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Dr. Daniel Mato writes about this particular stool:
"Among the various Akan peoples of Ghana and the Ivory Coast stools perform a number of well-defined roles in
addition to their practical everyday use. Carried during public ceremonies full stools honor the ruler and his
predecessors. In village shrines stools serve as residences for spirits (Obosom) to receive the prayers of the
villager. Small stools such as this well used example were at times attached to larger stools acting as residences
for additional and possible lesser deities. This stool was used over an extended period of time seen in the
residue of sacrifices made on it over an extended period of time. Chickens that have been offered to the spirits
will often have a feather plucked and attached to the stool as evidence of an offering having been made. There
are most likely eggshells on the stool in that eggs were a common and favored form of offering obviously not as
dramatic as sacrificing a chicken but effective as an offering to the obosom. This stool is marked by remains of
offerings on the seat as well as the dark stains along the sides and on the base.
Small stools had a more dramatic role to play upon special occasion when shrine priests and priestesses would
dance in front of the shrine and sit on a small stool such as this or in fact hold it on their head to allow the spirit
to mount them as they moved into a state of possession as an Obosom, literally the spirit of the shrine.
At one time this stool was covered with white pigment that has now darkened through use and age. Among the
Akans of Ghana the color white is important for it conveys a number of ideas addressing spirituality and the
ancestors. Known as ‘Hyire’, it was in the past made from clay mixed with bird lime that is now replaced by the
use of various forms of white powder. Priests and priestesses during rituals associated with their shrine will cover
their bodies in white powder to celebrate the spirit of the local shrine and will often throw powder into the crowd or
into the air. Stools and figures placed in shrines will also be covered with white clay to indicate their spirituality.
Through time and many sacrifices the white color has faded with some remnants on the surface.
Full sized stools, three or four times the size of this stool are carved from a single block of wood taken from a tree
known as ‘osese’. Sculpted with a number of different forms the larger stools share a similar basic shape with
this smaller example of the slightly curved seat, shaped supports and a flat base. However there is a difference in
that this stool is carpentered and not sculpted from a single block of wood. That is the seat and base are
supported by end pieces that were carved and nailed to the top and bottom.
The stool has a presence that transcends its small size with the evidence of numerous offerings through time and
the recognition that it was the point of contact with the spirit – the Obosom. Though small and crudely done this
stool is the stage where ritual activity met spiritual presence." - Dr. Daniel Mato
Further Reading:
Mato, D. ‘Aspects: Akan Cultures in Ghana’. 2001.
Cole, H.M. & Ross, D. H. ‘The Arts of Ghana’. 1978.
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