“The rainbow is around the neck of every nation.”
The Kotoko (Porcupine) Stool: It is very symbolic that the great council of the king (consisting of the king, paramount chiefs, and priests) should use this stool. The porcupine is believed to be invulnerable to any animal, no matter how ferocious or carnivorous it may be. Ashantis have always seen in this animal a perfect specimen of their own moral, physical, and numerical invincibility in war.
The Baako-Ntena Stool: Made up of an equilateral parallelogram, in the center of which is a smaller parallelogram also with equal sides. The four sides of the smaller parallelogram are prolonged beyond the sides of the wider one, and the ends of the lengthened sides are made into circles, each with the top and base of the stool as tangents. This complicated but interesting design is interpreted to mean that man, by nature, is a social being; he cannot and does not live alone but with others.
The patterns carved on and around stools depict various things. The Odofo-Awaamu (the lover's back) is the symbol of the warmth of a lover's embrace. The Obaa-Asobon (the earhole of a woman) design symbolizes the delicate sensibility of a mother's hearing in connection with the requests and needs of her children.
The Chief's Stool: Believed to be the resting place as well as the symbol of the chief's soul. It is an object that inspires and is given great honor and respect. From a religious point of view, the chief's stool is much more important than any other.
According to Prof. Ablade Glover's Stools Symbolism (1992), stools could have other functions apart from their mundane uses. Most important is the very significant role they usually assume in religious and cultural matters. When a chief or queen mother passes on to the next world, for instance, his or her stool becomes an object of veneration and respect. Such stools could be “fed” or offered “drinks” during festive celebrations.
Stool symbolism can be proverbial, abstract, or literal, signifying the hopes and beliefs of the people and their rulers.