Mostly 19th century examples from Ashanti, Ghana. Iron blades, with wooden hilts covered in gold leaf, usually unsharpened, covered in leather or sharkskin sheaths, which may or may not be accompanied by symbolic sword ornaments known as “abosodee”. They are used almost exclusively for ritual purposes, oath-swearing ceremonies and as official state regalia, though they evolved from once functional designs, possibly dating back to the Medieval state of Bonoman. They are carried primarily by the Afenasoafoɔ, Adumfoɔ, Abrafoɔ, Asafoɔ and Ankobia, various ranks within the Akan chieftaincy and military/political system.
“The use of state swords on the Gold Coast was recorded by the end of the 16th century AD and they have continued to play a significant role in ritual and ceremonial contexts ever since. There are several distinct types of state sword normally found in the regalia of the Asantehene [the Ashanti King] or of a high-ranking chief.
By far the most important of the ceremonial swords are the keteanofena (lit. ‘edge of the sleeping mat swords’) which are revered and passed from an Asantehene to his successor. This group is composed of two major sub-divisions: the akrafena and the bosomfena. Akrafena, or ‘swords of the soul’ are used, as their name suggests, in fairly restricted, often private rituals for the purification of the Asantehene’s soul, while swords in the bosomfena division play a more varied and public role.
The division of these swords into two groups embodies and represents two distinct spiritual elements. Those carried on the Asantehene’s right (akrafena) represent his soul or life-force (kra) and are washed, along with other items of regalia, as part of the annual soul-cleansing ceremony (odwira).
The swords carried on the Asantehene’s left (bosomfena) represent his ego, spirit or personality (sunsum) that he inherits from his father.
This complementary division of regalia also mirrors that of the Asante court, which presents itself during public occasions in the form of an arc with distinct right and left wings as discussed earlier.
The third and somewhat more common name for the swords in the bosomfena category is nsuaefena (lit. ‘oath swords’), which reflects the fact that they are used by the Asantehene to swear his oath of office during installation ceremonies and by the lesser chiefs.
These swords may also function as badges of office that vouch for the veracity of official messengers who are entrusted to deliver verbal communications.”
-University of Australia, African Art History Studies
