Yaa Asantewaa Museum

The Yaa Asantewaa Museum
Museum facade alongside the statue of Asantewaa in 2016.
Map
Established2000
LocationNear to Regional Road 104, Ejisu, Ashanti Region, Ghana
Coordinates6°42′49″N 1°28′01″W / 6.7136°N 1.4670°W / 6.7136; -1.4670

The Yaa Asantewaa Museum is a museum in Ejisu Municipal District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It was built to honor Ashanti leader Yaa Asantewaa, who was the queen mother of Ejisu.

The museum was established in 2000, to mark the centenary of the Yaa Asantewaa War. It aimed to recreate a typical Asante royal residence from ca. 1900.[1]

In 2004, the museum was gutted by a fire. Most of its relics that were inside were destroyed, and only a few clay pots remained.[2] As a result of the fire and closure of the museum, tourism within the area significantly decreased.[3]

In October 2009, local leaders expressed a desire to refurbish the museum,[4] and in 2016 UNICEF agreed to contribute US$10 million towards its reconstruction. The new facility will be constructed on a 14-acre plot of land.[5]

  1. ^ Day, Lynda (2004). "What's Tourism Got to Do with It?: The Yaa Asantewa Legacy and Development in Asanteman". Africa Today. 51 (1): 99–113. doi:10.1353/at.2004.0060. JSTOR 4187631. S2CID 153518855.
  2. ^ "Ghana's Nana Yaa Asantewaa Museum Left to Rot After Fire Outbreak". 22 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Ghana News - Ghana loses revenue as Yaa Asantewaa Museum remains abandoned". www.myjoyonline.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-21.
  4. ^ Chief Calls For Refurbishment Of Yaa Asantewaa Museum Peace FM Online, 27 October 2009
  5. ^ "UNICEF to reconstruct Yaa Asantewaa museum with $10 million". 11 June 2016.