The Symbolism of Kente Cloth - Essay Example

Teacher Kente Cloth: From Genesis to Identity Introduction Kente is a type of strip-woven cloth native to the country of Ghana. It is considered to be one the most well known of all African textiles. The cloth itself is typically made by Asante and Ewe weavers from that region of the continent, making use of specially designed looms to hone their craft. The origins of Kente cloth date back to the Ashanti Kingdom in the 17th century. Historically, Kente was considered to be the cloth of royals. Over time, however, its use has become more wide spread and everyday Ghanains have come to wear it on special occasions. An interesting feature is that Kente Cloth is most commonly made by men, and the cloth itself consists of many strips, each one of which is between 4 and inches in width. These strips are then cut into pieces and sewn together in a side by side pattern to make one large cloth. Originally, Kente cloth was black and white, but the dyes were developed from different plants, resulting the evolution of a range of color. This paper will take a look a cursory look at the origin, symbolism, and process of making Kente Cloth. Origin of Kente Cloth History As mentioned, Kente cloth is native to the Akan ethnic group of South Ghana, but has its origin with the Ashanit Kingdom. The people of the Ivory Coast were the first to adopt the cloth as their own, and it is now widely used throughout the African region. Kente is an important icon of African cultural heritage throughout the world, not just on the continent itself. The cloth itself has adapted over the years to become quite vibrant in its color scheme and the way it has become able to identify itself with the overall ethnicity of this region (Asmah 217). Tradition There are actually a variety of kente patterns that have been invented and put into use over the years. Each of these pattens, in an of themselves, have a certain concept or concepts that are historically based in some type of tradition. One example of this is the Obaakofoo Mmu Man pattern. This particular pattern has served to represent democratic rule. A second example of historical tradition in the kerne cloth can be seen in the Emma Da patern, representing novel creativity and knowledge derived from experience, and the Sika Fre Mogya pattern, representing responsibility to share monetary success with one’s relations. There is a legend based on tradition involve the cloth. It is said that kente was first created by two Akan friends where were hunting in an Asanteman forest. While hunting, they came upon a spider that was casting its web. The friends actually stood right there observed the spider for two days. Based on this observation, they return home and recreated what they saw, resulting in the weave pattern we now see represented in the kente cloth. For centuries now, the nations of West Africa have had a culture based largely on the weaving of cloth via the strip weave method reflect in kente cloth. This is made more interesting by the fact that Akan history actually states that the cloth was created free from any outside influence whatsoever. Symbolism of Kente Cloth Colors Each color in the kente cloth and pattern is specifically chosen and represents a traditional meaning in West African culture. To begin, black represents maturation and an intensified spiritual energy. Within the cloth color scheme, blue has come to represent peacefulness, harmony and love. It is often seen with gold, which represents royalty, wealth, high status, glory and spiritual purity. The color green, as can be expected, represents vegetations, planting, harvesting, growth, and spiritual renewal. The color grey within a piece of kente cloth has come to represent certain rituals that are associated with healing and cleansing. In addition, the color is typically associated with ash. Moving along on the color scheme, maroon is specifically meant to represent the color of mother earth, and it most commonly associated with healing. Pink it put into the kente cloth when the weaver wishes to portray the females essence of life. The pink itself is meant to look like a gentle aspect of the red color. Red, by comparison, represents political and spiritual moods. It also refers to bloodshed, sacrificial rites, and death. Purple is most commonly associated with the more feminine aspects of life and is usually worn by women themselves. The final three colors that are most common within kent cloth are silver, white, and yellow. Silver represents serenity, purity, and joy. It is also associated with the moon. White represents purification, sanctification rites, and more festive occasions, while the color yellow is associated with preciousness, royalty, wealth, fertility, and beauty (Burkhart 109). Patterns Just as with the colors, the geometric patterns present with the weaving of kente cloth have traditional meanings as well. The pattern named obi nkye boo kwan mu si, for example, has come to represent the symbol of forgiveness, conciliation, tolerance, patience, and fairness. The name of the pattern itself means ‘to err is human’. There are other examples of certain patterns being created to represent a particular aspect of African tradition or life. Representative of this fact is the Oyokoman na gya da mu pattern, which literally means crisis in the Oyoko Nation. This particular weave has come to be a symbol of internal conflict , unity in diversity, and warning against engaging in internal strife. The pattern known as Awia Repue has come to be a symbol of progress, renewal, development, warmth, vitality, and energy. The symbol itself was utilized in politics, most notably by the Progress Party. This particular party ruled the nation of Ghan from 1969 to 1972 and used this kente cloth pattern as its logo throughout its existence. One more example of how patterns mean a great deal to the weaving of kente cloth is Sika Fre Mogya. This means that money attracts blood relations and in a symbol designed to represent family relations, responsibility, hard work, and sharing. Patterns such as this one often reflect the truth of certain traditional African proverbs that carry much meaning to the people of continent, with a particular focus on West African sayings and long held beliefs. Process of Making Kente Cloth Weaving Techniques Much of what makes kente cloth so durable and memorable within African tradition is the technique that goes into the weaving of each pattern, with its mix of geometric shapes and colors. The cloth itself it traditionally woven on a wood structure that is horizontal and quite narrow. This is referred to a loom, of which the most integral part is called the heddle. Each thread of the cloth will through heddle, which serves as a mechanism to separate out the warp threads in order to past to the weft portion of the loom. Most commonly, the heddle is made out of a cord or a wire, and it suspended on the actual shaft of the loom. A handwoven tea towel alone will typically contain between 300 and 400 warp threads, which means that multiple heddles come into use. When a person is actually weaving the cloth, the threads move up and down on the shaft in a continual motion. This works due to the fact that each thread within the warp actually goes straight through the heddle, so when the shaft is raised, so are the heddles. As a result of this motion, the warp threads that are threaded through the heddles are actually raised to. The pattern that is to be woven determines whether that heddles should be equally or unequally distributed on the shaft. The example is given of a plain twill cloth, as the heddles for this particular pattern would need to be equally distributed. In addition, it should be noted that the warp itself will be threaded through heddles on multiple shafts depending on the structure of the weave that is desired. As such, the skill of the weaver has a great deal to say about the actually quality and clarity of the pattern and color scheme within the kente cloth (Asmah 259). Materiality In contrast to other types of traditional clothing, kente cloth consists of a variety of different colors. Many would argue that kente cloth is the most well known of African cloths, because it has a multitude of designs, patterns, and shapes. Within this argument comes the reality that the cloth themselves are made of many different types of materials. In the modern era, kente cloth is typically made from rayon, cotton, and silk. This has served to make it more affordable for the broader population. This is particularly important due to the fact that the cloth comes from one of the poorest regions of the world, yet seemingly everyone in the area has grown to adopt it as their own form of traditional dress. The type of material used for kente cloth is easily woven, adapting each piece of cloth to incorporate that color and pattern scheme desire in order to represent a particular component of West African tradition and culture. Works Cited Antonucci, Michael. “Velvet BeBop Kente Cloth”. African American Review, 39.1 (2005): 257- 259. Asmah, Josephine. “The Copyright Thing Doesn’t Work Here: Adinkra and Kente Cloth and Intellectual property in Ghana”. International Journal of Cultural Property, 19.2 (2012): 217. Burkhart, Doris. “Kente Colors”. Childhood Education, 73.2 (2006): 109. Read More