It should be clear that, even during the height
of the power of the Asantehene, the king could
not serve with absolute power. He had to share
legislative and administrative power with the
large Asante bureaucracy. Nevertheless, only the
Asantehene could pronounce the death sentence.
In earlier years, the Asantehene actually went
into battle at the head of his soldiers, but during
the 19th century, the fighting was handled by the
War Ministry.
With the Asantehene, the Asante nation exer-
cised enormous bureaucratic control over its
subjects. Obirempons, the supreme judges,
alongside other administrators served to mediate
the power of the Asantehene. Although they
were “big” people, no one was bigger than the
Asantehene. The Asantehene was also the ruler
of the capital city of Kumasi; hence, he was the
Kumasehene, king of the most significant city in
the Asante nation.The Golden Stool
The Asante people developed a complex adminis-
trative, legal, and symbolic structure to support
their civil society. Thus, the Asantehene is some-
times referred to as “He who sits on the
Sika’dwa,” meaning the occupier of the Golden
Stool. It is never sat on, but the Asantehene is the
one who protects it, keeps it secure, and maintains72 Asantehene
King Otumfuo OpokuWare II arrives at his Silver Jubilee celebration in a sumptuous palanquin surrounded by twirling umbrellas
and with his retinue of 150 Asante kings and bearers (August 1995). Carried before him are the swords of state, whose handles
are covered with gold leaf. Beside the palanquin march important clan leaders. Immensely powerful in their own right, they guide
and protect their monarch when he appears before his Asante nation.
Source: Carol Beckwith/Angela Fisher.