-
History of Ashanti by Otumfuo, Nana Osei Agyeman Prempeh II (Hardcover)
History of Ashanti is unusual, perhaps unique, in that it provides a long historical account of the great West African forest kingdom of Asante by a ruler of that society. Thus, it is African history written by an African king and his assistants. This is, without a doubt, a very important document for historians of Africa. It has too a much wider resonance at the present time: here the Asante ‘voice’ is speaking directly to all those across the globe who claim ancestral links to the African continent, and who are still engaged in the struggle to define, to strengthen and to assert their identities in a world that long discounted the value, or even the existence, of their historical experience.
₵712.00 -
Baffour Osei Akoto: A Royal Patriot and the Making of Ghana (Hardcover)
Foreword by President John Agyekum Kufuor
This book is primarily composed of speeches presented at the 16th edition of the annual Re-Akoto Memorial Lectures held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. The Re Akoto Memorial Lectures, instituted by His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, life patron of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) of the Ghana School of Law, seeks, amongst other things, to promote research, study and educate the citizenry on the development of Ghana’s constitutional democracy and human rights. Over the years, it has been presented by a good number of eminent Ghanaians and through which they have illuminated various spheres of life, especially issues regarding law and fundamental human rights, which are the key components that form the genesis of the famous Re-Akoto Case.
The presenters included Kwame Pianim, one of Ghana’s eminent economists; Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, then-acting Director of the Ghana School of Law; Chief Justice Kwasi Anim Yeboah and Attorney-General Godfred Dame. Prof Mike Aaron Oquaye, a veritable political scientist and accomplished politician, knitted the strains together to discuss how Baffour’s strides and successes reaffirmed the liberal democratic political philosophy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He indicated that human beings have a dignity that must be protected and that dictatorial tendencies must not be accepted. Finally, provided a historical trajectory of Ghana’s stint with an authoritarian regime focusing on the country’s post-independence one-party political system.
“Baffour excelled in this career as an Asante diplomat, a valuable repository of Asante and Ghanaian social, cultural and political history, and a defender of the power of traditional leadership in the face of the onslaught of modern post-colonial politics in Ghana.” – His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene
₵350.00 -
‘The History of Ashanti Kings and the Whole Country Itself’ and Other Writings
The History of Ashanti Kings and the Whole Country Itself is a key text for understanding the history of the great West African kingdom of Asante (now in Ghana). It is also an early–and perhaps the earliest–example of history writing in English by an African ruler and his amanuenses. It was begun in 1907 in the Seychelles on the instructions of the Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I, who had been in British captivity with his family since 1896, during which time he had acquired proficiency in English.
The chief source of information was his mother the Asantehemaa Yaa Kyaa, who possessed an encyclopaedic knowledge of the oral history of her own lineage, which was also the royal dynasty of Asante. The result is an indispensably detailed document that charts the history of the Asante monarchy from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Context is provided by the inclusion of other writings by or about Agyeman Prempeh, together with four introductory essays by the world’s leading scholars of Asante history.
This fascinating volume evokes the rich historical experience of a renowned kingdom, and is of compelling interest to all concerned with the production of indigenous historical knowledge in Africa.
₵300.00 -
The Fall of The Asante Empire: The Hundred -Year War for Africa’s Gold Coast
In 1817, the first British envoy to meet the king of the Asante of West Africa was dazzled by his reception. A group of 5,000 Asante soldiers, many wearing immense caps topped with three foot eagle feathers and gold ram’s horns, engulfed him with a “zeal bordering on phrensy,” shooting muskets into the air. The envoy was escorted, as no fewer than 100 bands played, to the Asante king’s palace and greeted by a tremendous throng of 30,000 noblemen and soldiers, bedecked with so much gold that his party had to avert their eyes to avoid the blinding glare. Some Asante elders wore gold ornaments so massive they had to be supported by attendants. But a criminal being lead to his execution – hands tied, ears severed, knives thrust through his cheeks and shoulder blades – was also paraded before them as a warning of what would befall malefactors. This first encounter set the stage for one of the longest and fiercest wars in all the European conquest of Africa. At its height, the Asante empire, on the Gold Coast of Africa in present-day Ghana, comprised three million people and had its own highly sophisticated social, political, and military institutions. Armed with European firearms, the tenacious and disciplined Asante army inflicted heavy casualties on advancing British troops, in some cases defeating them. They won the respect and admiration of British commanders, and displayed a unique willingness to adapt their traditional military tactics to counter superior British technology. Even well after a British fort had been established in Kumase, the Asante capital, the indigenous culture stubbornly resisted Europeanization, as long as the “golden stool,” the sacred repository of royal power, remained in Asante hands. It was only after an entire century of fighting that resistance ultimately ceased.
