyi (flagbearer), asikanbahen, bombaa (whipper)
and the asafo komfo (priest/ priestess).
Kwaku Nti
Although the asafo emerged initially in the Colony's coastal towns,
three of four studies of it analyze the asafo in rural areas. There, the asafo
took action against corrupt chiefs and attempted to establish its constitutional role
in the process of enstoolment and destoolment and its right to council seats
for commoner representatives.
Dominic Fortescue
an ambivalent situation not only to the chief but even to the colonial government. It has already been established
in this discussion that the presence of the colonial powers created a dual form of authority: the ethnopolitical leaders
of the land and colonial administration. It has also been demonstrated that the activities of the colonizers undercut
the authority of chief to the extent that his people with time became only nominal subjects.
Seth Tweneboah
A Kwahu correspondent to the Gold Coast Leader complained that

"all the present chiefs hold their posts mechanically, fearing the populace and
expecting every moment a destoolment, so that aristocracy is giving way
to democracy." Addow, "Notes on Kwahu."
Jarle Simensen

The omanhene, who was finally destooled in 1932 by the asafo, described the condition in Kwahu when he asked
Ofori Atta I, the paramount chief of Akyem Abuakwa, for help in his political difflculties: Kwahu asafo is something
entirely different from all other asafos in all Akan, Twi and Fanti States of the Gold Coast.... The asafo in Kwahu is a
thing quite different from the old constitutional asafos, It is a Kyenku of no asafo, It comprises the rabble of Kwahu,
Commoners of the town and villages headed by desperados known as asafoakyes the word itself gave [sic] you an
idea of their origin Akan and Ga instead of Stool Captains. They are quite independent of the natural rulers, have
10
their own oaths . . . and their object is mainly to make laws for their Chiefs and oppose the Native Jurisdiction
Ordinance of 1883 and the new Native Administration Ordinance of 1927.
Anshan Li

The southern part of the Gold Coast is comprised of approximately
one hundred native states, varying in population from two thousand to
over two hundred thousand. The basic unit in Akan social and political structure
is the matrilineal clan or abusua. These clans, which vary in size from thirty
The Sacred Nature of

the Akan Chief and its Implications
Seth Tweneboah
a petition to the Governor, urging that every educated African, whether he be a lawyer, doctor, surveyor,
engineer, or any other professional man, should be made to realize that he was still bound by traditional loyalties.
Part of the petition argued that western education or accident of wealth or other advantages were merely privileges
and that these were not enough for one to lord it over others in the society, especially the leaders of the land. The
chief and his officers argued that It does seem to us that education in the proper sense of the word implies a
contempt of the existing authority. It was absurd for an educated man to refuse to go before his natural court of
justice because the president or councilors were not equally educated: we beg to sound a warning.

Anshan Li
11
Anshan Li
The Role of Alcohol

in the 1905 conflict between the Anaafo and Ntsin
Asafo Companies of Cape Coast
Kwaku Nti
The Asafo, fundamentally, was a traditional military institution which represented the main means of organized
defense in time of war or attack. Considering its defensive connotation, it is reasonable to suggest that the Asafo idea
is as old as organized warfare. By and large, the origins of this institution and its development as an organized body
has come to be associated with the Fante. Among the Fante, the Asafo played an important part in the social and
political life. All towns and villages in the Fante area had one or more such Asafo units which were also referred to
as "Companies". The Asafo was a patrilineal organization. A child belonged to the father's company. And being a
fundamentally military or para-military organization, men, and particularly young men, were most prominent. Thus,
in some documents and works the Asafo were referred to as "young men", " mbrantse " or "hotheads". However,
women and the elderly men also formed an important part. The term "young men" was used to distinguish them
from the ruling class.

Dominic Fortescue
According to M. J. Field (1940, 168), the Ga copied the system from the Fanti before the beginning of the nineteenth
century. A system of organising the men of a town or coastal city state for military purposes, young men joined their
father's company as soon as they could use a gun. An elaborate hierarchy of military officers led the asafo, and each
company zealously maintained and protected its flags and drums and enthusiastically sang and danced to its
particular songs. The seven quarters of Accra each supported their own companies, organised as age-grades,
commanded by three asafoatsemei, or captains, who answered, in turn, to a sipi and an akwason, who headed all the
companies within a particular quarter. The companies of all quarters came under the akwasontse, the supreme
military commander for the whole of Accra.

Chouin argues that cross-ethnic region-wide associations are neglected by research on ruling groups, and that
change from matrilinear to patrilinear succession in Eguafo, NW of Elmina, occurred through such groups. The 17th
century wars led kings to give their sons the leadership and appoint them, rather than their sister's sons, as
successors, under the influence of rival brothers and French missionaries as princely educators. This century saw the
takeover of the Nsona from the Anona clan and transmission of the stool to their sons.
Valsecchi, Pierluigi & Viti, Fabio
Akan Worlds - Identity and Power in West Africa.
12
The administration of the Oman is based upon the operation of a number of political units, both traditional and
modern. In the villages, the matrilineage head is generally responsible for settling disputes among members and for
representing them in dealing with members of other matrilineages. In the town, however, these tasks are more often
performed by officers of the Asafo companies.
Ritual and Social Change: A Ghanaian Example
Robert W. Wyllie
Youth Participation
Thus the involvement of the youth, especially the asafo, predated colonialism but colonial influences greatly
transformed youth participation in national development. Colonialism, and in particular the indirect rule system,
unilaterally conferred extra powers on the chieftaincy institution in a way that made chiefs authoritarian. In turn, the
hitherto generally cordial relationship between the chiefs and the youth became strained. The respect accorded the
chiefs by the youth that compelled them to abide by chieftaincy rules and instructions dramatically diminished. This
discord was good for the colonizer as it further created divisions within the potential force for resistance. To the
colonizer, chiefs were mere conduits through which colonial policies were transmitted to the neglect of the youth in
the development process (Boahen, 1979).
Under the colonisers system of indirect rule, the British Governor and his District Commissioners made policies
and the role of chiefs was reduced to implementing them using their people, particularly the commoners or youth.
But the youth who had no formal role in the policy implementation process during the colonial period also did not
co-operate with their chiefs for allowing themselves to be used as a conduit for the transmission of colonial policies.
The colonial administrators, in turn, deliberately sidelined the asafo as the group seemed too radical (Chazan, 1974).
According to Shaloff (1974, p.592), they even called the activities of the asafo democracy gone mad (Shaloff,
1974, p.592).
Youth Participation
The demise of the chieftaincy has, therefore, been seen as inextricably linked to this process of decolonization, not
simply because it preceded decolonization chronologically, but because it was an integral part of the reforms which
determined the political form of independence-the socalled 'Westminster model'. With historical hindsight it has
been easy to accept the inevitability of progress, to see the chieftaincy as a doomed institution which made sense in
the context of high colonialism, but had to go when colonialism itself, for whatever reason, came to an end. Such
assumptions, however, continue to beg a number of questions.
Decolonization, the Colonial State,
and Chieftaincy in the Gold Coast
Richard C. Crook
13
Governmental policy in the Gold Coast indicates that, though the British may have known of the democratic nature
of the indigenous political structure, in actual practice the commoners were accorded very little voice in
government. In some cases, as among the gerontocratic Ga people of the southeastern part of the colony, the position
of chieftainship was virtually created by the government.
Indirect Rule and Democratic Processes - 1950-51
Religion and Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa

In many societies of pre-colonial Africa rulers were endowed with sacred duties, such as causing rain to fall and
crops to grow, and charged with upholding the cosmic order generally. In such societies any major disorder in the
invisible sphere was held to have a probable or even an inevitable effect on the physical fortunes of the community
of believers. By the same token, any major event, such as a war, a famine or an untimely death, was believed to have
its root cause in the invisible world. Even in the so-called stateless societies of old Africa, where village chiefs or
councils of elders were responsible for the routine administration of government, real public authority actually lay
with ritual experts who mediated between the visible and invisible worlds. An example of this is the Poro society of
Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Even in North Africa temporal rulers were expected to possess baraka, a power
which came from the invisible world and which alone would ensure worldly success.
Stephen Ellis and Gerrie Ter Haar

In former times he was, in addition, a military leader. Assisting the paramount chief in affairs of state were the
"queen mother," who was chosen from the royal family, and the chiefs and elders of the state. Since the omanhene
was the military as well as the political and religious head, the clans were further divided into sections or divisions
on the basis of the positions occupied on the battlefield.
civilized and Christianized. Perempeh died in May 1931 and was succeeded by Osei Agyeman Perempeh II as
Kumasehene, and at the restoration of the Asante Confederacy in 1935, Perempeh II became the first Asantehene
under British colonial rule and created of several new stools, including the Nkabmu and Nkab- mu Kyeame
Stools. The Confederacy councils second session included the abolition of all nkwankwaahene (young men
leader) positions.
Kwasi Konadu
14
The explanation for the demise of the chieftaincy,
they say, is to be found in London.
Richard C. Crook
No one really knew what had existed in the past. Nor did aspirants
for office have to face well-established rulers, who could have challenged
their novel interpretations of how traditional institutions were
supposed to function and who were their
proper representatives.
Brodie Cruickshank, a British merchant, who wrote about his long period
of residence on the coast from 1834 to 1852, recognized how much this "supervision"
had tended to lessen "the consequence of the chiefs" ((1831 1866, 2: iI).
Roger S. Gocking
We are the people:

The advent of British colonial rule heralded by the Bond of 1844 signed between some coastal chiefs of the Gold
Coast (now Ghana) and Britain began the process of the truncation of the traditional powers of chieftaincy and the
gradual incorporation of chiefs into the colonial mode of governance through what came to be commonly known as
the Indirect Rule. Traditional authority proved so useful in colonial policy of Indirect Rule that where colonial
authorities found no chiefs as in acephalous societies, they created them (Arhin 2001; Harvey 1966). Chiefs became
the main agents of indirect rule in the Gold Coast and the Native courts were to be the extension of this
administration (Acquah, 2006)
In any event, officers in the field had barely got used to the idea that they were patiently building the foundations of
African self-government, when full independence was decreed. the upheavals of the 1940s were important in
causing certain responses by colonial governments, but they did not necessarily have much to do with the nationalist
elites, and do not in themselves explain the decision to abandon attempting to reform the chieftaincy. Above all,
neither of the above explanations, whether it is the 'pressure from below' thesis, or 'pressure from above', in the
shape of liberal Governors and Whitehall, helps to explain how it was possible for such changes to be made, and
made as rapidly and as smoothly as they were.
Richard C. Crook
We are the people:

The Land Question
In Ghana, land ownership is complex. Generally, however, there are (a) stool lands invested in chiefs; (b) family
lands belonging to clans or maximal lineages; (c) private lands belonging to individuals; and (d) state lands usually
15
expropriated from any or all of the above through an executive instrument. Compensation may be paid when such
lands are acquired. In theory then the state has no land in Ghana. The landlessness of the state makes it vulnerable
to the dictates of chiefs. Government often pleads with chiefs to release lands for development. Although this is
often done, the feeling that the state must depend on chiefs for land for development projects gives the latter some
leverage.
Tradition and Modernity:

The Struggle for Political Space at the Local Level in Malawi
Who are chiefs and where does their authority and legitimacy come from?
These are extremely difficult questions to address mainly because of the variegated experiences the institution of
chieftaincy has been subjected to in the last hundred years or so across the African continent. Both colonial and
postcolonial regimes have in different ways, and for various strategic considerations, mutated the shape and form of
customary authorities. The tendency for colonial authorities was to replace non-compliant and rebellious chiefs with
handpicked loyalists regardless of their status in their respective communities in a bid to facilitate the processes of
subjection and domination. In the postcolonial regimes, changes have included either the introduction of
appointment or election systems for chiefs. Chiefs are appointed by the government or elected on a competitive
basis by members of a community. In extreme cases, the chieftaincy has either been suspended or abolished
altogether.
According to Senyonjo (2004), tradition isany cultural product that was created or pursued in whole or in part, by
past generations and that having been accepted and preserved, in whole or in part, by successive generations has
been maintained to the present. Lule (1995) defines tradition as something done or respected according to custom
from generation to generation. Tradition among other things entails outlooks on life, values, practices and ways of
relating or resolving disputes including various institutions inherited from previous generations. For this reason,
Owusu (1997) and Senjonyo (2004) argue that every society in this world is traditional in as much as it maintains
and cherishes values, practices, outlooks and institutions bequeathed to it by previous generations.
Traditional leaders are at the heart of custom and culture in the sense that they play a prominent role in efforts to
preserve them. They are variously described as "guardians of traditional norms, values and practices that are
respected in particular communities from generation to generation - and as such [they] are an important channel
through which social and cultural change can be realized" (Senjonyo 2004: 2); "actors and embodiment of
customary decision making institutions" (Blom 2002: 109); and "a socio-political expression of local African social
organizations which is based on lineage and quite key to the continuity of societies" (Soiri 2002: 8).
As a social-political expression of local African social organizations, chieftaincy entails power and influence which
incumbents wield over a distinct territorial unit occupied by a largely homogenous people sharing more or less a
common culture, social values and aspirations. This means that a traditional leader cannot exist without adistinct
territory and a socio-political organization over which he exercises governance, power, authority and influence.
The village is the most common unit of social aggregation where traditional leaders operate. Typical villages usually
have about 100 to 2,000 people organizing various aspects of their livelihoods such as agriculture, woodlands and
fisheries under the leadership of a village chief. These chiefs have the status of an administrative magistrate
presiding over customary, civil and even commercial disputes. Often their judgments are much more respected and
so tend to bring about lasting peace and reconciliation among family members, clan members and even between
clans (Lule 1995).
Blessings Chinsinga
16
Communion.
Michelle Gilbert
Their behavior served as contrasting role models for modernity and anti-colonial resistance, one through spiritual
revival, the other through rebellion. Ghana governments are another factor of modernity by its attempts at
undermining the institution of chieftaincy, according to Annor. In precolonial times, the chief was identical with
government, uniting executive, judicial, and religious functions. Colonial governments created parallel local
government institutions to diminish chiefs' political roles. While British indirect rule left limited functions like
customary law, local taxation, and road maintenance with "Native Authorities"- though governors had to confirm
appointments and destooled chiefs-Nkrumah even abolished post-war Local Authority legislation and the 1951
Native Authority Law, the 1959 Chiefs' Recognition and 1961 Chieftaincy Acts further reduced chiefly authority.
But no government dared nationalize stool lands, confiscate royalties, or abolish chiefs' judicial role even though all
tried to dismember the institution.
Andreas MASSING

