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TRIBAL AFRICAN ART
FANTI (AGONA, FANTE)
Ghana
Living
along the Gulf of Guinea and in adjacent inland areas (southern Ghana), the Fanti, an Akan
group have distinctive arts belonging to their military companies, Asafo. Fanti military
organizations have absorbed and adopted European ideas, motifs, objects, and technologies
into their own artistic culture. Each state and most large communities have several Asafo
companies. Each company owns certain exclusive colors, motifs, musical instruments, and
other insignia, with any violation of such prerogatives by another company being
considered an act of aggression. Art, then, may and does cause disputes, which in the old
days erupted into virtual warfare. Painted figures and “master” drums,
invariably female, are known. The Fanti are one of the peoples generally thought to not
possess a masquerading tradition. The Fanti use acua’ba dolls, which differ
from those of the Ashanti, their northern neighbors. As this is a matrilineal society, the
acua’ba are female. They are used as fertility figurines in shrines or worn by
women either to induce conception or, during pregnancy, to assure the birth of a beautiful
child, preferably, a daughter. The acua’ba is fed, carried and bathed as if it
were a living baby. If the woman has a successful delivery, the figure is returned to the
shrine as a form of offering. If the child dies, the acua’ba is kept as a
memorial. Usually the Fanti dolls do not have any arms and legs. They mostly appear with
rectangular or elongated heads.
Large elaborate drums were played during Fanti festivities. The lead drum, sometimes called queen Mother, is characterized by its legs and breasts and is covered by motifs recounting local proverbs.
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