Ghana’s second city Kumasi, is the traditional capital for the Asante people, heirs to a centuries-old kingdom that once sprawled from its core in central Ghana into what are now Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, and Burkina Faso. Better known to outsiders as Ashanti, Asante was the last and most enduring of a succession of centralized states that controlled the goldmines of Obuasi, though its wealth and influence were also linked to the ample supply of captives it provided to coastal slave traders. Traditional Ashanti landmarks include a beautiful 300-year-old fetish shrine at Besease, the royal kente weaving village of Bonwire, and Manhyia Palace, where the Asante King sits in session every sixth Sunday, heralded by a procession of dignitaries and a fanfare of exuberant drumming and horn blowing that capture the pageantry of Asante’s past.

Bonwire is popular for Kente weaving. Kente is a colorful Ghanaian traditional fabric that is worn mostly on important occasions and celebrations. Kente is worn for its symbolic significance not only for its eye- catching designs. There are over 300 patterns, each with its own name and meaning derived from proverbs, historical events, important chiefs and valuable plants. Stop at the Visitor Centre to arrange your tour, enjoy a beverage in the open-air and meet your guide. The weaving tour includes a visit to the community kente workshop, where you can learn and try how to thread spinning, warping and weaving. Visit village shops selling kente products and other village crafts. Meet master weavers and learn the different types and systems of weaving. Tour the village of Bonwire and see village residents engaged in the various stages of kente production using traditional hand looms. Take a tour to see the different types of yarns used in the production of unique designs of kente.

Ntonso is the homeland of adinkra cloth and the only place in Ghana where traditional adinkra is made locally from scratch. Ntonso is still Ghana’s biggest producer of adinkra, a cloth famed for its symbols and proverbial wisdom. The cloth was originally worn only for funerals in the Ashanti Region and was produced mainly in black, brown, and red. These days, however, it is made in all colors and used throughout Ghana. Ntonso has a new visitor center and lays on official guided tours. On a walking tour, visitors can engage in the various stages of adinkra production, such as dye preparation, cloth dyeing, adinkra stamping, and embroidery of stamped cloth.

This Museum exhibits materials that primarily concern the British- Ashanti war of 1900, World War II, and Ghana’s recent military history. On display are maps, old photographs, and military regalia.