It’s no doubt that the first Asante King, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I, and his close companion, Komfo Anokye, were the brains behind the creation of the capital of the Ashanti Region.
Osei Tutu, after many wars, with the Akyems, Denkyiras, et cetera induced the rulers of the other Asante city-states to declare allegiance to the capital.
The name Asante means "because of war". The word derives from the Twi words ?sa meaning "war" and nti meaning "because of".
This name comes from the Asante's origin as a kingdom created to fight the Denkyira kingdom. "Ashanti" which is used today is resultant of mispronunciation by the British who heard it pronounced as ‘as-hanti’. Eventually, Kumasi was chosen as the capital of the Asante Union and Osei Tutu became the Kumasihene and Asantehene.
But how did Kumasi even become an existing name for the capital of the Empire, now the Region? Records have it that the naming of the capital is based on a story around the two icons; Otumfuo Osei Tutu I and Komfo Anokye.
Then again, what narration is better than that from the mouth of the locals themselves?
Ghanaweb caught up with some locals in the capital to find out what they know about the naming of their Regional Capital, perhaps, a refresher course of their ‘history notes’ and here is what they had to say.
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