Negotiating Peace Within Traditional Spaces: The Asantehene’s Cloths in the Mediation of the Dagbon Chieftaincy Conflict

ABSTRACT: This paper contributes to the discourse on the role of African art in conflict mediation and peacebuilding. Art has been identified as a powerful tool for negotiations, transformation, and restoration during and after conflict. While most literature has focused on the explicit use of art as a tool in conflict resolution, this paper shows how art can implicitly influence resolution processes. The paper shows the role of traditional woven textiles, as an art form, in the process of conflict resolution by analyzing three pieces of cloth worn by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, King of the Asante Kingdom of Ghana during his mediation of a prolonged and bitter conflict in the nearby Dagbon Kingdom in the northern part of Ghana. This paper argues that the clothes worn by the Asantehene communicated his firm belief in advancing peaceful negotiations and outcomes, reflected his mood, and illustrated the actions he took during the arbitration. In negotiating peace among conflicting parties, the Asantehene intentionally used his cloth as a medium of peacebuilding.