The effect of Western ideologies on the matrilineal clan, the key to the Akan social system, is also significant for
understanding change in the political structure. All members of matrilineage believe themselves related through
descent from a common ancestress, and it is in this large grouping that the individual Akan traditionally found his
security. From the clan he secures land to farm, inherits property matrilineally (from a uterine brother or his mother's
brother), obtains aid in case of difficulty or debt, cooperates in the worship of the ancestors, and last but not least,
receives a proper burial and funeral so important to everyone. Collective responsibility characterizes the relationship
between members of the same lineage.
Reflecting back on this period for the entire coastal area, an editor of the Accra newspaper, The Gold Coast
Independent, maintained that particularly amongst "eligibles" who were educated or Christianized, "when vacancies
occurred on stools ... [they] turned their backs on their rightful heritage and fled as if for their lives from their native
town or states ... rather than assume or succeed to the dignities of such positions" (23 April 1932). At the turn of the
century, however, a gradual volte-face occurred, as colonial policy shifted in favor of indirect rule for even what the
government called the "civilized" towns on the coast.
Officials came to realize that they needed the cooperation of the native order even in these locations. In order to
carry out the rudimentary, sanitary measures that these increasingly larger towns required, the British depended on
the cooperation of some local authority figures. Even more immediately, the difficulty that officials experienced in
getting porters to carry supplies into the interior, when war broke out with the Asante in 1895, acutely underscored
the need for local authority figures in seaboard towns like Cape Coast, Elmina, Winneba, and Accra. In these places,
however, those who sought to benefit from this change in colonial policy could take advantage of the attenuated
condition of the native order to convince officials of their legitimacy and manipulate traditional institutions to suit
their own purposes.
17
The result was an enhancement of the asafos leaders' importance
- especially its commander-in-chief, the tufuhen - relative to the chiefs, who often acquired obstructionist
reputations. As an indication of this, some tufuhenes and even supis, who had provided substantial help
to military expeditions against Asante, tried to supplant the chiefly order in their towns.
Roger S. Gocking

Seth Tweneboah

Anshan Li
In 1882 the Bonsu regime introduced new rates of taxation on the southern gold-mining
industries and heavy fines for violations. This measure caused protest from nkwankwaa elements in
the southern districts of Asante. The Kumasi nkwankwaa led the campaign against the asantehene by uniting both
the ahiafo (the "poor") and the asikafo ("men of gold, or "rich men"). They carried out a successful coup
and Mensa Bonsu was destooled in early March 1883.
The demands of centralised states which were becoming important for the complex politics among the Ga and
their neighbours. There is therefore a correlation between the advent of chieftaincy and Asafo war culture. Asafo and
chieftaincy were the two new politico-military institutions necessary for the emerging centralised socio-political
organisations
Integration and Adaptation:
A Case Study of La and Osu Asafo Religious Culture
- Abraham Akrong
Indirect Rule in the Gold Coast

No one really knew what had existed in the past. Nor did aspirants for office have to face well-established rulers,
who could have challenged their novel interpretations of how traditional institutions were supposed to function and
who were their proper representatives. Initially, the best opportunities for such advancement in the traditional order
lay in the asafos, or "companies" as they were called in English. These institutions, which in precolonial times had
provided for the community's defense, survived the imposition of British rule far better than the chiefly order (Ellis
1887, 280).
For example, Tufuhen Quacoe Andor of Elmina was able to take advantage of the vacuum that developed in the
town's native order, after the British deported King Kobina Gyan in 1873. In 1884, he sought to "deprive Prince
Attah of kingship," who as "second king" had taken over after Kobina Gyan's deportation. Significantly, he based his
claims to this position on the grounds that he had government support on account of services he had "rendered" in
18
the war against the Asante in 1874. During the 1890s, opportunities for asafo leaders increased, as colonial officials
came increasingly to depend on native authority figures in the seaboard towns. Those, however, who had some
Western education, stood most to benefit, as they could communicate far better with British officials and carry out
their wishes.
Roger S. Gocking

Anshan Li
Agbodeka points out: The refusal of the Gold Coast people to permit alien
interference in their affairs caused the British one particular difficulty, among others,
that of obtaining labour, even paid labor, for public works. To solve this problem,
the government issued several ordinances.
Under colonial rule, the functions of the asafo underwent a great change, especially in the field of local politics.
Although the asafo represented the commoners' interests, its role received no recognition from the colonial
government. Because of ignorance, the British government at first did not interfere with the asafo company as a
political force, while they checked the chiefs authority at will. A colonial official pointed out in 1887: The Colonial
Government while destroying the power of the chiefs has left the company organization intact; and the captains of
the companies now arrogate to themselves an independence and freedom from restraint which formed no part of the
original scheme. Since colonial rule put an end to inter-state wars, the asafo transformed its main function from a
military one to a "public works department" and acted as a task force in particular situations. Although the duties
were always important, they now gradually became the major role of the asafo. Resistance did exist, especially
against public work.
During the three decades before 1920 more than seventy attempted
destoolments occurred in Akyem and Kwahu. The asafo's influence spread so rapidly
that Governor Slater was surprised to discover in 1927 that in Akyem rural areas,
the real power did not belong to the chief, but to the asafo leader.

Anshan Li

19

Anshan Li

The contributions to Akan Worlds center around the rise to power and its manifestations at various levels, from
micro-level (local spirit cult, village, lineage) to macro-level (chiefdom or state).
Traditionally, the affairs of the Ga had been under the control of a council of elders, but the British elevated a priest
to the position of paramount chief. In retrospect, such a move could be due to one of two causes. First, it may have
been an attempt to simplify administration by issuing directives through one person, in which case it is not in
accordance with the theory of indirect rule; or it could have been motivated by the mistaken belief that the Africans,
since they were a nonliterate people, should "naturally" have a chief who ruled them.
Agbodeka points out: The refusal of the Gold Coast people to permit alien interference
in their affairs caused the British one particular difficulty, among others, that of obtaining labour,
even paid labor, for public works. To solve this problem, the government issued
several ordinances.

Anshan Li
.

Indirect rule was to aid the cultural self-determination of the African, and also prepare them
for eventual self-government. Education, primarily under the auspices of the various Christian denominations, with
government financial support, was encouraged.
It is interesting to compare the French and British policy in West Africa in this matter. The French, under their policy
of direct rule, aim for assimilation of the African into French culture and attempt to utilize the educated, French-
speaking native to promote their program.
The British have unintentionally been more successful in creating this African elite than have the French, whose
policy is aimed in this direction. The failure of the British to accord this very verbal group a role in government was
undoubtedly a major factor in the rise of nationalism in the Gold Coast.
20
The abusua observes collective responsibility, owns land in common, and
participates as a group in religious ritual. Each native state, or oman, is composed of a number
of these clans and the land they own. At the head of each native state was the paramount chief,
or omanhene, chosen from a clan designated as the royal family. It was the privilege
of this particular abusua to supply the leader of the state. There are several chiefs,
or ohen, in each state, a chief being a person who occupies an ancestral stool.

a clan chief occasionally felt his interests were more closely allied
to the royal elite than to his clansmen and might advise a course of action not favored
by his followers. But the individual Akan was not easily disenfranchised, and
the social structure provided specific opportunities for him to voice dissent.

Among the coastal Akan, when the commoners believed
their chiefs were not affording them adequate representation, they could make their wishes
known through the officers of the military companies, patrilineal groupings from which
the chiefs were excluded.
the most interesting function of the asafo was their role in the traditional political structure. Having a recognized and
effective way to express their opinion, asafo members had a say not only in the election of the chief, but also in all
matters affecting the state. Without their approval, a candidate could not be elected as chief. The asafo leader was
officially recognized as representative of the commoners; elders would consider any representations he had made to
them. Commoners could oppose any unpopular measures issued by the chief, while the elders could not for fear of
being accused of disloyalty, for they were responsible with the chief for any decision. Asafo leaders had different
responsibilities in different areas. In Fante, the tufuhene was the next authoritative person after the ohene, or chief.
The tufuhene could become a regent, or even a chief himself.
During the 1890s, opportunities for asafo leaders increased, as colonial officials came
increasingly to depend on native authority figures in the seaboard towns. Those, however, who had
some Western education, stood most to benefit, as they could communicate far better with
British officials and carry out their wishes.
Roger S. Gocking
how close the Ashantis conceive the bond to be that

exists between the living and their dead kinsmen".
21
The Ashanti is constantly preoccupied with the thought that the ancestors are watching him; that when he joins them
one day, they will demand an account of his life from him. This preoccupation serves to regulate his daily life and
behaviour, while the thought is a very potent sanction to morality. The ancestors are believed to send help to their
relatives. One ancestor may indicate the remedy to an illness to one of his own in his dream. The other may send
material things, such as money, clothing etc. Another may see to it that the girls of his clan are endowed with
fecundity - the greatest blessing for the Ashanti woman -, and so on. Busia has this to say about these stories : " The
wishes of the ancestors are believed to be made known more often through the priests of the gods (abosom) than
through dreams. But these stories show how close the Ashantis conceive the bond to be that exists between the
living and their dead kinsmen". A few people claim the power of seeing the dead, and at national ceremonies, it is
believed that the ancestors join the living in the celebrations.
Roger S. Gocking
A long history of interaction with Europeans gave rise to what Margaret Priestly (1969) and Kwame Daaku (1970)
have described as "Afro-European" communities. Its members were able to take advantage of their links to African
society, and at the same time to manipulate and to modify its institutions to suit their own purposes. These
"entrepreneurs and early state builders," as Henige (1977) has characterized them, established the precedent for their
successors in the twentieth century. Western education and an understanding of the emerging colonial order replaced
trading links with Europeans as the new criteria for political success, but this meant that in the southern Gold Coast
Colony, when indirect rule became the government's official policy, neither colonial administrators nor chiefs were
in a position to monopolize the invention of "tradition." how indirect rule policies fueled competition for office in
what the government described as the "native state" on the part of people who had limited claims to legitimacy.
In dealing with Malaya, East and West Africa from the mid-nineteenth century
onward, officials in the field and notables in London sought to justify imperial expansion
and to establish indirect rule efficiently by drawing upon the Indian example.
Indirect Rule in the British Empire:
The Foundations of the Residency System in India (1764-1858)
Michael H. Fisher
The paramount chief was required to consult his advisors on all matters of state, and each councilor in turn would
meet with the elders of his own lineage to obtain their opinion. The elders in turn were to voice the wishes of the
people they represented. Major issues would be discussed at a meeting of the entire state, where any person,
commoner or chief, could state his views. It was not a matter of voting and letting the majority rule on such
occasions, but rather issues would be discussed until a course of action was agreed upon. Due to his closeness to the
omanhene, a clan chief occasionally felt his interests were more closely allied to the royal elite than to his clansmen
and might advise a course of action not favored by his followers. But the individual Akan was not easily
disenfranchised, and the social structure provided specific opportunities for him to voice dissent.
22
groupings from which the chiefs were excluded. In Ashanti, it was through the elected leader of the "young men," or
mmerante, that the commoners could speak if they were not in agreement with the omanhene and his advisors. As
long as a chief acted in accordance with customary law with respect to his personal conduct and the duties of his
office, he enjoyed the support of the state. However, if he deviated sufficiently to dissatisfy the people, he ran the
risk of "destoolment," or removal from office, with the alternative choice of abdication.
During the 1890s, opportunities for asafo leaders increased, as colonial officials
came increasingly to depend on native authority figures in the seaboard towns. Those, however,
who had some Western education, stood most to benefit, as they could communicate far better with
British officials and carry out their wishes.
Indirect Rule in the Gold Coast: Competition for
Office and the Invention of Tradition
Roger S. Gocking

they say, is to be found in London.
Richard C. Crook

Blessings Chinsinga
Who are chiefs and where does their authority and legitimacy come from?
These are extremely difficult questions to address mainly because of the variegated experiences the institution of
chieftaincy has been subjected to in the last hundred years or so across the African continent. Both colonial and
postcolonial regimes have in different ways, and for various strategic considerations, mutated the shape and form of
customary authorities. The tendency for colonial authorities was to replace non-compliant and rebellious chiefs with
handpicked loyalists regardless of their status in their respective communities in a bid to facilitate the processes of
subjection and domination. In the postcolonial regimes, changes have included either the introduction of
appointment or election systems for chiefs. Chiefs are appointed by the government or elected on a competitive
basis by members of a community. In extreme cases, the chieftaincy has either been suspended or abolished
altogether.
from generation to generation. As a social-political expression of local African social organizations, chieftaincy
23
entails power and influence which incumbents wield over a distinct territorial unit occupied by a largely
homogenous people sharing more or less a common culture, social values and aspirations. This means that a
traditional leader cannot exist without adistinct territory and a socio-political organization over which he exercises
governance, power, authority and influence.
have about 100 to 2000 people organizing various aspects of their livelihoods such as agriculture, woodlands and
clans (Lule 1995).

Blessings Chinsinga

a brief summary of the traditional form of government as a background is necessary. The southern part of the
Gold Coast is comprised of approximately one hundred native states, varying in population from two thousand to
over two hundred thousand. The basic unit in Akan social and political structure is the matrilineal clan or abusua.
These clans, which vary in size from thirty to several hundred adults, theoretically or actually trace their ancestry
back to a common ancestress. The abusua observes collective responsibility, owns land in common, and participates
as a group in religious ritual. Each native state, or oman, is composed of a number of these clans and the land they
own. At the head of each native state was the paramount chief, or omanhene, chosen from a clan designated as the
royal family. It was the privilege of this particular abusua to supply the leader of the state. There are several chiefs,
or ohen, in each state, a chief being a person who occupies an ancestral stool. A "stool" in the Gold Coast may be
equated with the European concept of the throne, with the stool of the omanhene being supreme to all others in the
state.

