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Kumawuman is an independent division within the Asanteman, formerly the Asante Kingdom or Asante Confederacy. There are many other such independent divisions namely, Mampong, Juaben, Essumeja, Kumasi, etc. in the Asanteman.
Kumawu under their warrior chief Nana Tweneboa Kodua, posthumously titled Barima Tweneboa Kodua, led Kumawu to join the Asante Confederacy as a strong independent state. Kumawu was her own in every sense of the word. It had made a lot of conquests. It owned a vast land. It was a very powerful nation to be taken on a contest by any of the member states.
Kumawu, then Apemso, and Kwamang, now Kumasi, were nominated for selection between the two, for the capital of the Asante Confederacy or Asante Kingdom, now Asanteman. This idea was mooted by Okomfo Anokye, the Asantes’ most revered fetish priest.
Finally, Kwamang was selected for the capital of the Kingdom as per the obvious narration of the two “Kum trees”, one planted in Apemso and the other in Kwamang.
As that of Apemso withered, thus died, Apemso was subsequently to be referred to as Kumawu (“Kum awu” – Kum has died). That of Kwamang flourished hence Kwamang been acknowledged as Kumasi (“Kum asi – under the Kum).
Nana Tweneboa Kodua by the factually established narratives of the Asante Confederacy conquests, did present himself as a sacrificial lamb for ritual to save the Kingdom from defeat in her impending war with their powerful and most dreaded empire-enemy, the Denkyira, under the kingship of Nana Ntim Gyakari.
Nana Tweneboa Kodua made some conditional requests of the leading partners of the Confederacy upon the granting of which he was ready to offer himself to be sacrificed.
The three principal demands among them were:
1. Never should any Asantehene gather the other Sates in the Confederacy to wage war against Kumawu state - “Eni ho kwan se Asanteman tu Kumawu so sa”
2. No Asantehene should ever dare avail himself of Kumawu lands – “Asantehene biara ni h3 a, ese se odidi k3 Kumawu asase so”
3. Kumawu subjects are to be exempt from beheading or killing in the course of ritual performance on the death of a king as was a prevailing tradition among the Asantes – “Kumawu dehyeE biara ni h3 a ese se sekan ka no”.
He sealed the agreed demands on conclusive oath that should any of the set conditions be broken, especially points 1 & 2, the very day that they are breached, the Confederacy must collapse – “Asanteman mm3”
Today, under the ceremonial leadership of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the chief of the Kumasi state or division within the Union of Asante States, thus Asanteman, formerly Asante Confederacy, has breached the first and second conditions.
He has been waging war not only on Kumawuman subjects but also, the very famous and popular member of the Kumawu-Ananangya matrimonial lineage of Barima Tweneboa Kodua, the very originator of the Kumawu Kodua paramount stool.
Kumawu was the most dreaded state of all time among the other states. Even as far back as fifty years ago and under Barima Otuo Acheampong, Kumawuhene, no member state dare fuck around (to behave stupidly, or to waste time doing things that are not important) Kumawuman.
However today, any Tom, Dick and Harry, is messing around Kumawuman with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, born as Kwaku Duah, having the shameless audacity to impose someone of his choice on Kumawu as paramount chief (Omanhene) and again, craftily seizing square miles upon square miles of Kumawu stool lands as his own, leasing them to foreign investors for hundreds of millions of American dollars and pocketing the money at the expense of Kumawuman. No wonder that it is said, time changes.
Anyway, as in physics, whenever there is an action, there is always a reaction and the evil that men do, lives after them.
To be continued.
