page_title: Akrafena
section_title: Heraldic description
hierarchical_section_title: Akrafena / Akrafena as an Ashanti national symbol / Heraldic description
caption_attribution_description: English: Sword (Akrafena)
context_page_description: An Akrafena is an Ashanti sword, originally meant for warfare but also forming part of Ashanti heraldry. The foremost example of an akrafena is the Mponponson, which belonged to Opoku Ware II. It has survived to the present day because it is still occasionally used in ceremonies, such as the Odwira festival.
  The expert use of akrafena is also a martial art, utilising the blade in conjunction with knives, improvised weapons, street-fighting, hand-to-hand combat, joint locks, grappling and weapon disarming techniques. The akrafena martial art is the national sport of the Ashanti City-State.
context_section_description: The Blazon: The akrafena is used in conjunction with the stool blackening ceremony. Nsuaefena is used in the political ceremony of taking the oath of office by the king and in the swearing oaths of allegiance by subjects of Ashanti City-State. The akrafena also may be carried as a heraldic device, by the Ashanti emperor's-king's emissaries on Ashanti City-State diplomatic missions. In such situations the meaning associated with the symbol embossed on the sheath conveys the message of the mission. Blade of an afenatene sword showing the akoma (heart), denkyem (crocodile), akuma (axe) and the sankofa bird.
  The Ashanti national symbol Akrafena description:
  The Akrafena is a prominent symbol of the Ashantis in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries into the 21st century;
  The Akrafena as an Ashanti national symbol has the escutcheon meaning; Akrafena ("Symbol of courage, valor, and heroism").
caption: Ashanti Akrafena (Sword)
   c. 19th – 20th century
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