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“The Silence Beneath the Tree”


A Forgotten Legacy of Denkyira, Rediscovered in the Soil of Biriwa

Chapter One

  • Chapter One: Beneath the Tree of Silence

  • Preview Text:Jacob Wilson Sey taps a palm tree and uncovers a treasure buried for centuries. But whose gold was it — and why was it hidden beneath sacred roots?

  • Chapter Two

  • Chapter Two: The Flight of the Golden Chiefs

  • Preview Text:After the fall of Denkyira, a band of chiefs flee south, carrying royal gold and fading hope. Their final act: burying the soul of an empire.

  • Chapter Three

  • Chapter Three: The Silent Inheritance

  • Preview Text:Jacob Wilson Sey’s rise begins with buried gold — but the silence around its origin speaks louder than any fortune. What legacy did he unknowingly inherit?

  • Chapter Four

  • Chapter Four: The Last Keeper

  • Preview Text:In Twifo Praso, a boy named Kwaku Agyeman listens to stories of vanished chiefs and sacred trees. His bloodline holds a secret that history forgot.

  • Chapter Five

  • Chapter Five: The Tree That Watches

  • Preview Text:Archaeologist Ama Nyarko uncovers Denkyira regalia beneath a twisted tree. The past begins to stir, and the silence of centuries begins to speak.

  • Chapter Six

  • Chapter Six: The Return of the Golden Silence

  • Preview Text:A ceremonial gathering beneath the tree brings Denkyira and Fante together. The chiefs are remembered, and the buried legacy begins to rise.

  • Chapter Seven

  • Chapter Seven: The King Who Does Not Yet Know

  • Preview Text:As Denkyira crowns its 26th king, a letter arrives with news of a buried truth. The throne is inherited — but the story beneath it remains untold.

  • Chapter Eight

  • Chapter Eight: The Letter and the Tree

  • Preview Text:Ama’s letter reaches the palace. A delegation travels to Biriwa, where a tree holds the memory of chiefs who buried gold and vanished into silence.

  • Chapter Nine

  • Chapter Nine: The Festival of Two Rivers

  • Preview Text:Denkyira and Fante communities unite in a new tradition. Beneath the tree, a stool is placed, and the story of exile becomes a song of return.

  • Chapter Ten

  • Chapter Ten: The Dream of the Vanished Chiefs

  • Preview Text:A boy begins to dream of golden chiefs and sacred trees. A second cache is found, and the legacy of Denkyira awakens in the next generation.

  • Chapter 1: Beneath the Tree of Silence
    Late 1800s
    Chapter 2: The Flight of the Golden Chiefs
    1701–1720s
    Chapter 4: The Last Keeper
    1902
    Chapter 6: The Return of the Golden Silence
    2025
    Chapter 10: The Dream of the Vanished Chiefs
    Future

    🧡 Why This Story Matters

    I am not Ghanaian by birth — I am German. But Ghana has become my second homeland, not just through marriage, but through memory, curiosity, and reverence.


    Over the years, I’ve walked through Ghana’s historical veins — from the haunting corridors of Cape Coast Castle, Elmina, and Fort Amsterdam, to the quiet ruins of Fort Augustinebørg in Teshie, the coastal echoes of Prampram and Ningo, and the colonial remnants of Fort Ussher, Fort James, and the grounds outside Osu Castle. I’ve stood in Kumasi, visited Fort Kumasi, wandered through the Arts Centres of Accra and Kumasi, and explored the Volta Regional Museum and the Upper East Regional Museum.

    And yet, after shooting over 20,000 photographs across this country, I feel I’ve only scratched the surface. Ghana’s history isn’t just in stone — it’s in silence, in soil, in stories whispered beneath trees.


    This story — The Silence Beneath the Tree — began with a question that wouldn’t leave me: Where did Jacob Wilson Sey’s gold truly come from?  The more I listened, read, and reflected, the more I felt a truth rising from the ground. That Sey’s fortune was not random. That it was the buried legacy of Denkyira chiefs who fled after the fall of their empire, carrying gold not for trade, but for remembrance.

    This is not just fiction. It is a cultural offering. A tribute to the chiefs who vanished, the tree that watched in silence, and the man who unknowingly inherited a kingdom’s soul.


    I share this story to honor Ghana’s ancestral wisdom. To bridge Denkyira and Fante. To invite dialogue, remembrance, and unity.

    If you are a descendant, a historian, a cultural custodian — this story is yours too.

    Let us remember together.

    Remo Kurka
    Cultural Researcher & Storyteller
    Wales / Ghana / Germany
    In service of memory, unity, and ancestral truth

    More information.

    We invite you to explore our main website for even more information and resources. Please take a moment to visit CapeCoastCastleMuseum.com, where you can find a wealth of details about our offerings and the history we proudly share.

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