In former times he was, in addition, a military leader. Assisting the paramount chief in affairs of state were the
"queen mother," who was chosen from the royal family, and the chiefs and elders of the state. Since the omanhene
was the military as well as the political and religious head, the clans were further divided into sections or divisions
on the basis of the positions occupied on the battlefield. At the head of each of these divisions was a sectional or
divisional chief who was a close advisor of the paramount chief. Though the chiefs, and particularly the omanhene,
were accorded a great deal of authority under the customary law of the Akan, they were by no means autocrats. A
system of checks and balances was present in the political structure that ensured the commoner a voice in his
government.
24
As long as a chief acted in accordance with customary law with respect to his personal conduct and the duties of his
risk of "destoolment," or removal from office, with the alternative choice of abdication. In such a society the support
of the people was essential, for without their cooperation, both religious and financial, the chief could not fulfill his
obligations to the stool and the ancestors. Also, the people need not accept as a chief a man they do not favor. Thus
with the power to choose or remove a chief in the hands of the people, a wise leader did not go counter to their
wishes if he wanted to retain his position. An outstanding feature of Akan social structure is the authority and
prestige accorded to age.

between members of the same lineage. The influence of Christianity on the position of the chief, noted above, has
had a similar effect on clan solidarity, since the latter is also based on ancestral worship. Christianity, with its accent
on patrilineal descent, has brought about considerable dissatisfaction with matrilineal inheritance and the avunculate,
striking at the very core of lineage unity.
Governmental policy in the Gold Coast indicates that, though the British may have known of the democratic nature
of the indigenous political structure, in actual practice the commoners were accorded very little voice in
government. In some cases, as among the gerontocratic Ga people of the southeastern part of the colony, the position
of chieftainship was virtually created by the government. Traditionally, the affairs of the Ga had been under the
control of a council of elders, but the British elevated a priest to the position of paramount chief. In retrospect, such
a move could be due to one of two causes. First, it may have been an attempt to simplify administration by issuing
directives through one person, in which case it is not in accordance with the theory of indirect rule; or it could have
been motivated by the mistaken belief that the Africans, since they were a nonliterate people, should "naturally"
have a chief who ruled them.

Indirect rule was to aid the cultural self-determination of the African, and also prepare them for eventual self-
government. Education, primarily under the auspices of the various Christian denominations, with government
financial support, was encouraged. This led to the development of an African elite, many of whom obtained training
in England and the United States. However, little provision was made to absorb the educated African into the
government, either on the local level or in the central government.
It is interesting to compare the French and British policy in West Africa in this matter. The French, under their policy
of direct rule, aim for assimilation of the African into French culture and attempt to utilize the educated, French-
speaking native to promote their program.
25
The British have unintentionallly been more successful in creating this African elite than have the French, whose
policy is aimed in this direction. The failure of the British to accord this very verbal group a role in government was
undoubtedly a major factor in the rise of nationalism in the Gold Coast.
The criticisms leveled by this educated group at the governmental system were many, but their complaints of the
political aspects can be stated briefly.
First, there was not sufficient Africanization of the civil service and the African people were not consulted
concerning formulation of policy. Secondly, with the exception of the paramount chiefs, a large majority of the
chiefs and elders were illiterate, and thus incompetent to manage the affairs of the people in modern times. In the
same vein, they accused the chiefs of catering to the British to retain their positions, and claimed the chiefs were
being used by the British to suppress and delay the political development of the area. Thirdly, the educated
commoner, who was best qualified to serve, or to learn how to serve, had no role in government.
A new constitution in 1946 did little to change conditions, since the power remained in the hands of the Europeans.
In 1947 a political party, the United Gold Coast Convention, was formed, a group which played an important part in
the riots of 1948. These disturbances, which left over twenty-five dead and over two hundred wounded in Accra and
other towns, were a turning point in Gold Coast politics. The complaints leading to the riots were many, having their
origin in unemployment, high prices, trading discrimination, cutting out of diseased cocoa trees, and general
dissatisfaction with the government, to name a few.

This, of course, is to be expected, since their culture has made it necessary for them to be cognizant of, and
propitiate, several spirits and deities simultaneously. To the African, the acceptance of a new deity does not
necessarily mean negation of the old. It is rather to be regarded as added insurance. The African tradition is not one
of mutually exclusive gods or deities.
for there is virtually no aspect of Akan culture that is not inextricably linked with, or sanctioned by, either the
nature deities or ancestral spirits. The annual ceremonies, as well as those observed when the need is indicated, are
believed to promote the well-being of the entire state. A number of requests are made concerning fecundity,
prosperity, health and protection, to name a few. To ignore these rituals is believed to result in the visitation of
sickness and ill-fortune on the people.

This lack of inclination on the part of the African to pay taxes may be attributed to several factors. One, a hypothesis
advanced by the opponents of self-government, is that the natives are not yet politically sophisticated to a degree
where they are competent to manage their own affairs as a nation. Another is that the African, who feels he has seen
little tangible evidence that his taxes have been utilized properly in the past, is still suspicious. A causal factor that
tends to be overlooked is that it may be the traditional pattern of the common people asserting their disapproval of
being taxed without consultation. What appears to be a wide-spread African pattern, and certainly applies among the
Akan, is that the African will willingly contribute, and heavily, to a specific project of which he is in favor, or that he
has been consulted about. For example, he will gladly go in debt for a proper funeral service for a clansman, or for
paraphernalia for a chief. Prior to colonial status, if the people were asked to contribute money by the chief, it was
26
for a specific purpose or project about which they were informed. The Akan as a whole have not taken favorably to a
system of taxation where the levy goes into a central fund, and is allocated to the various channels necessary to
operate a native authority. The riots mentioned above should not necessarily be classified as an example of political
immaturity, lack of cooperation, or seditious behavior. From the African's point of view, he is protesting what he
feels to be an unfair request, and does so in accordance with the traditional law which permits the commoner to
protest what he feels to be an unfair law.
Here it is necessary to distinguish between individual chiefs, and the tradition surrounding chieftainship. While the
people may not be in favor of the conduct of a particular stool occupant, it does not mean they wish to do away with
the position. It appears inevitable, however, that the chief as a political figure is on the wane in the Gold Coast, but
the transition will not be made rapidly. The proposed system of local government will still have the paramount chief
as the titular head, with elected officials making up the rest of the controlling body. Due to the large number of
villages and hamlets that make up every native state, the chiefs and elders at the head of such small settlements will
undoubtedly remain as the medium through which the central and local government will rule. In a sense, it will be a
perpetuation of indirect rule.

Richard C. Crook
In summary, there is a large element of democracy in the indigenous culture of the southern half of the Gold Coast
which gave the commoner a voice in his own government. Customary law provided a system of checks and balances
whereby the chiefs could not become autocrats. Following the Pax Britannica, and the implementation of indirect
rule, the chiefs were accorded more authority than they formerly had, and the role of the commoner in government
was largely overlooked. Many other changes occurred in the social structure of the Akan from the adoption of
Western religious and economic concepts. The new constitution, which grants the African a government by elected
representatives, was enthusiastically received by the voting population. The movement appears to doom the chiefs in
regard to political authority, and their function in the future will probably be primarily religious in nature. It is still
too early to ascertain the full impact of the new form of government on the present form of native political and
social system, but further pronounced changes may be expected as elected officials have replaced chiefs as the
governing body on the local level.

micro-level (local spirit cult, village, lineage) to macro-level (chiefdom or state). While the contributions deal with
specific polities such as Nzima (2), Efutu (2), Bono (1), Baoule (2) and Ashanti (2), few deal with "integration by
conquest" which was the dominant model of Akan expansion in the past. Chouin argues that cross-ethnic region-
wide associations are neglected by research on ruling groups, and that change from matrilinear to patrilinear
succession in Eguafo, NW of Elmina, occurred through such groups. The 17th century wars led kings to give their
sons the leadership and appoint them, rather than their sister's sons, as successors, under the influence of rival
brothers and French missionaries as princely educators. This century saw the takeover of the Nsona from the Anona
clan and transmission of the stool to their sons.
27
Arhin traces the precolonial political and social integration of Akan groups into the Ashanti ruling estate (oman)
which consisted of a bureaucracy, service-bearers (gyasefo) of the royal household, and a military organization
(asafo), as instruments of the Asantehene's supreme will rather than guarantees of common welfare. The gyasefo
held appointments with fixed service conditions thereby differing from mere servants, and the royal household was
almost synonymous with government. Gyasefo also received appointments to other Akan groups with territorial
expansion. Akan government therefore was not democratic but exercised through a hierarchy of unequal status
groups: stool-owning lineages, gyase (court personnel), younger lineages, co-opted foreigners and slaves.
Ghana governments are another factor of modernity by ist attempts at undermining the institution of chieftaincy,
according to Annor. In precolonial times, the chief was identical with government, uniting executive, judicial, and
religious functions. Colonial governments created parallel local government institutions to diminish chiefs' political
roles. While British indirect rule left limited functions like customary law, local taxation, and road maintenance with
"Native Authorities"-though govemors had to confirm appointments and destooled chiefs-Nkrumah even abolished
post-war Local Authority legislation and the 1951 Native Authority Law, the 1959 Chiefs' Recognition and 1961
Chieftaincy Acts further reduced chiefly authority. But no government dared nationalize stool lands, confiscate
royalties, or abolish chiefs' judicial role even though all tried to dismember the institution.
Andreas MASSING

Anshan Li

Blessings Chinsinga
organizations which is based on lineage and quite key to the continuity of societies" (Soiri 2002: 8). As a social-
political expression of local African social organizations, chieftaincy entails power and influence which incumbents
wield over a distinct territorial unit occupied by a largely homogenous people sharing more or less a common
culture, social values and aspirations. This means that a traditional leader cannot exist without a distinct territory and
a socio-political organization over which he exercises governance, power, authority and influence.
have about 100 to 2,000 people organizing various aspects of their livelihoods such as agriculture, woodlands and
clans (Lule 1995).
28
Traditional Leadership, Democracy and Decentralization
Whether or not traditional leadership is compatible or incompatible with democracy and decentralization is intensely
debated. In this debate two schools of thought can be broadly distinguished. The first school of thought perceives
traditional institutions a being incompatible with democratization and decentralization whilst the second school of
thought argues for co-existence of some kind since traditional leadership institutions are an important part of the
historical heritage of local communities and cannot therefore just be wished out of existence (Ray 1996, Blom 2002,
Ntsebeza 2003). The critics of traditional leadership institutions argue that traditional authority is an anachronism
that should not have survived the twentieth century let alone exist in the twenty first. Traditional leaders are thus
characterized as leftovers from a time that is swiftly fading away.
The thrust of the discourse against traditional leadership institutions hinges on Mamdani's thesis of the bifurcated
state. The colonial state according to Mamdani (1996) was bifurcated because it had different modes of rule for
urban citizens and rural subjects. In his view therefore nothing less than dismantling the bifurcated state would
ensure complete democratization of developing countries, and consequently, facilitate the potential success of
decentralization policy reforms since only then can both rural and urban areas enjoy a common citizenship. This
would be impossible to achieve if traditional leadership institutions remain intact since this would mean the
continuity of a "series of binary opposites such as rights and custom, representation and participation, centralization
and decentralization, civil society and community" (Ntsebeza 2003: 56).
Traditional institutions are thus seen as instruments of social oppression entirely devoid of progress especially in
such areas as political organization, women's rights, social mobility and economic rights. Customary institutions are
further criticized as being undemocratic principally on the grounds that the right to choose one's representatives is a
fundamental and basic human right in contemporary democracies. This is the case because chieftaincy is more or
less "a caste in which only birth members can postulate to the role of chiefs" (Ribot 2002: 69). A traditional leader in
South Africa captures these sentiments even more crisply. He points out that "Traditional leaders such as myself rise
to power through birthright; my father was a king, and I am his heir. Elected officials on the other hand get their
authority by means of a popular vote" (Molotlegi 2002: 1). The issue here therefore is that as long as chieftaincy is
based on heredity and ascription then it is inherently undemocratic.
The possibility of rural residents having the freedom to choose which institutions or individuals should rule is
automatically excluded. The major concern is that ascendancy to chieftaincy on the basis of ascription makes
incumbents hardly accountable to their subjects, and as such, empowering or working with them may not serve the
efficiency, equity or development aims so often strongly idealized by somewhat nave decentralization advocates
(Ribot 2002, Ntsebeza 2003). The argument is that working with or empowering chiefs may simply amount to the
continued encapsulation of individuals within communities through the administratively driven empowerment of
customary decision makers to represent local people (Mamdani 1996).
The hallmark of this school of thought therefore is that traditional and modern forms of leadership cannot co-exist
because they draw their legitimacy from two distinct sources. Traditional leaders derive their claims to legitimacy,
authority and, indeed, sovereignty from their pre-colonial roots while the contemporary African state is a creation of,
and a successor to, the imposed colonial state. On the contrary, the supporters of traditional leadership institutions
contend that these institutions can neither be simply legislated out of existence nor merely be relegated to being part
of a traditional social sphere distinct from the modern world of civil society (Owusu 1997, Blom 2002, Senyonjo
2004).
The major thrust of the argument of this school of thought is that traditional leadership institutions are not static and
frozen in time. Like all aspects of culture and tradition, it is argued that the institution oftraditional leaders grows
29
and adapts itself to the changing values and aspirations of its people since it does not exist in a vacuum. It is the
ordinary people who condition it and reshape it to be constantly relevant. The values of democracy, participation,
respect for human rights, mutuality and cooperation with others all influence the nature and functioning of the
institution of traditional leaders in the contemporary society. In order to appreciate the relevance of chieftainship,
Owusu (1997) and Blom (2002) for instance argue that it is extremely vital to understand how it is based on
customary village institutions involving general norms and ideas about leadership. They contend that a ruler's
subjects are fully aware of the duties he owes to them as they are of the duties they owe to him and are able to exert
pressure to make him discharge these duties. In some cases, according to Moto (1998), a chief may in fact, by
popular will, be stripped of his chieftaincy if his behaviour is not that expected of a chief and associated with the
office. In this sense the power of chieftaincy largely rests with the chief's subjects and should a chief not live and
lead as expected, the subjects have the mandate to ask for their removal.
Chieftaincy is therefore widely perceived as an embodiment of virtues of political accountability, transparency,

service and probity. It is further argued that traditional leaders play a very critical role in the livelihoods of their
subjects in the sense that: l) they inspire and motivate their people for development in every aspect; 2) advocate
cooperative action; and 3) extols the commitment and total involvement of all members of a community in forming
and implementing policies for overall community welfare. They are able to achieve these goals because "their word
is much respected, their praise is much appreciated, and their example is emulated" (Lule 1995: 18). Lule (1995) in
fact argues that the institution of traditional leaders being part and parcel of the cultural heritage of African people is
an essential part of their fundamental right to culture. Once the people who are affected by it freely choose to have
it, it can therefore not be legislated out of existence simply because it is incompatible with democratization and
decentralization.

