Divine Kingship in West Africa

In Africa divine kings are still to be found performing ritual functions even under the changed conditions of modern times. Attention is drawn here to two of the most prominent peoples of West Africa, the Ashanti of the Gold Coast and the Yoruba of Nigeria. The kings, now often called "chiefs" or "paramount chiefs", were addressed as "kings" by early European travellers and administrators until this present century. They were sovereign rulers, divine kings, both traditional and charismatic, in Weber's terms. Some of them ruled over a million and more people. The Ashanti state is composed of a number of divisions called Oman ("nation"), comprising a capital town and a number of villages. The chief is the Omanhene. Over the whole state is the Asantehene, the king of Ashanti with his capital at Kumasi. The kings and chiefs are chosen from the royal lineage, any male member thereof being eligible; but the candidate has to be physically perfect. The Queeen Mother (the apparently insignificant old woman who Mary Kingsley said would crouch behind the throne and mutter, "Do not listen to the white man, it is bad for you"), nominates a suitable candidate for the kingship. He has to be approved both by the elders and by the commoners. The latter have a saying, "a prince does not install a King"; that is the prerogative of the commoners who will serve him. A king can be dethroned, or destooled, by those who have elected him, that is ultimately by the common people. This may be done for chronic drunkenness, cruelty, impotence or madness. Nowadays both election and destoolment must also have the approval of the Governor. The Ashanti religion gives great place to the cult of the ancestors, and this has been brought out by modern writers 1). The king acts as