₵300.00 -
Abla Poku – The Baoulé Queen (Hardcover)
Age Range: 7 – 10 years
This colour illustrated children’s book tells the story of Abena Poku. Once upon a time, there was a mighty kingdom in the central part of ancient Ghana known as the Asante Kingdom. It had a powerful king known as Otumfuo Osei Tutu I, the Asantehene. Osei Tutu I had a niece called Abena Poku.
After some unrest Abena Poku and her people settled in the area between the Comoe and Bandama rivers in the eastern part of the Ivory Coast and founded a kingdom of their own with Abena Poku as the first queen. Her kingdom became known as the Baoulé Kingdom. Abena Poku thus founded a dynasty which has survived to date.
₵76.00 -
Abla Poku – La Reine Baoulé (Hardcover, French)
Age Range: 7 – 10 years
Ce livre illustré d’enfants illustre l’histoire d’Abena Poku. Il était une fois, un royaume puissant dans la partie centrale de l’ancien Ghana connu sous le nom de Royaume d’Asante. Il avait un roi puissant connu sous le nom Otumfuo Osei Tutu I, l’Asantehene. Osei Tutu J’ai eu une nièce appelée Abena Poku. Après quelques troubles Abena Poku et son peuple s’installèrent dans la région entre les rivières Comoe et Bandama dans la partie orientale de la Côte d’Ivoire et fondèrent un royaume avec Abena Poku comme première reine. Son royaume est devenu le royaume de Baoulé. Abena Poku a ainsi fondé une dynastie qui a survécu à ce jour.
₵65.00 -
It Happened in Ghana: A Historical Romance 1824-1971
It Happened in Ghana carries a positive message. Conceived as a literary work, it demonstrates that racial prejudice based on skin colour is not a pervasive and unalterable human condition.
The principal characters who are both Black and White are embroiled in various encounters, notably wars, slave trade, colonialism and post colonial reconstruction. Regardless of their skin colour and cultural differences, they make friends or fall in love secretly during these encounters. When they are forced to part company by the cessation of hostilities or whatever brought them together, they serve in various capacities in new locations outside their original places of domicile. They are accepted or integrated into existing social structures because of the warmth oftheir personalities and the manner in which they are able to adjust themselves to the pressures and challenges of new environments.
Changes in the circumstances of the principal characters or their descendants enable them not only to restore broken relationships but also to identify themselves with the cause of freedom and justice or to reconnect in various ways with the development aspirations of Ghana where it all started.
₵50.00 -
They Came From Ghana: The Two Worlds of Kwame and Kwabena Boaten
In this historical novel of 19th century Gold Coast, two young Ashanti boys are introduced to the unfamiliar but fascinating world of the white man. Kwame and Kwabena Boaten are eager to learn the ways of their mentors, Tedlie and Bowdich, to become doctor and administrator respectively so they can come back and help their own people. Despite the curtailment of their government sponsorship in London, they get benefactors to help them continue their education. They however have to contend with racism and bullying from Hardwick as well as inordinate hatred from Dupuis, Under-Secretary and later His majesty’s Envoy to the Guinea Coast (whose machinations dog them all their lives). How do they survive? Kwabena reminds Kwame, ‘If they attack us – we can bear rough handling. [But] they cannot break our spirit; we are Ashanti remember; and afterwards we shall carefully plan our revenge.’ Do they succeed in the face of all the odds?
Noel Smith effortlessly weaves a brilliant tale of sheer determination, ambition, intrigue, love and altruism, through the treacherous terrain of the slave trade, missionary activities and disease ridden expeditions, and historical insight.
₵50.00 -
Fly, Eagle Fly!
Age Range: 7 – 12 years
Fly, Eagle, Fly! is a charming and innovative adaptation of a Ghanaian tale attributed to Dr. James Kwegyir Aggrey – also known as Aggrey of Africa. With a foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
After a stormy night, a farmer searching for his lost calf finds a baby eagle that has been blown out of its nest. He takes it home and raises it with his chickens. But when his friend comes to visit one day, he tells the farmer that an eagle should be flying high in the sky, not scrabbling on the ground for grain. A powerful and uplifting African tale of fulfilment and freedom brought to life by stunning illustrations.₵48.00Fly, Eagle Fly!
₵48.00 -
Around Ghana: Mmo Ne Yɔ Otumfuo Osei Tutu II (Souvenir Issue, 1999)
A collector’s item. A souvenir issue of the popular Around Ghana Magazine, to commemorate the installation of the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. Published in 1999. With some memorable pictures of Barima Kwaku Dua (before and when he became Asantehene) and key Asante relics and symbols.
Contents
Front piece
The Making of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II
The Life and Times of Barima Kwaku Dua
A Bird’s Eye View of Modern Asante
₵30.00