THE ASHANTI: PEOPLE OF THE BURNING CITY

The Ashanti: people of the burning city

“AMBITION IS THE DESIRE TO GO FORWARD AND IMPROVE ONE’S CONDITION. IT IS A BURNING FLAME THAT LIGHTS UP THE LIFE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND MAKES HIM SEE HIMSELF IN ANOTHER STATE. TO BE AMBITIOUS IS TO BE GREAT IN MIND AND SOUL. TO WANT THAT WHICH IS WORTHWHILE AND STRIVE FOR IT. TO GO ON WITHOUT LOOKING BACK, REACHING TO THAT WHICH GIVES SATISFACTION.” - Marcus Garvey

“Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (Genesis 49:5-7 KJV).

According to the book entitled HEBREWISM OF WEST AFRICA by Joseph J Williams, he gives detailed description of the Hebrew customs in many of the west African tribes, however, we will focus mostly on the Ashanti tribe. There are three tribes, according to history and scripture among the Ashanti. These tribes include Simeon, Levi and Judah. Let’s start with Levi. According to the breastplate on the central figure, the Herald (Osene), who is called by Stanley the Town-Crier, is strikingly similar to the breast plate of the High Priest among the Ancient Hebrews, even to its division into twelve parts (Williams pg 88). The head dress of the Herald, too with its gold disc in front satisfies the description of the miznefet as given in the Jewish Encyclopedia:

“A tiara, or perhaps a peculiarly wound turban, with a peak, the front of which bore a gold plate with inscription “Holy unto YHWH.” However, the division of the breast plate into twelve parts is certainly distinctive. The Ashanti head dress consist of gold disc in front. These parallels of features mirror the Levite dress in the Holy Scripture.

Exodus 28:15-30 King James Version (KJV): "And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it."

16: "Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof."

17: "And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row."

18: "And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

19: "And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst."

20: "And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings."

21: "And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes."

22: "And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold."

23: "And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate."

24: "And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate."

25: "And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod before it."

26: "And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward."

27: "And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod."

28: "And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod."

29: "And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually."

30: "And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually."

Among the ASHANTI tribe the priesthood is hereditary to a specific family and such a family has little or no possessions, is exempt from all taxes, supplied with food and advises the king, they are called the Sefwi tribe. Compare this with the Levities of ancient Israel and you will see that both are exactly the same. Now, we will also see that Simeon and Judah is also among them.

“Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste” (Isaiah 64:10-11 KJVA).

The name ASHANTI has Hebrew origins, the “TI” at the end means race of or people of, Ashan was the name of a city located in southern Israel Judah (Joshua 15:42 - 19:7 / 1st Chronicles 4:32 - 6:59). The word Ashan in Hebrew means smoke city / burning city. ASHANTI means the people of Ashan or the people of the smoke city/burning city. This was the reference to the city of Ashan after the Romans destroyed it in 70 A.D. This city was occupied by Simeon and Judah, but this land was given to Judah, though Simeon was given a portion because of its great size.

“A´in, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages: and all the villages that were round about these cities to Ba´alath–beer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them” (Joshua 19:7-9 KJVA).

The Ashanti people were very powerful militarily. They used firearms earlier than the surrounding tribes nearby and used effective fighting strategies. The name “Asante” means ‘because of war’. Their effectiveness militarily allowed them to build up a very large empire and by 1750 it was the largest and most powerful in the region. This displays the cruelty among the tribe. This cruelty use displayed by Simeon and Levi in the scripture. Through the Ashanti, there is evidence that Israel did some selling of our own as well.

“Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;” Amos 2:6 KJV.

The Ashanti are also known for their involvement in the slave trade as the slavers. If the early Ashanti Empire economy depended on the gold trade in the 1700s, by the early 1800s it had become a major exporter of enslaved people. The slave trade was originally focused north with captives going to Mande and Hausa traders who exchanged them for goods from North Africa and indirectly from Europe. By 1800, the trade had shifted to the south as the Ashanti sought to meet the growing demand of slaves by the British, Dutch, and French. In exchange, the Ashanti received luxury items and some manufactured goods including most importantly firearms.

It is evident that this tribe descends from the ancient Israelites of the Bible. Among the Ashanti tribe, one cannot help being impressed by the number of customs and practices described and how precise it mirrors that of the ancient Hebrews (Williams, page 67). For example, the Mosaic law of intra-tribal-marriages, which was devised expressly to preserve the inheritance of the daughters in the tribe and family of their father (NUMBERS 36:12) finds a close verification among the ASHANTI of today.The cross-cousin marriages, are similar to that of the daughter of Salphadd who wedded the sons of their uncle by their father (NUMBERS 36:2).

The preserving of certain names in a family is as much sought after by the ASHANTI as it was of the ancient Hebrews, as shown in the case of naming of John the Baptist when the objection was made, “there is none of your Kindred that is called by this name” (Luke 1:61). The marriage ceremony of the Ashanti itself and the after marriage customs, has striking similarity between the ASHANTI and the Hebrews (Williams, page 68). For example, 8 days after the birth of a child the ASHANTI “mother is considered as unclean”. It is only on the 8th day, at the Ntetea that the child receives its personal name, and on the 40th day a still further ceremony must be observe. In this we are reminded of Hebrew customs lost by the dispersed children of Israel all around the globe.

Further, the ASHANTI women at the menstrual period, even to the retirement to the bara hut, follows the narrative in the book of Leviticus, (15:19-20). The system of ASHANTI ablution to prevent legal uncleanness constantly suggests similar practices displayed among the ancient Hebrews. It’s a historical fact that the majority of captive slaves to the Americas, came from West Africa, although some were brought from East Africa, they were the minority.

The west African tribal nations that our forefathers were taken from, have many ancient Hebrew customs in their culture. The tribe included are the KAFFIR, IGBO, GREBO, MARIBUCK, MAVUMBA, AKRA, FANTI, AKIN, YORUBA, KONGO, AND THE ASHANTI, etc. These sub-Saharan nations all engage in ancient Israelite rituals. Such rituals include CIRCUMCISION, THE DIVISION OF THEIR TRIBES INTO TWELVE, BLOOD SPRINKLING UPON THEIR ALTARS AND DOOR POSTS, MARRYING OF THEIR BROTHER’S WIFE AFTER DEATH, SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION AFTER CHILD BIRTH, UNCLEANNESS DURING CHILD BIRTH, UNCLEANNESS DURING MENSTRUATION, and NEW MOON CELEBRATIONS.

Some of the major descendants of the Ashanti were taken to Jamaica in the slave trade, as well as others. The Jamaican Flag was adopted on 6th August, 1962. It originated from the Ashanti/Asante National Flag of Enslaved Africans captured from West Africa, who were mostly Yoruba, Asante, Wolof, and Igbo. There are many places and ethnic groups of Enslaved Africans in Jamaica. The Jamaica flag has a significant meaning. The green stands for agricultural, resources and hope. The yellow stands wealth, beauty and sunlight. the black- race stands for creativity and strength. The Afrocentric community use this flag to represent black power and pride, with the lack understanding that this flag originates from our ancestors, the Hebrew Israelites of the Bible. Peace in Jesus Name.

The Ashanti head dress consist of gold disc in front. These parallels of features mirror the Levite dress in the Holy Scripture.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY BROTHER CASSIOUS ISRAEL