Obuasi

Ghana

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Obuasi, town, southern Ghana. It is located in a hilly area about 100 miles (160 km) from Accra.

Its growth was stimulated by the discovery of a large gold deposit in 1897 and the building of the railway from Sekondi in 1902. The Asante gold mine at Obuasi remained the country’s major producer while others became depleted. It is one of the world’s richest gold mines in terms of yield per ton of ore. By the end of the 20th century, it was the 10th largest gold mine in the world.

Although mining is dominant, the town’s economy has diversified through commerce and cocoa production. Migrant labour from northern Ghana and neighbouring countries swelled the town’s population. In the surrounding area, agriculture is dominated by cash crops, and thus food and other basic commodities must be imported for the primarily industrial workers of the town. A mosque serves the Muslim population. Pop. (2000) 115,564; (2010) 143,644.

Tower Bridge over the Thames River in London, England. Opened in 1894. Remains an Important Traffic Route with 40,000 Crossings Every Day.

Britannica Quiz

Guess the City by Its River Quiz

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy McKenna.

Asante

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Observe a man playing the atumpan, a talking drum of the Asante people of West Africa

For Students

Asante summary

Asante

people

Also known as: Ashanti

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Also spelled:: Ashanti

See all related content

Asante, people of south-central Ghana and adjacent areas of Togo and Côte d’Ivoire. Most of the Asante live in a region centred on the city of Kumasi, which was the capital of the former independent Asante state. They speak a Twi language of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family and are a subgroup of the Akan peoples.

Although some Asante now live and work in urban centres, they remain primarily associated with village life. They are mainly farmers who produce plantain, bananas, cassava, yams, and cocoyams for local markets and cacao for export.

The basis of Asante social organization is the matrilineage, a localized segment of a clan whose members claim descent from a common female ancestor. Members of the lineage assist one another in activities such as building houses, farming, and clearing paths and in funeral rites. Since the Asante believe that every individual is made up of two elements—blood from the mother and spirit from the father—paternal descent is also recognized and governs membership in exogamous ntoro divisions that are associated with certain religious and moral obligations.

More From Britannica

African art: Asante, Fante, and Baule

The head of the lineage is chosen by its senior men and women; females are prohibited from holding this position because of menstrual taboos forbidding contact with sacred objects. The lineage head is responsible for internal peace and relations with other lineages and, as custodian of lineage stools, which embody the spirits of ancestors, is the mediator between its living and dead members. Every important lineage head also has a stool as a symbol of the office. The village chief is chosen from a particular lineage, which differs from village to village; his main task, with the advice of his council of elders, is to settle disputes within the community.

In the traditional Asante state, villages were grouped into territorial divisions; the chief of the capital village was the paramount chief of the division, and his village council served as the division council. The paramount chief of the national capital, Kumasi, was the chief of the confederation. The symbol of Asante unity was the Golden Stool, which reputedly descended from the sky and to which all chiefs acknowledged allegiance. The queen mother (more often actually the sister of the chief) advised him about his conduct and was regarded as the authority on kinship relations of the lineage; she nominated candidates to fill a vacant chief’s position. The chief’s primary duties were formerly religious and military, but in modern times the position has become increasingly secular, involving economic administration and the provision of social and welfare services.

Although there are Christian and Muslim converts among the Asante, the traditional religion, based on belief in a distant supreme being, a pantheon of gods and lesser spirits, and the ever-present spirits of ancestors, remains the basis of the Asante conception of the universe. See also Asante empire.