Asafo

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Asafo is the name of local warrior organizations among the Akan peoples in today's Ghana . The name is derived from Twi osa (= war, sing. Asa = wars, plur.) And ... fo (= man, sing. And plur.). But they did not only exist in the Akan societies; they were also introduced in the past among the Ga, the Guang or peoples like the Krobo.

Asafo in the coastal states

Each Asafo unit also had its own symbols: here the flag of an Asafo company of the Fantis, around 1900
Example of an Asafo flag from today: Asafo Company No. 1 from the Twifo region (western gold coast hinterland)

For the Fante and other coastal peoples of the central Gold Coast , the Asafo system was the core structure of the military units organized at the village or city level. In historical times, Europeans used the term company for these Asafo units . In today's Fanti language, these are referred to as Atsikuw or just Kuw . In the past, membership of an Asafo unit or one of its sub-units resulted automatically from membership of a patrilineal blood relationship within a place or a district. Men of foreign origin who lived in the village were free to choose their membership in an Asafo company. However, it was expected that one would join one of the Asafo units for longer stays . All cities and larger villages had one or more such Asafos , which mostly represented the clans or city districts and also had corresponding names. But this was not mandatory, sometimes the names of local neighborhoods as the names of the Asafo companies were interchangeable. The Asafo companies emerged from the Manceros , as they existed as military structures until the middle of the 17th century. The word is derived from Portuguese Mancebo (youth), in the Fanti language: Mbrantsie , but this is not only the word for youth, it was also called the fighting troops of a village or town, although the main part was male Youth of a place.

In the past, the tasks of such an Asafo company were very complex. Of course, in historical times they were the main military component of the armies and formed the actual fighting force. In addition, they were also the police within their localities or during colonial times they formed a police support force in larger towns, which was sometimes called upon to make arrests, for example, to help in the search for missing people in order to kill dangerous animals that threatened the place or z. B. also to thwart a suicide u. like. more. It was also their job to keep the immediate area clean, especially the pathways to sacred shrines, as well as important public places and buildings. Sometimes they also had a certain legal power, especially in the case of minor offenses or breaches of the Asafo oath ( Asafo Ntam ). The leader of the Asafo company in this case was the chief prosecutor, and one of the village elders was the judge. The integration of the elderly into the Asafo system is one of the peculiarities of the Asafo system in Fanti and the other coastal states and seems to be a differentiator to the Asafo systems of Asante, Akim or other Akan states. In the Fanti system, certain positions within the Asafo unit are filled by older Asafo members, such as: B. the office of the Egyanom (literally: fathers), which is occupied by older men, or that of the Asafo Nkyerebaa , which in the past could only be occupied by an older woman. Your tasks are mostly in the organizational area.

Of course, the youth capable of military service play the most active part within an Asafo company. This not only affected the male youth, young women were also organized in certain sections of the Asafos in the past . Such women's units were called Adzewa . The just mentioned office of the Asafo Nkyerebaa is also the head of the Adzewa .

In the coastal cities with European forts, the forts used to support the city forces with one or two separate Asafo companies that were subordinate to the Tufohen's high command in the field . Larger fort Asafos were usually subdivided again. A brofomba (company of fort builders (craftsmen)) and the akrampa (mulatto company) were common. With smaller forts, Brofomba and Akrampa were also combined into a single Asafo unit. In the case of the Akrampa , however, this only affected those male mulattos who did not wear European uniforms as mulatto soldiers and who were part of the European occupation. Most of the Akrampa were also volunteers.

The Alata company of the Asafo von Mouri is an exception . Its immediate origins can be traced back to a shipload of slaves that the Dutch brought over from the Bay of Biafra in 1624, probably to use them to rebuild the local, destroyed fort. In the overall system, it is also a West African variant of the usual in the historical Netherlands Schutterei see.

