Ghana was the first African nation in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve this feat. She is … The Yaa Asantewaa Centre in Maida Vale, west London,is an African–Caribbean arts and community centre. You have done well” Yaa Asantewaa (c. 1840 – 17 October 1921) was the Queen mother of Ejisu of the Ashanti Empire and Gatekeeper of the “Golden Stool” (Sika ‘dwa). Copyright © 1994 - 2021 GhanaWeb. The experience of seeing a woman serving as political and military head of an empire was foreign to British colonial troops in 19th-century Africa. On January 1, 1902 the British fully seized the land that the Asante army had been defending from them for almost a century, and the Asante empire was made a protectorate of the British crown. She is seen by Ghanaians today as a queen mother who exercised her political and social clout to help defend her kingdom. She died in exile on the Seychelles on 17th October 1921. There was a disagreement on how to bring them back and also some of them were reluctant to carry on fighting the British. All rights reserved. To this day, Yaa Asantewaa is still a very much-loved person in Ghana. We are working daily to restore the historic heritage of the Nana Yaa Asantewaa Ejisu museum that was burnt down a decade ago. On another hand, she was a … Her spirit was not to be broken, she fought and retreated again and again with her ever diminishing band of supporters until, more than a year later Queen Yaa Asantewaa and 15 of her closest advisers were captured, and they too were sent into exile to the Seychelles, where she died. She promoted women emancipation as well as gender equality. Yaa Asantewaa was born in 1840 and passed on in 1921. She was a fearless queen who bravely fought against the British rule. She died in 1921. The “War Of The Golden Stool” or the “Yaa Asantewaa War” began on this day in Ghana, after British rulers insulted the proud Ashanti tribe in 1900. Yaa Asantewaa was born in Ejisu, a central state of the Asante Kingdom in Ghana. There is no absolute date of birth for Yaa Asantewaa, although several sources cite that it was around 1840, and she was the Queen-mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire, now part of Ghana. Yaa Asantewaa's call upon the women of the Asante Empire is based on the political obligations of Akan women and their respective roles in legislative and judicial processes. It cannot be! Her un-bowing pride and courage in the defence of her country remained an inspiration to the people of Ghana. For every ôdekuro, an ôbaa panyin acted as the responsible party for the affairs of the women of the village and served as a member of the village council. Asantewaa understood the ramifications of British occupation. Re-enforced from their colonies all over Africa, the British large and well equipped army was sent to capture Yaa Asantewaa. This short ebook details the last of these wars, focusing particularly on two important figures from this final war; Prempeh, the last independent ruler of the Asante kingdom, and Yaa Asantewaa, a warrior and queen who led her people into their final war against the British colonizers. However, for non-Ghanians who are learning about the Queen Mother for first time its quite fascinating to learn about her for the first time. Nana Yaa Asantewaa’s story is one of courage and valour. Yaa Asantewaa was queen mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti/Asante Empire (presently in modern-day Ghana). Yaa Nana Asantewaa was born in 1840 in Besease, then Ashanti Empire. She was appointed Queen mother of Ejisu, by her brother Nana Akwasi Okpese, the Ejisuhene (the ruler of Ejisu) a respected and powerful position in Asante. Her brother, Afrane Panin, became the chief of Edweso, a nearby community. She was a product of an oracle, having been born into the lineage of a deity object which turned out to be a benignant god attached to the stool […] The current Queen-mother of Ejisu is Yaa Asantewaa II. In 1900, she led the War of the Golden Stool against the British, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa war. A second Yaa Asantewaa festival was held 1–5 August 2006 in Ejisu. … Indications are that the party intends to challenge the 2020 presidential results as well as the parliamentary results of the Techiman South Constituency. We the women will. She entered a polygamous marriage with a man from Kumasi, with whom she had a daughter. In 1957, Ghana became the first African Nation to gain independence. The War of the Golden Stool, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa War, the Third Ashanti Expedition, the Ashanti Uprising, or variations thereof, was a violent battle in the series of conflicts between the United Kingdom and the Ashanti Empire (later Ashanti Region), an autonomous state in West Africa that fractiously co-existed with the British and its vassal coastal tribes. - Ivor Wilks in JOURNAL OF AFRICAN HISTORY There has long been a need for the definitive story of Yaa Asantewaa, the famed Queen Mother of Kumasi, who was the inspirational leader behind the great Asante war of resistance of 1900-01 against