Kumasi

Kente Weaver on Adum Street in Kumasi, Ghana, 1819

Lake Bosomtwe

There is evidence that the area around Kumasi has been kept cleared since the Neolithic age and that the first human settlement was at Lake Bosomtwe.

The name derives from the Twi language, meaning "Under the Kum tree." The word "ase" or "asi" means "under, down, or below" and is used in many place names in Ghana, such as Obuasi, Daboase, and Kenyase.

Around the end of the 17th century, the Asante Kingdom chief fetish Priest Anokye Komfuo planted three "KUM" trees at different places: one at Kwaaman ruled by the Nananom Ayokofuo, a second one at Apemso-Bankofo ruled by Nananom Aduanafuo, and a third at a village near Fomena and Amoafo called Oboani, which was ruled by Nananom Ɛkoɔnafuo. He wanted to see which of these would become a great city for the kingdom, as he was directed by the oracles. The Kum tree at Kwaaman flourished and became a very big tree under which the King and his people often sat, and so Kwaaman became Kum-ase meaning under Kum.

The tree at Oboani was, however, very tiny and for no apparent reason was relatively short. According to oral tradition this small tree however produced a couple of other trees which were all small in size. The name of the village was changed to Kuma meaning small Kum.

The Kum tree at Apemso-Bankofo did not grow at all. After some few weeks the leaves got rotten and the tree fell down. So it was said that the Kum tree was dead and the village became Kum-awu and this later changed to become Kumawu.[6]

Kings Way Road in Kumasi, 1925

The city rose to prominence in 1695 when it became capital of the Ashanti Confederacy due to the activities of its ruler Osei Tutu.[7] The ruler of Kumasi, known as the Asantehene, also served as ruler of the Confederacy, with their 1701 victory over Denkyira the Asante confederacy became the primary state among the Ashantis.[8] Parts of the city, including the then royal residence, were destroyed by British troops in the Third Anglo-Ashanti War of 1874.[9]

Lady Mary Alice Hodgson, the first English lady to visit Ashanti, wrote "The Siege of Kumasi" an account of the siege of the fort by the nationals of Ashanti and of the subsequent march to the coast.[10] (She was the daughter of Hon. W. A. G. Young, C.M.G., former governor of the Gold Coast, and the wife of Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson, K.C.M.G., the governor of the Gold Coast in 1900.[10])

In 1926, following the return of the Ashanti King Prempeh I, after a 30-year exile, Kumasi was restored as the ceremonial control over the Ashanti sub-states .The full role of king was restored by the colonial administration in 1935. The city holds an important place in the history of the Ashanti people, as legend claims that it was here Okomfo Anokye received the golden stool, an embodiment of the soul of the Ashanti nation Ashanti. Yaa Asantewaa, also a very renowned Ashanti warrior and leader, was taken to Seychelles Island and never returned.

Kumasi has 50% of the timber industry of Ghana, and the Kaasi Industrial Area plays an important role in the local industry. The Guinness Ghana Breweries is based in Kumasi.

Solar panels are prevalent in Kumasi and Ashanti. Solar energy technology is a major energy source and contributor of electricity generation in Ashanti.

Much of the shopping and trading activity in the city takes place at Kumasi's shopping streets, in and around Kejetia Market and Adum. These two areas – Kejetia and Adum – have a common boundary. There is also heavy economic activities at Bantama and Asafo. Asafo in particular is the printing hub of Kumasi. Most of the printing done in Kumasi and Ashanti Region as a whole is done at Asafo.

There are both government-assisted primary schools in Kumasi and also private primary schools in Kumasi which educate boys and girls between the ages from 6 to 15.

The elite all-boys senior high schools in Kumasi are Prempeh College and Opoku Ware School. And the elite all-girls schools in Kumasi are Yaa Asantewaa Girls Senior High School and St. Louis Senior High School. There are so many public and private Senior High schools in Kumasi.

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (formerly the Kumasi College of Technology) is the biggest university in the Ashanti Region and the second biggest in Ghana after the University of Ghana. Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan attended this institution. A number of other public and private universities and tertiary institutions have since been founded in Kumasi, some of which are listed below.

Kumasi is served by the Kumasi Airport. As of May 2020 two airlines offered regularly scheduled flights to Accra. Airlines servicing the airport included Africa World Airlines and Passion Air. The airport has undergone construction to allow for night operations.[15]

Public transport in the city is provided by transit buses, a mix of privately owned mini-buses known as tro tros, taxicabs and buses. Tro tros are usually converted mini-buses that run regular, well-known routes. Some taxis also run regular routes, which cost more but provide for a more comfortable ride.

In 2002, the city introduced the metro bus services, a rapid transit system for public road transport in Kumasi (MetroMass).[16] This was to reduce congestion on roads and to make a larger and more organised bus routine system in the city.[17]

In 2017, Uber introduced services in Kumasi, a year after a successful introduction in Accra. Yenko Taxi offers similar service.

Kumasi is served by the railway lines to Sekondi-Takoradi and Accra. The train service has been suspended for several years because of damaged track, bridges and locomotives. Currently, no train is running from and to Kumasi due to the collapse of the railway corporation some years back. A $6 billion project to upgrade the railways was due to get underway in 2011.[18]

As of 2011, construction of the Boankra Inland Port, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) away, has come to a halt.[19]

Kumasi is twinned with:

	Country		City		County / district / region / state	Date
	Ivory Coast		Abidjan		Lagunes	2004
			Treichville
	US		Atlanta		Georgia	2010
	Netherlands		Almere		Flevoland	2001
	US		Charlotte		North Carolina	1996
	US		Columbus		Ohio	2008
	Canada		Kitchener		Ontario	2010
	US		Newark		New Jersey	1999
	South Africa	Tshwane			Gauteng	2010
	US		Winston-Salem		North Carolina	2001
	UK		Methilhill		Scotland	2017