Hat of a devil in the palace of Bodwesango

In a room at the chief’s palace in Bodwesango, a village in the Adansi North District in the Ashanti Region, lies a hat believed to belong to a devil. It is called sasabonsam kye.

The devil, known as sasabonsam, is described by the elders of the town as a vampire-like creature who emerged from the mountain surrounding the town to live with them in the 17th century wearing that hat.

The story has it that sasabonsam abandoned its hat when it was chased by the town’s warriors.

The hat is said to be in this room

Those who are said to have had the privilege of seeing the sasabonsam kye include the current Odikro of the town, Nana Akomhene, the Okyeame hene, Nana Kwaa, the Nsafoa hene, Papa Nigeria, the Asumankwaahene, Nana Ankoma and some of the town folks.

Nana Kwaa who spoke to The Mirror last Tuesday in an interview at his residence at Bodwesango shared his experience the first time he saw the sasabonsam kye.

He said: “3hu paa, sunsum wo mu,” meaning it is very scary and has a spirit.

“That day I could not look at it twice. l felt sick suddenly and I was sick for a long time. It was fearful and looked like something that is embedded with a spirit.

Nsafoahene, Papa Nigeria (left) explains a point to this reporter.

After I recovered, I made a decision not to look at it again. Anytime I enter that room to pour libation, I look elsewhere and raise the glass at it. Many years ago the then Otumfuo made arrangement to have it sent to the Manhyia palace but we did not allow that. Currently we’ve had discussions to let it serve as a tourist attraction for those who will like to see it,” he said.
 
More characteristics
Describing the sasabonsam kye, the Asumankwaahene, Nana Ankoma, said it was cylindrical in shape with a rough bark-like skin and weird spikes which seemed difficult to peel.

The road to Adansi Bodwesango

For his part, Nana Ankoma who believes that the hat was possessed with a spirit said “seeing it worried me.  I felt l should not have looked at it and was nervous for some days”, he also concluded: “3y3 hu paa”.

Papa Nigeria took this reporter to the door of the room to pour libation.

Some residents shared their experiences seeing the popular sasabonsam kye but some residents who had not seen it claimed in their narration that their grandparents had told them about it.

Sasabonsam is believed to have emerged from the mountain

Akosua Adusa, born and raised in Bodwesango, said “my grandmother told me about it and also shared her experience seeing it with me. 

“The door to the room where it lay would neither be opened to me nor any member of the public”, she said.

A lotto ‘’doctor ‘’, Yaw Frimpong, who operated at the junction of the Bodwesango palace said “I have seen it before. It was the Akwasidae festival and l was helping them clean the palace. That day l almost screamed because I have always thought it was a myth”.

Okyeamehene who seemed to have a hard time talking narrated the history behind the vampire creature. He believed that the sasabonsam came to their land because someone offended the river god or the gods of the land.

He described the creature as having strange teeth, hooks for feet, lived in trees in the forest and fed on people on their way to the farm.

Long legs 

He said that the legs of the creature were so long that when it sat on a tree, its legs could reach the ground causing some of the farmers to mistake them for firewood but immediately they tried to cut, it quickly attacked them from above.

Bodwesango is a plantain hub in the Adansi district

"When it comes into your house and sits on the roof, his legs are not able to reach the ground, he said.

Okyeamehene said “it robbed the town of many lives by killing many people. We feared going to the farm because it was not possible to return home. Eventually, it was an old woman who told the Asafo group to use ‘amonsi’, a loin cloth used as a pad for menstruation to pull the trigger of a gun at it. The action is what is believed to have chased it out of the town, leaving its hat behind. “

This reporter in a chat with the Okyeamehene, Nana Akwaa (middle ) and the Asumankwaahene, Nanana Ankoma      

He added that till date, the place where the creature was shot in the forest could not grow trees and when it rained, that portion did not get wet.       

He said that the town had plans to allow the public to see the sasabonsam kye as a means of increasing domestic tourism in the town.

Writer's email address: lydiaezit@gmail.com