British domination. The fort still stands today as the Kumasi Fort and Military Museum. The King of the Ashanti Prempeh I and grandson of Yaa Asantewaa were exiled to Seychelles in 1896 by the British. Yaa Asantewaa’s bravery and courage to fight for the return of their King inspired the men of the Kingdom to stand up for what they believed in. The golden stool in 1935. The role she played in influencing the Ashanti men to battle the British appears to be a function of her matriarchal status. I explored her story amply in the article: Yaa Asantewaa or the Ashanti Cry for Freedom. Her birthdate is contested; she is generally believed to be born between the 1840s to 1860s in the Ashanti Confederacy in present-day Ghana. With this, she took on the leadership of the Ashanti Uprising in 1900, gaining the support of some of the other Asante nobility. Yaa Asantewaa’s forces lay siege to Kumasi Fort. We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields.''. She was a just queen, but also an astute general. After several months, the Gold Coast governor eventually sent a force of 1,400 to quell the rebellion. In 2000, week-long centenary celebrations were held in Ghana to acknowledge Yaa Asantewaa’s accomplishments. In the year 2000 a week-long centenary celebration was held in Ghana to acknowledge Yaa Asantewaa's accomplishments. Y aa Asantewaa was an influential Ashanti queen at the beginning of the twentieth century who remains a powerful symbol to … She died in 1921. On January 1, 1902, the British were finally able to accomplish what the Asante army had denied them for almost a century, and the Asante Empire was made a protectorate of the British crown. I cannot believe it. The fort still stands today as the Kumasi Fort and Military Museum. We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields. Unfortunately, a fire there on July 23, 2004, destroyed several historical items including her sandals and battle dress seen in the photograph above. Beginning of March 1900, the rebellion laid siege to the fort at Kumasi where the British had sought refuge. The British garrison was besieged and its occupants fled back to the coast. Born in c. 1840 in Besease by Kwaku Ampoma and Ata Po in southern Ghana, Yaa Asantewaa was the older of two children. Around 1840, Yaa Asantewaa was born as the oldest of the two royal children in the outskirts of Kumasi, the Ashanti capital, in a town that used to be called Edweso but today is named Ejisu. During the fighting, Queen Yaa Asantewaa and fifteen of her closest advisers were captured, and they, too, were sent into exile to the Seychelles.The rebellion represented the final war in the Anglo-Asante series of wars that lasted throughout the 19th century. Is it true that the bravery of the Ashanti is no more? Though the British were eventually able to overcome Yaa Asantewaa’s army, annexing the Asante Kingdom to the Gold Coast colony on … The occupant of the female stool in Kumasi state, the Asantehemaa, the united Asante, since her male counterpart was ex-officio of the Asanthene, was a member of the Kôtôkô Council, the Executive Committee or Cabinet of the Asanteman Nhyiamu, General Assembly of Asante rulers. Within the village, elders who were heads of the matrilineages (mpanyimfo), constituted the village council known as the ôdekuro. Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa. Yaa Asantewaa is popular and famous for leading the Ashanti rebellion to defend the Golden Stool against British colonial rule. The current Queen-mother of Ejisu is Yaa Asantewaa II. As part of these celebrations, a museum was dedicated to her at Kwaso in the Ejisu-Juaben District on August 3, 2000. Yaa Asantewaa led a rebellion against the British at a time when the men surrounding her were low in spirit, afraid, and discouraged. Nana Yaa Asantewaa Projects. Her story is that of a queen who rallied masses to fight for their independence; hers is a story of courage, determination, and stamina. We will fight the white men. The war lasted for ten years and ended with Prempeh I and his supporters, including the ruler of Ejisu exiled to Seychelles. The women, known as the mpanyinfo, and referred to as aberewa or ôbaa panyin, were responsible for looking after women's affairs. On 17 October 1921, the great Ashanti warrior queen Yaa Asantewaa passed away. Asantewaa was the Gatekeeper of the "Golden Stool" (Sika 'dwa) during this powerful Ashanti Confederacy (Asanteman), an independent … Eventually they were defeated, and Yaa Asantewaa joined other exiled leaders in the Seychelles, a group of islands off the coast of East Africa. When her brother died in 1894, Yaa Asantewaa used her right as Queen Mother to nominate her own grandson as Ejisuhene. We, the women, will. While the Anglo-Asante War of 1900-01 is widely known as the Yaa Asantewaa War, the role played by the queen mother in the conflict is controver-sial. The Asante had ruled central Ghana for more than 200 years, mostly under severe pressure from the British, who were anxious to exploit the mineral wealth of the area. 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