The culture and tradition of the people of Ashanti region were on full display, as people from all walks of life thronged the Manhyia Palace on Sunday to join the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to observe the Akwasidaekese festival.
Akwasidae is an Asante festival celebrated every forty-two days’ cycle or every six weeks to honour the lives of their forefathers, celebrate them and keep alive the memory of the good deed of their past kings, chiefs and queens.
The festival centres on ancestral reverence, remembrance and acknowledgement of past kings and noble feats.
It serves as a celebration of the Golden Stool and a cultural vibrancy that brings together the Asantehene, sub-chiefs and subjects at Manhyia in Kumasi.
Yesterday’s Akwasidaekese was unique as the occasion climaxed the 25th anniversary of the enstoolment of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, as the 16th occupant of the Golden stool.
The occasion captured the vivid splendour, magnificence and wealth exhibited in the regalia, performance and customs, with the atmosphere charged with the sounds of drumming, singing and jubilation, as thousands gathered to pay homage to the monarch.
The side attraction of the occasion was the Golden Stool (Sika Dwa Kofi), said to have been conjured from the sky by the legendary High Priest Okomfo Anokye.
It is the royal and divine throne of Kings of the Ashanti people and the ultimate symbol of power in Asante Kingdom, as the Golden Stool is believed to house the spirit of the Asante nation – living, dead and the unborn lineage.
Among the dignitaries who paid homage to the Ashanti King at the grand durbar were President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Dr. Mahammud Bawumia, Vice President and NPP flagbearer, Former President John Agyekum Kufuor, Chief of Staff Mrs. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister for Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, Founder of Movement for Change, Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, former First Lady, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms. Harriet Thompson, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Keith Rowley and his wife, Mrs. Sharon Clark Rowley, Service Commanders, Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, MMDCEs and Traditional rulers from across the country.
Other personalities who graced the occasion were members of the diplomatic community, the clergy, officialdom from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the academia, politicians and tourists from around the globe.
