{"id":22602,"date":"2023-02-07T13:49:10","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T18:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=22602"},"modified":"2023-02-07T13:49:10","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T18:49:10","slug":"fante-asafo-ghana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2023\/02\/07\/fante-asafo-ghana\/","title":{"rendered":"Fante Asafo Flags Of Ghana"},"content":{"rendered":"

The flags depict vultures and warships, trains and witches, eagles and dogs and dragons. They are the traditional banners of battle and ritual of the Asafo, militia companies of the Fante people of Ghana, a subgroup of the Akan, the largest multiethnic group in the West African country.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re showcased in \u201cArt, Honor, and Ridicule: Fante Asafo Flags from Southern Ghana\u201d at the Fowler Museum at UCLA<\/a> in Los Angeles from Oct. 23, 2022, to Feb. 12, 2023. Co-curated by Silvia Forni of Toronto\u2019s Royal Ontario Museum and the Fowler\u2019s Erica P. Jones, the exhibition of 46 flags from the 20th century is drawn exclusively from the Fowler collection.<\/p>\n

Afaso\u2014said to translate as war people\u2014have served as military defenders, police, social and cultural groups. They have managed roadworks and sanitation projects, and provided music and entertainment.<\/p>\n

Traditionally the flags flap on poles above shrines and nearby homes, they\u2019re used in funerals or for the installment of matrilineal kings. They are carried in marches and parades and spun and snapped by dancers accompanied by drums, singing, trumpets and other percussion reenacting their group\u2019s battle victories.<\/p>\n