by Suenia de Azevedo

Kumasi is part of the Ashanti region, with a specific culture in Ghana. In our third week in the Media in Ghana program, we explored more about the Ashanti culture. In our media in Ghana class during the spring of 2023, we learned about the Adinkra symbols, which represent religious concepts from the country. Besides the Adinkra symbols, the local culture of Ashanti is well-known for the Kente clothes used for formal occasions.

We left Accra on Friday and went to Kumasi on a trip of six hours. It is valid to highlight here some aspects of their culture. One main curiosity about the region is that a king governs them. Even though a man governs the Ashanti region, the process for the king to be chosen goes through the maternal lineage. The Ashanti people believe that the spirit comes from the father and the blood from the mother. That is the reason why they have a matriarchal culture.

In the Ashanti Region, the population lives in villages and speaks Twi, their local dialect. An interesting point to mention is that the region is more rural when compared to Accra. Due to that, they have agriculture as the main source of their economy. To comprehend further the Kings of the Ashanti region, we went to the King’s Palace Museum, the Manhyia Palace Museum, to learn about previous kings’ histories on an interesting tour. Besides that, we also went to the Kente place where Kente is woven. As part of the Ghanaian culture, the Kente could have one or more threads, determining their price.

By the way, Kumasi was my favorite trip in Ghana. Medaase, Kumasi! Hope to come back soon!