But kente cloth also reflects the history of the ashanti people from the. The word kente which means basket comes from the akan or ashanti dialect.
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In akan culture the different colors and intricate patterns used in the weaving do have traditional meanings.
Ashanti traditional kente cloth. Is the color of purity innocence spirituality and peace mental collective and interior. Kente known as nwentoma in akan is a type of silk and cotton fabric made of interwoven cloth strips made and native to the akan ethnic group of ghana. Kente cloth originated with the ashanti people of ghana dating back 375 years in the village of bonwire.
Kente is a word in the ashanti language of ghana which means basket. Kente is said to have originated when a man by the name of ota karaban and his friend kwaku ameyaw hailing from the town of bonwire learned the art of making kente cloth by observing a spider weaving its spider web. Kente cloth is native to the ewe and ashanti people of ghana with origins dating back to around the 12 th century but its patterns are still worn and enjoyed all over the world.
The kente cloth is known as the fabric with the most complicated weavings in the. Ghanas ashanti cultural heritage to the worlds fashion civilization kente is a ceremonial cloth hand woven on a horizontal treadle loom kente comes in strips measuring about 4 inches wide and sown together into larger pieces of cloth. They watched the spider carefully and mimicked its actions to weave the first kente cloth.
Kente is made in akan lands such as the ashanti kingdom including the towns of bonwire adanwomase sakora wonoo and ntonso in the kwabre areas of the ashanti region. Kente cloth designs vary with the different designs colors and patterns each having their own special meanings and stories. Kente cloth is only worn in the southern half of the country and as distinct from other forms of traditional weaving is reserved mainly for joyous occasions.
Akans also refer to kente as nwentoma which means woven cloth. Kente as we know it was developed by the ashanti people in the 17th century ad. An ashanti tradition dating centuries back.
The unmistakable blends of colored threads woven together into beautiful patterns is the hallmark of kente cloth. Ghanaian child in traditional kente. Watch the ordination ceremony live from the anagkazo campus mampong ghana dag heward mills 377 watching live now.
Bonwire is a kente clothing weaving village in ejisu juaben municipal district a district of ashanti. Ironically the ashanti people call the kente fabric nwentoma which means woven cloth. To this day bonwire is still the most famous center for kente cloth weaving.
It comes in variety of colours and different designs. Kente cloth is the most recognizable of all african textiles. Authentic kente fabric is woven by the ewe and ashanti tribes in ghana.
Traditionally the kente cloth is a festival cloth worn mainly during the annual and seasonal festivals which are happy occasions.
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