Asafo

Monthly Archive: December Asaf

A Story of Ghana: Exploring the Asafo Flags at the ROM

Posted: September 14, 2016 - 15:48 , by ROM
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People holding up a handmade flag depicting birds.

Since the beginning of the month, the Royal Ontario Museum has been host to a stunning display of historic Ghanaian imagery, in the form of the flags used by the Asafo fighting groups to send messages to friends and enemies alike. These flags document many of the events and histories that were of value to the Fante states and are expressive, powerful, and of great importance to understanding the history of the region as we know it today. As a collection, they make up a fascinating display of aesthetic storytelling that reveals much, and gives each viewer a sense of what was important to each community under each flag at various points throughout each one's history, right up to the present day.