Of mudfishes, fruitful ambiguity and misunderstanding
“An account of a meeting between the British governor Rowe and an Asante embassy in 1881 gives a slight indication of the Asante use of such indirect and allusive speech in diplomatic negotiation. The senior Asante stated his intention by declaring ‘I have come down to stop all those small leaks in the roof which have been giving trouble of late. If I cannot do this, we must have a new roof’. (This was interpreted as ‘I have come for peace’.) Rowe replied in the same way and ended by declaring ‘I am not a mudfish’. Native informants of Ellis, who recorded this exchange, glossed the last remark in several ways. One said the governor was declaring he was not a mudfish which buries itself and so was not easily caught, that is, he was not a fool; another said that as the mudfish stirs up mud and cannot be seen the governor was declaring his openness; a third said the fish had venomous spines which wound those who touch it and so the governor was saying he did not wish harm to the Asante. Finally, a colonial official said the mudfish was worthless and the governor was stressing he was not. Clearly, such high allusive speech opened up a vast range of possibilities for fruitful ambiguity and misunderstanding.”
- Malcolm D. McLeod, The Asante, London: British Museum Publications, 1981.
