"Frankaa" - Fante Asafo flags
How and by whom asafo flags were
used makes this Fante adaptation of a European custom unlikely to be reflected
in African-American quiltmaking.
19th century Fante asafo flags with Union Jack cantons, the left one from
the crowned lion in the flag at center with the British royal coat of arms,
right. Click for details and closeups.
Fante, an Akan people who live along the Ghana coast, traded extensively with
Europeans, and were avid buyers of imported cloth. Lacking a
standing army, during the 17th century the Fante organized military groups
called asafo which were responsible for guarding all or part of a town
and also provided protection for European traders. By the 1727 wars
against the Asante, European powers had successfully pressured these asafo to
European military practices
such as naming and numbering their companies, marching in formation, and
fighting under an identifying flag which they swore to defend, dramatically
carried by a designated flagbearer. (In an interesting example of cultural
back-and-forth, Lord Baden-Powell is supposed to have modeled the Boy Scouts
on the asafo's organization.) The earliest flags may have been painted
or drawn on raffia cloth but, as is the case today, most flags were made of
appliqued trade cloth, which the Fante had in abundance.
origins of the asafo flag are evident in its composition. For
most of the 18th century, asafo carried the flag of the European nation
they fought with, and both
early and modern examples are the same size as European flags and strongly
resemble them, complete with canton (until independence in 1957, typically incorporating the Union Jack),
mottoes, and fringe, and using simplified animal imagery to represent traits
of strength, wisdom, and cunning. Their very name, frankaa,
is said to derive from vlaggen, the Dutch word for "flag".
Similarly, a waist cloth
said to have been designed by an 18th century Asante priest contains a central
motif imitating the British crown.
the end of the Atlantic slave trade era, asafo flags had developed a
standardized, overtly confrontational imagery aimed at provoking other asafo.
Throughout their history, display of the flags has often triggered inter-asafo
violence, to the point that in the 1860s, the British required each flag be
vetted and registered, a practice that continues today. Except during special occasions, when they are accompanied by an
armed guard that is not merely ceremonial, they are stored away with a special protocol,
and are not shown to non-members except indoors and with special permission of
the asafo leader.
may be commissioned by the asafo to mark a special occasion, by a
supporter as a gift, or by a new asafo leader; when a leader dies, his
flag becomes a memorial object. For this reason, all flagmakers are
professionals admitted to a special guild.
Although women may be asafo members, they may not
make or use the flags. The flagmaker either copies or modifies an
existing design selected by the asafo, works from suggestions the asafo
provides, or uses his own imagination to develop the asafo's chosen
theme. When a design is decided on, the flagmaker prudently keeps his patterns so
that replacement flags can be made in the future. Eventually these designs
came to be regarded as something akin to heraldic devices.
than a dozen different fabrics (usually cotton, but sometimes luxury cloths)
are used, with details embroidered in chainstitch. To make the flags
double-sided, the back is a mirror image of the front, which requires letters
and numbers to be reversed. Adler
and Barnard note that while early flags have no fringe and very simple
borders, if any, modern examples have borders that are "loud and large,
using electric colours that are stunning and effective, but that sometimes
threaten to swamp the images within." Human figures on all the
flags have a similar, animated and very appealing form. Torsos are twisted
to show both shoulders. The heads are comparatively large and
carefully modeled, with prominent noses, wide-open eyes and curlicue,
long-lobed ears embroidered in contrasting thread. When not holding
weapons, the figures' oversized hands often point expressively at the image's main
comparison to the carefully appliqued and embroidered flags of the 19th
century, modern asafo flags are often crudely done; many are made for sale to
tourists. Because their construction and use was limited to a limited
group of men who displayed them only on special and somewhat chaotic
occasions, and because during the slave trade era they were a recent adaptation of a
European introduction, asafo flag techniques and designs are unlikely to
be reflected in African-American quiltmaking, particularly in the Deep South,
which had few Fante slaves.
a description of a mid-1830s human sacrifice in the Calabar (possibly the Efik
or Ibibo people), Henry Vere Huntley describes "war canoes" bearing
on poles "...all manner of flags, formed from the various manufactures
[i.e., cloths] of England and other places, such as gaudy handkerchiefs,
ribbons, strips of linen, and here and there a striped shirt.." I
have been unable to locate any example or other mention of these textiles.
appliqued banners and robes
The people of this small but powerful
and wealthy West African kingdom
were, like the Fante, actively engaged in trade with Europeans; much of their wealth
came from the capture and sale of their
neighbors as slaves. The appearance of their stunning artwork is
comparable in many ways to that of Europe during the early Medieval
period. The elites of Benin used a variety of brightly-colored European
fabrics in distinctive ceremonial textiles which were neither made nor used by
the general populace. Less than five percent of
American slaves came from the general area known as the Bight of Benin; very few of
those were Edo, and most were brought to America before 1790. By the
time quilting became widespread in America, few Edo would have been alive to
pass on their traditions.
