Okomfo Anokye (born Tsali in Notsie in the Volta Region 1655-c.1717 ) was a traditional priest originally from Volta Region before making his name in the Asante Empire.
Kwame Fimpon Anokye as he was named from birth was born in the late 1600s at Awukugua-Akwapim. He is known for his participation in the expansion of the Ashanti Empire.
According to Akuapem tradition, he was the son of Ano and Yaa Anubea, both from Awukugua in the Nifa Division of the Okere state. His name originated from the following incident:
It is said that when Okomfo Anokye was born in Awukugua he was already holding in his right hand a short white tail of a cow (Podua), and he had so firmly clenched the fist of the other hand that no one could open it. The woman who went to deliver the laboring mother tried to open it because she suspected there was something in it.
The father was called in to assist… Okomfo Anokye opened his eyes and, staring at the father, quickly opened the mysterious hand, showing it to the father and saying “Ano….Kye” (Guan language) meaning “Ano…see” and gave to the father what was in it. It is alleged that it was a talisman. From this incident, Kwame Agyei got his name “Anokye”.
—?Amos Anti, “Akwamu, Denkyira, Akuapem, and Ashanti in the Lives of Osei Tutu and Okomfo Anokye” (1971) During his birth in Awukugua, it is said he brought with him gifts from the gods; totem poles which were firmly clinched to his palms that no one could open it; and in the other hand already was a short white tail of a cow (Podua).
This claim was apparently later confirmed by Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II during his visit to Awukugua in 2014.
When Osei Tutu I succeeded in about 1690 to the leadership of the small group of Akan forest states around the city of Kumasi, which were already grouped in a loose military alliance, Anokye was his adviser and chief priest. Tutu and Anokye, who must be considered together, carried out the expansionist policy of their predecessors, defeating two powerful enemies, the Akan Doma to the northwest and the Denkyera empire to the south.
It was and still is said by the historians of Ashanti that the Asante people are descendants of the great Ghana Empire(thus the current name that Kwame Nkrumah gave the country), which is said to supplant their martial valor. The Ashanti conquered large parts of Ghana during the 17th century by overthrowing their powerful overlords, the Denkyira.
Okomfo Anokye was essentially a powerful cleric who served to rally the people to the cause of his friend the king. Anokye is also said to have placed a dagger in the middle of the Ashanti region, which the Europeans have not been able to take out with any type of technology for over 500 years. Ashanti was one of the few regions in West Africa to achieve victories against the British in battle.
Anokye and Tutu established rituals and customs of the Ashanti state to diminish the influence of local traditions. They designated Kumasi, the Ashanti capital. They then established a state council of the chiefs of the preexisting states admitted to the union and suppressed all competing traditions of origin. Finally, they reorganized the Ashanti army.
The War with Denkyira (1699–1701) went badly at first, but when the Denkyira army reached the gates of Kumasi, Anokye’s incantations supposedly produced defections among their generals. The Ashanti broke the Denkyira hegemony and captured the Dutch deed of rent for Elmina Castle.
This gave the traders of the empire access to the African coast and involved them henceforth in the commerce and politics of the coastal slave trade. After Osei Tutu’s death in 1717, Anokye is said to have returned to Akuapim and died there.
The real cause of his death is not known and it is said that he was going to bring the key to death – and so no one should cry; if anyone is heard crying he will never return. After a couple of days, he still was not back and so the women cried, and it was said that he did not return again.
