Extensive preparations are underway throughout Asanteman, for the burial (Doteyie), of Nana Konadu Yiadom III, the late Asantehemaa.
Nana Konadu Yiadom died on August 07, 2025, after reigning for eight years on the stool.
As part of the preparations a ban has been imposed on all funeral activities in Asanteman, starting from September 02, 2025, until after the burial on September 18, 2025.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, announcing the dates for the burial during the one-week rites for the late queen mother at the Manhyia palace on August 21, this year, said the four-day burial rites will start from September 14, and end on September 18, 2025, at the Manhyia palace.
The late queen mother will be laid in state on September 14.
There would be a public viewing and the file past of the body the following day.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, will then sit in state on Tuesday and Wednesday September 16th and 17th, 2025, to receive dignitaries and delegations, who would mourn with him.
According to the burial schedule, there would be a total ban on all commercial and trading activities in the Kumasi metropolis on September 18, 2025, for the people to mourn the late Asantehemaa.
There would also be a curfew from 8 pm of September 18, 2025, till dawn of September 19, 2025, in all communities, where the mortal remains of the late queen mother would pass through to the royal mausoleum (Baamu) at Breman for interment during that night.
The communities include Ashtown, Krofrom, Bantama, Abrepo, Suame, Breman and all other suburbs along that route.
How Asantehemaa is buried
The ‘Doteyie’, according to Mr Y.A Gyamfi, an Asante Diplomacy Historian, are the traditional burial rites of an Asantehemaa, usually performed between 40 and 80 days after death.
These ceremonies, which often last for about four days, are highly structured and deeply symbolic.
They include the laying-in-state of the body of the queen mother at her palace at Manhyia, where mourners are allowed to file past to pay their respects, followed by the presentation of ‘Adesiedie’, (funeral gifts), such as gold dust, cloth, drinks, and money.
These items are meant to be both spiritual offerings and practical support for the queen mother’s journey into the ancestral world.
Public mourning is marked by ritual wailing, drumming with Atumpan, kete, and fontomfrom, as well as musket firing to demonstrate the collective grief of Asanteman.
The burial itself takes place at dawn, beginning with rites at the Bantama mausoleum before final interment at the royal burial grounds at Breman (royal mausoleum), symbolically invoking the guidance of the ancestors.
A curfew is enforced, requiring citizens to stay indoors from 8 pm to 4 am on the night of the burial, preserving solemnity and order.
More than a farewell, the Doteyie embodies Asante beliefs in the immortality of the soul, ensuring the deceased is honoured with dignity, escorted spiritually to join the ancestors, and remembered as a vital link in the continuity of Asante tradition and authority.
By Kwabia Owusu-Mensah
Source: GNA
Source: ghanabusinessnews.com
