The Door of No Return

In Nana Mosi’s storytelling voice, the big war is described as a feud between the kings of Upper and Lower Kwanta land. They shared the land and its crops in peace originally, including all the gold from the river, but then a week’s worth of mining went missing. Their King of the Upper region, Manu Bambara II, went to find the suspected thieves in King Nii Boateng’s house. King Boateng was entertaining guests, and he didn’t appreciate King Bambara’s accusations. A vicious war ensued, killing many men and wrecking homes. Finally, King Bambara blocked off the other side’s access to the river, land, and rich soil, and the other side began to starve. In this way, King Bambara caused a truce and treaty, which ended the war.

The terms of the treaty between Lower and Upper Kwanta are explained, including that there will be “perpetual peace” between the two sides (61). Upper Kwanta was given full governance of the river, but they give Lower Kwanta its fair distribution of gold each year. Lower Kwanta was allowed to plant and farm on their land too. Every year, they agreed to have a festival to celebrate this treaty.