Akan goldweights
Akan goldweights (dem locally know as mrammou anaa abrammuo)[1] be weights dem make of brass dem use as a measuring system by de Akan people of West Africa, particularly for secure den fair-trade arrangements plus one anoda. De status of a man increase significantly if he own a complete set of weights. Complete small sets of weights be gifts to newly wedded men. Dis insure say he go be able to enter de merchant trade respectably den successfully.
Beyond dema practical application, de weights be miniature representations of West African culture items such as adinkra symbols, plants, animals den people.[2][3]
Crocodile goldweight
Dey date de weights
[edit | edit source]Stylistic studies of goldweights fi provide relative dates into de two broad Early den Late periods. Dem think de Early period be from about 1400–1720 AD, plus sam overlap plus de Late period, 1700-1900 AD. Der be a distinct difference between de Early den Late periods. Geometric weights be de oldest forms, dey date from 1400 AD dey go while figurative weights, those dem make insyd de image of people, animals, building etc., first appear around 1600 AD.[4] Dem suppose dat thru out de early den late periods from 1400-1900 AD na der be around 4 million goldweights cast by de Ashanti den Baule ethnic groups of West Africa.[5]
Radiocarbon dating, a standard den accurate method insyd chaw disciplines, no fi be used to date de weights, as e be an inorganic material. De base components of inorganic materials, such as metals, dem form long before de manufacturing of de artifact. De copper den zinc dem use to make de alloy be vastly older dan de artifact einself. Studies on de quality anaa origins of de base metals insyd brass no be very useful secof de broad distribution den recycling of de material.
Meanings behind de weights
[edit | edit source]Scholars dey use de weights, den de oral traditions behind de weights, to understand aspects of Akan culture wey otherwise fi be lost. De weights dey represent stories, riddles, den codes of conduct wey helped guide Akan peoples insyd de ways na dem live dema lives. Central to Akan culture be de concern for equality den justice; e be rich insyd oral histories on dis subject. Chaw weights dey symbolize significant den well-known stories. Na de weights be part of de Akan ein cultural reinforcement, wey dey express personal behaviour codes, beliefs, den values insyd a medium wey be assembled by chaw people.[6]
Dese goldweights den dema meanings almost all solely emanate from Akan systems den ways of thinking. While e be inevitable say different cultures influence each oda, de names, writing den philosophy dem ingrain into these weights all be ideas native to de Akan people den hardly found insyd oda West African societies.[7]
Early period 1400 A.D.-1700 A.D., geometric style, 1/4 inch long
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Kouadio, Auguste Yao (2018). Akan Gold Weights: Values Perspectives of a Non-western Cultural Artifact (Thesis). ProQuest 2068135694.
- ↑ Wilks, Ivor (1997). "Wangara, Akan, and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries". In Bakewell, Peter (ed.). Mines of Silver and Gold in the Americas. Aldershot: Variorum, Ashgate Publishing Limited. pp. 7. ISBN 978-0-86078-513-2.
- ↑ Garrard, Timothy F. (1972). "Studies in Akan Goldweights (2) the Weight Standards". Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana. 13 (2): 149–162. ISSN 0855-3246. JSTOR 41406402.
- ↑ Garrard, T. F. (1972). "Studies in Akan Goldweights (4): The Dating of Akan Goldweights," in Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana. Historical Society of Ghana. pp. 26–43.
- ↑ Wistar, Caroline (2000). "Akan Goldweights: Masterpieces in Miniature". La Salle University Art Museum: 9.
- ↑ Garrard, Timothy F. (1973). "Studies in Akan Goldweights (iii) the Weight Names". Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana. 14 (1): 1–16. ISSN 0855-3246. JSTOR 41405836.
- ↑ Konadu, Kwasi (2010). The Akan diaspora in the Americas. Oxford University Press. p. 53. ISBN 9780195390643.
External links
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