"A Man without a Stool is a Man without Dignity"

Even today, in our modern lives, most households have a form of stool. Interior design magazines often show houses decorated with an ethnic touch featuring a tribal stool, either used as a side table or as an additional seat in the living room.

(7) Carved wooden stool
from the HeHe in Iringa, Tanzania

(6) Wooden stool 
from the Hehe, Tanzania

All over Africa, stools have long been seen in terms of both function and prestige, and have been counted among important ritual objects. The seat, usually in the form of a stool or chair, is by far the most important piece of furniture in Africa. In many royal and chieftain societies, certain stools have been signifiers of the power to rule, as among the Ashanti in Ghana.

There, the golden stool which is the most important item of the Ashanti king's regalia, served as the embodiment of the soul of the nation. The Akan use the word for stool in reference not only to the object itself, but also to the office of chief or king. To say "the Ashanti stool" (asante akonnwa) means the same as saying "the English throne". Among the Ashanti it was believed to be the "seat" of its owner´s soul. When it was not needed, it was tipped to one side so that it could not be used by anyone else.

The social significance of the stool has its origin in religious beliefs. Like the headrest the stool was and still is a very personal item. A leader would have an elaborately carved stool as opposed to the simple kitchen one used by women. The more elaborate the stool, the higher the seniority of the person using it. Highly elaborate stools usually signify the governing authority of their proprietors. Among certain peoples an additional embellishment to the basic form is a high carved back, which in effect transforms the stool into a throne.

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(9) Tribal wooden stool from Tanzania

(8) Stool from the Makonde, Tanzania

(10) An Ashante stool from Ghana

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