THE ASHANTEE KING AND HIS PEOPLE.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 250, 16 December 1873, Page 2

THE ASHANTEE KING AND HIS PEOPLE.

Thk following oc(!ou it ot 1 the Aslianteo King and his people will be of interest at me present time-. Tjatpartujular*, to fir a* they tes wt tio Aslumtee; king lorn, hsmt Iwen fur- | mVied lo tli.* Timat' correspondent on. the Gold Coast by Prime 0<»oo Aiimih, uncle of tli« Aalvintee Knij£ add an present detuned \n * kind of honoiublo oiptmtj at J^reatown, Sierra. Laoue. lie Ims viiitoil^ngl.ind : — In Ajluu^ee, the Kuig never join* f»ia army except on occasions wlten the full strength of tho Ashantee power \a to be put forth -nrl in pitrsumce of some solemn vow ; and wlien ho does so, he U always aceo'iiiumo 1 by *ome of lih greater chiefs, who never ta^e tho field except tho kin.» doeVso it person, and whose contingents largely strengthen his army. KofFee Cilcalli, fchi pres, nt King of the Ashuntees, is now in hid 3Gth your, and is the eighth monarch who has ruled over the Ash-mtces siocf the dentil of the preat Sai Tootuo, t'tt* foundur of the Ashiintee power, and the greatest of their kings arTd'Tvnrnor.s. Shi I'ootoo is the flist of the Asliantee j kiujjs of whom vie luueany eeitain record. Before hit time, tin- Asluntei-s wi-ie an obscure people, s'rugghng for power with numerous rival tribes in the interior, but at his death, which happened about tho year 1700, they ha.l obtained a complete superiority over all their neighbours, and enjoyed ti wide dominion. Alter a long career of conquest, Sai Tootoo \xn% surprised and slain by the Akini*, » ntighbouring tribe, with whom he was at war, at the baittie of Coroiuautee, which was fought on a Friday. His death is still kept fresh in the memory of the Ashanlecs, and the most awful o.ith an AshanU'e c.iii tiko is their famous oath — " \lemmda Coroinnntee," or, "Bv Coromiinu-c saturd.i\ ,' by "Inch they nn,ilj that, it they disregard it, they may be deemed to have no regret or regard for the late of Sui Tootoo. It is said that the King of Ashantee has sworn the " Meuiinda Cnromantee." oath to drive the English out of Elmine, Cape Coast, or to prolong the war for three years. Sai Tootoo was succeeded by his brother Apoo Koo. w ho consolidated the kingdom he inherited and completely subdued the Akims. During Ins reign, having attempted to abridge the feudal power of tho chief*, they revolted, and he had to fly from Cooumssie. He subse- [ qiieutly rallied a Jargn body of adherents and retook Coomnssie, and totally defeated his rebellious nobles. Apio Loo wns succeeded by Acquassie-; during his reign lip wa^ed war with varied suce.'ss against his neighbour, flae Kinsr of Dahomey ; hi- died nhout 1752, and «ns succeeded* bv Sii Cud joe, who widely extinJed' tiie As'inntees' do minions, and is lo ,ked upon by tho Ashantees as the greatest of their knit's and warrior*, S.n Toot no nlone except cd. 1* is during Sai Cudjoe-'s reien that the lint record of tho Asliantee* appeal's m tie ofllci.d journals of Cape Coast Castle, when wo (hid an entry in the year 1705, the Council then pi«smg a resolution to observe strict neutrality bat ween the Funtecs and the Ashantecs in a war then rug ing between them. Sni Cud joe died at a very great age, and was succeeded by Sai Quamina, the tilth of the Ashautce kings. SaiQuamina occupied the throne jut a very short tune. He was dethroned by a --oinpirueT of his nobles, and wna succeeded bv lin younger brother, Sui Tootoo Quauuna,. who commenced hi« reign about 1800. During his reign the first war with the English occurred. Aft i-r Home fruille.-s negotiation*, Sir Charles McCarthy, the then Goie;nor of Cape Coast Castle, marched Hi the year 1821 with a alrong foiee to attack tho Ashantee troops. ' He \wm met at ID-jnacow by the Aslianteo army, which had crowd the Pruli to meet them Sir Charles McCarthy underrated the strength of the Asliuntee forcer., and hearing the hum of the wpproiiching Brmy, ordered his band to strike up "God save, the Queen," thinking the sound of the National Anthem would Jeriifv the enem>. He vns soon undeceived. A (severe battle ui»ued. The English troops and their native allies were utterly routed. Sir Charles McCarthy and nearly all the Europi.in officer* with linn lo»t their lues; 1 heir head* were cut oil", imcl while their hi adhw trunks were left to rot on the field ol buttle, their skulls were rained in tiiuitiph to Coomas*i>, where they aie still kept. On high fehtivnl* the King of thn Ashantees drinks from a cud fashioned from tho skull ot the unfortunate Sir Charles MeCai thy, which is pm-erved in tho BniitHiiunah, at Coomiißsir with the irown and other treasure* belonmn'* to , * . DO the kins) S.Li Tootoo Qiinmina died Hbout the very d:i\ that his troopn earned the l> rent victory of K&iiihuow, and was buccveded bv h'u brother Sii Oekoto. Cnpe Const was besieged by tho A»huutees, hik! although repuli-ed, they ravaged ti<u entno country of tiie Funtees, and held them in complete Mihjection until a force having hern nsain collected, the battle of Doodowah was fought