Fante (Ghana) Asafo Flag Cotton

Asafo is the Akan military institution's title and name. The Asafo are in charge of defending the state. The word asafo derives linguistically from the words: war ("sa") and people ("fo"). In the Fante region, the Asafo tradition is highly developed. There, twenty-four traditional states exist with approximately two to fourteen Asafo military companies on hand. The members of the military among the Fante are involved with community entertainment, including processions, singing, dancing and displaying flags. Asafo flags predominantly express the company's power through images of important historical and military events, symbolic animals and objects, or narrative imagery and visual proverbs. In this example, the flag shows the glory of the company. White or pink figures usually represent the chief's enemies. Typical enemies are a rival militia company or foreign peoples. Here, the two pink heads could represent the a decapitation of an enemy during battle. The composition of this flag whereby the three pink figures are fleeing from the two black figures would signify a victory over the enemy.