Daasebre, Da Yie (Fare Thee Well)
The people of Kwahu are mourning their former Omanhene, Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng with a funeral at the Okwahu state capital, Abene. Kwahu is part of the Akan stock, and their funerals are essentially Akan. What one might see at the funeral at Abene might not be any different from what would occur elsewhere in Akan traditional areas.
The Akan are the most conspicuous group in Ghana. They are between 50 to 60 percent of Ghana’s population and occupy about 40 percent of the land mass of the West African country. Uniquely, the Akan form a culturally, ethnic and homogenous population comprising the Adansi, Ahanta, Akwamu, Aowin, Asante, Akyem, Akuapem, Assin, Bono, Dankyira, Fante, Kwahu, Nzima, Sefwi, Twifo, and Wassa ethnic groups, according to Ayim, Kofi in his book, The Akan of Ghana, Aspects of Past and Present Practices. They are also found in neighboring la Cote d’Ivoire.
Significant among the Akan is that most speak the Twi language withits several dialects. And in addition, they essentially share similar customs and traditions. Every Akan person belongs to a superfamily that are the Aduana, Asona, Asakyiri, Asene, Agona, Bretuo, Ekuona and Oyoko known in Akan as Abusua. An Akan person belongs to the abusua that his or her mother belongs to. Theirs is of the matriarchal system, and inheritance is therefore maternal.
It is the custom among the Akan that when a traditional ruler goes to his village (passes away), his funeral is organized by the succeeding ruler, who could be a brother or a nephew. The current Omanhene, Daasebre Akuamoah Agyepong is now presiding over the funeral of his uncle, and as is the case among the Akan people, it will be graced by royalties and people from several parts of Ghana. As tradition demands, some of those attending the funeral from outside Kwahu may come from the ancestral home of the late Omanhene at Asante Mampong, for the familial relationship between the two sides continues to wax strong. They are all of the Bretuo abusua stock and are consanguineous relatives of the family of the Omanhene of Asante Mampong.
The late paramount traditional ruler, Daasebre Akuamoa Boateng II, was the eighteenth in succession to the Esono Gyima and Mampong Agyei Stool with Nana Akuamoa Mampong Agyei as the first, followed by Nana Diawuo. The relationship between Adanse Ayaaase, Ashanti Mampong, and Kwahu Abene goes back to the fifteenth century, that is before 1600. The Okwahu throne is also a silver throne as that of the Asante Mampong.
Daasebre Akuamoa Boateng II was occupant of the Kwawu royal throne and a direct descendant of Esono Gyima and Akuamoa Mampong Agyei of the Etena/Bretuo family. He was born to Okwawuhemaa Nana Abena Gyamfua II and the late Mpraesohene, Nana Ampadu. He was a royal and a prince, having both of his parents from the royal lineages of Kwawu traditional area. Okwawuhene, Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng II was a lawyer by profession and former chairman of Ghana Cocoa Board. He was installed Paramount ruler of Kwawu on 26th October 1971. The 80-year-old leader died at the Kwahu Government Hospital at Atibie on September 7, 2013.
As the President of Kwahu Traditional Area, he was once the President of Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, a position he held for two consecutive periods. He was further elected Vice President of the National House of Chiefs from 1985 to 1988 when the late Otumfuo Opoku Ware II was the President.
Not many people remember when last a similar event happened in Kwahu. Okwahu, of late, has been known more for Easter when Ghanaians troop to the Kwahu Ridge for tourism. And with the new 5-star Rock City Hotel at Nkwatia Kwahu as well as other smaller ones elsewhere in the district, the district has become a major destination for tourism. Somber as funerals tend to be, Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng’s funeral could also be a tourist event not only for non-Kwahu citizens but also for overseas visitors, if even for its cultural significance.
A few weeks ago, a group of politicians chose the subdued event of a burial service for the late first lady of Ghana, Mrs. Theresa Kufuor, to vent their political feelings. Ghanaians did not forgive the disrespect endured by the former president and dignitaries present, including foreign visitors and the Asantehene.
Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng was never a politician and so we do not envisage such unwelcome intrusion. We pray and hope for peace to reign throughout the one-week final funeral rites of the life of a peaceful and gentle ruler of Kwahuman.
Nana da yie.
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