Symbolic meanings of Kente cloth.

 Kente cloth is not only used for its beauty but also for its symbolic significance. Each cloth has a name and a meaning.  Kente cloth also known locally as Nwentoma is a type of silk fabric made of inter-woven cloth stipes. It is an icon of African cultural heritage around the world and is identified by its dazzling multicoloured patterns of bright colours, geometric shapes and bold designs and It is used for its symbloic significance. Names and meanings are dervied from historical events, individual achievements proverbs, philosophical concepts, oral hiterature, mortal values and certain attributes of plant and animal life. Patterns and motifs are generally created by weavers who also assign names and meanings to them. Patterns and motifs are sometimes given by weavers who may obtain them through dreams and during contemplative moments when they are said to be in communion with the spiritual world. The meanings of the colours are. 

Black- Maturation intensified spirtual energy.
 Blue- Peacefulness, harmony and love.
Green- Vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth, spirtual renewall.
Gold- Royalty, wealth, high status, glory, spirtual purity.
Grey- Healing and cleansing rituals associated with ash.
Maroon- The colour of mother earth, associated with healing.



Pink- Associated with the female sense of life, a mild gentle aspect of life.

Purple- Associated with the feminine aspect of life, usually worn by women.

Red- Political and spiritful moods, bloodshed, sacrifical rites and death.

Silver- Serenity, purity, joy associated with the moon.

White- Purification, sanctification rites and festive occasions.

Yellow- Preciousness, royaly, wealth and fertillity.

 image from exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu

Men's Kente cloth.

This cloth design is called Adweneasa

which can be translated as my skills are exhausted.

From a collection of the Fowler musuem

of Cultural history.



Kente cloth

Weavers working with Kente cloth.

Kente is a brillantly coloured fabric that is hand woven by Ghanaian weavers. The origins of Kente cloth date back to the 12th century, Where it was worn by kings and queens and important figures in Ghana's society during cermonial events and speacil occassions. The word Kente comes from the word Kenten which means basket. The country of Ghana being the primary producer of Kente cloth today, and from various regions of the country comes different styles of cloth namely Ashanki Kente from the central Kumasi area and Ewe Kente from Eastern Volta region.

Each strip of Kente is woven entirely by hand on a individual strip loom. Everything you see on Kente cloth the stipes, letters, symbols and patterns is woven into stripes by hand. The individual stripes are then sewn together along their edge to form larger pieces of cloth. The cloth is known as woman's cloth and men's cloth which are still worn today in Ghana as a garment wrapped around the body.

King wearing Kente cloth also known as wrapped in pride.

The history of West African weaving.

African weaving was originally used as a domestic process, families would weave to make clothes and shelter. In its beauty and originality of design, the narrow strip weaving of West Africa is on a level with other indigenous art forms such as bronzes and masks for which this region is justly famous. This unique system of making large cloths, for clothing, domestic and ceremonial use, by sewing together narrow woven strips, usually less then five inchs wide, is of ancient origin. Well preserved cloths date from as far back as the eleventh century AD show the remarakable continuity of tribal designs.
The various narrow strip weaving traditions which we can find today within the territorial limits of modern Ghana all have roots and history. We may assume there exists a considerable body of literary and documentary source of material both Arabic and European. Looking at the early history in West Africa of the craft of narrow weaving in Ghana today. Although cotton cloth is thought to have been woven in Indian subcontinent first, the first evidence of cotton being used in Africa appaers to have been in the sudanese nile valley which was roughly between 500 BC and AD 300.

image from roxfordbooks.com
An early Ewe cotton cloth from Kpandu, Ghana. This intersting cloth has a mixture of background strips with the dark dense warp patterns typical of Ewe weaving.