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ILLUSTRATED FEATURE SECTION
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I’ ART II
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IMF. gUF.ST OF TIIF
G OLD EN STOOI.
By J. A. R o g e r s .
( O iilin u r il
hum
l* a t %%rrk
%
KTKR King I’rrmpchV
o 11111 - 11 <I<*i i in- invader«
broke into his palate
in si - mi ' i h of loot
All they
* I
fouml of value » m about;
$10. 000 in gold
Hit cole
brnted
dinner
service of
Dutch silver was gone. So
w e r e Ills golden hat ami h i '
golden chair of state; also
the golden sword. Mponpon-
so. on which the chiefs swore
allegiance, and the Golden
St ool
/
T h is , a b o v e
t h e y s o u g h t.
a ll,
w as
w h a t(
For, the Golden Stool was|
not only the emblem, par ex
tellonce. of the Kings of Ash-|
and. hut it was the symbol of
Ashanti power.
No matter
what happened, the Ashantis
felt secure so long as they
had it.
This was why the Ashantis
had yielded.
They did not
wish to take the sacred stooi
into a war which they felt
sure they would lose
C leverly C arved.
The Golden Stool was a
masterpiece of African art— ;
that art which is the fertiliz
'la v - * '
ing force of European art to
day
It was carved out of
The blazing houses, some of which the rebels had fired, cast a lurid light on the surging mass of humanity.
teak, and overlaid with gold;
and the African goldsmiths,
lire C'rewiuoa Insult
. the tent ot Opuku and drank fetish his wife, and the other Europeans
who are among the cleverest i an flag was made, the Ash •
they would submit no longer found themselves besieged in Coo-
artists in the world, had lav antis had been using the Sir Fredericks words fell on a Uiat
RliasUy silence The Ashantis could to British rule la te r Governor Hodg massle.
ished their i liuu est skill on it. Golden Stool as their symbol. hardly believe their own ears To son declared that he had never ask
Surroundmz the fort, tens of Jiou-
It had been made three cen Some years ago *h en the Princess Klve this hated mvadcr I M r RIO 1 ed for the Golden Stool to sit on, sands of Ashanti warriors chanted:
but Uir newspaper correspondent-,
sacred
emblem
to
sit
on
this
symbol
turies before, and its beauti Mary was to be married. Uie queen-
In any event that "The governor came to Coomassie
of all their pact glon tills sacred said th.v he did
on a peace palaver.
fication had gone on with the mothers ot Ashanti sent tier a sliver object which contained the spirits o f , was how his speech had been trans
He demanded money from us and
lated
years.
Almost every mon- stool as a present. TTvr senior queen - tlielr dead kings from Osel Tutu to)
sent white men to bring hun
The Ashantis Rebel
Dua I t 1
tlie Golden Stool;
;u h since Osei Tutu had add mother In giving over the stool to j Kwaka
A few days later, the Ashantis ros
Lady Gugglsberg. wile ol the gover-l Verily. It was llw crowning Insult.
That same night the chlels met m in rebellion and Governor Hodgson.
ed some gem or hit of orna nor. said.
Continued on page four' <-«1
"Tills stool does not contain our I
ment. until its crude value
soul as the Golden Hlool dOM. but it!
stood at millions of dollars.
contains all Uie love ol the queen !
Its most sinister hit of de mothers
In short. tlie Golden Stool was to
coration were two casts of
the Ashantis what the Ark ol that
the (lead of King Adinkera of Covenant was to the ancient Jew..
the Kantis.
