The Asante Kingdom was a spectacle of cultural magnificence as Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II marked his 25thanniversary on the Golden Stool with a grand Akwasidaekesedurbar on Sunday,12th May 2024. The Silver Jubilee Anniversary, held at the Manhyia Palace, saw the convergence of diverse cultures, showcasing the unity and beauty of traditions.
The impressive and exciting “Akwasidaekese,” a grand durbar, climaxed the events commemorating the 25thanniversary of the enthronement of Asantehene, OtumfourOsei Tutu II. The anniversary of the 16th occupant of the Golden Stool, pulled a mammoth crowd from different creed, ethnicity, and cultures, across the globe, to join in the celebration with the Great King.
As if the popular kente was the dress code, most people including President Akufo-Addo, himself, wore different designs of the traditional cloth. The canopy of umbrellas, the fully adorned chiefs, and participants combined, to give the Dwabrem (the durbar grounds) a panoramic view of a sea of variegated colors.
The event reached a crescendo when His Royal Majesty, Asantehene, and Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom, the Queen of Asante, adorned in gold ornaments and resplendent in a majestic kente cloth, after parading through some of the principal streets in the city of Kumasi, riding in a palanquin, entered the durbar grounds preceded by a long serpentine retinue of chiefs, holding the Golden Stool, amidst the firing of musketry.
In spontaneous outbursts of joy, the enthusiastic crowd hailed the King and the Queen. Distant onlookers had to climb heights to catch a glimpse of him. There were many dignitaries including Former President J. A Kuffour, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Christopher Rowley, and traditional rulers from the Volta Region, including the Awomefia of Anglo, Togbe Sri, and others from Central Region, Bono, Ahafo, Greater Accra and across the country, who paid homage to the King and expressed their felicitations as he sat in state. Countless gifts had since the beginning of the event been showered on him by well-wishers .
Source: Joanita Amegashie
