Sunyani - Ancient place for flaying elephants
Sunyani, the capital city of the Bono Region, is arguably one of the emerging cities in Ghana.
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With its beautiful layout coupled with a clean environment, Sunyani has become one of the preferred places where conferences and workshops organised by both governmental and non-governmental organisations are held.
The town, which started growing in 1959 after it was chosen as the capital of the erstwhile Brong-Ahafo Region, is now not only the Bono regional capital but also a commercial hub where people from all walks of life troop to conduct business.
But how did this emerging city come to be known as Sunyani?
History
Oral tradition or history has it that the name came from an Akan expression "Osono adwae", that is, a place where elephants are flayed. The early settlers, particularly Boahen Korkor, who was a hunter, settled at the place where elephants killed in their hunting expeditions were dismembered.
According to a book titled "Ghana's Brong-Ahafo Region: Story of An African Society in the Heart of the World", before Sunyani became the capital of the erstwhile Brong-Ahafo Region in 1959, it had served as a district headquarters since 1906 when the British colonialists moved the headquarters of North-Western Ashanti from Odomase.
The symbol of the Sunyani Traditional Council is thus an elephant and this was made visible at various points in the town during the recent funeral rites of the late Sunyanimanhene, Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri II.
Elephant statue
At the Sunyani Technical University Roundabout, one can find a giant elephant statue while smaller elephant statues can also be found at other places in the town. A sculpture of a hunter with a gun in hand has also been placed at the Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri II Royal Palace to tell the story of Boahen Korkor whose ancient hunting expedition led to the establishment of "osondwae", (a place where elephants are frayed), which has grown to present day Sunyani.
A sculpture of a hunter with a gun erected in front of the Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri II Royal Palace
Sunyani has become big with a huge population, yet it is calm and neat, and now famous with hotels conducive for both local and international conferences?.
Visitors
Some first-time visitors to Sunyani during the final funeral rites of the late Sunyanimanhene, Nana Asor Nkrawiri, who had no idea of this history, asked the reasons for the presence of elephant statues in the city.
One such person, Frederick Amoako, told the Daily Graphic that when he arrived in the city in 2019 for his national service, he concluded that statues of elephants in the city had something to do with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) because the area is a stronghold for the party.
"But somewhere in 2021, my landlord, who hails from Sunyani narrated the story behind statues of elephants in the city, explaining to me that it has no reference to the NPP," he said.
For her part, another guest in the town, Portia Owusuaa, told the Daily Graphic that the giant elephant statue at the STU Roundabout had given the area a facelift. She said she enjoyed the town because of its quietness and free flow of traffic.
As Sunyani has transformed into a modern city, there is a need for the authorities to put in measures to maintain its cleanliness to avoid environmental problems associated with cities in the country.
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