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Yaa Asantewaa I (184017October 1921) was the Queen Mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire, now part of modern-day Ghana. She was appointed by her brother Nana Akwasi Afrane Okese, the Edwesuhene, or ruler, of Edwesu. In 1900, she led the Ashanti war also known as the War of the Golden Stool, or the Yaa Asantewaa War of Independence, against the British Empire.Appiah, Kwame Anthony, and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (eds), Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, 1999, p.276.
Asantewaa died in exile in the Seychelles in 1921. She was a successful farmer and mother. She was an intellectual, a politician, a human rights activist, a queen and a war leader. Yaa Asantewaa became famous for commanding the Ashanti Kings in the War of the Golden Stool, against British Empire rule, to defend and protect the sovereign independence of the Golden Stool.
To dramatize her determination to go to war, Yaa Asantewaa seized a gun and fired a shot in front of the men.
Yaa Asantewaa was chosen by a number of regional Asante kings to be the war leader of the Asante fighting force. This is the first and only example of a woman being given that role in Asante history . Yaa Asantewaa inspired and rallied her people to fight back against the British during which she gave this speech:
The traditional Ashanti military was revitalized by her passion to resist colonization. She questioned male leader's response to British colonization. Yaa Asantewaa challenged gender roles and urged women to stand up to fight. The Ashanti-British War of the Golden Stool – also known as the "Yaa Asantewaa War" – was led by Queen Mother Nana Yaa Asantewaa with an army of 5,000.
Fredrick Mitchell Hodgson required the Ashanti empire to sacrifice their ancient "golden stool" when they surrendered. The golden stool has been a revered symbol of the Ashanti nation's soul since the 17th century. The stool is 18 inches tall and 12 inches wide. It is never to be sat on but instead is placed next to the throne of the Ashanti king. Despite the British defeating the Ashanti army, the golden stool was never turned over. A fake golden stool was delivered to the British governor while the nation's symbol of freedom, the ancient golden stool was kept safely hidden. In 1920, a group of African railroad builders discovered the hidden golden stool and vandalized it. They were judged and sentenced to death by the Ashanti people. British authorities exiled the criminals from the Golden Coast colony before they were killed. British colonists agreed to not get involved with the Golden stool after realizing the significance of the object. The Golden Stool is still used today to initiate and crown the Asantehene (Ashanti ruler).
Nana Yaa Asantewaa died in exile in the Seychelles on 17 October 1921. Three years after her death, on 17 December 1924, King PrempehI and the other remaining members of the exiled Asante court were allowed to return to Asante. King PrempehI made sure that the remains of Nana Asantewaa and the other exiled Ashantis were returned for a proper royal burial. Queen Asantewaa's dream for an Asante independent from colonial rule was realized on 6 March 1957, when the Asante protectorate gained independence as part of Ghana. Ghana was the first African nation in West Africa to achieve this feat.
The head of a division, the ôhene, and the head of the autonomous political community, the Amanhene, had their female counterparts known as the ôhemaa: a female ruler who sat on their councils. The ôhemaa and ôhene were all of the same mogya, blood or localized matrilineage. The Asantehemaa, the occupant of the female stool in the Kumasi state, played a crucial role in the united Asante. As her male counterpart served as an ex-officio member of the Asantehene's council, she was also a member of the Kôtôkô Council, which acts as the executive committee or cabinet of the Asanteman Nhyiamu, the General Assembly of Asante rulers. Female stool occupants participated not only in the judicial and legislative processes, but also in the making and unmaking of war, and the distribution of land.Arhin, Kwame, "The Political and Military Roles of Akan Women", in Christine Oppong (ed.), Female and Male in West Africa, London: Allen and Unwin, 1983.
