Fante asafo flags of Abandze and Kormantze: a discourse between rivals

African Arts, Winter, 2002 by Kwame A. Labi

Nkum believes it is capable of fighting both on land and in the air. Figure 16 pictures a three-headed reptilian bird chasing a hunter who is armed with a gun. The creature, with its wing outspread and tail raised, shoots an arrow-like-tongue at the man's neck. According to oral tradition, when the hunter encountered this animal, it asked him, "Ibotu anaa eb[??]hera": "Will you fly or will you vanish?" The question implied that there was no escape for the hunter, who could be attacked on the ground as well as in the air. Through this flag Nkum is warning Bentsir and Abandze that whatever they do, Nkum will overpower them.

"Will you fly or will you vanish?" is a common proverb that is expressed in still another Fowler Museum flag (Fig. 17). In that example, an additional image of a bottle, on the left side, signifies that the white man can conquer everything except the bottle. Apam Tuafo Supi offered this variation: "Mf[??]tse botum awe ndz[??]mba nyina a nna nnye b[??]damb[??] bia," or "The termite can chew all things, but it cannot chew the bottle" (interview, 1997).

Members of Nkum continue to pride themselves as warriors who are not simply fighters but skillful strategists, essential to the success of any military action. This idea is expressed in a flag showing a man holding the head of a goat over a pot (Fig. 18). The gun he grasps in the other hand identifies him as the Safohin of Nkum. I was told that no one cooking tasty soup can ignore the head of a goat. Even if it is overcooked, it will not disintegrate in the broth. Similarly the Nkum company is indispensable in a conflict, and it will honor any invitation to fight.

In other flags Kormantse Nkum challenges Bentsir to a fight. A lion and a leopard face each other in Figure 19 in a pose of confrontation or dialogue. Both animals' heads are lowered, backs and tails are raised, limbs seem to move forward, and eyes are opened wide. A container balanced on the head of the lion suggests the central theme. The interpretation provided by the flag dancer is that if a devil (lion) sells palm wine (or anything else), it is only another devil (leopard) that buys it. If Nkum's neighbors Bentsir (leopard) believe they are good fighters, they should attempt to fight only equally good fighters (lion)--in other words, Nkum.

Like an example in the Fowler Museum (Fig. 20), the flag in Figure 21 cautions that one fights only a person of equal size and strength. This imagery represents the proverb "Se abofra nyim agoro dzi anna enye moko tsetsew": "If the child knows how to play, it does not include picking peppers." A man on the left points to a pepper plant at the center of the flag; a boy lies beneath the plant, while two other men on the fight look on. The flag encodes a warning to the Abandze asafo, which was becoming overly proud: it is the younger of the companies, and if its members do not behave accordingly, they will face unpleasant consequences from Nkum.

Nkum believes that its fighting capabilities are so superior that it is unthinkable for Bentsir to even dream of an attack. A flag commissioned by Safohin Kwatia communicates this idea through two sets of images (Fig. 22). On the left, a goat appears to be falling, having attempted to climb the two-story house. On the fight, the seated man--probably a safohin as indicated by the whip in his hand--speaks to a man standing with his hands on his waist, apparently a defiant posture. The safohin is challenging him to climb the house wall, a task whose impossibility is signaled by the goat's failure. Nkum members interpreted the flag for me: "The goat believes it knows how to jump over walls, but it cannot jump over a two-story building." In other words, Bentsir (the goat) believes it can fight, but it should not attempt to fight with Nkum.