Another special feature of the Asafo system in Fante is the subdivision into smaller departments, the so-called Bron or Brong , which in the German military would probably be called a train, but which is not associated with a fixed number of people, but rather with the Belonging to one of the patrilineal clans. In the past, tensions had arisen several times between rival clans in the same district, i.e. within such an Asafo and also between several Asafos in a city, which sometimes culminated in a veritable gang war. This was e.g. The case, for example, in Apam 1930 or Cape Coast 1932, where several people lost their lives and the colonial authorities were forced to intervene. Since every Asafo company also has a common base in the city, the aim of this Brong division was to ensure that each clan is more or less among themselves and that the Brongs relieve each other while on duty in the station to avoid any possible tensions to prevent when performing joint duties. This structural division appeared at the end of the 18th century.

The leader of a single Asafo Brong was the Supi , while the military commander of several Asafo companies was or is the Tufohen (e) . For example, the Tufohen of Cape Coast in 1780, Captain Aggrey , was described as the general of various companies of soldiers belonging to the city within which he had great power and command . He is also described as a captain-general of the town or as a captain soldiers of the town . The Tufohen can therefore be described as the commander of the local city forces .

Examples of the names of the Brong subunits of individual Asafo companies:

    • Kormantin (Kromantse) 1645:
Bentsir ; Nkum
    • Cape Coast 1789 and 1803:
Bentsir ; Anaafo (Lower City); Ntsin ; Nkum
    • Elmina 1816:
Ankobia (historically: Ankobeafo); Akyemfo (historically: Arjemfoe); Nkodwofo (historically: Cudjofoe); Wombirfo (historically: Panjafoe); Abesefo (historically: Abesie); Alatabanfo (historically: Abadie); Anyampafo (historically: Enjampan) and Akrampafo (historically: Akranpafo); The later Maworefo unit (historically: Mbrawurafo) emerged from the Akyemfo unit. There was no Brofomba company in Elmina-Asafo before 1811.
    • Cape Coast 1859:
Bentsir ; Anaafo (Lower City); Ntsin ; Nkum ; Brofomba ; Akrampa ; Amanfor (New Town)
    • Winneba (today):
Tuafo (scouts, scouts, vanguard); Dentsifo (main body)

In today's Winneba, the competition between the city's individual Asafo Brongs is also one of the main components of the annual Aboakyer Festival.

Asafo in Akim

The or the Asafo , or completely Asafo Kyirem , was a warrior organization in Akim, the creation of which was the second decisive measure after the transfer of the capital of Akim-Abuakwa from Banso to Kyebi (now Kibi) in 1742 of the inner and to master the external threat Akim-Abuakwa faced through the strong territorial expansion following the incorporation of the Akwamu Empire after 1730.

The Asafo was in Akim-Abuakwa a two-part organization that was composed of

  1. the or the village-Asafo
  2. the or the Amantoomiensa (National-Asafo)

Village Asafo

The village Asafo comprised all men of a locality, provided they were physically capable of fighting, with the exception of office or chair holders who could be brought into any connection with the Ofori chair (up to the middle of the 19th century) .

The leader of the village Asafo was the Asafoakye , at least in times of peace and sometimes in times of war. He was appointed by the Odikro (village chief and chair owner ) and his Mpaninfoo (all chair elders, the village council of elders, the chancellor or counselors). In Fante, the village Asafo leader also held the title Supi , while his adjutant held the title Sripi . The office of Asafoakye was created mainly to mobilize and mobilize as quickly as possible in an emergency. At the instruction of the Odikro or the village elder, an Asafoakye had to call and collect by beating the Asafotwene ( twene = drum). Once assembled, the warriors immediately formed predefined combat units ( Mpasua ) and from this point on were no longer under the command of the Asafoakye , but their respective Asafohenes , i.e. H. the military commanders of their Asafo sub-units, which were usually provided by the chair holders or their advisors. Unless the chair holder has been assigned to special tasks, then the Asafoakye has already taken over this post. If not, the previous Asafoakye reverted to the position of common warrior or villager. Each Asafo unit had its own drum, its own medal, its own oath of allegiance and its own statute of law.

