IN CELEBRATION OF ELOQUENCE Speaking for the Chief: Okyeame and the Politics of Akan Royal Oratory. By KWESI YANKAH. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995. Pp. 194. £32.50 (ISBN 0-253-36801-4); £14.99, paperback (ISBN 0-253-20946-3).

Abstract

Anyone lucky enough to attend an Akan royal ritual is struck by the central role played by one or more, usually old, men who carry long staves with elaborate, often golden, finials. They, rather than the ruler, seem to do all the talking. The king's voice is often virtually a whisper (bokoo) and even when audible is intentionally rushed and even hesitant. People address the king through an individual okyeame just as the king speaks indirectly through an okyeame. They do not simply pass on messages; and this is very much more than oration through intermediaries. They speak eloquently; and the most revered akyeame use a striking poetic, allusive language of proverb and metaphor in which routine and contemporary discussion becomes universal and timeless.