What is the function of the “Queen Mother” tradition among the Kwahu people of Ghana?
Social organization in all Akan kingdoms is based on matrilineal descent. Within kingdoms, the basic group is the clan, of which there are eight in total, with members of each clan often occupying every town and village (Encyclopedia of Worm Cultures 1995, p. 11-12; Associate Professor of Folklore 6 Oct. 1999). Each town or village has a royal family (the family that first settled there), and from this royal family the chief and the queen mother are selected by the elders of the royal family, the chief, or the queen mother (Associate Professor of Folklore 6 Oct. 1999). Occasionally the chief and queen mother are related to each other as mother and son, but more often they are uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, cousins, etc. A carved wooden stool is the symbol of authority, and the chief and queen mother are “enstooled,” as European monarchs are enthroned (Stoeltje 1997, p. 51; Associate Professor of Folklore 6 Oct. 1999). Queen mothers are the “most important” officials involved in sele
