page_title: Robert Sutherland Rattray
hierarchical_section_title: Robert Sutherland Rattray
caption_attribution_description: English: Gold was extremely important in the economic and political life of the Akan kingdoms of southern Ghana and C&#244;te d'Ivoire. Until the mid-nineteenth century, gold dust was the primary form of currency in the region. In order to measure precise amounts of gold, an elaborate system of weights, usually made of cast brass, developed by the seventeenth century. Gold weights took many forms: simple geometric shapes; animals, such as leopards or birds; objects, such as chairs or swords; and human figures. The figures, animals, and objects are often associated with proverbs. The sankofa bird, with head turned backward, represents the proverb &#8220;One must turn to the past to move forward.&#8221;
context_page_description: Robert Sutherland Rattray, GBE, known as Captain R. S. Rattray, was a barrister and held a diploma in Anthropology from Oxford.
  He was an early Africanist and student of the Ashanti. He was one of the early writers on Oware, and on Ashanti gold weights. An amusement park constructed by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly is named Rattray park in memorial of R.S. Rattray.
context_section_description: Robert Sutherland Rattray, GBE, known as Captain R. S. Rattray (1881 in India – 1938), was a barrister and held a diploma in Anthropology from Oxford.
  He was an early Africanist and student of the Ashanti. He was one of the early writers on Oware, and on Ashanti gold weights. An amusement park constructed by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly is named Rattray park in memorial of R.S. Rattray.
caption: Example of Akan gold weight described by Rattray. Symbolizes proverb "One must turn to the past to move forward."
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