Tribes/tribus/Stämme
Ashanti
The Ashanti are a major ethnic group of the Akans (Ashanti and Fanti) in Ghana. Two types of decorative brass vessels, Forowa and Kuduo, were made by the Ashante. The forowa is made from hammered or sheet brass, whereas the kuduo is always cast. The distinction is important because metal worked “cold” would be regarded as secular, and that which was cast or molten, “sacred”, and this is reflected in the function of such vessels. Kuduo were created to store valuable possessions such as gold dust, and served the symbolic purpose of safeguarding their owners’ kra, or life force. They played an important role in ceremonies intended to maintain the spiritual well-being of those who owned them, and at life’s end, they were left at their owners’ burial sites along with other personal possessions. The Forowa on the other hand was used in functions that were mainly domestic, such as the storage of shea butter, a vegetable fat which used in foods, cosmetics and as a fuel. Both types, however, were often decorated using a delicate and vibrant combination of geometric and figurative imagery, with influences from the Moslem regions of North Africa, as well as Europe, as can be seen in this intricate and quite beautiful copper or bronze Forowa.
