Heritage in Focus: Fihankra (Asante Traditional Buildings, Ghana)
Photographer Eric Gyamfi offers a glimpse into traditional Asante architecture and the people protecting it today.
By World Monuments Fund
Eric Gyamfi
Former cooks' section of a shrine. by Eric GyamfiWorld Monuments Fund
Asante traditional architecture stands as a vibrant testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Ghana’s Asante people.
With their earthy tones, organic textures, and intricate interlacing designs, these architectural forms reflect the influences of trade, religion, art, and conquest that shaped Asante history.
Aerial view of the Tano Banie Shrine. by Eric GyamfiWorld Monuments Fund
One hallmark of Asante architecture is the fihankra style, where houses are arranged around a central courtyard and linked by paths and low walls.
Aerial view of the the Akwasi Sima Shrine. by Eric GyamfiWorld Monuments Fund
This layout fostered a sense of unity among the extended families who inhabited these structures, echoing values of collective responsibility and social cohesion.
Passed down through generations, traditional building techniques demonstrate the craft skills of Asante artisans.
Raffia was used for thatch, bamboo for support, and red earth (or antwema) for decorative elements.
Traditional techniques and materials create sustainable buildings that harmonize with the local climate, while the intricate decorative reliefs preserve the history, mythology, and cultural values of Asante society.
Only a handful of traditional Asante structures survive. The buildings that remain today are shrines that have withstood wars and regime changes.
Aerial view of the Tano Kwadwo Shrine. by Eric GyamfiWorld Monuments Fund
Over the years, as shrinking congregations have made these buildings harder to maintain, new materials like tin roofs have been adopted that can create major conservation challenges.
Since 1972, ten of these structures have received official recognition as monuments, first by the Ghanaian government and then in 1980 by UNESCO.
A meeting between Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB) workers and caretakers. by Eric GyamfiWorld Monuments Fund
They are overseen by the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB) and directly cared for by community stewards.
In 2012 and again in 2022, WMF named the Asante Traditional Buildings to the World Monuments Watch to bring attention to these important yet threatened architectural marvels. Preserving traditional maintenance practices is critical for these shrines’ survival.
As part of the Heritage in Focus fellowship, Ghanaian photographer Eric Gyamfi set out to document the stewards who care for these vulnerable buildings today.
Like the extended families that once lived around Asante courtyards, the priests and custodians who keep Asante shrines alive today often pass their knowledge from generation to generation.
Yaa Tiwaa with their family and GMMB driver, Akwasi Amankwaa, at the Adako Gyaakye Shrine. by Eric GyamfiWorld Monuments Fund
It is thanks to their work and the oversight of organizations like the GMMB that these fragile yet remarkable structures can endure well into the future.
Heritage in Focus is a collaboration between World Monuments Fund (WMF) and Magnum Foundation to aid local emerging photographers in capturing historic places and their stewards. Asante Traditional Buildings, Ghana, were included on the World Monuments Watch in 2012 and 2022. WMF again placed the site on the Watch in 2022 to call for a renewed dialogue about the structures’ long-term sustainability and support physical conservation work.
The photographers of Heritage in Focus were tasked with documenting the sites of the 2022 World Monuments Watch. The featured sites are Asante Traditional Buildings, Ghana (Eric Gyamfi); Garcia Pasture, USA (Tahila Moss); Heritage Buildings of Beirut, Lebanon (Elsie Haddad); Hitis of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi Shrestha) ; Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home, Australia (Tace Stevens); Lamanai, Belize (Morena Pérez Joachin); La Maison du Peuple, Burkina Faso (Adrien Bitibaly); Sumba Island, Indonesia (Fransisca Angela); Teotihuacán, Mexico (Yael Martínez); Tiretta Bazaar, India (Soumya Sankar Bose); and Yanacancha-Huaquis Cultural Landscape, Peru (Victor Zea and Diego López Calvín).
Heritage in Focus has been made possible, in part, by support from Nora McNeely Hurley and Manitou Fund; Donna Perret Rosen; Lorna B. Goodman; The Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust; and Monika McLennan.
WMF’s work at the Asante Traditional Buildings, Ghana, has been made possible, in part, by support from the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), the U.S. Embassy Accra, and the Watch Committee of World Monuments Fund.
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