Asebu (also known as Sabou) is a town and a former Fante chiefdom in the

Abura/Asebu/Kwamankese District Abura/Asebu/Kwamankese District is one of the twenty-two districts in Central Region, Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, ...

, Central Region, Ghana. In the history of the Gold Coast, Asebu is notable for being the first Fante chiefdom to sign a treaty with the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

History

Asebu Amanfi, also known as The Giant of Asebu. was a Warrior King and the founder of Asebu Kingdom. The

Treaty of Asebu The Treaty of Asebu was concluded in 1612 between the Dutch Republic and the chiefs of Asebu on the Gold Coast of Africa. The treaty was the first among several concluded between the Dutch and the peoples of the Gold Coast, and marked the beginn ...

, signed in 1612, allowed the Dutch to establish Fort Nassau at Mouri, now known as Moree. This was the beginning of the Dutch presence on the coast. In the mid-17th century, Asebu fought a series of wars against the

Fante Confederacy The Fante Confederacy (also called a confederation, federation, and other similar terms) powerful alliance of small kingdoms and autonomous city-states in what is now coastal Ghana, united by the Fante people. Centered on the political and spiri ...

, eventually falling into their sphere of influence by the 1680s and becoming permanently integrated into Fante by the 1720s.

Festivals

Apayam is celebrated in all settlements. Its main features are remembrance of the dead and the training of the youth to defend the towns, using toy guns fashioned from

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

branches and bullets from ‘abrober’ seeds. Apayamkese festival is aimed at uniting all the people of the traditional area and also to take stock of their activities in the past year. Apayamkese festival is a new observance initiated by the reigning paramount chief. In 2010, the festival will run from 14 to 21 November in Asebu. 'Kae Ako' Festival is also celebrated in the northern parts of the traditional area. It is observed with

Asafo 300px, Asafo flag, No. 2 Company; created by Akwa Osei, Ghana, Fante people; c. 1900, Cotton and rayon, embroidery and appliqué Asafo flag, No. 1 Company Asafo are traditional warrior groups in Akan culture, based on lineal descent. The word ...

drumming and musketry to remember a past hero (Ako) who gave his life to save the Asebus. It assures the people of their capability to defend themselves should they be attacked.

Citations

References

* {{cite book , last=Doortmont , first=Michel R. , editor1-first=W.M.J. , editor1-last=Van Kessel , title=Merchants, missionaries & migrants : 300 years of Dutch-Ghanaian relations , chapter=An overview of Dutch relations with the Gold Coast in the light of David van Nyendael's mission to Ashanti in 1701-02 , publisher=KIT publishers , year=2001 , location=Amsterdam , pages=19–31 , url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/4734 Populated places in the Central Region (Ghana)