Blessings Chinsinga
Chieftaincy in the Post-Nkrumah Era

Given the way Nkrumah related to chiefs under the wide executive powers granted him by the 1960 Constitution,
after his overthrow, efforts were made to insulate chieftaincy from the powers of the executive through various
constitutional provisions. Thus, while the 1969 and the 1979 constitutions gave recognition to the role of chiefs in
national and local development, chiefs gained their legal status only by state recognition through being gazetted.
For now, therefore, the executive and the legislature are status-barred from making any laws that affect chieftaincy;
chieftaincy issues have been left in the care of two statutory bodies, the National and regional houses of chiefs.
Interestingly however, there is the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs that advises the executive on chieftaincy matters.
The constitutional props given to chieftaincy and the character and role of the institution in local governance have
inadvertently projected chieftaincy as a powerhouse in the governance of the state; it has also given it some degree
of authenticity which in a way has contributed to several chieftaincy disputes all over the country.

Beyond the colonial inheritance and the provisions of the current constitution, the question has been frequently
asked: How come that in a secular and centralized state such as Ghana, chiefs continue to refer to their kingdoms,
their lands and their subjects without any reaction from government? The answer to this question lies in the
national psyche.
In the colonial era, the authorities were in the habit of referring to traditional authorities as natural rulers. This
reference obviously denoted some sense of artificiality and illegitimacy of colonial governance. However, what is
interesting is that long after colonial rule, contemporary political functionaries in Ghana still refer to traditional
30
authorities as natural rulers or at least behave towards them as such. The implication of this is that our political
functionaries do not see themselves as such even when they have been duly elected into office through democratic
processes and backed by a constitution which is supposedly the sovereign will of the people. Does this not betray a
sense of artificiality and illegitimacy or both in the psyche of Ghanas post-colonial rulers? It may be argued that in
the psyche of modern political functionaries and the generality of Ghanaians, there is something untraditional
about the so-called democratic processes that usher politicians into elective positions: the bulwark of democratic
governance periodic elections and viable political parties are clearly not features of traditional societies in
Ghana. In that regard, it is not only the elected politicians who covertly and overtly contest the legitimacy of their
positions but also the ordinary people. It is instructive that in many regions and districts in Ghana today, some
paramount chiefs command more respect than regional ministers and district chief executives; and in the same
breath some chiefs have greater capability for social mobilization than many political appointees. This is why in
Ghana most persons aspiring to elective national offices (especially the presidency and the legislature) do their
utmost to seek the support of prominent chiefs in the country or in their communities.
The Land Question

In Ghana, land ownership is complex. Generally, however, there are (a) stool lands invested in chiefs; (b) family
lands belonging to clans or maximal lineages; (c) private lands belonging to individuals; and (d) state lands usually
expropriated from any or all of the above through an executive instrument. Compensation may be paid when such
lands are acquired. In theory then the state has no land in Ghana. The landlessness of the state makes it vulnerable
to the dictates of chiefs. Government often pleads with chiefs to release lands for development. Although this is
often done, the feeling that the state must depend on chiefs for land for development projects gives the latter some
leverage.
Traditionally, a chief in a Ghanaian community is the political leader of the ethno-tribal group. Because the political
and the religious landscape are enmeshed in African indigenous cultures, the basis of the chiefs political authority is
religion. Among the Akan of Ghana, a chief is a sacred person. He sits on a throne or stool that has been used by
previous chiefs. The stool links a chief with the spirits of the departed chiefs upon whom the welfare of the
community depends.
The Akan chief then is the intermediary between the material and spiritual universe. Traditionally, challenging
the chief amounts to challenging the ancestors of the land. Challenging the chief has, over the years, been considered
a treasonable offence.
Seth Tweneboah
the impression that the Akan chieftaincy institution

is at the crossroads (suffering from the shocks of colonialism,
religious pluralism, modernity and their attending effects like deconstruction
of the sacred metaphors of the sacred chief).
Desacralization of the Position of the Akan Chief

The discussion so far has provided a good indication of how the hitherto sacred nature of the chief has been
challenged. A significant challenge that modernity, religious pluralism and, indeed, international human rights pose
to the office of the Akan chief is the desacralization of the nature of the chief. An important impact of globalization
within the religious realm is what might be termed as global religions. Globalization has challenged the hitherto
enclaves that most indigenous religious traditions formed and the monopoly they previously enjoyed.
31
Virtually, all religions now appeal to international dimension of its teaching and support. The distinctiveness of these
traditions has given way to a much more globalized version of it. One such uniqueness that has been challenged is
the communal nature of indigenous religious traditions. That being the case, the religious nature of the chief has also
been challenged on this ground. As a leader of the ethnic group, the chiefs sacred position founded on his
religious function has been losing much emphasis giving way to only his political role, even if nominally.
Using the Dohrman W. Byers concept of sacred person, the single most important question that was raised was,
what is it about other human beings that make them more sacred than others?
Again, the discussion in chapter in five drew attention to the fact that the coming of Christianity which competed
with the indigenous traditions of which the chief was the main custodian also undercut the position of the chief such
that he no longer was considered as sacred.
The challenges the chieftaincy institution went through especially during the post colonial era up to now and the fact
that the attitude of most of the chiefs do not conform to demands of their office has also been a challenge to the
authority of the chief. This is particularly seen especially in the light of the demands of the contemporary human
rights instruments.

Richard C. Crook
a reinterpretation of the relationship between the colonial state and chieftaincy in the Gold Coast, looking in
particular at the interaction between land law, class formation and the structure of indirect rule. The need for such a
reinterpretation is prompted by the implausibility (in my view) of much of the very large standard literature on the
subject, when viewed from the perspective of the decolonization period of the 1950s. During the 1950s, the colonial
chieftaincy in the British African colonies was abandoned by colonial governments, together with the structure of
administration known as 'indirect rule'. The change was ostensibly part of a programme of devolution of power to a
new elite of 'educated' Africans, either elected to local or central government bodies, or recruited into an Africanized
administration. By the end of the decadc beginning with the Gold Coast in 1957 local self-government by these new
groups formed the basis for a new policy of granting sovereign independence to all of the colonial territories, large
or small. The demise of the chieftaincy has, therefore, been seen as inextricably linked to this process of
decolonization, not simply because it preceded decolonization chronologically, but because it was an integral part of
the reforms which determined the political form of independence-the socalled 'Westminster model'. With historical
hindsight it has been easy to accept the inevitability of progress, to see the chieftaincy as a doomed institution which
made sense in the context of high colonialism, but had to go when colonialism itself, for whatever reason, came to
an end.

Quite simply, they, like most of their constituents, believe that real power has its roots in the invisible world and that
therefore the cultivation of spiritual power is vital for their continued political existence. Heads of state with
spiritual advisors or private cults appear to believe that the weight of the affairs of state requires them to have access
to esoteric forms of power from which the mass of the population is excluded. All elites tend to cultivate their own
exclusive institutions, in Africa and elsewhere, in which they may socialize with their peers. African heads of state,
the evidence suggests, tend to believe in the importance of the invisible world just as their subjects do, but seek
higher forms of power commensurate with the importance of the positions they seek to defend and of the burdens
which they have to discharge.
32
Richard C. Crook
First, however, I want to examine Nkrumah's position towards the institution of chieftaincy in more detail. The
attitude of the Ghanaian state towards chieftaincy was by no means unambiguous. Some of the chiefs had been
deeply immersed in colonial patterns of governance. Therefore, the new elites - Western-educated and urbanised,
often alienated from rural or 'traditional' life - condemned the institution of chieftaincy as a reactionary force and
attempted to significantly reduce its political influence.
Why were such changes being contemplated? Because the British were planning decolonization and the aim of self
government required the cooperation of these new Westernized Africans. Decolonization as a policy rested either on
an 'unspoken assumption' that self-government required democratic legitimacy for central government which only
these African elites could deliver (Flint) or, that a deliberate pre-emption of nationalist demands was required to
avoid making the mistakes of the Indian Empire. In both variants of the argument, decolonization is a policy adopted
for imperial reasons, rather than the acknowledgement either of the intrinsic failures of Indirect Rule, or of the
power of nationalist movements.
It then becomes quite plausible to argue, even without the benefit of archival data, that by the late 1950s the British
political elite had decided that empire was finished. And it was only in this later period that the belief that political
developments could be controlled through judicious reforms and timely concessions a belief at the heart of 1940s
policy-making came to be seen as naively optimistic. What the British themselves meant by 'self government' is at
the heart of the current debate. The evidence now being presented by historians shows that 1940s policies were, at
the very least, ambiguous. Questions concerning the significance of British economic plans for the colonies, the role
of colonial dollar earnings, the priority assigned to 'viability' in social and economic terms and the degree to which
the rhetoric of self-government concealed as much as it revealed about imperial intentions cannot be disposed of by
proving that there was no neo-colonial conspiracy to fix up a 'false independence'.
In any event, officers in the field had barely got used to the idea that they were patiently building the foundations of
African self-government, when full independence was decreed. the upheavals of the 1940s were important in
causing certain responses by colonial governments, but they did not necessarily have much to do with the nationalist
elites, and do not in themselves explain the decision to abandon attempting to reform the chieftaincy. Above all,
neither of the above explanations, whether it is the 'pressure from below' thesis, or 'pressure from above', in the
shape of liberal Governors and Whitehall, helps to explain how it was possible for such changes to be made, and
made as rapidly and as smoothly as they were.
Richard C. Crook
Some of the weaknesses and contradictions in the chiefs' position had always been recognized by colonial officials,
and the solution was, by the 1940s, thought to lie in making the chieftaincy a more fully integrated part of the state
machinery. Such a development was bound to emphasize - and deepen - the chiefs', and hence the state's, lack of an
organic connection with emerging socio- economic mercantilist structures in the countryside. This was especially so
when the nature of the state had been reinforced rather than modified by the Marketing impact of war-time produce
controls and the setting up of the Cocoa Board. The weakness of the chiefs was only fully revealed when in the
crises of the 1940s they appeared incapable of either leading or suppressing the various upheavals.
33
Roger S. Gocking
A long history of interaction with Europeans gave rise to what Margaret Priestly (1969) and Kwame Daaku (1970)
have described as "Afro-European" communities. Its members were able to take advantage of their links to African
society, and at the same time to manipulate and to modify its institutions to suit their own purposes. These
"entrepreneurs and early state builders," as Henige (1977) has characterized them, established the precedent for their
successors in the twentieth century. Western education and an understanding of the emerging colonial order replaced
trading links with Europeans as the new criteria for political success, but this meant that in the southern Gold Coast
Colony, when indirect rule became the government's official policy, neither colonial administrators nor chiefs were
in a position to monopolize the invention of "tradition." how indirect rule policies fueled competition for office in
what the government described as the "native state" on the part of people who had limited claims to legitimacy.

they say, is to be found in London. According to Flint, as early as 1938-9,
and according to Pearce not until 1947, imperial policy makers decided to replace
Indirect Rule with a democratic form of self-government which
would appeal to the new African educated classes.
Richard C. Crook


Seth Tweneboah
Why were such changes being contemplated? Because the British were
planning decolonization and the aim of self government required the cooperation
of these new Westernized Africans. Decolonization as a policy rested either on an 'unspoken assumption' that self-
government required democratic legitimacy for central government which only these African elites could deliver
(Flint) or, that a deliberate pre-emption of nationalist demands was required to avoid making the mistakes
of the Indian Empire (Pearce).
Flint's argument, on the other hand, is more in line with that of historians such as Gallagher; the decision to
decolonize and the end of Indirect Rule are not permitted any connection with so-called 'nationalism', even of a pre-
emptive kind. Hence Gallagher's comment that imperial policy was the 'Frankenstein' which called forth the
'monster' of anti-colonial nationalism.
34
Following the Pax Britannica, and the implementation of indirect rule,
the chiefs were accorded more authority than they formerly had, and the role of the commoner
in government was largely overlooked. Many other changes occurred in the social structure
of the Akan from the adoption of Western religious and economic concepts.
Richard C. Crook
government, uniting executive, judicial, and religious functions. Colonial governments created parallel local
customary law, local taxation, and road maintenance with "Native Authorities"- though governors had to confirm
appointments and destooled chiefs - Nkrumah even abolished post-war Local Authority legislation and the 1951
Andreas MASSING

Anshan Li
Though the Pax Britannica rendered the military function redundant, the military origin of the asafo was always
stressed. During annual festivals, the asafo performed before the chief in order to show their strength and loyalty.
The asafo played an important role in the rituals associated with installation or deposition of a chief. They were also
involved in other religious activities. The asafo was important on account of its religious power to affect people's
status in the next world by honoring them at the funeral. Being responsible for fetching the dead body and carrying
it to the town, the asafo also performed at the funeral, drinking and dancing, accompanied by asafo songs.
The asafo also filled a wide range of social functions ranging from cooperative groups providing labor for public
works, to local units called upon in cases of emergency, which formed part of their routine duties. The asafo also
acted as guardians over the morals of their members' wives. But the most interesting function of the asafo was their
role in the traditional political structure. Having a recognized and effective way to express their opinion, asafo
members had a say not only in the election of the chief, but also in all matters affecting the state. Without their
approval, a candidate could not be elected as chief. The asafo leader was officially recognized as representative of
the commoners; elders would consider any representations he had made to them. Commoners could oppose any
unpopular measures issued by the chief, while the elders could not for fear of being accused of disloyalty, for they
were responsible with the chief for any decision. Asafo leaders had different responsibilities in different areas. In
Fante, the tufuhene was the next authoritative person after the ohene, or chief. The tufuhene could become a regent,
or even a chief himself.
Under colonial rule, the functions of the asafo underwent a great change, especially in the field of local politics.
Although the asafo represented the commoners' interests, its role received no recognition from the colonial
government. Because of ignorance, the British government at first did not interfere with the asafo company as a
political force, while they checked the chiefs authority at will. A colonial official pointed out in 1887: The Colonial
35
Government while destroying the power of the chiefs has left the company organization intact; and the captains of
the companies now arrogate to themselves an independence and freedom from restraint which formed no part of the
original scheme. Since colonial rule put an end to inter-state wars, the asafo transformed its main function from a
military one to a "public works department" and acted as a task force in particular situations. Although the duties
were always important, they now gradually became the major role of the asafo. Resistance did exist, especially
against public work.
Anshan Li
Agbodeka points out: The refusal of the Gold Coast people to permit alien
interference in their affairs caused the British one particular difficulty, among others,
that of obtaining labour, even paid labor, for public works. To solve this problem,
the government issued several ordinances.
Anshan Li
A long history of interaction with Europeans gave rise to what Margaret Priestly (1969)
and Kwame Daaku (1970) have described as "Afro-European" communities. Western education and an
understanding of the emerging colonial order replaced trading links with Europeans as the new criteria for political
success, but this meant that in the southern Gold Coast Colony, when indirect rule became the government's official
policy, neither colonial administrators nor chiefs were in a position to monopolize the invention of "tradition."
In addition, colonial rule in the Gold Coast came much more gradually. A long history of interaction with Europeans
gave rise to what Margaret Priestly (1969) and Kwame Daaku (1970) have described as "Afro-European"
communities. Its members were able to take advantage of their links to African society, and at the same time to
manipulate and to modify its institutions to suit their own purposes. These "entrepreneurs and early state builders,"
as Henige (1977) has characterized them, established the precedent for their successors in the twentieth century.
Western education and an understanding of the emerging colonial order replaced trading links with Europeans as the
new criteria for political success, but this meant that in the southern Gold Coast Colony, when indirect rule became
the government's official policy, neither colonial administrators nor chiefs were in a position to monopolize the
invention of "tradition."

