ABSTRACT
The system of land-tenure in Ashanti was based on kinship solidarity, allegiance to tribal stools, and the supremacy of the ancestors. Kinship, reverence for the ancestors and belief in the spiritual power of the Earth have combined to give lands tenure in Ashanti its peculiar character. In any Ashanti village the inquirer was informed, 'The land belongs to the stool', or 'The land belongs to the chief'. The chiefs were the custodians of the land. The obligation to military service was phrased in terms of kinship. In addition to military service, the subjects of a stool were liable for various levies for certain specific purposes. When the Ashanti Union was formed, the Asantehene also secured certain rights. The rights of the Asantehene over lands in the Kumasi Division were the same as the rights exercised by the Divisional chiefs in their own Division.
