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Komfo Anokye of Asante

Meaning, History and Philosophy in an African Society

Bibliographic Data

ID5817005
AuthorsT C Mccaskie (University of Birmingham, corresponding author)
Year1986
Volume27
Issue2
Pages315-339
Publication date1986-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of African History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8537 • E-ISSN: 1469-5138
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0021853700036690
OpenAlexW2134655367
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited58

This paper - which builds upon the author's previously published work on the forest kingdom of Asante (Ghana) - deals with the role of Komfo Anokye in Asante thought and history. The source materials and historiography pertaining to Komfo Anokye are critically reviewed, but the principal focus of the paper is on issues of cognition, belief and philosophy. Komfo Anokye's 'place' in Asante thought is analysed, and his meaning(s) identified with reference to Asante concerns about the nature of history, society and the human. The paper tries to go beyond epistemology and a 'traditional' reading of Asante religion and its practices to a hermeneutical interpretation of Komfo Anokye and the sense-meaning of Asante history. Philosophical and psychological issues are addressed in a historical context. The larger object of the paper is, by the example of Komfo Anokye and Asante history, to attempt to indicate a way forward for the Africanist historical enterprise in the understanding of meaning

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Unique citing works22
Citations per year0,59
Citation span1989 - 2025 (37)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 22
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