The Ashanti Stools

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18922, 25 January 1936, Page 9

The Ashanti Stools

"TX Ashanti the stool is all important, and it. hits two functions; one as a throne, and the other .as a seat —not, an ordinary seat —but one which is only used by the head of the household," writes Captain S. E. (J. Ponder, in his book, "Soldier in the Bun."

"Every Ashanti firmly believes that the. stool, whether it: be a throne or some lesser kind of: seat, contains and holds the spirit of the owner or user. The stool is sacred and is strictly faptt, and it is the most frightful crime for one, other than Ihe owner, to sit upon it; and in (he case of a throne the penalty, in the old days, was instant death. To prevent anyone accidentally sitting on a stool, they are always kept on their sides when not in use.

"Stools are. made from the soft ■wood of the cotton tree, and, in the case of a. stool destined to become a throne, it is carved by a certain caste of men who (lie hereditary makers of such things. After the stool is finished it has to be rigorously purified, and has all sorts of ceremonies performed over it. The exact moment when the user's spirit enters it is not quite certain, but one supposes that it is when he sits on ii for the first time.

"When a king or chief dies, his stool is tit once blackened and placed in the local stool house among the others of previous chiefs or kings. This stool house is u most sacred place, for it is considered thai the spirits of the departed haunt the stools. At certain times of the year the chief or king visits this place, and witnesses sacrifices find offerings being placed before the blackened stools."