Kente cloth

Kente cloth

Group of people ornamented with Ashanti-Gold Jewellery wearing variations of the traditional male Ashanti-Kente clothing (first-left, second-middle, last-right) and variant of traditional female Ashanti-Kente clothing (first-middle) worn with traditional Ashanti-Ahenemaa sandals embedded with gold-ornaments variations.
Type	Kente Folk Costume  • Kente Clothing  • Kente Dresses  • Kente Undergarments  • Kente Men's Suits  • Kente Women's Suits  • Kente Neckties  • Kente Bow ties  • Kente Men's Shoes  • Kente Women's Shoes  • Kente Boots  • Kente Footwear  • Kente Sneakers  • Kente Handbags  • Kente Bags  • Kente Fashion Accessories
Material	Silk fabric / Cotton fabric / Woven fabric
Place of origin	Ashanti people ethnic group of Kumasi, Ashanti, Ashantiland
Manufacturer	Ashantis / Economy of Ashanti / Printex
Introduced	c. 8th Century

Kente cloth (known as Nwentom in Ashanti language), is an Ashanti type of silk and cotton fabric made of interwoven cloth strips and is native to the Ashanti people ethnic group of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula.

Kente cloth has its origin with the Ashanti people and the Ashanti Empire. Kente is an Ashanti monarchy royal and sacred cloth worn only in times of extreme importance and was the cloth of Ashanti emperors-kings. Over time, the use of Ashanti kente became more widespread. However, its importance has remained and it is held in high esteem with Ashantis.

Kente is made in Kumasi capital of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula specifically (Bonwire, Adanwomase, Sakora Wonoo, Ntonso in the Kwabre areas of the Ashanti) and among Ashantis. Lastly, Ashanti-Kente is worn by many other groups who have been influenced by Ashantis. Ashanti Kente is the best known of all African textiles. Kente comes from the word kenten, which means basket in Ashanti language. Ashantis refer to kente as nwentoma, meaning woven cloth.

Symbolic meanings of the colors in Kente cloth

Ashanti Kente cloth color variations from Ashanti.

Meanings of the colors in Ashanti Kente Cloth:^[1][2]

• black—maturation, intensified spiritual energy
• blue—peacefulness, harmony and love
• green—vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth, spiritual renewal
• gold—royalty, wealth, high status, glory, spiritual purity
• grey—healing and cleansing rituals; associated with ash
• maroon—the color of mother earth; associated with healing
• pink—assoc. with the female essence of life; a mild, gentle aspect of red
• purple—assoc. with feminine aspects of life; usually worn by women
• red—political and spiritual moods; bloodshed; sacrificial rites and death.
• silver—serenity, purity, joy; assoc. with the moon
• white—purification, sanctification rites and festive occasions
• yellow—preciousness, royalty, wealth, fertility, beauty

Traditions

Theora Video of Ashanti Kente clothing tailor preparing Kente attire in Adanwomase Kente village in Ashanti.

A variety of kente patterns have been invented, each of which has a certain concept or concepts traditionally associated with it.^[3] For example, the Obaakofoo Mmu Man pattern symbolizes democratic rule; Emaa Da, novel creativity and knowledge from experience; and Sika Fre Mogya, responsibility to share monetary success with one's relations.^[4]

Legend has it that kente was first made by two Ashanti friends who went hunting in an Ashanti forest found a spider making its web.^[5] The friends stood and watched the spider for two days then returned home and implemented what they had seen. West Africa has had a cloth weaving culture for centuries via the stripweave method, but Ashanti history tells of the cloth being created independent of outsider influence.

Usage

Kente Cloth, the traditional garment worn by Ashantis and the Ashanti and Ashantiland Peninsula royalty. Currently prevalent throughout Kumasi and Ashanti and on the Ashantiland Peninsula.

The icon of African cultural heritage around the world, Ashanti-Kente is identified by its dazzling, multicolored patterns of bright colors, geometric shapes, and bold designs. Ashanti-Kente characterized by weft designs woven into every available block of plain weave is called adweneasa. The Ashanti people choose kente cloths as much for their names as their colors and patterns. Although the cloths are identified primarily by the patterns found in the lengthwise (warp) threads, there is often little correlation between appearance and name. Names are derived from several sources, including proverbs, historical events, important chiefs, queen mothers, and plants.