Roger S. Gocking
As an indication of this, some tufuhenes and even supis,

who had provided substantial help to military expeditions against Asante,
tried to supplant the chiefly order in their towns.
In addition, the emergence of what British officials described as a "class of educated natives" played an important
role in undermining the power of Omanhens, Mantses, and other authority figures of the native state, or traditional
order, as it came to be described. The former sometimes challenged the authority of already weakened traditional
36
rulers. More ironically, at times they also contributed to the decline in traditional authority, by seeking to use native
institutions in their opposition to British policies that they believed ran counter to local interests.
The struggles that followed invariably resulted in further weakening what little effectiveness such institutions
possessed. Finally, the government's policy of promoting direct rule as much as possible seemed designed to
undermine traditional authority all over the colony.
At the turn of the century, however, a gradual volte-face occurred, as colonial policy shifted in favor of indirect rule
for even what the government called the "civilized" towns on the coast.
Officials came to realize that they needed the cooperation of the native order even in these locations. In order to
carry out the rudimentary, sanitary measures that these increasingly larger towns required, the British depended on
the cooperation of some local authority figures.
Chieftaincy in the Colonial Era

The native courts were run in accordance with what was understood to be customary law and were presided over by
chiefs and their councillors. The subjugation of the chiefs powers and the cooptation of the chiefs courts into the
colonial administration went hand in hand with the establishment of British courts in the Gold Coast.
The result was an enhancement of the asafos leaders' importance

- especially its commander-in-chief, the tufuhen - relative to the chiefs, who often acquired obstructionist
reputations. As an indication of this, some tufuhenes and even supis, who had provided substantial help
to military expeditions against Asante, tried to supplant the chiefly order in their towns.

Roger S. Gocking
For example, Tufuhen Quacoe Andor of Elmina was able to take advantage of the vacuum that developed in the
town's native order, after the British deported King Kobina Gyan in 1873. In 1884, he sought to "deprive Prince
Attah of kingship," who as "second king" had taken over after Kobina Gyan's deportation. Significantly, he based his
claims to this position on the grounds that he had government support on account of services he had "rendered" in
the war against the Asante in 1874. During the 1890s, opportunities for asafo leaders increased, as colonial officials
came increasingly to depend on native authority figures in the seaboard towns. Those, however, who had some
Western education, stood most to benefit, as they could communicate far better with British officials and carry out
their wishes.
lay in the asafos, or "companies" as they were called in English. These institutions, which in precolonial times had
provided for the community's defense, survived the imposition of British rule far better than the chiefly order (Ellis
37
1887, 280). In the militarily volatile climate of the nineteenth century, created by the ever present threat of war with
the Asante, local forces played vital roles in British campaigns against this enemy. Even after the British replaced
such forces with European and West Indian troops later in the century, the asafos officers continued to have
important roles in recruiting porters to carry munitions for campaigns in the interior. The result was an enhancement
of the asafos leaders' importance - especially its commander-in-chief, the tufuhen - relative to the chiefs, who often
acquired obstructionist reputations. As an indication of this, some tufuhenes and even supis, who had provided
substantial help to military expeditions against Asante, tried to supplant the chiefly order in their towns.
Roger S. Gocking
For example, Tufuhen Quacoe Andor of Elmina was able to take advantage
of the vacuum that developed in the town's native order, after the British deported
King Kobina Gyan in 1873. Significantly, he based his claims to this position
on the grounds that he had government support on account of services
he had "rendered" in the war against the Asante in 1874.

Roger S. Gocking
In addition, since bribery was increasing,
both in legal cases and in the election of chiefs, acceptance of bribery also became
a ground for destoolment. which included extortion, collecting unlawful tribute,
and cheating in order to get some money. General mismanagement could
also lead to destoolment.

Anshan Li
Under colonial rule several changes occurred regarding the grounds for destoolment. Abuse of power became a
frequent cause of deposition, which included a chiefs exploitation of his people by means of the native tribunal or a
chiefs action beyond the limit of his authority, such as collaborating with the government in the application of
certain ordinances without consulting his people. In addition, since bribery was increasing, both in legal cases and in
the election of chiefs, acceptance of bribery also became a ground for destoolment. Many chiefs were also destooled
because of their involvement in land dealing or financial misappropriation, which included extortion, collecting
unlawful tribute, and cheating in order to get some money. General mismanagement could also lead to destoolment.
A ruler could be questioned for improper conduct that caused discontent among his subjects, elders or commoners.

The creation of Native Authorities gave chiefs some limited powers: chiefs adjudicated on a limited range of
criminal and civil matters and imposed fines on guilty parties. Native authorities became organs of local government
38
to which Native Courts were attached. They employed their own police force and even operated local jails. The
native courts were run in accordance with what was understood to be customary law and were presided over by
chiefs and their councillors.
British laws were superimposed on local traditional modes of governance through a number of ordinances. For
instance, the Native Jurisdiction Ordinance of 1878 gave statutory recognition to indigenous authorities and granted
the Governor-General the power to depose and deport recalcitrant chiefs and to suspend chiefs who abused their
powers. Also in 1883, the Gold Coast Native Jurisdiction Ordinance recognised local chiefs and their courts and
thereby further incorporated chiefs into the British colonial administration. The creation of Native Authorities gave
chiefs some limited powers: chiefs adjudicated on a limited range of criminal and civil matters and imposed fines on
guilty parties. Native authorities became organs of local government to which Native Courts were attached. They
employed their own police force and even operated local jails. The native courts were run in accordance with what
was understood to be customary law and were presided over by chiefs and their councillors. The subjugation of the
chiefs powers and the cooptation of the chiefs courts into the colonial administration went hand in hand with the
establishment of British courts in the Gold Coast.
However, as Alhassan (2010) has observed, these local political units were abused by some chiefs to the extent that
many local people preferred the colonial courts to the Native Courts. In 1904, the Chieftaincy Ordinance which
succeeded the 1883 Ordinance made the Governor and not the people, the final arbiter of the validity of an election
or destoolment of a chief. Under colonial rule, in spite of their incorporation into the colonial judicial system, chiefs
were not only divested of many of their traditional powers but in some cases, some were destooled for obstructing
the conveyance of colonial justice arrangements. The chiefs hung unto their diminished status into the post-colonial
era.
The British Empire established itself and expanded largely through its incorporation of existing indigenous political
structures. A single British Resident or Political Agent, controlling a regional state through 'advice' given to the local
prince or chief, became the norm for much of the Empire. India's princely states, where from the mid-eighteenth
century the British first employed and developed this system of indirect rule, stood as the conscious model for later
imperial administrators and politicians who wished to extend the Empire without the economic and political costs of
direct annexation. In dealing with Malaya, East and West Africa from the mid-nineteenth century onward, officials
in the field and notables in London sought to justify imperial expansion and to establish indirect rule efficiently by
drawing upon the Indian example.
Indirect Rule in the British Empire:
The Foundations of the Residency System in India (1764-1858)
Michael H. Fisher

Roger S. Gocking
Institutional Discontinuity
39
To begin unravelling Henige's (1967, 164) continuity in change conundrum, we need, first, to recognize the
substantial degree of institutional discontinuity between, on the one hand, what William Bosman, a Dutch slave
trader, who spent fourteen years on the coast, depicted as the "confused and perplexed" political life of the coastal
areas in the eighteenth century and, on the other hand, twentieth century indirect rule. Towards the end of the
eighteenth century, the authority of local rulers in the coastal areas began to decline substantially.
Brodie Cruickshank, a British merchant, who wrote about his long period
of residence on the coast from 1834 to 1852, recognized how much this
"supervision" had tended to lessen "the consequence of the chiefs".
In addition, the emergence of what British officials described as a "class of educated natives" played an important
role in undermining the power of Omanhens, Mantses, and other authority figures of the native state, or traditional
order, as it came to be described. The former sometimes challenged the authority of already weakened traditional
rulers. More ironically, at times they also contributed to the decline in traditional authority, by seeking to use native
institutions in their opposition to British policies that they believed ran counter to local interests.

Roger S. Gocking
The struggles that followed invariably resulted in further weakening what little effectiveness such institutions
possessed. Finally, the government's policy of promoting direct rule as much as possible seemed designed to
undermine traditional authority all over the colony. Indeed, it seemed self-evident to many colonial officials that
within a short space of time, the remnants of what the colony's Acting Queen's Advocate, William Brandford Griffith
Junior, described as the "tottering and uncertain power of the chiefs" would shortly vanish from all over the colony,
and "we shall rule through the District Commissioners as on the coast."
Reflecting back on this period for the entire coastal area, an editor of the Accra newspaper, The Gold Coast
Independent, maintained that particularly amongst "eligibles" who were educated or Christianized, "when vacancies
occurred on stools ... [they] turned their backs on their rightful heritage and fled as if for their lives from their native
town or states ... rather than assume or succeed to the dignities of such positions" (23 April 1932).
At the turn of the century, however, a gradual volte-face occurred, as colonial policy shifted in favor of indirect rule
for even what the government called the "civilized" towns on the coast. Officials came to realize that they needed
the cooperation of the native order even in these locations. In order to carry out the rudimentary, sanitary measures
that these increasingly larger towns required, the British depended on the cooperation of some local authority
figures. Even more immediately, the difficulty that officials experienced in getting porters to carry supplies into the
interior, when war broke out with the Asante in 1895, acutely underscored the need for local authority figures in
seaboard towns like Cape Coast, Elmina, Winneba, and Accra. In these places, however, those who sought to benefit
from this change in colonial policy could take advantage of the attenuated condition of the native order to convince
officials of their legitimacy and manipulate traditional institutions to suit their own purposes.

Roger S. Gocking
40
lay in the asafos, or "companies" as they were called in English.
These institutions, which in precolonial times had provided for the community's defense, survived the imposition of
British rule far better than the chiefly order (Ellis 1887, 280). In the militarily volatile climate of the nineteenth
century, created by the ever present threat of war with the Asante, local forces played vital roles in British campaigns
against this enemy. Even after the British replaced such forces with European and West Indian troops later in the
century, the asafos officers continued to have important roles in recruiting porters to carry munitions for campaigns
in the interior. The result was an enhancement of the asafos leaders' importance - especially its commander-in-chief,
the tufuhen - relative to the chiefs, who often acquired obstructionist reputations. As an indication of this, some
tufuhenes and even supis, who had provided substantial help to military expeditions against Asante, tried to supplant
the chiefly order in their towns.

Roger S. Gocking

Due to the political climate at the time, it was virtually impossible to do research among the Africans without
listening to long discourses on political problems from many of the people. Equally significant, however, was a lack
of interest on the part of many Africans. Similarly, since they are vitally affected by recent developments, the subject
of changes in government was discussed at length by the Europeans. Before treating the question of change in the
native political structure resulting from Western political influence, a brief summary of the traditional form of
government as a background is necessary.
The southern part of the Gold Coast is comprised of approximately one hundred native states, varying in population
from two thousand to over two hundred thousand. The basic unit in Akan social and political structure is the
matrilineal clan or abusua. These clans, which vary in size from thirty to several hundred adults, theoretically or
actually trace their ancestry back to a common ancestress. The abusua observes collective responsibility, owns land
in common, and participates as a group in religious ritual.
Each native state, or oman, is composed of a number of these clans and the land they own. At the head of each
native state was the paramount chief, or omanhene, chosen from a clan designated as the royal family. It was the
privilege of this particular abusua to supply the leader of the state.
There are several chiefs, or ohen, in each state, a chief being a person who occupies an ancestral stool. A "stool" in
the Gold Coast may be equated with the European concept of the throne, with the stool of the omanhene being
supreme to all others in the state.
As a stool occupant, a chief is the earthly representative of the clan's ancestral spirits, and as such functions as a
religious as well as a political leader. In former times he was, in addition, a military leader. Assisting the paramount
chief in affairs of state were the "queen mother," who was chosen from the royal family, and the chiefs and elders of
the state. Since the omanhene was the military as well as the political and religious head, the clans were further
divided into sections or divisions on the basis of the positions occupied on the battlefield. At the head of each of
these divisions was a sectional or divisional chief who was a close advisor of the paramount chief.
41
Though the chiefs, and particularly the omanhene, were accorded a great deal of authority under the customary law
of the Akan, they were by no means autocrats. A system of checks and balances was present in the political structure
that ensured the commoner a voice in his government. The paramount chief was required to consult his advisors on
all matters of state, and each councilor in turn would meet with the elders of his own lineage to obtain their opinion.
The elders in turn were to voice the wishes of the people they represented. Major issues would be discussed at a
meeting of the entire state, where any person, commoner or chief, could state his views. It was not a matter of voting
and letting the majority rule on such occasions, but rather issues would be discussed until a course of action was
agreed upon. Due to his closeness to the omanhene, a clan chief occasionally felt his interests were more closely
allied to the royal elite than to his clansmen and might advise a course of action not favored by his followers. But the
individual Akan was not easily disenfranchised, and the social structure provided specific opportunities for him to
voice dissent. Among the coastal Akan, when the commoners believed their chiefs were not affording them adequate
risk of "destoolment," or removal from office, with the alternative choice of abdication.

