Nana Afia Kobi Serwa a Ampem II, Asantehemaa “The Womb that Carried the Great King”
At the sitting of the Kumasi Traditional Council held on Thursday, 17 November 2016, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Asantehene and President of the Council, informed Nananomof the transition of his uterine mother, Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II Asantehemaa, to her eternal village.
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In accordance with custom, the drum sounded thereon to announce the demise of our beloved mother, Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, Asantehemaa - “the womb that carried the Great King”. Grief-stricken Baffuor Owusu Amankwatia Vl, Bantamahene on behalf of Nananom expressed our heartfelt condolences to Otumfuo and the royal family.
Sword bearers and court criers from Manhyia Palace were dispatched almost immediately to inform all the 64 Paramount Chiefs of Asanteman as custom demands.
Much of the tribute after her passing portrayed the Asantehemaa Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II’s commitment and dedication to Asanteman. Her tenacity of purpose and calm disposition at a cursory glance reflected humility and peacefulness making her one of the greatest Queenmothers in our history. She exhibited an unsurpassed level of integrity, simplicity and modesty to the revered office of Asantehemaa (Queen mother of Asante Kingdom).
There is a tale of the unlettered farmer who was asked whether he had seen a display, two nights earlier of shooting stars. He replied that he had missed the event but had noticed the following day that the stars “seemed to have thinned out a bit”. On the departure of Nana Asantehemaa, the stars did not thin out; the beautiful radiance of the warm and generous spirit of this great and remarkable Queenmother passed on to us all. It will continue to glow and will sustain, through our work and through time, the very illumination this lively, witty, unassuming, resolute and wonderful Queenmother God gifted us.
Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II was born in 1905 in the most difficult and unstable period of the Asante Nation - a period when both Asantehene Nana Prempeh I and Asantehemaa Nana Yaa Akyaa were in exile in the Sychelles Island and Asante was under British Colonial rule. The Oyoko Royal family was literally in turmoil.
Nonetheless, since she grew up under the supervision of Asantehemaa Nana Konadu Yiadom II (1917 - 1945) and later her sister Nana Ama Serwaa Nyarko II the 12th Asantehemaa afforded her priceless experience and knowledge in the Asante history, custom, culture and how to adjudicate matters before the Asantehemaa court. This she discharged with impeccable efficiency during her reign as Asantehemaa to the admiration of all.
Whenever one swore an Oath to Otumfuo and became Obrempon or Omanhene, Nana Asantehemaa was usually the first person to educate you on the history of your stool upon visiting her. As a chief, you did yourself a great disservice if you failed to visit her regularly. Asanteman will deeply miss her. We cannot quantify our loss - a champion repository of Asante history and custom. Her love and affection for all was visible. We relied enormously on her counselling and extremely high retentive memory.
We reflect with pleasant reminiscence the historic day of 8th December, 1977 when Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, Asantehene of blessed memory, enstooled Nana Afia Kobi as she was privately called, the next Asantehemaa to acceded to Nana Ama Serwaa Nyarko II, Asantehemaa (1945-1977) who had joined her ancestors thirty-eight days since. Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II acceded to the stool as the thirteenth (13th) Asantehemaa at age seventy-two (72) to the delight of all. She possessed an incredible level of strength and did not reflect her age. Her name was consequently entered in the National Register of Chiefs on 4th May, 1978 and published in the Local Government Bulletin (page 48 of 29/12/78) for statutory recognition.
Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, Asantehemaa performed her statutory and customary duties with dexterity to the appreciation of all. Her routine interaction with people, strict observance of customs and traditions was extraordinary. A prominent feature of her reign was the fair and expeditious adjudication of cases brought before her traditional Court which included marital affairs, stool land, curses, succession, indecent language and so on. Nana Hemaa as she was affectionately called demonstrated motherly care by interacting cordially with members of the royal family (Adehye), Asantehene’s consorts (Ahenyere), Chiefs, Kotimsi ne Nkonson, Stool Attendants (Mmodwoafuo) and whoever she encountered.
Her presence evoked the spirit of co-existence of love, peace and unity for all those who came under her accommodating umbrella. Nana Hemaa, was a warm, cultured and well-mannered woman of grace and style. A courteous Queen blessed with soft-spoken wit and remarkable prowess of lucid expression. She was a simple and humble mother of compassion whose love for her children and the impartation of tradition and customs was pure and simple. Her traditional legacy is indeed enormous and she will always be remembered for her unparalleled service to the Asante Kingdom.
Twenty-two years in her reign, she had the rare opportunity to exercise her customary prerogative to nominate a candidate to the Golden Stool when Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, Asantehene visited the ancestral world. Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, Asantehemaa through the guidance of the Lord, spiritual counsel of her ancestors and the Golden Stool nominated her forty-nine-year-old son, Barima Kwaku Dua, from among five royal aspirants to acceded to the sacred stool of the Asante Kingdom. This singular and brave deed of the Queenmother has no doubt culminated in elevating Asanteman to the enviable status we are enjoying. Asanteman Council, Ghana, Africa and the entire world remain grateful and forever indebted to you for this wonderful gift of not only a son but also a wise King. Her continuous prayer, guidance and kind words served as a fountain of wisdom for the successful and enviable reign of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene which has gleamed on Nananom in the Asante Kingdom and beyond. She bestowed on him all her positive attributes namely, superb human relationship, wonderful in-depth knowledge of Asante history and custom, display of confidence, immaculate public relations and speech as well as sincerity and truthness in adjudicating on matters in council.
Nana Afia Kobi serwaa Ampem II, Asantehemaa has passed on peacefully to glory after thirty-nine years of glorious service to Asanteman and the nation but her memory will linger on. So, in our grief let us not hasten to say, “She is no more” but rather live in thankfulness and rejoice in the fact that she was a national asset. Her epitaph will be engraved in history and she shall be remembered by the unborn generation. We are firm in our conviction that her spirit will continue to guide Otumfuo and Nananom in building Asanteman.
All members of Asanteman Council can say with mixed feelings of joy and grief that we give thanks to the Almighty God for granting us our one and only Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, Asantehemaa through her uterine mother Nana Yaa Birago and father Oheneba Kwadwo Afoduo, Asamponhene. Nana, we are deeply satisfied that even though your demise marks an end of an era, you have left us in a very safe pair of hands in the personality of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, your own biological son. We forever are grateful to you.
We have indeed lost a great asset but as the rest of the world join us in grieving and mourning, we take comfort from the legacy you bequeathed to Asanteman - the legacy of humility, of love and service.
Let us therefore in turn honour her memory by committing ourselves to ensuring that henceforth, our actions to quote Shakespeare, are “pleasant without scurrility, witty without affection, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness and novel without falsehood”.
Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, Asantehemaa has in the end won her race and nobody can catch her now as she rests peacefully in the bosom of the Lord, Her Maker, waiting to welcome the rest of us with her infectious smile and radiance.
How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! How cold the look has become!
And languid the calm, strong voice-there she lies. Cry we must;
And weeping are we: But meet again we will
A definite surety there is.
Fare thee weil, Nana Asantehemaa. Yeɛma wo Damirifa!
May Your Soul Rest in Perfect Peace.