Appliqued royal banners
Use of these banners was limited
to elites; evidence suggests they originated late in the Diaspora, and clearly
indicates fundamental symbolic and stylistic changes since the end of the 19th
that of the Fante asafo flags, their
applique style has few similarities to the Harriet Powers quilts to which they
are often compared. Powers was born half a century after the last of the
tiny fraction of American slaves taken from this kingdom arrived in the
The two known quilts that Georgia-born former
slave Harriet Powers made in the late 1890s have often been compared to the
appliqued royal banners of the kingdom of Benin.
displayed on walls and carried in procession, were
about the size of the asafo flags made by the neighboring Fante,
and had the same purpose: to convey the power and prestige of their
owner - in this case, the king. In appearance and function they
also resemble the bas relief wall decorations called noundide which
were the prerogative of the king and others of rank and also adorned
reliefs from King Glele's mid-19th
century palace; the lion represents King Glele.
photos by Brian McMorrow; click for
As in other kingdoms (such as the Akan), a major
function of art was to emphasize the ruler's power. By publicly
redistributing wealth, public punishments such as floggings and executions,
and in massive displays of spectacular textiles, ruling elites engendered in
the populace simultaneous feelings of awe and pride.
Appliqued regalia such as banners, headgear,
tents and (imported) silk and velvet umbrellas indicated both who held
power and what power they held. It was so important that not only
these objects but the imported cloth used to make them was reserved for
royalty on penalty of death. They were produced only by the court guild of
tailors at the royal capital of Abomey.
According to Fon oral history, the first banners
were commissioned by King Agonglo, who ruled from 1789-1797 (near the end of
the years Africans from the region were transported to the US). The
first palace with bas reliefs was constructed in 1708, so if the
banners are their textile descendant, this also suggests they probably
did not originate before the mid-18th century, when royalty is described as being seated
under massive (>30 feet) appliqued canopies. And while vivid
descriptions of these textiles are common in mid-19th century European
accounts, they are almost never mentioned before then. Such a date is also implied by
their use of imported fabrics (themselves evidence of power) in a variety of colors in imitation of
the brightly-painted bas reliefs. But as Margaret Trowell suggests, "similarity of subject
matter and necessity for large and simple treatment of forms" may
be the reason they share a common style.
an individual was elevated to royal status, he was given a plain white cloth
which he was expected to decorate over time to advertise his
achievements. He would discuss the general theme of a design with a
member of the banner-making tailor's guild, who was then responsible for the
actual design and execution. But no one,
writes Thomas Livingston, "really pretended that all the reliefs
related to the crucial or stellar events of the king who had them
made....informants told [Waterlot] that the artists employed by the
king often followed their own fancy, or more probably flattered their
examples show stylistic conventions similar to those on Fante asafo
flags. As in European medieval
painting, there is no attempt at perspective, and the size of figures relates
directly to their importance. Typically the banner featured a
large, central figure surrounded by smaller figures in various action poses.
It was easy for the public to recognize the banners' aggressive character; the
scenes of violence and domination clearly spelled out the ruler's overwhelming
power. (The banner at right, the earliest known example, depicts
King Glele as a lion; the light-skinned figures are Fon, the dark-skinned
After the French abolished the monarchy and the
restrictions on the status use of appliqued cloths in the 1890s, not only
ruling elites but lower-ranked individuals began using these textiles in their
homes as wall decorations and even pillow covers. Men's groups such as
burial societies also began to commission banners, using a new and very
different style consisting of a series of isolated images illustrating
proverbs and hunting scenes. Such cloths were considered an important
part of the funeral even the lowliest member of the community. Thus
while appliqued banners' underlying purpose remained relatively constant (to
illustrate an individual's achievements and demonstrate various kinds of
strength or power), when and how they were displayed changed, and the way the
messages were conveyed became more oblique and indirect.
banner in the Palace Museum depicts an alligator attack, decapitation,
warfare, capture and a roaring lion; below, a banner with the same
design from the museum gift shop is devoid of the violence central to
the banners' original purpose; below right, applique banners in the
Palace Museum gift shop.
