The Ashanti Kingdom , headed by Otumfuo Osei Tutu is one of the major ethnic groups in Ghana. We identify them as speakers of the Twi language as either first or second language and we equally regard them as peculiar group of people. From their traditional popular Kente cloth, Adowa cultural dance and magical local foods such as “Etor”Kumasi street foods – WHAT TO EXPECT, “Fufu”, “Kwenkwen” to other parts of their rich culture, they display a high level of uniqueness. The Japanese are known for their politeness and obedience to rules and regulations whilst the French are known for their unique habit of including bread in majority of their meals. In this article, we present to you three things the Ashantis are known for.
1. Hard work
The local Ashanti man will spend his life working hard to earn a decent living for himself and his family. As a result, it is believed that if you want to bless an Ashanti man, give him a business idea or start-up capital. He will definitely surprise you with the profit margin he is going to earn. What makes this group rather interesting is that they do not just engage in local businesses within the country, they equally toil to earn a platform internationally. They engage in several businesses at the same time; making of local leather footwear, kente weaving, buying and selling of vehicle spare parts, food businesses etc. Suame Magazine, Adanwomse Kente Village, Asafo (Kumasi’s business hub) in addition to even the Asante Kotoko Football Club are all evidence of the hard work of the Ashanti man. Kum apem a, apem beba!!!
2. Funerals
Secondly, we cannot complete this article without mentioning this aspect of the Ashanti life. Nationwide, Ashantis are known for their exquisite funerals. Unlike other tribes, Ashantis are very particular about how they pay their last respect to the dead. For instance, it is usually said the Ashanti man will always come home from whichever part of the world he finds himself, just to pay his last respect to a dead one. During this period, you would witness an intense form of mourning. Due to this aspect, we have groups of people, especially women who work as funeral “mourners”. They are paid huge sums of money to mourn the dead. It is believed that the more the mourners a person has, the more important he was when he was alive.
3. Fashion gurus
Finally, we know Ashantis to be fashion gurus. If you are avid social media follower, chances are you may have come across a new term “Kumerica”, accompanied with pictures of teenage guys dressed in “American style” and taking pictures in front of what looks like one of the most polished houses in their area. To the typical Ashanti, this is nothing because we know them to be well pimped when it comes to fashion. From children to teenagers to oldies, there is always something new to learn about their sense of fashion. No wonder we refer to their older women as “Abrewa borga”; they can really dress to kill!