Encyclopedia of World Biography on Okomfo Anokye Okomfo Anokye (active late 17th century) was an Ashanti fetish priest, statesman, and lawgiver. A cofounder of the Ashanti Kingdom in West Africa, he helped establish its constitution, laws, and customs. The original name of Okomfo Anokye was Kwame Frimpon Anokye (Okomfo means priest). Some traditions say that he came from Akwapim in the Akwamu Kingdom southeast of Ashanti, but his descendants claim he was born of an Ashanti mother and Adansi father and was related to the military leader Osei Tutu (the other cofounder of the Ashanti Kingdom) through a maternal uncle. When Osei Tutu succeeded about 1690 to the leadership of the small group of Akan forest states around the city of Kumasi which were already grouped in loose military alliance, Anokye was his adviser and chief priest. Tutu and Anokye, who must be considered together, carried out the expansionist policy of their predecessors, defeating two powerful...
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:25:21 +0000
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