The Ndyuka Maroon people of Suriname in South America are the descendants of Akan people who were brought from the Ashantiland Peninsula as slaves after the mid-17th century and who escaped to live in the forests of the interior, eventually obtaining the right of self-government from the colonial powers.^[6] The Pangi cloth made by the Maroons is a cotton fabric with multi-colored vertical and horizontal stripes, similar to Ashanti-kente cloth.^[7]

Cultural depictions of Ashanti-Kente Clothing

Cultural depictions of Ashanti-Kente Clothing Couple ornamented with Ashanti-Gold Jewellery wearing variant of the traditional male Ashanti-Kente clothing (left) and variant of traditional female Ashanti-Kente clothing (right).  Man ornamented with Ashanti-Gold Jewellery wearing variant of the traditional male Ashanti-Kente clothing.  Couple wearing variant of the traditional female Ashanti-Kente clothing (left) and ornamented with Ashanti-Gold Jewellery wearing variant of traditional male Ashanti-Kente clothing (right).  Woman adorned with modern Ashanti people crafted gold jewellery mixed with traditional Ashanti people crafted gold jewellery in an Ashanti people kente clothing fashion show at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly in Ashanti in 2015.  Woman adorned with modern Ashanti people crafted gold jewellery mixed with traditional Ashanti people crafted gold jewellery in an Ashanti people kente clothing fashion show at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly in Ashanti in 2015.  Couple wearing variant of the formal male Ashanti-Kente clothing (left) and variant of formal female Ashanti-Kente dress clothing (right).  Kente variations on display at an Ashanti-Kente clothing store in Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula.  Kente variations on display at an Ashanti-Kente clothing store in Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula.  Kente variations on sale at an Ashanti-Kente clothing store in Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula.  Ashanti-Kente clothing in its packaging brought from an Ashanti-Kente clothing store in Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula.  Traditional Ashanti-Bead Jewellery worn with Ashanti-Kente clothing on display at an Ashanti-Bead Jewellery store in Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula.  Traditional Ashanti-Bead Jewellery worn with Ashanti-Kente clothing on display at an Ashanti-Bead Jewellery store in Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula.  Traditional Ashanti-Bead Jewellery worn with Ashanti-Kente clothing on display at an Ashanti-Bead Jewellery store in Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula.  Traditional Ashanti-Bead Jewellery worn with Ashanti-Kente clothing on display at an Ashanti-Bead Jewellery store in Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula.  Traditional Ashanti-Beads worn with Ashanti-Kente clothing.  Traditional Ashanti-Bead Armband Jewellery worn with Ashanti-Kente clothing.  Traditional Ashanti-Bead Armband Jewellery variant worn with Ashanti-Kente clothing.  Traditional Ashanti-Bead Jewellery and Ashanti-Kente clothing on display at an Ashanti-Kente clothing store in Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula.  Traditional Ashanti-Ahenemaa sandals embedded with gold-ornaments worn with Ashanti-Kente clothing by Ashanti monarchy royals.  Traditional Ashanti-Ahenemaa sandals embedded with gold-ornaments variant worn with Ashanti-Kente clothing by Ashanti monarchy royals.  Traditional Ashanti-Ahenemaa sandals worn with Ashanti-Kente clothing.  Traditional Ashanti-Ahenemaa sandals variant worn with Ashanti-Kente clothing.  Group of traditional Ashanti-Ahenemaa sandals variations worn with Ashanti-Kente on display at an Ashanti-Ahenemaa sandals store in Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and the Ashantiland Peninsula.

Origin

The origin of kente is in the Ashanti empire state of Ashanti prior to ancient-Ashantis migrating from Bonoman now named Brong-Ahafo. Ashantis migrated out of the area that was Bonoman to create various states within the Ashantiland Peninsula.^[8]

References

1. "Kente Cloth". projectexploration.org. African Journey. projectexploration.org. 25 September 2007.
2. "The Emergence of Color in Kente Cloth". csdt.rpi.edu.
3. Wisdom: Adinkra Symbols & Meanings. welltempered.net.
4. G. F. Kojo Arthur and Robert Rowe (2001). "Akan Kente Cloths and Motifs". Ashanti Cultural Symbols Project. Marshall University. Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
5. West African Wisdom: Adinkra Symbols & Meanings – Bibliography
6. "Obia Oso: An Ngjuka Maroon Shrine from Suriname". Yale Peabody Museum. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
7. "The Maroon Community". Surinam Designz, Inc. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
8. Kwasi Konadu, Kwasi Konadu, Indigenous medicine and knowledge in African society, Routledge, 2007. pp 30–31.