22 May 2009 – 11 August 2009

Asafo Flags, 
Proverbs & Songs

Asafo Community
Patrick Tagoe-Turkson 

The Asafo, the warrior divisions of the Fante, are loud, proud, and provocative, and their flags reflect their fiery, swaggering spirit.

Their name derives from the term ‘war (sa) people (fo)’ and they surround themselves with curious military pageantry with the flag as a centerpiece. A new exhibition at the Nubuke Foundation displays over thirty such flags from the colonial and independence periods, each belonging to a different Asafo company. Brilliant in color, with a striped border and a small Union Jack or, after 1957, Ghanaian tricolor in a top corner, each Asafo flag communicates a company’s message in the visual language of Fante proverb.

The tradition was heavily influenced by the pomp and processions of European armored units during the colonial era, with the Fante word for flag – “frankaa” – presumed to be either a corruption of the English or of the Dutch, “vlaggen.” The flags share a visual language, each complete with its own appliquéd assemblage of small vibrant figures, wild animals, pots of palm wine, traps, explosions, and serpent-headed monsters. They boast of prowess, mock inferiority, and warn plucky rivals away.

At Nubuke, the galleries resonate not just with a rainbow palette but also with fighting sounds and songs, offering an immersive insight into Asafo culture. The exhibition begins with a number of flags from the private collection of Seth Dei. These include a particularly striking independence-era flag emblazoned with the words ‘God Save the Leader of Ghana,’ perhaps paying homage to Kwame Nkrumah. Dei’s collection exemplifies the breadth of Asafo flag culture, with images of trains denoting speed and technical advance, alongside fearsome monsters and traps, warning of the risks of foul play. His collection includes works from both the colonial era, when the red, white, and blue of the Union Jack dominate the composition, and the independence era, when the designs become decidedly more colorful. Text panels throughout the exhibition inform the visitor about the details of Asafo culture, from the location of the Fante people to their use of decorated shrines or ‘posuban.’

Installation View


‘Will you eat before you take an enema, 
or will you take an enema before you eat?’


Also on display are many flags from Nubuke’s own collection, all of which are from pre-1957. Again, the designs relate to a broad spectrum of Fante proverbs, from the popular ‘We came to fight but not you mere vultures,’ contrasting the valiance of one company with the vulture-like repulsiveness of another, to the mocking of excuses given to escape military service: ‘Will you eat before you take an enema, or will you take an enema before you eat?’ A great number of Nubuke’s collection utilize animal or mythic imagery to convey their messages, from strong elephants and wise antelopes to terrifying multi-headed griffins.

All of the flags in the exhibition, including a small number for sale, seem to communicate with one another—proverbs bouncing back and forth, soldiers ready for action, animals sparring, and opponents trembling. Seeing them amassed in this way gives a sense of the cacophony of colors and confrontations that run through an Asafo procession.

Alongside the Asafo flag display, the work of Patrick Tagoe-Turkson, a contemporary Ghanaian artist based in Takoradi, can be seen. Working in response to the Effutu Asafo traditions, Tagoe-Turkson creates colorful, hand-stitched flags, using imagery and text to comment on contemporary issues from road safety to political doublespeak. Tagoe-Turkson’s presence reminds the visitor that the Nubuke Foundation is seeking not just to preserve and promote Ghanaian cultural history but to make connections between contemporary practitioners and enduring local traditions.
Artwork


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