In such a society the support of the people was essential, for without their cooperation, both religious and financial,
the chief could not fulfill his obligations to the stool and the ancestors. Also, the people need not accept as a chief a
man they do not favor. Thus with the power to choose or remove a chief in the hands of the people, a wise leader did
not go counter to their wishes if he wanted to retain his position. An outstanding feature of Akan social structure is
the authority and prestige accorded to age. Their proverb, "One does not pluck the feathers from a fowl before
showing it to an elder," meaning that individuals or groups should never reach a decision or take action without
consulting their elders, may be classified as a governing principle of Akan culture. Wisdom is believed to be a
concomitant of age, and young people taking active part in politics against the advice of their elders has been one of
the radical deviations from tradition. Following the Pax Britannica, the British governed the Gold Coast by "indirect
rule." This system, developed in northern Nigeria by Lord Lugard, utilized the existing political system of the
African, and customary law was allowed to prevail as long as it was not repugnant to British concepts of morality
and justice. Nevertheless, a pronounced change occurred in the position of the chief.
Formerly, the income of a chief was obtained from stool land worked by slaves, from people who traded for him,
from the gifts of subjects, court fines, market tax, and special assessments. With British control, the chiefs became
salaried. All court fines and taxes went into the treasury for the use of the state. Slavery, declared illegal, reduced the
number of people who worked for the stool. In some aspects the authority of the paramount chiefs was increased,
but often they lost prestige and the respect of their people. This was due in large part to the fact that decisions were
made by the chiefs in consultation with the British, and the latter supported the chiefs in carrying them out. Thus,
instead of the people having a voice in their own government as formerly, they would be told by their chiefs what
had been decided for them. While this considerably increased the influence of the chief in some spheres, it resulted
in the loss of popular support for many of them. Elaborate entertainment of chiefs on occasion was part of the
government's policy, a practice that did not escape the people. This led to the accusation that the chiefs were the
42
"tools of the European," and were accepting bribes to carry out the wishes of the white man. Even when bribery was
not suspected or charged, many of the people felt that since the chiefs were dependent on the British for recognition
of their position, they were too willing to acquiesce in the demands of the European. Moreover, the African soon
came to realize that the district commissioner, though theoretically an "advisor," was the actual ruler. While the
primary concern here is with the impact of a foreign political ideology, important agents of change have been the
religious and economic concepts of the white man.

between members of the same lineage.Elected officials functioning on the local level, and taking over the secular
authority formerly held by a council of chiefs and elders, is in its infancy. The inception of this program will
inevitably bring about a further decline in the position of the chief with the passage of time. Recently, however, there
has been a lessening in the hostile attitude formerly exhibited toward the chiefs by the party now in control.
The official policy in 1950-'51 was that the chiefs and the tradition surrounding them should be preserved. Political
expediency may have brought this about, since it may not be considered wise to antagonize the people by continued
attacks on the chiefs. Here it is necessary to distinguish between individual chiefs, and the tradition surrounding
chieftainship. While the people may not be in favor of the conduct of a particular stool occupant, it does not mean
they wish to do away with the position. It appears inevitable, however, that the chief as a political figure is on the
wane in the Gold Coast, but the transition will not be made rapidly. The proposed system of local government will
still have the paramount chief as the titular head, with elected officials making up the rest of the controlling body.
Due to the large number of villages and hamlets that make up every native state, the chiefs and elders at the head of
such small settlements will undoubtedly remain as the medium through which the central and local government will
rule. In a sense, it will be a perpetuation of indirect rule.
In summary, there is a large element of democracy in the indigenous culture of the southern half of the Gold Coast
which gave the commoner a voice in his own government. Customary law provided a system of checks and balances
whereby the chiefs could not become autocrats. Following the Pax Britannica, and the implementation of indirect
rule, the chiefs were accorded more authority than they formerly had, and the role of the commoner in government
was largely overlooked. Many other changes occurred in the social structure of the Akan from the adoption of
Western religious and economic concepts.

43
Communion.
Michelle Gilbert

government, uniting executive, judicial, and religious functions. Colonial governments created parallel local
customary law, local taxation, and road maintenance with "Native Authorities"-though govemors had to confirm
Andreas MASSING
subject, when viewed from the perspective of the decolonization period of the 1950s. During the 1950s, the colonial
chieftaincy in the British African colonies was abandoned by colonial governments, together with the structure of
administration known as 'indirect rule'. The change was ostensibly part of a programme of devolution of power to a
new elite of 'educated' Africans, either elected to local or central government bodies, or recruited into an Africanized
administration. By the end of the decadc beginning with the Gold Coast in 1957 local self-government by these new
groups formed the basis for a new policy of granting sovereign independence to all of the colonial territories, large
or small.
The demise of the chieftaincy has, therefore, been seen as inextricably linked to this process of decolonization, not
simply because it preceded decolonization chronologically, but because it was an integral part of the reforms which
determined the political form of independence-the socalled 'Westminster model'. With historical hindsight it has
been easy to accept the inevitability of progress, to see the chieftaincy as a doomed institution which made sense in
the context of high colonialism, but had to go when colonialism itself, for whatever reason, came to an end.
'we must aim at the development of the people along their own racial lines, and not at the wholesale replacement
of their ancient civilizations by our own ...).- Guggisberg - 1929 (The Future of the Negro)
'These Provincial Councils are really the breakwaters defending our [sic!] native constitutions,
institutions and customs against the disintegrating waves of Western civilization'- Apter, Gold Coast, 1955:
In retrospect, not unworthy ideals, and ones with which an African nationalist of the 1980s might well agree. But in
the 1920s, they justified not only the colonial administration's acceptance of the chiefs as the true representatives of
their people, but also the corollary the administration's contempt for and dismissal of educated African politicians.4
44
Even the reformed Burns Constitution of 1946 gave a majority voice to the NAs at the central level of politics. In
interpreting the post-1951 period, therefore-the period when the chieftaincy was abandoned by its former masters
and power handed over to nationalist politicians the standard literature points to such factors as the rise of mass anti-
colonial movements led by educated Africans of a 'new generation' and changes in imperial policy in the 1950s.
These factors have to be assumed to be very powerful, insofar as they overthrew the apparently immutable alliance
of chiefs and administration with which the period opened.

The explanation for the demise of the chieftaincy, they say, is to be found in London. According to Flint, as early as
1938-9, and according to Pearce not until 1947, imperial policy makers decided to replace Indirect Rule with a
democratic form of self-government which would appeal to the new African educated classes. They, and other
historians, point to a scepticism about the chieftaincy in London circles epitomized by such comments as: 'Africans
cannot be preserved as interesting museum exhibits' indefinitel and (in relation to the Governor of Sierra Leone) that
the Governor 'ought to get off his high horse and remember that you can't do the 'Sanders of the Rivers' stuffin
Freetown'.
Why were such changes being contemplated? Because the British were planning decolonization and the aim of self
government required the cooperation of these new Westernized Africans. Decolonization as a policy rested either on
an 'unspoken assumption' that self-government required democratic legitimacy for central government which only
these African elites could deliver (Flint) or, that a deliberate pre-emption of nationalist demands was required to
avoid making the mistakes of the Indian Empire (Pearce). In both variants of the argument, decolonization is a
policy adopted for imperial reasons, rather than the acknowledgement either of the intrinsic failures of Indirect Rule,
or of the power of nationalist movements. Particularly in Flint's arguments, the reasons for a decolonization decision
in 1938-9 remain obscure.
Pearce's case rests more solidly on the widely acknowledged significance of the 1947 Report on African Policy
produced for the Colonial Office by Cohen and Caine. He asserts that 1947 must be seen as a turning point, when
Indirect Rule was abandoned and a 'consistent and conscious strategy of decolonization emerged.'? The reason was
simply a recognition of the political inevitability of independence; only the timing remained to be determined, and
for this the British were prepared to respond to the fledgling nationalists' successes at building mass support for
independence. Flint's argument, on the other hand, is more in line with that of historians such as Gallagher; the
decision to decolonize and the end of Indirect Rule are not permitted any connection with so-called 'nationalism',
even of a pre-emptive kind. Hence Gallagher's comment that imperial policy was the 'Frankenstein' which called
forth the 'monster' of anti-colonial nationalism.

Richard C. Crook

government, uniting executive, judicial, and religious functions. Colonial governments created parallel local
customary law, local taxation, and road maintenance with "Native Authorities"-though govemors had to confirm
45
Andreas MASSING

Due to the political climate at the time, it was virtually impossible to do research among the Africans without
listening to long discourses on political problems from many of the people. Equally significant, however, was a lack
of interest on the part of many Africans. Similarly, since they are vitally affected by recent developments, the subject
of changes in government was discussed at length by the Europeans. Before treating the question of change in the
native political structure resulting from Western political influence, a brief summary of the traditional form of
government as a background is necessary.
The southern part of the Gold Coast is comprised of approximately one hundred native states, varying in population
from two thousand to over two hundred thousand. The basic unit in Akan social and political structure is the
matrilineal clan or abusua. These clans, which vary in size from thirty to several hundred adults, theoretically or
actually trace their ancestry back to a common ancestress. The abusua observes collective responsibility, owns land
in common, and participates as a group in religious ritual.
Each native state, or oman, is composed of a number of these clans and the land they own. At the head of each
native state was the paramount chief, or omanhene, chosen from a clan designated as the royal family. It was the
privilege of this particular abusua to supply the leader of the state. There are several chiefs, or ohen, in each state, a
chief being a person who occupies an ancestral stool. A "stool" in the Gold Coast may be equated with the European
concept of the throne, with the stool of the omanhene being supreme to all others in the state.
As a stool occupant, a chief is the earthly representative of the clan's ancestral spirits, and as such functions as a
religious as well as a political leader. In former times he was, in addition, a military leader.
Major issues would be discussed at a meeting of the entire state, where any person, commoner or chief, could state
his views. It was not a matter of voting and letting the majority rule on such occasions, but rather issues would be
discussed until a course of action was agreed upon. Due to his closeness to the omanhene, a clan chief occasionally
felt his interests were more closely allied to the royal elite than to his clansmen and might advise a course of action
not favored by his followers. But the individual Akan was not easily disenfranchised, and the social structure
provided specific opportunities for him to voice dissent.

46
risk of "destoolment," or removal from office, with the alternative choice of abdication. In such a society the support
of the people was essential, for without their cooperation, both religious and financial, the chief could not fulfill his
obligations to the stool and the ancestors. Also, the people need not accept as a chief a man they do not favor. Thus
with the power to choose or remove a chief in the hands of the people, a wise leader did not go counter to their
wishes if he wanted to retain his position.
Social disorganization provided colonial administrators with the opportunties to invent traditions and then create an
order that suited imperial needs. In the late nineteenth century, by contrast, when the British were imposing colonial
rule on the Gold Coast's coastal area, the area of Henige's research, "state crystallization" was much further
advanced than in East or Southern Africa, the region on which Ranger has focused. The Asante empire in the interior
was an obvious indication of this, but as James Sanders (1980, 280) has indicated, Fante states were also
"crystallizing" in the littoral, an activity that contributed to a far-ranging process of "Akanization" in this area.
Martin Chanock (1985) has taken Ranger's insights furthest with his investigations of the invention of customary
law.


Roger S. Gocking
Brodie Cruickshank, a British merchant, who wrote about his long period of residence on the coast from 1834 to
1852, recognized how much this "supervision" had tended to lessen "the consequence of the chiefs". In addition, the
emergence of what British officials described as a "class of educated natives" played an important role in
undermining the power of Omanhens, Mantses, and other authority figures of the native state, or traditional order, as
it came to be described.
The former sometimes challenged the authority of already weakened traditional rulers. More ironically, at times they
also contributed to the decline in traditional authority, by seeking to use native institutions in their opposition to
British policies that they believed ran counter to local interests. The struggles that followed invariably resulted in
further weakening what little effectiveness such institutions possessed.
Finally, the government's policy of promoting direct rule as much as possible seemed designed to undermine
traditional authority all over the colony. Indeed, it seemed self-evident to many colonial officials that within a short
space of time, the remnants of what the colony's Acting Queen's Advocate, William Brandford Griffith Junior,
described as the "tottering and uncertain power of the chiefs" would shortly vanish from all over the colony, and "we
shall rule through the District Commissioners as on the coast."
Roger S. Gocking
The demands of centralised states which were becoming important for the complex politics among the Ga and
their neighbours.1 There is therefore a correlation between the advent of chieftaincy and Asafo war culture. Asafo
and chieftaincy were the two new politico-military institutions necessary for the emerging centralised socio-political
organisations
47
Integration and Adaptation:
A Case Study of La and Osu Asafo Religious Culture
- Abraham Akrong

Kwasi Konadu
In 1947 the Asante Youth Association (AYA) was created by nkwankwaa or subordinates to chiefly authority
without prospect of political office, and AYA became the driving force behind the creation of the National Liberation
Movement (NLM) launched in Kumase in 1954, which struggled with Kwame Nkrumahs Convention Peoples
Party (CPP). The NLM was established on 19 September 1954, and it demanded Asante self-determination in the
form of an autonomous Asante within the Gold Coast configuration or Asante secession. This demand clashed with
the anticipated blueprint of a Ghana republic that did not afford Asante special parliamentary consideration, a
blueprint worked out with the British government.

