Safo Kantankan married Kunadu Yiadom and fathered four Asantehenes with her

Asanteman, comprising approximately 36 traditional areas (paramountcies), has consistently had its kings (Asantehene) originate from the Kumasi paramountcy since its formation in the 1670s.

This means that all 19 kings of Asanteman have been chiefs from Kumasi. So normally, you’d expect that all of them would also have both parents from Kumasi.

But history shows that four of these kings had fathers who were not from Kumasi.

According to historian and lawyer Nana Obiri Yeboah, Safo Kantankan, who was the Mamponghene (chief of Mampong), married a queen mother from Kumasi and had four children with her—four sons who all later became Asantehenes.

“Safo Kantankan married Kunadu Yiadom, who was then Asantehemaa, and they had children together. One of the fearsome histories of Mampong is that four children of Mamponghene Safo Kantankan became Asantehenes. They are Osei Kwame Panyin, Osei Tutu Kwamena Asibey Bonsu, Opoku Frefre, and Osei Yaw Akoto. This has never happened anywhere in the world, in Asanteman, and in Ghana,” he said in Twi during a recent interview with Wontumi TV/FM.

Obiri Yeboah also explained that this is one of the reasons the current Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, calls the people of Mampong his “fathers.”

He added that Safo Kantankan didn’t only marry the Kumasi queen mother. He also married two other queen mothers from different traditional areas.

“Safo Kantankan’s record was very terrifying. History has it that he married a Juabenghemaa, called Pantsia, which is a subject of debate. He also married a Kumawuhemaa… he married a lot of women, including an Asantehemaa, a Juabenghemaa and a Kumawuhemaa. Just one man — look at the number of queen mothers he married,” he added.