Meet the Wealthy Ashanti Tribe: Where Gold Becomes a Child's Plaything
Dianna Tran
November 11, 2024
King of the Asante/Ashanti people in Ghana, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II
Regarding the continent of Africa, I am unsure of your initial response and your opinions about the area. Nonetheless, I think the majority of people will perceive Africa as a comparatively impoverished and undeveloped continent. Despite the wide variety of nations present, it is uncommon to come across one with a comparatively high level of economic development.
People in a particular region of Africa don't typically have special toys, yet many kids can utilize gold as a toy from a young age. If questioned, they might say that their most popular toy is gold. What's happening? Gold is a form of "currency" that can be exchanged globally, as everyone is aware.
Since there are no other resources or minerals in this tribe, children can play with gold. There is gold everywhere in this country, and the Asante tribe of Africa is just a short distance away.
The price of gold has skyrocketed globally in recent years. But among Africa's Asante tribes, gold is found practically everywhere. The living conditions of this tribe seem to be significantly different from those of other African tribes.
The African continent is a huge geographic area with many rivers, forests, mountains, and grasslands, as everyone is aware. Furthermore, it is a wildlife haven. Even the origin of the world's civilization may have occurred in Africa, according to some research. Although it is hard to say for sure, Africa's significance on a global scale is undeniable.
Ghana has abundant diamond resources in addition to gold; in fact, its diamond reserves rank among the top four in the world. One of the only established nations in Africa with a solid reputation is this one, thanks to the enormous amount of diamonds that come out of it each year.
As though gold were their most valuable possession, both men and women wear several gold items on their bodies and use numerous gold-made gadgets and products in their daily lives.
You'll see as you stroll the streets that gold may only be a "item" to them, and they don't care about the risks of flaunting their wealth.
This is directly tied to their tribe's traditional practices because, in this place, wearing more gold is a sign of status and the more gold you wear, the higher your tribal standing.
To put it briefly, the Asante tribe views people with more gold as more powerful and high in rank, while those with less gold are seen as more commonplace. Since they have a long history of gold mining, this ritual is intimately related to their lengthy history.
This tribe appears to have studied gold extensively, as evidenced by the abundance of exquisite gold jewelry they own. Knowing the tribe's history will demonstrate that this is accurate, as the Asante started mining and exploring for gold around the fourteenth century.
The Ghana region has not yet had all of its gold extracted, even after hundreds of years since the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Since gold has always been connected to their forefathers, gold is the material that the Asante tribe loves the most.
The Asante tribe, on the other hand, has the peculiar practice of claiming ownership of everything that is located inside its borders. This partition concept applies to gold in this area, and no other region, tribe, or individual has the authority to meddle.
Due to the presence of a sizable gold mine, the Asante tribe in Ghana is the ideal candidate for its location. In reality, this gold mine is the "property" of their tribe. Due to extensive research and investigation, they have gradually acquired very good gold processing procedures, despite their relatively low technical level.
The chief was without a doubt the highest ranked member of the tribe and had a pretty "chic" lifestyle, surrounded by numerous wives and children and covered in various forms of gold.
Statistics show that the chief had roughly 80 wives, so you can only imagine how charming he was.
But don't assume that just because there is a lot of gold, the people there must have high levels of consumption and living standards. Due to issues with growth and a lack of national power, their tribes were unable to regulate the price of gold, even though they held an excess of it.
The majority of the gold is merely ornamental to them, and as Ghana has seen a rise in tourism recently, many locals would sell their gold to visitors in order to profit, but is it truly as glamorous as it seems?