|But by the
mid-20th century, production of appliqued textiles had become almost
exclusively commercial. Although made by the same tailor family,
rather than being personal, commissioned objects for powerful elites,
they were now produced for anonymous consumers, most of whom were
tourists. During the 1950s-60s independence movement, a popular
design contained the most recongizable symbols of the Fon kings,
arranged in chronological order. The typewritten description
that accompanied it, however, did not relate clearly to the images,
resulting in misunderstandings about Fon use of proverbs and ways of
To further appeal to the tourist market,
violent subjects and motifs are now rendered nearly unrecognizable or
gradually disappeared entirely. The weapons, corpses, hanging
and decapitation scenes which had so vividly illustrated the king's
power have been eliminated; when they are pictued at all, today the
lion (symbol of King Glele) smiles, and the shark (symbol of King
Gbehanzin) has lost his teeth. Locally handwoven fabrics are
sometimes used in these new appliques because tourists regard them as
more "authentic" - even though such textiles were not used
in the originals.
Georgia quilter Harriet
Powers's figures do contain
stylized appliqued forms. But whether compared to traditional or
contemporary Fon banners, a closer examination shows that Powers's designs
not much more with Fante or Edo applique than they do with that made
in turn-of-the-century India.
of Harriet Powers's Bible quilts.
Click to enlarge.
Powers's quilts literally illustrate historic
events (or Biblical events which Powers would have regarded as historic); she
uses perspective in arranging her scenes; her human figures are
unclothed silhouettes whose size does not vary based on importance;
and their heads and hands are proportional to their bodies, face
front, and lack the embroidered details unique to Fante and Edo
Moreover, by the time Powers was born in 1837, 96% of American
slaves were born in the U.S. rather than in Africa. Even aside from
stylistic differences it does not appear
possible that Powers's late-1890s applique quilts derive from passed-down memories of these royal banners.
Appliqued royal skirts
some ceremonies the king of Benin wears a skirt appliqued with royal motifs
arranged in a careful, regular repeat. This appears to be a relatively
recent development, probably in imitation of earlier cloths with woven
"Pangolin skin" robes
dramatic ceremonial garments were made of European red wool, a
product whose use was monopolized by Benin elites. Few
Edo of any status came to the US as slaves; it appears that
during the Atlantic slave trade era these red robes would have
been a recent innovation.
of the kingdom of Benin regard the pangolin (spiny anteater)
as illustrating their relation to the king: "The
pangolin is the only animal the leopard does not kill".
They appreciate not only the toughness but the beauty of its
unusual skin, which they wore centuries ago as ceremonial
left, pangolin or spiny anteater; right, 17th century bronze
panel showing figures wearing actual pangolin skins, with
every scale detailed; far right, 1970s red
cloth "pangolin skin" robe.
their trade in slaves with Europeans Benin royalty had access
to red wool cloth which, besides being a luxury item in a
vivid, universally- meaningful color unavailable locally, may
have had the added bonus of recalling the tunics worn by British military
officers. This they used to create a garment that not only mimicked the appearance
of the pangolin skin (and continued to be referred to as ikpakp'
ekhui), but set the wearer apart by its exoticism,
particularly since Benin royalty carefully controlled the use of this rare red
fabric. These new ceremonial garments combined local and foreign objects and
symbolism to send a new and impressive message of simultaneous
authority over their inferiors and defiance toward their king.
they may have had access to red European wool as early as the 15th century,
the red wool "pangolin skin" garments appear have been adopted much
later. Mid-17th century Benin bronze reliefs, known for their realism,
show highly-detailed suits of actual pangolin skin, each of whose scales has
been carefully textured; 18th century European travelers also describe the
skins being used.
Evidence suggests that
any resemblance between the "pangolin skin" robes and and the 20th
cone," "pine burr" or "target" quilts made by African-Americans in the Deep South is
coincidental. More closely examined, their overall effect and
construction methods appear different (a single, solid-colored fabric in
overlapping, unidirectional rows of continuous, notched
fringe, versus squares of assorted printed fabrics folded into
points spiraling from a center axis). Target quilts may have their origins in
small table squares and chair mats, and may be a variation on the late
Victorian "cat's tongue" form of these which were made of
wool. The earliest examples of actual quilts coincide with the availability in the
late 19th century of
cheap cotton calico, of which these quilts required many yards. The February
1933 Antiques magazine found them as far west as New Mexico,
described as "piquito" (little
beak) quilts, and the Pennsylvania Amish used a similar method
for table mats. By the 1950s, only African-Americans
continued to use this method for quilts.