The New Adom Hene (King)

A few weeks ago I was in down town Kumasi, when I heard gun shoots. Crime is very low in Ghana, and in 7 years I have never heard gun shoots. Needless to say I was surprised. So what did I do, the reader might ask? I went to go find out who was shooting the guns.


I found out that the new Adom Hene was being given the throne on that day. Here we call it en-stooling, since the king has a stool instead of a throne. The Adom hene is the king in charge of protection for the Asanti Hene and he is the general in charge of warfare if there ever was a war.

In the pictures, if the reader looks closely, he will see that the king is holding a small shotgun. The soldiers are all carrying guns or golden swords. It was quite amazing. The men leading the king were in possession of 12 gauge shoot guns and where shoot blanks. The area that they were passing through was the busiest part of town. Thousands of people were watching. The procession blocked the roads, and people were lining the roads to watch. I grabbed my camera and tried to take a few photos.

It is hard to express, but the recoil from the shooting of the guns, as it bounced off the three store builds was pretty intense. It reminded me of a few military shooting ranges that I have been to back in the United States.

The king was riding in a 'palanquin'. It is a four foot long low sided box. The palanquin has four carrying polls attached to it. One poll on each corner. The palanquin is carried by four people, in former days these were slaves, but now they are people that work at the chief's home. The king body is covered in amulets and charms. Some are used to give him power, others are used for protect. He is given a new name on the day that he becomes king. It is believed that when he picks the stool, the spirit of the departed king comes to live in his body. Also the kings mouth is filled with clothes, traditional medicine in a pouch, and leaves. He is not allowed to talk! From the beginning of the process until the end he may not speak.
The sounds of the drums are almost deafen up close. The talking drums are being played, and they are used to praise the new king and the departed kings of the past. Many of the people are wearing black. This is because in choosing the new king they are also remembering the former king that has died, therefore they wear black to show respect for the departed.

As the king and the soldiers moved down the streets of Adom, they would stop from time to time. This would allow the people to see the king. During this time they would spin the umbrellas and everyone would begin to jump up and down. They would point to the king and praise him. The whole procession was a long drawn out affair of drumming, shouting, shooting, and cheering.