The Untold History Behind “The Great Oath”
According to the Occupant of the Golden Stool, His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Great Oath known in the local dialect as “Ntamkɛseɛ” is no joke as it reflects the pain and distress one Asantehene went through at a time when all his nephews kept dying.
At the time, he recounted, the only sister of the reigning Monarch was married to an Amakomhene; however, all the first three children they produced died, leaving the then Asantehene distressed as he feared he may not have a nephew succeed him.
It took the intervention of the Kingdom’s priest for their fourth child to survive and thereby established as the Great Oath of the Kingdom’s Monarchs.
Otumfuo reflected on the history during a Kumasi Traditional Council meeting at the Manhyia Palace on September 2, 2024 at the Manhyia Palace while delivering a verdict on the Chief of Wirempe, Nana Opia Mensah II who was found to have abused the Great Oath.
The Asantehene indicated that the abuse of the oath in the pending case was not an isolated one. He recognizes that many chiefs abuse it too and promised to make the consequence of the oath prevail in all cases.
The solemn vow is invoked purposely to affirm one’s innocence or ownership. It requires that some ritual be performed once invoked before a case is heard by an Asantehene.
It also requires that an invoker loses his traditional position when found guilty.
