<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Religion </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Non-religious Ashanti Anglicanism Roman Catholicism Islam and others </Td> </Tr> <P> Ashanti (or more accurately Asante; (listen; pronunciation: / ˈæʃɑːnˈtɪ / A-shahn - TI; or Asante Twi pronunciation: Asantefo / ˈæsɑːnˈtɪˈfoʊ / A-sahn - TI - foh; singular masculine: Asantenibarima, singular feminine: Asantenibaa)) are a nation and ethnic group native to the Ashanti Region of modern - day Ghana . The Asante people speak the Asante dialect of Twi . The language is spoken by over nine million ethnic Asante people as a first or second language . The word Ashanti is an English language misnomer . Asante literally means "because of wars". The Ashanti are believed to descend from Abyssinians, who were pushed south by the Egyptian forces . </P> <P> The wealthy gold - rich Asante people developed the large and influential Ashanti Empire, along the Lake Volta and Gulf of Guinea . The empire was founded in 1670, and the Ashanti capital Kumasi was founded in 1680 the late 17th century by Asantehene (emperor) Osei Kofi Tutu I on the advice of Ɔkͻmfoͻ Anͻkye, his premier . Sited at the crossroads of the Trans - Saharan trade routes, the Kumasi megacity's strategic location contributed significantly to its growing wealth . Over the duration of the Kumasi metropolis' existence, a number of peculiar factors have combined to transform the Kumasi metropolis into a fitting financial centre and political capital . The main causal factors included the unquestioning loyalty to the Ashanti monarchy and the Kumasi metropolis' growing wealth, derived in part from the capital's lucrative domestic - trade in items such as bullion . </P>

Who are the ashanti explain what they are known for