Amantoomiensa (National Asafo)

The or the Amantoomiensa arose from the amalgamation of the Asafo units of eight specific villages, which are located within a few kilometers around Kyebi (Kibi). These eight village contigents are subdivided into three subgroups that have historically originated and where the name comes from: Amanto is the term for the entirety of several villages and mmiensa means three. These were the following villages:

1st group:

Apapam
Afiesa (run by Apapam)
Ahwenease
Adadiantam

2nd group:

Tete (Asikam)
Pano (led by Tete)
Wirenkyirem

3rd group:

Apedwa (alone)

The or the Amantoomiensa was created to mainly use the Ofori chair or its occupant, i.e. H. to protect the king of Akim-Abuakwa, especially in the event of a sudden invasion. Instead of Amanoomiensa , the members of this unit also carried the title Ofori Nkonnwa ho asraafoo (warrior of the Ofori chair).

There is also the tradition that the origin of the Amantoomiensa goes back to the Adumpiafoo (scouts) who once accompanied the mythical king Aninkwata when he and his tribe migrated to Banso (1st half of the 17th century). It was the Adumpiafoo people who founded the town of Tete a little later near Pano. The members of the Amantoomiensa were and are for the most part members of those families who see themselves as "owners of the land" on which the later Tete was built. After Tete was built, Pano and Tete formed their own common military unit and sovereignty in the form of the Asiabrenyawafoo (patrols). In the 2nd decade of the 18th century, Apapam was added to the Amantoomiensa , which, however, formed its own military unit, which was called Kwawiredu . On the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of the Ashanti king Osei Tutu I (probably in 1718), who had been killed by the Akimers the year before, there was fear of a general attack by the Ashanti on Akim. Because of this fear, the Asafo of Apedwa also asked for admission to the league of protectors of the Ofori chair. They were accepted and since then constitute the third group within the Amantoomiensa , i.e. H. next to the Asiabrenyawafoo and the Kwawiredu . The remaining five members were only added under Ofori Panin's successor.

There was no peace between Akim and Asante between 1701 and August 1826 (Battle of Akantamansu), if one disregards the time of the death of Asantehene Osei Tutu (1718?) And the accession of Opoku Ware to the throne as Ashanti king in 1728. Only after the battle of Akantamansu, after almost 130 years of war, did some calm return. A similar situation existed between Akim and Akwamu from the middle of the 17th century, which only ended with the incorporation of Akwamus in 1730. The year 1764 in particular was badly remembered in terms of the clashes, when an Ashantine army under the leadership of Asantehene Osei Kwadwo advanced into Akim-Abuakwa and occupied the capital Kyebi. About 400 Akimers were then publicly executed, and the rest of the Akimi population that could be caught were sold into slavery. During these years of war, Akim-Abuakwa had massively rearranged and provided the Asafo companies primarily with Danish rifles, most of which were paid for in gold.

Asafo in Ashanti

From a tactical point of view, the Ashanti army was built according to the old Asiatic-Arab model and the organizational structure was based on the Egyptian-Moroccan model, thanks not least to the traditionally friendly trade contacts between the King of Asante and the Sultan ( Sherif ) of Morocco was. The main body of the Ashanti Army was made up of the Asafo units, which united the combat-capable men from a certain village or several neighboring villages or a certain city quarter. This could (but did not have to) be identical with the combat-capable men of a certain clan (the matrilineal Abusua ). The Asafos were put together in such a way that a more or less constant team strength of around 500 men was created, which, however, could be increased to up to 1000 men in exceptional cases. The leaders of the Asafo units were considered "men of the second rank" in Ashanti society and were mostly provided by the heads of those families whose members made up the majority of the Asafo . When the Ashanti army camped near Boquysewo immediately before the battle of Essemako, the Asantehene swore in 77 war captains (= leaders of the Asafo units), which amounts to an average of around 530 men per Asafo unit. In the Battle of Essemako on January 21, 1824, the British and Fantis faced around 40,000 to 50,000 Ashanti warriors. The battle ended in a crushing defeat for the British and cost u. a. also the life of the British governor at the time.

