Case file · Folklore / legend
The Golden Stool comes down from the sky
Asante tradition holds that around 1701 the priest Okomfo Anokye called the Golden Stool down from the sky onto the knees of Osei Tutu, founding the Asante kingdom.
1701 CE · 6.71, -1.62 · status: legend
The account
The stool is believed to hold the soul (sunsum) of the nation and is never sat on. The British governor's demand to sit on it in 1900 set off the War of the Golden Stool led by Yaa Asantewaa.
The sceptical view
The descent is a sacred charter story; the stool's existence and role are historical.