And Chieftaincy in the Gold Coast
Richard C. Crook
subject, when viewed from the perspective of the decolonization period of the 1950s.
The Christian Executioner

Communion.
Michelle Gilbert

The Akuapem king, Nana Addo Dankwa III, has often asserted his desire for a synthesis between the Presbyterian
Church and Akan chieftaincy and 'traditional' religious practice. Urging selec- tive and creative incorporation of
disparate elements from both, he says he wants to take traditional libation into the Church and that the ancestral cult
should be accepted as a traditional way of praising stools. He acknowledges that the act of sacrifice to the ancestors
is not Christian and that belief in lesser deities is 'polytheistic', but until the state ceases to demand it, he as king
must play his kingly role. Nevertheless he hopes that those rites which are 'heathenish', which separate chieftaincy
from Christianity, will be merged with those that are Christian.
Michelle Gilbert
48
civilized and Christianized. Perempeh died in May 1931 and was succeeded by Osei Agyeman Perempeh II as
Kumasehene, and at the restoration of the Asante Confederacy in 1935, Perempeh II became the first Asantehene
under British colonial rule and created of several new stools, including the Nkabmu and Nkab- mu Kyeame
Stools. The Confederacy councils second session included the abolition of all nkwankwaahene (young men
leader) positions.
Kwasi Konadu

Ghana governments are another factor of modernity by its attempts at undermining the institution of chieftaincy,
religious functions. Colonial governments created parallel local government institutions to diminish chiefs'
political roles. While British indirect rule left limited functions like customary law, local taxation, and road
maintenance with "Native Authorities"-though govemors had to confirm appointments and destooled chiefs-
Nkrumah even abolished post-war Local Authority legislation and the 1951 Native Authority Law, the 1959 Chiefs'
Recognition and 1961 Chieftaincy Acts further reduced chiefly authority. But no government dared nationalize stool
lands, confiscate royalties, or abolish chiefs' judicial role even though all tried to dismember the institution.
Andreas MASSING

structures of organization with its own bylaws. Indeed, the asafo was a well-structured
military organization that had its own flag, song, drums, horns, caps, emblems and its own post,
the rallying place of the company, where all its paraphernalia were kept. This, without a doubt,
was the asafo that existed in pre-western educational era.
Seth Tweneboah

In many societies of pre-colonial Africa rulers were endowed with sacred duties, such as causing rain to fall and
crops to grow, and charged with upholding the cosmic order generally. In such societies any major disorder in the
invisible sphere was held to have a probable or even an inevitable effect on the physical fortunes of the community
of believers. By the same token, any major event, such as a war, a famine or an untimely death, was believed to have
its root cause in the invisible world. Even in the so-called stateless societies of old Africa, where village chiefs or
councils of elders were responsible for the routine administration of government, real public authority actually lay
with ritual experts who mediated between the visible and invisible worlds. An example of this is the Poro society of
Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Even in North Africa temporal rulers were expected to possess baraka, a power
which came from the invisible world and which alone would ensure worldly success.
Quite simply, they, like most of their constituents, believe that real power has its roots in the invisible world and that
therefore the cultivation of spiritual power is vital for their continued political existence. Heads of state with
49
spiritual advisors or private cults appear to believe that the weight of the affairs of state requires them to have access
to esoteric forms of power from which the mass of the population is excluded. All elites tend to cultivate their own
exclusive institutions, in Africa and elsewhere, in which they may socialize with their peers. African heads of state,
the evidence suggests, tend to believe in the importance of the invisible world just as their subjects do, but seek
higher forms of power commensurate with the importance of the positions they seek to defend and of the burdens
which they have to discharge. It is common to tenure of great power in all cultures that it imposes on its holders
choices weightier than those facing most of their subjects, and that this takes power-holders into an exclusive moral
realm. In fact, the religious practices of the mighty in Africa, esoteric though they might be, are usually known to the
population. In the days before press freedom became general in the continent in the 199os, elite activities of this sort
were favourite subjects of popular debate through radio trottoir. Religion
and Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa

Blessings Chinsinga
Who are chiefs and where does their authority and legitimacy come from? These are extremely difficult questions to
address mainly because of the variegated experiences the institution of chieftaincy has been subjected to in the last
hundred years or so across the African continent. Both colonial and postcolonial regimes have in different ways, and
for various strategic considerations, mutated the shape and form of customary authorities. The tendency for colonial
authorities was to replace non-compliant and rebellious chiefs with handpicked loyalists regardless of their status in
their respective communities in a bid to facilitate the processes of subjection and domination. In the postcolonial
regimes, changes have included either the introduction of appointment or election systems for chiefs. Chiefs are
appointed by the government or elected on a competitive basis by members of a community. In extreme cases, the
chieftaincy has either been suspended or abolished altogether.
from generation to generation. Tradition among other things entails outlooks on life, values, practices and ways of
relating or resolving disputes including various institutions inherited from previous generations. For this reason,
Owusu (1997) and Senjonyo (2004) argue that every society in this world is traditional in as much as it maintains
and cherishes values, practices, outlooks and institutions bequeathed to it by previous generations.
organizations which is based on lineage and quite key to the continuity of societies" (Soiri 2002: 8). As a social-
political expression of local African social organizations, chieftaincy entails power and influence which incumbents
wield over a distinct territorial unit occupied by a largely homogenous people sharing more or less a common
culture, social values and aspirations. This means that a traditional leader cannot exist without adistinct territory and
a socio-political organization over which he exercises governance, power, authority and influence.
have about 100 to 2000 people organizing various aspects of their livelihoods such as agriculture, woodlands and
50
clans (Lule 1995).

Blessings Chinsinga
We are the people:

Chieftaincy in the Pre-colonial Era
Before the arrival of the Europeans on the shores of contemporary Ghana, community life was organised by and
revolved around the leaders or heads of the local communities. The leaders were invariably individuals who led their
people to or rescued them from war, liberated them from domination or slavery, united them against divisive
occurrences, saved them from a succession of calamities or founded the settlements. The leaders were men and
women who had distinguished themselves by some outstanding or unique achievement in their communities. The
fundamental role of a chief was and still is the protection of his people, ensuring orderly development of his
community and holding in trust the communities commonwealth. In the traditional arrangement therefore, chiefs
were land owners, army generals, law makers and enforcers, judges and the moral epitome of their communities.

British laws were superimposed on local traditional modes of governance through a number of ordinances. For
instance, the Native Jurisdiction Ordinance of 1878 gave statutory recognition to indigenous authorities and granted
the Governor-General the power to depose and deport recalcitrant chiefs and to suspend chiefs who abused their
powers. Also in 1883, the Gold Coast Native Jurisdiction Ordinance recognised local chiefs and their courts and
thereby further incorporated chiefs into the British colonial administration. The creation of Native Authorities gave
chiefs some limited powers: chiefs adjudicated on a limited range of criminal and civil matters and imposed fines on
guilty parties. Native authorities became organs of local government to which Native Courts were attached. They
employed their own police force and even operated local jails. The native courts were run in accordance with what
was understood to be customary law and were presided over by chiefs and their councillors. The subjugation of the
chiefs powers and the cooptation of the chiefs courts into the colonial administration went hand in hand with the
establishment of British courts in the Gold Coast. However, as Alhassan (2010) has observed, these local political
units were abused by some chiefs to the extent that many local people preferred the colonial courts to the Native
Courts. In 1904, the Chieftaincy Ordinance which succeeded the 1883 Ordinance made the Governor and not the
people, the final arbiter of the validity of an election or destoolment of a chief. Under colonial rule, in spite of their
incorporation into the colonial judicial system, chiefs were not only divested of many of their traditional powers but
in some cases, some were destooled for obstructing the conveyance of colonial justice arrangements. The chiefs
hung unto their diminished status into the post-colonial era.
Chiefs in the Post-colonial Era
51
In the immediate post colonial era (1957-1966), the attitude of the national leadership towards chieftaincy was not
unambiguous. The Young Turks the new Western educated and urbanized elites who had fought for independence
of the Gold Coast were persons alienated from rural traditional life and had little sympathy for the chieftaincy
institution which they regarded as reactionary or a lackey of colonialism. Kwame Nkrumah, the leader of the young
nation came to this conclusion following his violent encounters with some chiefs during the struggle for political
independence. In spite of this, he had to live with the chieftaincy institution because that was one of the conditions
for granting the Gold Coast independence by the British. However after the Gold Coast had been granted
independence, Nkrumah destooled, enstooled or elevated chiefs depending on where their political sympathy laid.
For instance, in an attempt to curtail the power of the Asantehene (the King of the Asante), he created a new region
(Brong Ahafo) out of the old Ashanti Region. Although he argued that this new region was created merely for
administrative convenience, students of chieftaincy politics in Ghana are in no doubt that Nkrumah did this to
weaken the power base of the Asantehene who constitute a threat to his power. Today, the nation still lives with the
chieftaincy problems caused by the creation of this new region.
We are the people:

In spite of his generally hostile attitude towards chieftaincy, Nkrumah found its symbolic trappings so irresistible
that he expropriated some of these to carve out a national patrimony which served to legitimize the new state by
positioning it at the spiritual and moral junction of the past and the modern. Consequently, Nkrumah for instance,
caused the embossment of the insignia of chieftaincy into the national coat-of-arms; during his inauguration into
office, Nkrumah swore the oath of office holding a specially crafted State Sword just as chiefs do; then the then
Chief Justice, in a traditional fashion, sat Nkrumah three times on a custom-designed State Stool to complete the
inauguration ceremony. Later, in a strong affirmation of the fact that he was the rex regnorum, Nkrumah created the
office of the State Linguist who recited his appellations before he broadcast to the nation. Towards the end of his
reign, he expropriated the royal title OSAGYEFO (the peace maker), a title reserved for the paramount chief of the
Akyem Abuakwa traditional state. Thus, by 1966 when he was overthrown, Nkrumah had fully incorporated
chieftaincy usages and nuances into governance even more than the colonial administration had done. The paradox
is that although he was anti-royal, he was also a champion of African Personality, an ideology that sought to project
the African image in international affairs. And he found in chieftaincy a veritable channel to pursue this African
renaissance.

Beyond the colonial inheritance and the provisions of the current constitution, the question has been frequently
asked: How come that in a secular and centralized state such as Ghana, chiefs continue to refer to their kingdoms,
their lands and their subjects without any reaction from government? The answer to this question lies in the
national psyche.
In the colonial era, the authorities were in the habit of referring to traditional authorities as natural rulers. This
reference obviously denoted some sense of artificiality and illegitimacy of colonial governance. However, what is
interesting is that long after colonial rule, contemporary political functionaries in Ghana still refer to traditional
authorities as natural rulers or at least behave towards them as such. The implication of this is that our political
functionaries do not see themselves as such even when they have been duly elected into office through democratic
processes and backed by a constitution which is supposedly the sovereign will of the people. Does this not betray a
sense of artificiality and illegitimacy or both in the psyche of Ghanas post-colonial rulers? It may be argued that in
the psyche of modern political functionaries and the generality of Ghanaians, there is something untraditional
about the so-called democratic processes that usher politicians into elective positions: the bulwark of democratic
52
governance periodic elections and viable political parties are clearly not features of traditional societies in
Ghana.
In that regard, it is not only the elected politicians who covertly and overtly contest the legitimacy of their positions
but also the ordinary people. It is instructive that in many regions and districts in Ghana today, some paramount
chiefs command more respect than regional ministers and district chief executives; and in the same breath some
chiefs have greater capability for social mobilization than many political appointees. This is why in Ghana most
persons aspiring to elective national offices (especially the presidency and the legislature) do their utmost to seek the
support of prominent chiefs in the country or in their communities. The current campaign for the presidential
primaries of the ruling party in Ghana is a case in point.
We are the people: Ghanaian chiefs
and the politics of contestation.

The ahenpa asafo of Abakrampa has its own bosom (deity) which is the asafo okyen (drum) itself called Ekyen
Kweku, with its own komfo. However, since there has not been any successor to the late komfo, the oman komfo
performs for the asafo. Again, the intertwined relationship between the asafo and the oman becomes evident. There
is also the belief that other asafo insignia such as stool and abaa (whip) are themselves abosom and thus can get
people possessed and make them their akomfo. The okomfo always moves with the asekanmba wing of the asafo
who lead and pave the way for the company in all endeavors.
Brigid M. Sackey

micro-level (local spirit cult, village, lineage) to macro-level (chiefdom or state). While the contributions deal with
specific polities such as Nzima (2), Efutu (2), Bono (1), Baoule (2) and Ashanti (2), few deal with "integration by
conquest" which was the dominant model of Akan expansion in the past. Chouin argues that cross-ethnic region-
wide associations are neglected by research on ruling groups, and that change from matrilinear to patrilinear
succession in Eguafo, NW of Elmina, occurred through such groups. The 17th century wars led kings to give their
sons the leadership and appoint them, rather than their sister's sons, as successors, under the influence of rival
brothers and French missionaries as princely educators. This century saw the takeover of the Nsona from the Anona
clan and transmission of the stool to their sons.

53

Seth Tweneboah
The asafo, wrote its captains, "are fighting for their primordial rights."
British observers recognised the asafo's role but strongly disapproved, fearing
that the affair was "being used to drive home the unsound principle that government
by the people means blind obedience by their 'ruler' to the will of a mass meeting"
(West Africa 13 December 1924).
Dominic Fortescue
Regarding the asafo's attempted destoolment of the Ga mantse in Accra in 1924, the governor explained why the
government should stand firm in dealing with the asafo: it is clearly the duty of the administration not to confirm a
deposition which has been conducted irregularly and without justifiable cause. To act otherwise would be to
encourage the wholesale destoolment of head chiefs, an evil which is already sufficiently great to be serious.
To analyze this accusation of irregularity, several factors have to be considered. First, the British officials did not
quite understand precolonial political institutions in the Gold Coast, as they considered the young men, or the asafo,
as insignificant in local politics. Early in 1913, Governor Clifford observed that under the curiously democratic
native constitution, a Chief who abuses his powers to an extent sufficient to arouse popular indignation against him,
is liable to be destooled, and that destoolment is now-a-days by no means an uncommon practice.
The word "curiously" reflected the governor's understanding. He also noted the threat of the asafo to the chiefly
power, "if the asafo is allowed to exert ... its authority in opposition to that of the chiefs, it will be impossible for the
latter to carry out the administration of the tribe." He noticed the rise of the "'young men'-who are the third estate" in
traditional kingdoms and thought "in the actual management of the little kingdom they hitherto have had no real
voice." He insisted that the effective administration "can only be carried on by us through the agency of the native
system of tribal government." In 1919, a report was sent to the governor claiming that there was "a marked tendency
on the part of the asafo to usurp powers it was never intended they should possess," and that the young men were
trying to "destroy the existing form of power."
Nor did they understand the symbolic meaning of the stool. After the establishment of British rule, the process of
enstoolment or destoolment became less regular because of interference from the government. The governor or the
provincial commissioner, who knew very little about the indigenous system, began to destool disloyal chiefs or
punish rebellious elders at will.
the Ga people had no custom of destoolment. A mantse (paramount chief) was made a mantse by a magical
process that could not be undone. He could not be destooled and replaced by another mantse. He could be removed
by killing or desertion, according to the degree of his misconduct.