King Adinkera, It was tlielr mhi I. their rallyinx point, I
and they fell that their God or Rod 1
hearing of the Golden Stool, wi lid I k - with Uienv as Ion* Os the
• B y R u by B erk eley G o o d w in
had had one made like it; had It
It will be understood, therefore
AN A W O M A N
whereupon. Konsu, king of why
tin- llriusli -vere so anxious to
the Ashantis, made war on set It. but search as they would il
bine marriage and a
not be found On their coinimt
him. and capturing him. cut could
career? It is general-
it had been hid in the bi^h with
off his head. Melting down the rest ol the royal treasure
ly assumed that she cannot,
Hiding r ia e i lltseovrred
the imitation stool. In* made
and
for that reason many
l our i r « ! passed and 111 spile ol
the death masks, which lie
all reward-, and attempted bribery, it
men
marry
professional wom
hung, one on either aide of lav hid DurlnK these years, all seem
en with the understanding
ed quirt in Ashanti. Not even tin-
tin- Golden Stool.
bring fought by Ksmorv. Black
, that the wife will give up, or
So sacred was the Golden battles
Napoleon ot the Soudan. a its Inst the
Stool held that even the king, French, near by. seemed to disturb
at least subordinate, her in
tranquillity.
himself, could not sit on it. the Tlien
terests to those of her hus
one day. news cam? that Uu
At certain ceremonials, when Itiditnt place ot the Golden Stool had
band.
its power was to he invoked, ......... . ivered a lame boy named
Mrs. A. C Harris BUbrew is the
Knimi had come to Accra and ot-
the king would make pre leicd to point out the spot to Oov-|
daughter of the late Rev. S L Hai -
rls.
formerly o f Texas, but for the
rrnor
Sir
Frederick
Hodgson
tense of sitting on it three
tiost nineteen years she has been a
The Rovrrnor sent an armed ex
times, after which he would pedition
resident
o f Los Angeles
alter P. but when the boy [
"Hearts in D ixie" is a disunc
sit on (lie chair of state, rest neared the supposed place, he was
paralysed with fear that they wen-
triumph for Mrs Bilbrew. both as an
ing In i arm only on the Gold so
forced to return without It.
actor and musical director. Appear-
en Stool
The rovernnr thereupon decided to
i lutf for the tirs' tune upon tlie screen
The “ Voodoo W om an" Speaks
Stool a Sacred
F m b lc m .
A11-of which seems u lot of
fuss to make over what we
civilized folk will call a fe
tish.
But the Golden Stool
was to the Ashantis what the
Stars and Stripes is to the
American or the Union Jack
to an Englishman.
Just us
the President of the United
Slates would not think of sit
ting purposely on the Ameri
can flag, so the Ashanti king
held his stool sacrosanct.
One hundred and eighty-
e y ea rs
b e fo r e
th e
A m e r i-
Ko to Coomassie in the hope o ( pre
vailing upon the Ashantis to turn 11,
over to him ArrlvInK there with l a
dv llodRson and his -dalT, he a ent-,
bled the chiefs and exhorted them
to he loyal, promising them British'
Irlendsliiu and protection.
But perhaps no peace talk in his- ]
tort ever hail such opposite rtf re t. >
lor in Uie course of his speech Itof]
governor had said:
"W hat must I do to Uie man. who-)
ever lie is. who has failed to give
to the Queen, who Is the paramount
power In this country. Uie Golden
Stool to which i.he Is entitled?
- Where Ls Uie Golden Stool? Why,
am I not sltUnR on the Golden Stool
at. thU moment? I am represents- j
Uve o f Uie paramount power, why.
have you not relegated to me thl- ,
rha'r? Why did you not take Ui-J
opportunity a t my coming to Caomas-:
sie to bring the Oolden Sloell and B »*
It to me (o sit on?"
her role was the very exacting one
of the Voodoo Woman
Critics say
that she gave a superb interpreta-
i tlon of the part.
i The Btlbrew chorus of sixty trained
voices which furnished the spiritual«
and folk songs throughout the pro
duction are proof of her ability as
i C m i i w i I
Mrs A, l
ria
Hai •
tm )
Do You Want Some
BIH h - c w . ver-
s a l il e a o u e a s . wl.<>
EXTRA MONEY?
p la y e d th e p a r i or
I be
“v o o g o o ' '
woman to
k o
Hcarta
Look Over Our
in In tit- "
I
Clawiiiecl Ade
On Rage 10
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