on tho 2Gth August, 1821. The Ashantees were, fit the beginning of the buttle, seized with a sudden and unaccountable pnnie and l!ed They ouffered conMderable loss, und retired from the Funtoes' cfinntrv. Tiie Fan tees utill remember the misery they underwent at tlm period of Ashantee rule, and their greatest oath is — " Bv McCarthy's Wednesday," recalling his unhap y fate, and the dreadful condition his death left them in. With them the oath is as oolemn ns the oath — " Meminda Coromantee " is with the Ashanteev. Sai Ockolo wns Hiieeeerled by Qunueduh, who died in 1867. During his rpign, what is called the orcond Ashantee war occurred, but the Kuglish troops and the Ashantee* did not come into conflict, although the Fanters and Ashamees had several encounters. He was succeeded by the present King Koflfe* Culctilii, who was er iwned on the 26th of August, ISG7, and is tho son of Kulfeo Tutee, one of the createiit of tho Ashantee nob'es, by Efi'nah Cobee, the daughter of O^no Ansnh, who is the present Queen Mother Koffee Calcalli isdeaciibed as being a man of considerable ahilifcv, hut he ha« n^»t been educated. lie is of middle height »li#hfc figure, wear* hi* beard longer th*n is u«ual in hi* coun f ry, and ia a mau of remarkably teui. peratn habita, and takes »n active p»rt iv the goveruiueut of the country, anil is proverbial for his hospitality anil liberality. I -ike all the roy.il mch of Aabanteo he is ronnrkable for the lightness of his colour, and his feature* are rather of a Moorish than of a negro type, All his family, although without tho loa»t i.Jinixtuie of white Wood, are lemirkuble in their country for the lightness of their completion, being little darker tuan atwarthy Italian or Spaniard. He is the husband of many wives. The laws of Ashantee allow the king an unlimited number ; his f ivnrite is the Princess Nippon t rhughter of a bro her of the late KiugQnacofJ uh. who is not only veiy beautiful, but is a woman of gieat ability, and enjoys gre.it influence with her husband She baa borne him but one child, a son, who Hied whilst still an infant about two yearn ago, to his father's great gri> f. In Ashantce, the Queen Mother takes precedence "f any of the King's wives, and is a penton of far greater importance than any of the Queen Consorts ; she is the only woman w ho is allowed to t ike pai tin public proceedings, and she has *i voice in all matters alleoting the policy of the Stite. The present Queen Mother u Effnah Sawah, or, ns she is more commonly aall -d throughout the counti>. Effnah Cobee, the tirat being her married n \rae, the latter her maiden name. She enjoys nnna'ial influence, both with the king, her son, and the people, and, as a woman of givat ability and shrewdness, she can go about openly and unveils 1 ; but if an Ashnntee look upon the unveiled face of one of the king's wives it ia certain dea'h. Ml th« king's wivos are kept jealously secluded in the won en's quarter of the p.ilace, to which are attached large and well kept garden 1 . This quarter is jealously guarded by the King's Eunuch Guard, who number over onehundre i and fifty. The king's wives are the only women wh«j are so secluded. The women, as a general rule, cau go about freely. The King of Ashantee has no one who can properly be described a* Prinin Miniiter, but among tho nobles of his household there are two — lioosmnbul Tia and Appiah — who possess great influence with him, and haro the management of all public aUairs. They may bo regarded an his ohiol Ministers. The command of the army which invaded the Fantee country, and is now attacking Cape vouit, was originally entrusted to Amanqimh Tia, one of the greatest of tho Aslianteo nobU'i, and whose territories art in the immediate neighbourhood of Coomassie. He also holds the post of governor or Keeper of the Bantnmmah. Thie is a fortified buildmcr, in which are the tombs of tho kings of Ashantee, in which their crown and most valuable treasures are kept, and which ii one of the principal magazines for military munitions in the kingdom. The King of Aihantre visits it onco a year, and remains in seclusion in it twenty days. Amanquagh Tia is nbout forty years of age, and is a distinguished warrior. He was accompunicd by old A«a Moquantah, tho Ashantee Yon Moltke. He ia a little old man, with white hair and a long white beard, This old warrior is nearly vevenly \ear« of age, and is regarded with great de\otion and affection by the Aslianteo troops, who entertain great confidence in his skill. He has greatly distinguished hinimlf in the many wars the Ashantees waeed with the tribes of tho interior, and nleb commanded in tl)o at t'Jini .Vthuiitic wui.

Aiiioii<r tlio other Ui-«tiiigiiidiied Axlmitec generals m.iy be mentioned Adunioo, wlu ojuupiis u (KH'tion clo*aly regeinbliug that of communder in-ehi«f ia Brtt;UtH. lie is the permanent heal of tlio Aslmnte« nrini ; 1m adrisp'i tlie king, on all matters connooted iwtU military or^amzatiua and ou the appointment of genernU to commnnd truiiti Ukinj? tho lie d. lie doe* not liimsolf, of a rult, tako (part in tctiro aerricc. (Ta be continued)