The Golden stool, also known as Sika Dwa Kofi, represents the authority of the Asantehene (king), enshrines the soul of the nation, and symbolizes the kingdom’s unity.
Made of solid gold, the Golden Stool never touches the ground; it is carried in processionals and has its own throne. Sika Dwa Kofi has been the symbol of power in the Ashanti Kingdom since the 17th century.
According to Asante’s oral tradition, the kingdom was founded when Chief Priest Komfo Anokye miraculously caused the Golden Stool to descend from the sky onto the knees of Nana Osei Tutu, thereby designating him Asantehene, Osei Tutu I, king of all the chiefdoms he had conquered. The priest then ordered the chiefs of the formerly independent states to bury their existing regalia to signify their loyalty to the supreme Golden Stool.
Beginning with Osei Tutu I, the Ashanti have believed that the Golden Stool houses the soul of the Ashanti nation.
The Stool, made of gold, stands 18 inches high, 24 inches long, and 12 inches wide. It is never allowed to touch the ground and is considered so sacred that no one is allowed to sit on it.
Each new Ashante king is lowered and raised over the Golden Stool without touching it. No one could be considered a legitimate ruler without the Golden Stool, which usually occupies its own throne next to the Asantehene. It is the most prized possession of the Asante people.
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