Accumulation, wealth and belief in Asante history: I. to the close of the ninteenth century

McCaskie, T. C.

article

Accumulation, wealth and belief in Asante history: I. to the close of the ninteenth century

Africa • 53 (1) • Published In 1983 • Pages: 23-43

By: McCaskie, T. C..

Abstract
In this paper McCaskie examines the meaning of wealth and accumulation in Asante culture. He also examines changes in the Asante political system and regalia in the 19th century. According to McCaskie, it was the Asante command of gold and its exchange for surpluses in labor (slaves and pawns) and produce that gave rise to the Asante chiefdoms and state. At the center of this process was the ‘big man,’ whose reason for accumulation, McCaskie argues, was social and cosmological, i.e., to expand the realm of culture vis-a-vis nature. At time of death, the state reclaimed much of the wealth, which was equated with the nation and royal authority, and symbolized in the Golden Stool. McCaskie goes on to show how opportunities for accumulation increased dramatically after 1831, due to increased foreign trade. Exposure to the British-influenced market economy of the southern coast provided an alternative rational for accumulation. Asante bigmen began to resent death duties and lost their faith in the social-cosmological compact. Many left for the coast, while those that stayed eventually rebelled.

Paraphernalia

Furniture

Accumulation of wealth

Territorial hierarchy

HRAF PubDate

2000

Region

Africa