Yaa Asantewaa's legacy and memorials are a tourist attraction and revenue generator for Ghana. In 1999, 350,000 tourists came to the country and Ghana made $340 million in return. In 2000, the hundredth anniversary of the Yaa Asantewaa war, the Yaa Asantewaa festival was celebrated throughout Ghana. The festival included the Yaa Asantewaa Museum launch, an international conference, a women's convention, and a funeral service for Yaa Asantewaa's remains. The first lady of Ghana, Nana Konadu Rawling unveiled the Yaa Asantewaa museum alongside her daughters, continuing the matrilineage.
The museum features traditional Ashanti architecture and a house Yaa Asantewaa might have lived in. Dedications to the Ashanti culture are visited by locals and tourists. These attractions memorialize Yaa Asantewaa's legacy and bring people from all over the world together. Her legacy in Ghana holds pride for Ashante heritage. The effects of British colonization in Ghana are resisted by keeping Yaa Asantewaa's history alive.
To emphasize the importance of fostering female leadership in Ghanaian society, the Yaa Asantewaa Girls' Secondary School was established in Kumasi in 1960, funded by the Ghana Education Trust.
In the year 2000, a week-long centenary celebration was held in Ghana to acknowledge Yaa Asantewaa's accomplishments. As part of these celebrations, a museum was dedicated to her at Kwaso in the Ejisu–Juaben District on 3 August 2000. Unfortunately, a fire on 23 July 2004 destroyed several historical items, including her sandals and battle dress ( batakarikese) seen in the photograph above. "Fire guts Yaa Asantewaa Museum", GhanaWeb, 25 July 2004. The current Queen-mother of Ejisu is Yaa AsantewaaII. A second Yaa Asantewaa festival was held 1–5 August 2006 in Ejisu. Public Agenda (16 January 2006).
The Yaa Asantewaa Centre in Maida Vale, west London, is an African–Caribbean arts and community center. Carnival Village website. It was established in 1986Dixon, Carol, "Spotlight: April – May 2002 Yaa Asantewaa Arts and Community Centre" , Casbah Project. and named after her. The center serves as a hub for cultural activities and community engagement, aiming to promote the arts and heritage of the African and Caribbean communities in the UK.
A television documentary by Ivor Agyeman-Duah, entitled Yaa AsantewaaThe Exile of King Prempeh and the Heroism of An African Queen, premiered in Ghana in 2001.Dadson, Pajohn, "Ghana: Yaa Asantewaa Has Landed", AllAfrica, 18 May 2001.
A stage show written by Margaret Busby, Yaa Asantewaa: Warrior Queen, directed by Geraldine Connor and featuring master drummer Guy Warren,Val Wilmer, "Kofi Ghanaba obituary", The Guardian, 7 February 2009.Boateng, Osei, "Yaa Asantewaa on stage: The Exploits of Yaa Asantewaa, the Warrior Queen of the Asantes in Ghana...", New African, 1 April 2001. The Free Library. with a Pan-Africanism cast, toured the United Kingdom and Ghana in 2001–02.Margaret Busby, "Obituary of Geraldine Connor", The Guardian, 31 October 2011.Cameron Duodu, "Yaa Asantewaa—Warrior Queen", New African, 1 June 2001. The Free Library. A radio drama by the same author was also serialized in five episodes (13–17 October 2003) "Yaa Asantewaa", RadioListings. . on BBC Radio Four's Woman's Hour, the cast including Glenna Forster-Jones and Jack Klaff, directed by Pam Fraser Solomon, narrated by Gbemisola Ikumelo, with music by Nana Tsiboe, Kofi-Adu, Jojo Yates, Asebre Quaye and Atongo Zimba. BBC Radio 4 Promotion Note, Title: YAA ASANTEWAA by Margaret Busby. "Briefing: Yaa Asantewaa", The Herald, 13 October 2003.
The 2018 album from the British jazz troupe Sons of Kemet, Your Queen Is a Reptile, names songs after both contemporary and historical influential black women. Asantewaa's name was used for the seventh track, "My Queen is Yaa Asantewaa". Yaa Asantewaa is a worldwide recognized historic figure with contemporary value for women rights and freedom. In Germany, an award was named after her to honour strong women with African origins.
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