Integrating Asafo Companies for Sustainable Ocean and Coastal Heritage Management in Ghana

Main Article Content

John Windie Ansah
Georgina Yaa Oduro
Rosabelle Boswell

Abstract

African intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a rich resource for identity, community and sociality. Heritage institutions such as the Asafo
companies in Ghana, are traditional warrior groups that historically defended the state. Today, they are critical to coastal heritage management processes. This article reveals their contribution and argues that, while Asafo groups desire greater inclusion in heritage management, the national government of Ghana seeks to decentralize ocean governance processes. But, Asafo companies are complex groupings in which identity and “place,” matter. The article concludes that for a decolonial and sustainable ocean heritage management, the national government of Ghana needs to engage with Asafo companies to better understand them. In doing, so, the government will be better placed to support both a decolonial heritage conservation and ocean sustainability. 

Article Details

How to Cite
Ansah, J. W., Oduro, G. Y., & Boswell, R. (2025). Integrating Asafo Companies for Sustainable Ocean and Coastal Heritage Management in Ghana. Modern Africa: Politics, History and Society, 12(2), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.26806/modafr.v12i2.572
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Articles
Author Biographies

John Windie Ansah, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Cape Coast Ghana

He is an associate professor in Political Economy at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Cape Coast. He was appointed a faculty member of the Institute of Global Law and Policy
(IGLP), Harvard Law School, in 2015 where he lectured in the area of "‘Society of Global Corporations" in a writing workshop held in Qatar. He is a Co-Investigator in the UKRI-funded One Ocean Hub Project. E-mail: john.ansah@ucc.edu.gh

Georgina Yaa Oduro, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Cape Coast, Ghana

She is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. She has a PhD from the University of Cambridge (UK). Her research focuses on gender, cultural heritage and youth in the blue economy. She is past Director of the Centre for Gender Research, Advocacy and Documentation (CEGRAD) and now leads a multidisciplinary and multi-country Mastercard Foundation funded project funded by ICRW on gender inequality in seven African countries including Ghana, She has a number of publications to her credit. E-mail: gyoduro@ucc.edu.gh

Rosabelle Boswell, Coastal and Marine Research Institute, Ocean Sciences Campus, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa

She holds a NRF South African Research Chair in Ocean Cultures and Heritage. Based at Nelson Mandela University, she leads a multi-country project on coastal cultural heritage in Africa. Her PhD in Anthropology is from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. She is author of several books, academic articles and poetry anthologies. She has conducted research in seven African countries. She is interested in sensory ethnography, restorative justice and the facets of decoloniality in a globalizing, climate aff ected world. Her latest project is a science-to-business endeavour entitled "The Blue Values Journey." E-mail: rose.boswell@mandela.ac.za