Home » Arts & Design

kente cloth

Ranked #7,791 in Arts & Design, #128,937 overall

Kente cloth:Everything you need to know about it

Kente cloth is a popular West African fabric known for its brilliantly complex yet colourful and adventurous designs. It originates from Ghana but it stands as one of the most well known textiles in Africa. The designs like a lot African art is not only made for visual pleasure but have underlying meanings and concepts to every pattern and colour used. This lens is dedicated to taking a closer look into kente and its significance in African culture, art and fashion.
An Asante king wearing Kente

Kente : Fit for a king 

In the past, Kente cloth was considered a sacred and royal cloth which was worn only during important occasions by Asante kings. Overtime its use has become widespread and it is now worn by many people. Kente cloth is expensive so the authentic versions of Kente is mostly worn by wealthy or rich people in Africa. Expensive Kente is made completely from silk threading and this was the type that was made only for royalty. There are cheaper alternatives of Kente such as ones made from cotton but the cheapest is kente made from artificial "rayon" fibres.

Even though it is now more accessible for the general public, Kente's importance still remains and is used mostly in moments of celebration, it is also still linked with high social status and cultural sophistication.

Kente cloth history

Kente is believed to have been invented in the 17th century during the rise of the Ashanti kingdom in Ghana, but early forms of cloth weaving existed before then and archaeological evidence suggests that cloth weaving may have existed in West Africa as early as the 11th century A.D and kente may have been an outgrowth of various ancient weaving traditions. The akan people, a tribe from the Ashanti region who also have tribes located in ivory cost is where Kente originates, they made and are still the main manufacturers of kente cloth.
Important!

It is said that Kente was created by two men both from the town of Bonwire (Ghana). One day the two friends were out hunting in the forest and came across a spider weaving an enchanting web. They stood there and watched it for two days, then returned to their village. Inspired by what they had witnessed, they implemented the technique of weaving they had learnt from the spider and used it to weave a strip of raffia fabric, thus creating an early form of kente cloth.

How is Kente made

If you've ever wondered how kente is made, this video will fill you in and show you the difficult proceedures that take place to make kente cloth.
How is Kente made? (4/16)
by OUlearn | video info

6 ratings | 4,368 views
curated content from YouTube

Symbolic meanings of the colors in Kente cloth

  • 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 occasion
  • Yellow -- preciousness, royalty, wealth, fertility

A few popular kente cloth designs and meanings

Obi Nkye Obi Kwan Mu Si
The name of this pattern translates into "sooner or later one could stray into another person's path." The meaning of this saying is that nobody is perfect and everybody makes mistakes.
If someone happens to get in your way or does something to offend you, it is important to be understanding and to forgive that person.
Asonawo Ahahamono Emaa Da
This cloth represents "the green snake of the Asona," one of the seven families.The Asante social system has seven main families. Each family has its own responsibilities and rights.
Fathia Fata Nkrumah
The translation for the name of this pattern is "Fathia is a befitting wife for Nkrumah." Fathia was a charming Egyptian woman who married Nkrumah, the first president of the Republic of Ghana. Their marriage was considered special because it represented the unity of African peoples on the continent.
Abusua Ye Dom
The name for this pattern means, "the extended family is a force."
This cloth celebrates the extended family and its important role in maintaining the well being of its members.

Did you Know?

"Kente" comes from the word "Kenten" which means "basket". Early Kente weavers wove by hand in a process similar to basket weaving which made kente share resemblence to basket weave and was named kenten ntoma (basket cloth) at one point.

My thoughts on Kente..

Kente apart from being visually attractive, in its cultural context represents a lot more than just a cloth. It is history, proverbs, names, ethics, political thoughts expressed through colour and pattern. It is a symbol like a flag for a country but representing the individual that wears it. Think of it like this, an artist may draw a picture and put it up for show, at first glance people will look and make an assumption that the picture is one thing, but when it is viewed a couple of times by the same people they start to see and understand deeper meaning to the art which they missed first time round. This is the only way I can describe Kente cloth, but then again someone else may just see Kente as a pretty cloth with nice designs. Either way it is a marvellous invention.

Where Can I buy Kente?

www.authenticafrika.com
A site filled with authentic African art and african decor that you won't find anywhere else on the web.
It has some great kente cloth woven from silk in the kente cloth section.. Check it out

Let me know what your thinking

submit
Show All

My other lenses

a few of my other lenses..
Loading

by

Africanartlover

Kente cloth is possibly Africa's most well known textile. This is just abit of info on Kente for anyone interested.. more »

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

Explore related pages

Related Tags