Yaa Asantewaa’s 95th Death Anniversary Marked

On the 17th October 2016 a special Memorial Ceremony was held at the Seychelles Natural History Museum for Obaa Yaa Asantewaa – Queen of Ghana. A Buddhist Monk from Sri Lanka, was especially invited to perform the Buddhist Puja of Mataka Wattha and Bodhi which is normally performed by Buddhists Monks in Sri Lanka to remember and transfer Merits to those who have passed away.

The aim of having a Buddhist Puja, was to recognise the Saint, Buddha or Bodhisattva status that Queen Mother Nana Yaa Asantewaa achieved after she passed – which was confirmed to Queen Mother Saa Poognaa by priests in Ghana and also by Priests in Asia - when she travelled to Thailand, Indonesia and Nepal.

The second part of the Ceremony will be officiated by Queen Mother Saa Poognaa who is also a Royal traditional priest of the Dagarti peoples of Northern Ghana.

Queen Mother Saa Poognaa at the memorial event for Queen Mother Nana Yaa Asantewaa with Reverend Ambagasdowe Bharatha from Sri Lanka who conducted traditional pujas in her memory at the Natural History Museum in Victoria, Mahé This is possibly the first time that a ceremony of this kind has taken place in Mahé specifically to mark and honour the courage and valiance of the unsung heroism of the Great Warrior Queen Mother Nana Yaa Asantewaa.

In Europe and Asia, Saints, Warriors and Heroes are given a lot of national and historical importance: Statues, memorials, museums, buildings and streets are erected and named in their honour. Whilst the Heritage Tourism in Europe is a multi-million dollar industry - we in Africa have yet to catch up with our European counterparts.

We believe that the time is overdue, and we in Africa absolutely need to start telling our own Royal Stories and also learning how to project the importance and value of these Histories onto the World Stage. An important part of the work of Queen Mother Saa Poognaa is to meet with Ministers of Tourism and Culture in Seychelles, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Ethiopia to discuss ways in which the Royal Heritage of Africa and her surrounding Islands can be elevated to place where Africa begins to attract thousands of visitors from all over the world to come and see her Royal Heritage Festivals and Monuments. In the words of the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alan St Ange; “We need Tourism to promote our Heritage and we need Heritage to Safeguard our Tourism.”

In 2017 we will be inviting a much larger delegation which will include our own Royal Priests from Ghana, some Tibetan Buddhist Priest from Nepal and India as well as some Ethiopian Orthodox Christian priests to help us to conduct the important ceremonial prayers, blessings and Pujas that confer and acknowledge the honorific title of Saint and Bodhisattva that the Warrior Queen Nana Yaa Asantewaa achieved by virtue of the 'Enormous', and 'Great Suffering' that she endured during the War of the Golden Stool and also during her 21 years in exile - for the sake of her Nation and her People.

Source: Seychelles NATION