Otumfuo Jubilee Hall: Multipurpose “Asante-like” building commissioned to project Asante heritage

Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has commissioned a 7,000-capacity multipurpose hall to host traditional and other functions in the Ashanti region.

Known as the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Jubilee Hall, the edifice is built to depict a quintessential Asante house setting and encapsulated in modern architecture.

The facility is expected to boost economic gains and also propagate the cultural heritage of the Asante kingdom.

Conspicuous at the entrance of the edifice is a mural designed in a cloth-like form and embossed with Asante artifacts and Adinkra symbols.

At the heart of the culturally crafted graffiti is a three-dimensional figure of the esteemed Golden Stool, “Sika Dwa Kofi”.

Built to depict the typical housing architecture of the Asantes known locally as “Fi hankra”, the edifice, arguably one of the largest facilities in the region, houses a 2,000-capacity acoustic auditorium and is surrounded by offices and other ancillary facilities including an eatery.

The multi-purpose structure is designed to host traditional events and other functions with a special chamber and office for the Asantehene.

The structure was single-handedly financed by the Asantehene.

Cultural historian, Teacher Safo Kantanka explains the cultural significance of the new edifice.

“The typical Asante house has walls North, South, East and West with open verandas and a big open space where people bring in stools to sit and deliberate on issues. When it rains, the Chiefs are forbidden to move an inch from the rain. If we are borrowing culture, then we have to get an auditorium that is roofed,” he explained.

A resting area erected around the bulb-like fountain is a spectacle one would not miss at the edifice.

It is beautified with a magnificent mural portraying the typical royal sitting of the king during durbars as he is flanked by his sub-chiefs.

The building is expected to boost economic activities of the Ashanti region.

Chairperson of Otumfuo’s 25th Anniversary Committee, Juabenhene Otuo Siriboe II says the edifice, which would be one of the many legacies of the Asantehene is aligned with the traditions of celebrating the remarkable achievements of royals.

“It is usually during the Odwira festivities that the traditional leaders unveil projects they have undertaken to foster development in their localities,” he said.

The jubilee hall is part of projects to commemorate the silver jubilee of the Asantehene slated to climax in May this year.

Some Queen mothers could not hide their excitement about the structure as they believed it would propagate the cultural heritage of the kingdom.

“We’ve always been selling the Asante culture out there but this definitely adds to uplifting the face of the kingdom. We’re grateful to the King,” the queen-mother of Manso expressed heartily.

source: My Joy Online