Gather 'round for a story of an African royal lineage. In 1987, the reigning king of the Hohoe tribe— a father of a son and grandfather of two boys — died after naming his youngest grandson as his successor. Though the king's youngest grandson had moved to Germany after becoming enamored with the country when he was an exchange student, he was chosen to be the new ruler because his father and older brother, both of whom lived with the tribe, were left handed. It is the belief of the tribe that left-handed people are unclean and dishonest. Thus, the youngest grandchild (German resident, but more importantly, a right-handed individual), was named as the successor of the throne.
That man, Nogbe Ngoryifia Céphas Kosi Bansah, was 39 when he was named successor, and 44 when his coronation was held in 1992. Yet after the coronation, King Bansah of the Hohoe returned to his home in Ludwigshafen (near Frankfurt), Germany, and to his German wife Gabrielle. Expressing to his subjects that he did not believe in traditional methods of governance, King Bansah decided on ruling remotely.
Now age 66, the king relies on Skype, the video conferencing software, to communicate his decisions. News reports say that King Bansah is known to stay up late at night to rule on tribal issues. He makes six visits to his kingdom per year.
I've got to hand it to the king, who was able to have his German cake, eat it and wear an African crown too. But as a left-handed person, I feel for the king's father and older brother. I hope they at least earned the respect of their tribe, in spite of being southpaws.
Via Oddity Central | Image: One Girl One Ghana