The respective Asafo , the title of the leader of an Asafo unit, had to take the following oath before the battle:

"I call on the forbidden name .... ( This is followed by the name of the king, who was otherwise forbidden to pronounce. ), I announce to the great forbidden name that if I do not go into this war and turn my back on the enemy, or if I shoot a bullet that falls too short and I do not otherwise follow it ( that is, go further ) or if I flee, I have insulted the great, forbidden name. Then I insulted the big, forbidden name of ... “
Immediately after taking the oath, the camp had to be marched off towards the enemy. From then on, the warriors' hair and beard were no longer shaved until the end of the war. The Ashanti war captains had to commit suicide if they broke their oath or if they fell into the hands of the enemy. In the latter case, you usually had a small ampoule of poison with you.

In addition to the Asafo as leader, there was also a kind of council of elders in every Asafo company, which was integrated into the military leadership structure. The lowest structures in the Ashanti army formed the so-called Fekuo units. These were purely organizational structures and comprised around 100 men each, so company strength according to European standards. Even if the Asafo units were mostly referred to as companies by the Europeans, Asafo and Fekuo were not identical. An Asafo always consisted of several Fekuo . Fekuo was also the title of leader of a Fekuo unit.

Web links

Commons : Asafo  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ English: company. Dutch: Compagnie ; Danish: Kompani
  2. ^ The Fanti dialect of the Twi
  3. ↑ English: wards
  4. ↑ When Akim is mentioned in the following, Akim-Abuakwa is primarily meant, the largest of the three Akimic sub-states, which covers approx. 2/3 of the Akimic territory. By the end of the 17th century at the latest, the former Kingdom of Akim had been divided into three chiefdoms Akim-Abuakwa, Akim-Kotoku and Akim-Bosomé.
  5. ↑ Adadientam is the name of the village in the immediate vicinity of which Kyebi (today Kibi) was founded as the new capital of Akim-Abuakwa in 1741/42. According to tradition, the place was chosen personally by Ofori Panin at the time because there was a cave in the immediate vicinity that was considered suitable to serve as a storage place for the Ofori chair. The etymology of the word "Adadientam" refers to "located with treasures" and is used as the repository of the royal chair.
  6. ↑ Ofori chair is only the name of the office, the king himself had the title Okyenhene or before 1704: Kwaebibrimhene and also Abuakwahene . The name Ofori chair goes back to Ofori Panin (Ofori the Elder), under whose leadership the Akimers emigrated from the area of ​​what was then Adansi in the period before 1704. He is the first Abuakwa chief whose existence is considered certain and is said to have died in 1727 at the age of 99. In the literature, it is believed that Ofori Panin and the then Adansehene (King of Adansi) Akora Folipan are identical. Ofori Panin is considered to be the first Okyenhene .
  7. ↑ This must not be confused with the Ankobea , the king's bodyguard, who had the ultimate responsibility for the safety of the palace and the protection of the king's person. In the Amantoomiensa one could see more of a kind of Akimic secret service.
  8. ↑ The battle of Akantamansu in August 1826 ended with the defeat of Asante and the Ashanti promise that from now on the sovereignty of all states south of Asante would be respected, which was also sealed in a treaty with the British in 1831.

swell

  • Robert Addo-Fening: Akyem Abuakwa 1700 - 1943: from Ofori Panin to Sir Ofori Atta. Trondheim 1997.
  • Anshan Li: Asafo and the destoolment in colonial Southern Ghana, 1900-1953. In: The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 28 (2), 1995, pp. 327-357.
  • Ansu K. Datta, R. Porter: The Asafo system in historical perspective. In: Journal of African History. 12 (2), 1971, pp. 279-297.
  • Alfred von Pawlikowski-Cholewa: Army history of the peoples of Africa and America. Berlin 1943.
  • JC de Graft Johnson, The Fanti Asafu. In: Africa. (London), 5 (3), 1932, pp. 307-322.