Culture is more than entertainment – Asantehene
Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, says the relegation of African culture to mere entertainment is a grave mistake that undermines development, governance and the future of society.
Speaking on the theme “Governance, Culture and Diaspora,” the 16th occupant of the Golden Stool told faculty and students at the Howard University that culture is far more than ceremonial display.
“This brings me to culture. Culture is frequently treated as entertainment: appearing at festivals, tourism events, diplomatic ceremonies, and national celebrations, while being too often absent from serious conversations about development, governance, and the future of society. This is a mistake,” the Asantehene stated.
According to him, culture is not merely about dance, clothing, food and ceremony, though those are important. “Culture includes language, morality, historical memory, family organisation, spirituality, political philosophy, customary law, artistic expression, methods of conflict resolution, environmental understanding, and ideas about what constitutes a good human life,” he explained.
He noted that culture defines the identity of a group of people and provides the intellectual and moral vocabulary through which they understand life’s key moments — birth and death, childhood and adulthood, marriage and family, authority and responsibility, suffering and hope.
“A society that loses confidence in its culture eventually loses confidence in itself,” Otumfuo warned.
He stressed, however, that cultural preservation does not mean freezing society in the past. “Culture is not a dead object to be placed behind glass; it is a living heritage that must be understood, practiced, questioned, renewed, and transmitted. Modernity must not be confused with imitation,” he said.
On the diaspora, Otumfuo said the relationship must be built on mutual respect and strategic cooperation. “The relationship between Africa and its diaspora must therefore be built on mutual respect, shared history, and practical cooperation. It must not be reduced to nostalgia or romanticism, but developed as a strategic partnership for intellectual, economic, cultural, and social renewal,” he stated.
Tracing the history of forced migration through the transatlantic slave trade, he said its consequences remain visible in inequality and cultural displacement, but stressed that the diaspora story is also one of resilience.
“The history of the African diaspora cannot be written only as a story of victimisation, because it is also a story of survival, intellectual courage, scientific innovation, and cultural creativity,” Otumfuo said.
“Those who crossed the Atlantic under conditions of extreme violence carried more than their bodies: they carried memory, spirituality, rhythm… and an unyielding desire for freedom.”
He added that Africa needs the skills, capital and global reach of its diaspora, while the diaspora benefits from a deep reconnection to its historical roots and spiritual home.