There have been various claims over the centuries on the origin of the Ashanti people. One of the most probable of the claims is that of oral history which says that the Ashanti people originally belonged to a unified Akan clan that comprised the Fante, Wassaw, and some other Twi-speaking people. The history further goes to say that the ancestors of most coastal peoples, including the Ashanti and Fante, migrated west from faraway lands like Lake Chad and the Benue river. After they crossed the lower Niger river, they navigated through the forests of modern-day Benin and Togo, then settled on the Ghanaian coast. Their new settlement was rich in gold and kola nuts, and as a result, they were prosperous traders. By the 16th century, there was a boom in the region, and a number of highly developed Akan states had emerged: there was the Bono in the north, the Denkyira, Akwamu, Fante, and Ashanti to the south. By the 17th century, the Denkyira had dominated and exercised control over the smaller southern states.The Oyoko clan of the Ashanti then settled around a rich, inland area at lake Bosomtwe, just near Kumasi. Bosomtwe later became the empire’s capital. The clan rose to prominence under Denkyiran`s dominance, to the surprise of Obiri Yeboa, who wanted the clan free from Denkyira`s control. After Obiri Yeboa`s death in 1680, Osei Tutu, his nephew, came up with a carefully thought-out plan to overthrow Denkyira, in pursuit of his late uncle`s desire, which had become his desire also. His first step in achieving his plot was to unite the other Ashanti clans. He realized that to unite them, he would need some authority. He then took a lofty title called Asantehene, also known as “king of the Ashanti.” Tutu`s enthronement as king of Ashanti in 1700 was quite dramatic. Okomfo Anokye, Tutu’s chief priest and advisor, called a meeting of all the heads of each Ashanti clan, during the meeting, Anokye called a golden stool down from the heavens and into Osei Tutu’s lap.

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