Warfare is not something that takes place only in the battlefield. For the asafo companies of western Ghana, competition among groups took as much an aesthetic as a military form. These military companies use flags to represent, in vivid and graphic ways, the values and ethos of the group.

The whale is a mighty, awe-inspiring creature. Yet technological superiority may often overcome natural strength. A common saying associated with this flag motif is: “No one can defeat the whale except the ship.”