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This morning started fairly early 7:30am departure and the students were dragging. There has been so much on the schedule, we have been moving non stop. Today we attended a roundtable discussion at the home of aunty Irene in Oyarifa which was about a 30 min. bus ride from campus.
Breakfast was delicious, I have absolutely fell in love with the coffee- super delicious. My mom (Verneatha) would appreciate the flavor and the fact that it is instant! I will definitely have to bring some back to the states!
The discussion consisted of four subjects (Geography, History, Culture and Economics) lead by University Professors. The students also had a lesson on Chieftaincy and Royal rites that included a wonderful film. As a bonus we had the great opportunity to meet and hear from two Queen mothers from local Asante' tribes. The queen mother's were at Aunty Irene's home to conduct business pertaining to the recent passing of Ghana's President John Evans Atta Mills.
chieftaincy tradition. The Akan developed their own hierarchy. The Akan word for the ruler is nana. In colonial times, Europeans had translated it to "chief", which is not equivalent. Other sources speak of "kings", which is also not correct. The term "chief" has naturalized nowadays, though it would be more exact to use the Fante expression nana.
The title of Queen mother can relate to the rank of a paramount queen, a queen or a sub-queen. The Akan name is the same as for the men, "nana". When using English, Akans say "queen mother". This woman is not necessarily the respective chief's mother. Her role in the system is to have an eye on the social conditions, and a personally capable Queen mother has been known to equal or even surpass a reigning Chief in terms of power and prestige. A good example of this happening is the case of Queen Yaa Asantewa.
When the Republic of Ghana was founded in 1957, it was agreed that the chieftaincy system should be respected. Chieftaincy is officially accepted. Politicians ask chiefs for advice because usually they are closer to the people. The highest committee is the National House of Chiefs in Accra. There are also Regional Houses of Chiefs. In case of problems between the chiefs, the House of Chiefs has a legal function.
The highest rank is that of a Paramount chief. Within the Akan people, there are different sub-groups, like the Ashanti or the Fante. The Ashanti have only one paramount chief, the asantehene. The present Asantehene is Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II. Foreign guests of state usually visit the president and the Asantehene. The Fante have several Paramount Chiefs with very small territories. So the influence of the Fante Paramount Chief is comparatively small.
Underneath the Paramount chiefs, there are Chiefs and subchiefs. A subchief can be compared to the mayor of a village. The chiefs have their own territory, and apart from that, they have a function at court. Most of the functions are traditional, some have been created recently:
A chief arbitrates and decides political and economic questions in his area. When he is installed, he receives a stool name. Usually, all chief on one stool have the same name - a number is added.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_Chieftaincy)
At the conclusion of the roundtable lessons the students were place in groups to discuss one of the covered subjects and before the entire group debrief on the highlights of the learnings. It was a great way to give a review of the large amount of information recieved today!
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