The Golden Stool – Manhyia Palace
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Kumasi · Asanteman
Sika Dwa Kofi

The Golden Stool

The Golden Stool is the sacred symbol of the Asante nation. It holds the soul of the people — past, present and yet unborn — and is held in trust by the Asantehene.

Born on a Friday

Asante tradition recounts that Okomfo Anokye called the Golden Stool down from the sky, and that it came to rest on the lap of Osei Tutu I. Because it descended on a Friday it is named Sika Dwa Kofi — the Golden Stool born on Friday.

The soul of the nation

The stool is believed to contain the sunsum, the spirit, of the Asante people. Its safety is bound up with the welfare of the nation, and it is treated with the greatest reverence.

A stool no one sits on

No one sits on the Golden Stool — not even the Asantehene. It rests on its own stool or chair and appears in public only on the most important occasions, such as the enstoolment of a new king and great durbars of the nation.

The War of the Golden Stool

In 1900 the British governor demanded to sit on the Golden Stool. The demand provoked the War of the Golden Stool, led by Nana Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of Ejisu. The stool was hidden and protected, and it has never been surrendered.