As the Asante Kingdom prepares to commemorate 150 years since the Sagrenti War, coupled with the 25th anniversary of the reign of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu, curiosity about Asante history and traditions is on the rise.

Lawyer Yaw Anokye, shedding light on Asante history, particularly during the era of wars, highlighted the unique collaboration that unfolded between the Asante and Ewe communities.

He said that the Fanti people, who were allies of the British, wanted the war to end as soon as possible so that they could get rid of the Ashanti presence in their land.

For that reason, they refused to contribute soldiers to the British army. Instead, they relied on Captain Glover, who brought in troops from Accra, Akuapim, and Akyem, as well as from the West Indies, Hausaland - Northern Nigeria, Lagos, Lagos, Gambia, and Sierra Leone.

This was a huge coalition against the Ashantis, to make sure that they outnumbered the Asante army. And while the troops had arrived, towards the end of 1873, they made sure that more soldiers would arrive to surprise the Asante.

At that time, the Ewe people were most of the time the map readers of the Asante people, anytime they wanted to make incursions to the east, under Edubofuo.

They had lost over 20,000 soldiers in the east, because they wanted to invade the Oyo empire with the Eʋe people, in Nigeria. The Asantehene had to call Edubofuo back to the coast when they learned that Sir Garnet Wolseley was arriving, and they also learned that one of their own entourage, they had sent to Britain, had betrayed them.

They wanted the British to understand them because as part of the 1831 treaty they signed with the British, the Asante were to give up all the Twi-speaking tribes they had conquered. The Wassa, the Akyem, Twifo, Assin, Denkyira, and Elmina. But the Asante felt that this was purely an African affair and that when they made a treaty with the British, they did not agree to give up these states.

Because long before they came in, these people had been subdued by the Asante under Osei Tutu, and they were serving them. And so they did not think that the British could rightfully claim them because they said they wanted to serve the British. And then, the British also said that the Asante should stop human sacrifice.

The Asante wanted Queen Victoria herself to understand the Asante tradition and the African form of religion, that whenever a great king died, for them, it was just a transition to the other world, and they needed slaves and servants to accompany them and serve them. And so it was not a matter of the Asantehene always killing people, but that when an Asantehene or a famous chief died, someone had to be made to accompany the king. And for them, they did not see it as murder. They saw it as part of their rituals, which they felt Queen Victoria should know. And then, the people being killed were those who were already war captives, so whether they killed them to accompany the king or not, being war captives, and prisoners, they could dispose of them in any way they wanted.

Anokye said that the Asante and the Eʋe people had a history of cooperation and mutual respect, and that they fought together against the British invasion.

Historian Anokye Frimpong's revelations provide a captivating glimpse into the historical dynamics between the Asante and Ewe communities during times of conflict.