54
Anshan Li
In the Krobo state, destoolment was also a new phenomenon. The paramount chief of Manya Krobo once stated:
"We do not recognize destoolment in Krobo as there are no cases in our history. No Konor (paramount chief) has
ever had the misfortune of being destooled."
In the 1930s, however, Manya Krobo, Yilo Krobo, Shaim and Osudoku all decided to adopt the practice of
destoolment of the Akan states. By the 1940s the asafo company became very active in the Krobo state. At the end
of 1948, the asafo company's involvement in local politics in Yilo Krobo caused alarm from the government. Eight
asafoiatsemei and nine sipim (asafo captains), together with other elders, sent a petition to the governor, protesting
the payment of levy. They complained that the native authorities collected taxes for five years from herbalists, fetish
priests, and girls who had reached the age of puberty, and there was a "double system of taxation on palm oil and
palm wine and also on timber," yet "the condition of affairs in the state of Yilo Krobo has grown progressively
worse" and "the Authority have done nothing whatsoever to improve the standard of life of the people." They
therefore requested "an immediate investigation into Yilo Krobo Native Authorities account and financial affairs."
The criticism of the asafo's irregularity and the frequency of destoolment calls into question the legitimacy of
destoolment. How could the asafo companies arrogate their powers? What is the justification for the asafo
company's constant challenge to the established authority?
These questions lead to another issue: the legitimacy of the asafo's activities. Not only does an authority need
legitimacy, as Max Weber argues, but the process of offering power or depriving power also needs legitimacy.
According to customary law, it is the right of those who elect the chief to destool him when they find him no longer
suitable for the position.
to and cooperation with the government

became the essential requirement for newly elected chiefs.
For example, it was a common practice for the government to appoint the chief for important areas in Asante,
especially after the 1900 Uprising. According to the Chiefs Ordinance issued in 1904, when the election or
deposition of a chief was questioned, the governor had the final say, which was not subject to challenge in the
courts.This power threw some doubt, however, on the legitimacy of the chiefs position. Regarding a destoolment
that occurred at Bekwai, the commissioner in charge of the investigation reported: In the case of Bekwai, for
instance, the "youngmen," that is to say the lower classes, those who were not Elders, complained that they were not
consulted in the choice of the Headchief, that they did not respect him in Bekwai itself, or when he visited the
villages, and to a man they refused to serve him. The Elders remarked that "One cannot be a chief without subjects.
If we support the Headchief we shall be alone. The whole of the youngmen refuse to serve the Headchief and we
support them.
Although the government claimed many times that the content and operation of the traditional political system
should remain intact, yet there was an inherent dilemma in their intention and practice. By promoting certain chiefs
and punishing others, the government had already breached the mechanism of the very structure they wanted to
keep. The sacred notion of chiefly power was weakened and a chief was regarded as a mere mouthpiece of the
governor or a local administrator, rather than as a paramount leader of his people.
The image problem worsened by the abuse of chiefly power. A more important change occurred in the chiefly power
and the institutional channels through which the authority was exercised. Except for the loss of power to wage war
or to inflict capital punishment, chiefs now enjoyed a more secure authority within the colonial administration. A
chiefs authority over his people increased, while at the same time it became less legitimate and less acceptable. This
seemingly contradictory situation resulted from two circumstances: the weakening of the traditional checks from his
people and elders, and the military backing by the govemment. A chief now cared much more about the favor of the
55
government than the support of his people. If the elders' indifference could be regarded as a passive resistance, the
asafo's posture was more active and initiative.

in Colonial Southern Ghana, 1900 1953
Anshan Li
The asafo leaders seemed to take it as their responsibility to represent the commoners and to guard their interests.
Also, they were quite confident of their legitimate right. In an interview with the secretary for native affairs, one of
the asafo leaders in Accra stated the following theory of the constitution: The Stool of Accra belongs to the
asafoatsemei and Manbii (townspeople). The Mantse is merely a caretaker. A Mantse reigns, but never rules. A
Mantse is not responsible for the actions of his people. If his people ask him to do a thing, he has only to do it.
This theory seems to be true, for the chief can only decide matters on which his people have agreed, as is clearly
shown in the oath and ceremony in his election.
All these interpretations ignore the impact of colonial policy on local politics. Establishing the chiefs as
administrative agents, the colonial government could back them up with warrants, orders, or police. Whenever there
was a conflict between the chief and the people, the government would try to support the chief if it was possible.
Governor Clifford stated this policy in 1914: The democratic institutions of the people cannot be safely tampered
with, but I none-the-less consider that some means should, if possible, be devised whereby Government can afford a
greater measure of support than is today available to Native Chiefs whose unpopularity is due, not to excesses or
extravagance, but to the fact that they are more enlightened and progressive than their subjects.'
He stated very clearly that "it has been the endeavor of the government to strengthen the position of the chiefs and to
support their authority over their subjects." Colonial Secretary R. Slater once said that if a chief, in attempting to
carry out a government order, was deposed, this deposition would not automatically be recognized.
The chiefs, however, knew how to take advantage of this condition. A district commissioner complained of the
difficult situation in 1934: Whenever the Chief hears any rumor that his opponents intend to do anything to which he
can take the slightest objection he rushes to the D. C., often grossly exaggerates the importance of the intended
action, and asks that Government police will stop its occurrence. . . . If strong contingents of police are rushed to the
spot and actually do cause the opposition to postpone or even abandon their intentions, then it is said that the Chief
has the full support of Goverment in anything he may do, and is, in fact, little more than a Government servant. It is
obvious that if this happens many abuses will creep in to his administration and the opinion of the people will be set
at naught. He becomes a complete autocrat.

Anshan Li
On the other hand Government is bound to assist the Chiefs in upholding their position to a certain extent and the
difficulty comes in deciding to what extent. These words disclosed the real problem of colonial rule. First, the chief
became "little more than a government servant" in his people's eyes. Second, he could now count on the government
support whenever he met a challenge from his opponent, even if the challenge was reasonable. Abusing his power,
he became "a complete autocrat." Third, the government was bound to assist the chief even if it knew that the chief
was wrong. This policy was adjusted consistently to strengthen the chiefly power, frequently bringing about a direct
confrontation between the government and the common people. Besides consolidating chiefly power, the
government was also trying to incorporate the chiefs into local administration by increasing central control. This
attempt, however, was less successful for three major reasons.
56
First, the Bond of 1844 had its impact on the government. The Bond was the first treaty signed by eight Fanti chiefs
under which they acknowledged the power and jurisdiction of the Crown. Later both the chiefs and the educated
Africans always reminded the government its rule rested not on conquest but on free agreement. Therefore the
government, often reluctantly or unwillingly, tried to leave some room for traditional authorities. Second, the Native
Jurisdiction Ordinance in 1878 did not mention the appointment of chiefs, which implied that the right was not
vested in the government but in native institutions. The amending Native Jurisdiction Ordinance in 1910
strengthened further the chiefly power by giving the traditional tribunals exclusive jurisdiction. Third, the
elimination of educated Africans from high government positions since the last quarter of the nineteenth century
created an educated group who became increasingly critical of the colonial rulers. Ironically, this constant pressure
from educated African put the chiefs in an advantageous bargaining position while dealing with the governmento
preserve their power.
Colonial rule eroded the checks and balances within the indigenous power structure. As Simensen correctly points
out, "a reduction of the democratic element in the traditional constitution was a necessary precondition for
establishing the chiefs as effective administrative agents." This breakdown of traditional political mechanisms
resulted in serious abuse of chiefly power and misconduct in financial matters, such as the expropriation of stool
land and money or extortion in native tribunals became very serious. During the 1920s, there were thirteen
destoolments of chiefs whose charges were detailed in Government Gazette. Among the thirteen deposed chiefs,
twelve were charged for economic offenses. On average, each chief was charged with nearly four financial
misdeeds.
This problem was worsened by two other factors. First, there was neither a distinction between the chiefs' personal
income and the stool revenue, nor any system of control to ensure their expenditureshould be on public purposes. In
the 1930s, various reports revealed that many disturbances resulted from the dissatisfaction which the asafo felt at
not being consulted before any expenditure. It was they who were to be ultimately responsible for the payment.
Second, owing to the lack of normal incomes and adequate funds to maintain their prestige, chiefs continued to
depend on fines from native courts and revenue from stool lands, which resulted in destoolment.
in Colonial Southern Ghana, 1900 1953
Anshan Li

Communion.
Communion.
Michelle Gilbert
57
Ghana governments are another factor of modernity by ist attempts at undermining the institution of chieftaincy,
religious functions. Colonial governments created parallel local government institutions to diminish chiefs'
political roles. While British indirect rule left limited functions like customary law, local taxation, and road
maintenance with "Native Authorities"-though govemors had to confirm appointments and destooled chiefs-
Nkrumah even abolished post-war Local Authority legislation and the 1951 Native Authority Law, the 1959 Chiefs'
Recognition and 1961 Chieftaincy Acts further reduced chiefly authority. But no government dared nationalize stool
lands, confiscate royalties, or abolish chiefs' judicial role even though all tried to dismember the institution.
Andreas MASSING

Colonial Secretary R. Slater once said that if a chief, in attempting to carry out a government order, was deposed,
this deposition would not automatically be recognized.124 The chiefs, however, knew how to take advantage of this
condition. A district commissioner complained of the difficult situation in 1934: Whenever the Chief hears any
rumor that his opponents intend to do anything to which he can take the slightest objection he rushes to the D. C.,
often grossly exaggerates the importance of the intended action, and asks that Government police will stop its
occurrence. . . . If strong contingents of police are rushed to the spot and actually do cause the opposition to
postpone or even abandon their intentions, then it is said that the Chief has the full support of Govemment in
anything he may do, and is, in fact, little more than a Government servant. It is obvious that if this happens many
abuses will creep in to his administration and the opinion of the people will be set at naught. He becomes a complete
autocrat. On the other hand Government is bound to assist the Chiefs in upholding their position to a certain extent
and the difficulty comes in deciding to what extent. These words disclosed the real problem of colonial rule. First,
the chief became "little more than a government servant" in his people's eyes. Second, he could now count on the
government support whenever he met a challenge from his opponent, even if the challenge was reasonable. Abusing
his power, he became "a complete autocrat." Third, the government was bound to assist the chief even if it knew that
the chief was wrong. This policy was adjusted consistently to strengthen the chiefly power, frequently bringing
about a direct confrontation between the government and the common people. Besides consolidating chiefly power,
the government was also trying to incorporate the chiefs into local administration by increasing central control. This
attempt, however, was less successful for three major reasons.
Colonial rule eroded the checks and balances within the indigenous power structure. As Simensen correctly points
out, "a reduction of the democratic element in the traditional constitution was a necessary precondition for
establishing the chiefs as effective administrative agents." This breakdown of traditional political mechanisms
resulted in serious abuse of chiefly power and misconduct in financial matters, such as the expropriation of stool
land and money or extortion in native tribunals became very serious. During the 1920s, there were thirteen
destoolments of chiefs whose charges were detailed in Government Gazette. Among the thirteen deposed chiefs,
twelve were charged for economic offenses. On average, each chief was charged with nearly four financial
misdeeds.
58

Asafo Pax Britannica

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Asafo Pax Britannica

Uploaded by

Copyright:

asafo company:

urban clan & cult -

Union Jack CEOs

c. 1300, "head, leader, captain; the principal or most

how close the Ashantis conceive the bond to be that

The positions of stool occupant (ohene: chief) and abusua panyin

The Christian Executioner:

Following the Pax Britannica, and the implementation of indirect rule,

An inquiry into the origin and development of a Ghanaian institution

Asafo and Destoolment

African Political Systems: Indirect Rule and

Asafo and Destoolment

Without their approval, a candidate could not be elected as chief.

African Political Systems: Indirect Rule and

African Political Systems: Indirect Rule and

A colonial official pointed out in 1887: The Colonial Government

I use the term commoners to designate persons not holding a formalized

I use the term commoners to designate persons not holding a formalized

As a well-organized group, the asafo had its own hierarchical

Report on the Eastern Province for the year 1930

In some cases, as among the gerontocratic Ga people of the

We are the people:

The landlessness of the state makes it vulnerable to the dictates of chiefs.

Asafo and Christianity: Conflicts and Prospects

Asafo and Christianity: Conflicts and Prospects

Asafo and Destoolment

The basic unit in Akan social and political structure is

A Kwahu correspondent to the Gold Coast Leader complained that

Asafo and Destoolment

African Political Systems: Indirect Rule and

The Sacred Nature of

Asafo and Destoolment

The Role of Alcohol

The Accra Crowd, the Asafo, and the Opposition

The Accra Crowd, the Asafo, and the Opposition

Religion and Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa

As a stool occupant, a chief is the earthly representative of

We are the people:

We are the people:

Tradition and Modernity:

African Political Systems: Indirect Rule and

As a well-organized group, the asafo had its own hierarchical

Asafo and Destoolment

Indirect Rule in the Gold Coast

Asafo and Destoolment

Asafo and Destoolment

The asafo company therefore took on

Asafo and Destoolment

Valsecchi, Pierluigi & Viti, Fabio

Asafo and Destoolment

Indirect Rule and Democratic Processes - 1950-51

African Political Systems - 1950-51

African Political Systems: Indirect Rule and

how close the Ashantis conceive the bond to be that

The explanation for the demise of the chieftaincy,

Tradition and Modernity:

Tradition and Modernity:

African Political Systems: Indirect Rule and

As a stool occupant, a chief is the earthly representative of

African Political Systems: Indirect Rule and

Indirect Rule and Democratic Processes - 1950-51

African Political Systems - 1950-51

African Political Systems - 1950-51

Decolonization, the Colonial State,

Valsecchi, Pierluigi & Viti, Fabio

Asafo and Destoolment