Pectoral disc "akrafokonmu" ("soul washers badge") ·  Ghana, Akan, Ashanti · ID: 3052818

Description

gold: 15 kt, 30 g,

Elaborately crafted, disc-shaped pectorals are typically among the insignia of sword bearers. They may be made of wood covered with gold leaf, cast gold, or - as in the present example - hammered gold sheet, and were worn around the neck on white pineapple-fiber cords.

Historically, these pectorals served as the insignia of royal attendants known as “akrafo”, or “soul washers”. Their role was to ritually cleanse and renew the king’s vital spiritual energies. In this context, the pectorals were called “akrafokonmu”, meaning “soul-washer disc”.

Comparing literature

Museum Liaunig (Hg.), Das Gold der Akan, Neuhaus 2008, p. 29 f.

Publications

Oro de Africa - Insignias de Poder, Colección Stephanie Uhart Negret, Santiago de Chile 2007, p. 28