Kente Cloth

Where is it from? GHANA

History of the Cloth This is authentic (mid 1900s) African good quality hand woven KENTE. Kente is more than just a cloth but is a visual representation of history, ethics, oral literature, philosophy, moral values and religious beliefs. The Kente cloths history goes back to the 17th Century. By age twelve, most boys begin helping their fathers by weaving Kente cloth after school.

How some were made. The kente cloth is an Asante ceremonial cloth hand-woven on a horizontal treadle loom. Strips measuring about 4 inches wide were sewn together into larger pieces of cloths.

About the Kente cloth in Ghana In a total cultural context, Kente is more important than just a cloth. The term ‘Kente’ has its roots in the word kenten which means a ‘basket’. The first kente weavers used raffia fibers to weave cloths that looked like kenten (a basket); and thus were referred to as kenten ntoma; meaning basket cloth. The original Asante name of the cloth was nsaduaso or nwontoma, meaning “a cloth hand-woven on a loom” and is still used today by Asante weavers and elders.

How do you wear kente? To wear kente properly, it must be worn so that the woven pattern stripes are straight horizontally and vertically. In addition, the bottom edge of the cloth should be even all the way around. Men’s cloth consists of 20 to 27 strips; women’s cloth 12 to 15 strips.

When to Wear Kente Historically, kente was the cloth of kings. Overtime, the use of kente became more widespread. Unlike the royal family, an individual who owns kente today most likely owns one cloth that is worn on multiple occasions. It is comparable to an evening grown to tuxedo in Western cultures. Each kente cloth pattern is unique and has its own name.

Kente Patterns SIKA FUTORO ADWINASA ‘All motifs are used up’ ‘Gold dust’ ABUSUA YE DOM ‘Extended family is a force’ ADWINASA ‘All motifs are used up’ AKYEMPEM ‘Thousand shields’

Kente Patterns (cont’d) Wofro Dua Pa A Na Yeplia Wo One who climbs a tree worth climbing get the help deserved NYANKONTON ‘God’s eye brow’ (the rainbow) KYERETWIE ‘The lion catcher’ EMMA Da *It has not happened before

Symbols of Color • Blue means love, • Green means growth and energy, • Yellow (gold) means wealth and royalty, • Red means violence and anger, • White means goodness or victory, • Grey means shame, and • Black means death (or old age).

Sources http://www.ghana.com/republic/kente http://www.nmafa.si.edu/exhibits/kente http://www.adire.clara.net/kentegallery